Ely Sussman

Offishial News for 5/24/24 On Thursday down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville won, 12-11. OF Griffin Conine hit a grand slam, OF Victor Mesa Jr. (3-for-5, HR, BB) had a huge game at the plate and RHP Elvis Alvarado has quietly kept opponents hitless throughout the month of May (8.1 IP). Double-A Pensacola won, 1-0, with INF Sean Roby's solo home run accounting for the only offense. High-A Beloit lost, 7-6. INF Josh Zamora is now tied for the Marlins organizational lead with 10 homers. Low-A Jupiter lost, 8-1. OF Dillon Head was placed on the injured list with his nagging adductor strain. Here's more Marlins news and content for you: 🔷 Beginning today, Xavier Edwards (left foot infection) is eligible to be reinstated from the 60-day IL. All indications are that he needs to play several more games during his Triple-A rehab assignment before being a serious candidate to join the Marlins active roster, but just something to keep in mind. Edwards has played four games for the Jumbo Shrimp so far this season (two each at second base and shortstop). 🔷 Before he inks a multi-million dollar deal with the Marlins in January 2025, INF Andrew Salas is getting his first professional game reps with Marineros de Carabobo in Venezuela. One week into the LMBP's regular season, Salas has started two times (both at shortstop), posting a .286/.444/.429 slash line with two stolen bases. The 16-year-old is more than a decade younger than the league's average player. To illustrate that point, former Marlin Fernando Rodney is spending his age-47 season competing against Salas. 🔷 We streamed the latest episode of Fish On First LIVE during Thursday's off day. SuperSubs still have all day to submit their series predictions. FOF LIVE is presented by Berger & Hicks. If you’ve been injured as a result of somebody else’s negligence, give them a call at (305) 670-7050. 🔷 In a Q&A with Christina De Nicola of MLB.com, Calvin Faucher recalls working for his father's glass company and how he found out he was being traded for the first time in his career. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, loanDepot park was announced as a host site for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Same setup as 2023 with Miami hosting games during every round of the tournament, including the championship game. Current Marlins Members who maintain their memberships through 2026 will receive first access and best pricing for WBC tickets. Luis Arraez continues to be on a hot streak that's extraordinary even by his high standards. Thursday was his eighth straight multi-hit game. He has climbed to second place in the NL batting title race with a .341 BA, trailing only Shohei Ohtani (.348 BA). 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter LHP Braxton Garrett) visit the Diamondbacks (RHP Zac Gallen). Gallen has a 1.35 ERA in three career starts against his former team. The Marlins have a 38.9% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 9:40 p.m. ET. 🔷 Today's MiLB schedule: Triple-A Jacksonville at Gwinnett, 7:05 p.m. ET Double-A Pensacola vs. Tennessee, 7:05 p.m. ET High-A Beloit at Great Lakes, 6:05 p.m. ET Low-A Jupiter vs. Tampa, 6:30 p.m. ET FCL Marlins vs. FCL Astros, 12:00 p.m. ET Marlins podcast episodes View full article

I completely agree. Particularly under current MLB rules, there is no incentive to being the very worst team in the league, and if the Marlins are truly in that mix, it just makes the climb back to competitiveness more painstaking. This recent stretch has been important to reinforce that there are useful building blocks already in place.

Top highlights of pitcher Jesús Luzardo from his May 22 start vs. the Milwaukee Brewers. View full video

The 16-year-old Salas started at shortstop on Wednesday for LMBP's Marineros de Carabobo. He's expected to officially sign with the Marlins in January. The Marlins have a multi-million dollar deal in place with infielder Andrew Salas to headline their 2025 international free agent class, but his professional career is already underway. Salas is spending his age-16 season with Marineros de Carabobo in Liga Mayor de Béisbol Profesional (LMBP), a Venezuelan league unaffiliated with Major League Baseball. Per Cardenas Sports Media, the talented switch-hitter went 8-for-16 in preseason games while playing shortstop and center field. He appeared in the Marineros' regular season opener on Saturday as a pinch-runner. Then on Wednesday, Salas cracked the starting lineup for the first time. Batting ninth and manning shortstop, he went 1-for-5 with a walk and a stolen base in a 19-10 win. Here's his RBI double: vmascv_1.mp4 This is not a developmental league, to be clear. The average age of the Carabobo roster is 27.7 years old. Most of Salas' teammates and opponents are more than a decade older than him! The only other teenager in his clubhouse is catcher David Chirinos, who's the son of the team's manager, Robinson Chirinos. LMBP consists of eight teams. The league's regular season runs through July 7. Complete livestreams of all Marineros de Carabobo games are available on the LMBP TV YouTube channel. View full article

Marlins news roundup for 5/23/24 On Wednesday, Jazz Chisholm Jr. got the scoring started with a leadoff home run...and there would be no more scoring after that. Jesús Luzardo (8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 100 pitches/72 strikes) pitched incredibly well and he did it despite having the lowest average fastball velocity of his MLB career. The Marlins won, 1-0. They'e won seven of their last 10 games overall. Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville lost, 3-0. LHP Patrick Monteverde was placed on the 7-day injured list, the first IL stint of his MiLB career. Double-A Pensacola lost, 6-5. RHP Austin Roberts blew a save opportunity for the first time this season (he had previously been 8-for-8 in such situations). High-A Beloit lost, 14-13. The regression monster attacked LHP Emmett Olson, who allowed more runs in the opening inning than he had allowed in all of his previous starts combined (0.2 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 39 pitches/22 strikes). INF Josh Zamora (3-for-6, 2 HR, 5 RBI) continues to make a strong case to be promoted to Pensacola. Low-A Jupiter won, 5-1. Good work from RHP Tristan Stevens (6.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 78 pitches/51 strikes). FCL Marlins lost, 4-3. Here's more Marlins news and content for you: 🔷 Through 16 Marlins series, there is a now a three-way tie atop the Prediction Time leaderboard, including our intern, @Nate Karzmer. Make series predictions with us all season long when you become a Fish On First SuperSub. 🔷 Chisholm's 60th career home run tied him with Derek Dietrich for 18th place on the all-time Marlins list. It also put to bed a well-circulated fun fact about the team's power drought in the post-Giancarlo Stanton era. 🔷 Marlins bench coach Luis Urueta was ejected during the first inning of the May 14 game against the Tigers. Jomboy did a hilarious lip-reading breakdown of Skip Schumaker's confrontation with the umpires. 🔷 We are doing an off-day stream. Join us for a new episode of Fish On First LIVE tonight from 7:00-8:00 p.m. ET on YouTube/Twitter/Facebook. FOF LIVE is presented by Berger & Hicks. If you’ve been injured as a result of somebody else’s negligence, give them a call at (305) 670-7050. 🔷 On this day in 2019, Garrett Cooper's ninth-inning grand slam capped a Marlins comeback in Detroit. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Xander Bogaerts is facing a long-term absence after fracturing his left shoulder. Old friend Luis Arraez will be the primary second baseman for the Padres until he returns. Arraez went 4-for-5 on Wednesday and has a .391 batting average since going to San Diego. The Phillies improved to 36-14, the best 50-game start to a season in their franchise's history. The Rockies became the first team in MLB history to hit a multi-run homer in the first inning and a multi-run homer in the 12th inning or later and score no other runs in between. 🔷 Today's MiLB schedule: Triple-A Jacksonville at Gwinnett, 7:05 p.m. ET Double-A Pensacola vs. Tennessee, 7:05 p.m. ET High-A Beloit at Great Lakes, 6:05 p.m. ET Low-A Jupiter vs. Tampa, 6:30 p.m. ET Marlins podcast episodes View full article

Player status updates, insightful stats and more information to fully equip you for today's Marlins game. Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal SuperSubs. Got thoughts about this matchup? Head over to Fish On First's Marlins game thread. View full article

Welcome to FOF's 51st Miami Marlins game thread of the 2024 season. The loanDepot park roof is closed for the finale of this homestand. SuperSubs can access exclusive game notes here. Pregame roster moves: none. Enjoy live on-site coverage from Kevin Barral.

Marlins news roundup for 5/22/24 On Tuesday, Trevor Rogers had slightly higher fastball velocity than usual, but worse control (3.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, 90 pitches/53 strikes). Tim Anderson went 2-for-4 in his return from the injured list. There were contributions from everybody in Miami's lineup—eight of nine starters had hits with the exception of Josh Bell, who provided a sacrifice fly. Four outs away from a Fish win, Christian Yelich ripped a two-run triple off of A.J. Puk. The Marlins lost, 7-5. Down on the farm, JT Chargois and Bryan Hoeing each made the first appearances of their Triple-A Jacksonville rehab assignments. The Jumbo Shrimp lost, 4-3. INF Jonah Bride hit his 10th home run of the season. Double-A Pensacola lost, 3-0. It's the seventh time in 2024 that they've been shut out. High-A Beloit won, 8-4. The old guys in the Sky Carp lineup, DH Jake Thompson and INF Josh Zamora, combined to drive in five runs. Low-A Jupiter won, 3-0. INF Jordan McCants celebrated his birthday with three hits and his organization-leading 20th stolen base. OF Dillon Head (adductor strain) is still sidelined. FCL Marlins lost, 5-2. INF Yoffry Solano recorded the club's only two hits. Here's more Marlins news and content for you: 🔷 Yelich's .985 OPS against the Marlins is his highest against any National League team. Perhaps more than just a coincidence? 🔷 Through 50 regular season games, the Marlins have grounded into 50 double plays. They are on pace to break the franchise's single-season record of 159, set in 2023. 🔷 He's likely to get sent down next week as the corresponding roster move for Chargois or Hoeing, but in the meantime, I'd like to shout out RHP Emmanuel Ramírez. The rookie reliever has retired 14 of the first 15 batters he has faced in the majors. Ramírez's splitter shows some promise. 🔷 Otto Lopez is making the most of his opportunity, writes Isaac Azout. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Kyle Tucker is the new MLB home run leader with 17. His Astros have won eight of their last 10 games. Mason Miller struck out the side (again). The Oakland A's closer has allowed only one hit over his last 13 appearances (15.1 IP). 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter LHP Jesús Luzardo) conclude their homestand with a rubber match against the Brewers (RHP Freddy Peralta). The Marlins have a 45.8% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 6:40 p.m. 🔷 Today's MiLB schedule: Triple-A Jacksonville at Gwinnett, 7:05 p.m. ET Double-A Pensacola vs. Tennessee, 7:05 p.m. ET High-A Beloit at Great Lakes, 6:05 p.m. ET Low-A Jupiter vs. Tampa, 6:30 p.m. ET FCL Marlins at FCL Nationals, 12:00 p.m. ET Marlins podcast episodes View full article

Marlins news roundup for 5/21/24 On Monday, the Marlins got lucky. It's okay to acknowledge that! Brewers starter Joe Ross exited after only one inning due to a low back strain. The relievers behind him did a terrific job, nonetheless. With the Brewers leading 2-1 in the top of the ninth inning, Jake Bauers' line drive to right field got wedged into the fence for a ground-rule double; otherwise, it would have surely driven in the runner from first base to extend the lead. Without that insurance run, Otto Lopez's RBI single in the bottom of the ninth was enough to force extras. Josh Bell sealed the victory in the 10th with a bases-loaded single. The Marlins won, 3-2. Miami now has five walk-off wins, tied for the most in the majors. Here's more Marlins news and content for you: 🔷 Big props to Ryan Weathers. The Marlins wouldn't have kept the game within reach without him. He had never completed seven innings in any of his first 39 career MLB starts. Now, he's done it in back-to-back outings (7.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, 94 pitches/56 strikes vs. MIL). Weathers' ERA has dropped three full runs, from 6.55 in 2023 to 3.49 in 2024, and that's over near-identical sample sizes (57.2 IP in 2023 vs. 56.2 IP in 2024). 🔷 I'd also like to draw attention to what Andrew Nardi has done lately. The left-hander has stranded the last seven baserunners that he has inherited, including two on Monday. Also, he hasn't allowed a home run since Opening Day. 🔷 Tim Anderson (lower back tightness) has returned to Miami after a two-game minor league rehab assignment and is expected to be reinstated from the injured list today. Skip Schumaker mentioned that Anderson will receive more frequent days off moving forward. Reading between the lines, it's an acknowledgement that Vidal Bruján and Otto Lopez have dramatically outplayed the former All-Star this season and deserve semi-regular playing time. 🔷 Ryan Schlesinger identifies positive stats and attributes for each Marlins position player. 🔷 Happy birthday to Marlins INF Jordan McCants. The 2021 draft pick turns 22 today. McCants leads all Marlins minor leaguers with 19 stolen bases this season. Unfortunately, he's barely hitting his weight (.187/.266/.230 slash line) while repeating the Low-A level. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Chris Sale has thrown 20 straight scoreless innings for the Braves, striking out 37 batters so far in May compared to only one walk. Gunnar Henderson hit his MLB-leading 16th home run. Rafael Devers set a new Red Sox record by homering in six consecutive games. 🔷 Today's MLB game: The Marlins (probable starter LHP Trevor Rogers) host the Brewers (LHP Robert Gasser). Gasser will be making just his third career start in the majors and Milwaukee's bullpen was used heavily in the series opener. The Marlins have a 48.4% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 6:40 p.m. 🔷 Today's MiLB schedule: Triple-A Jacksonville at Gwinnett, 7:05 p.m. ET (JT Chargois and Bryan Hoeing rehab appearances) Double-A Pensacola vs. Tennessee, 7:05 p.m. ET High-A Beloit at Great Lakes, 11:05 a.m. ET Low-A Jupiter vs. Tampa, 6:30 p.m. ET FCL Marlins at FCL Mets, 12:00 p.m. ET Marlins podcast episodes View full article

Player status updates, insightful stats and more information to fully equip you for today's Marlins game. Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal SuperSubs. Got thoughts about this matchup? Head over to Fish On First's Marlins game thread. View full article

The other factor to consider is time elapsed. Fortes hit those homers in 2022 and has been a far inferior hitter since. I wouldn't blame Skip for completely ignoring that head-to-head history given the way things have changed in the interim.

Yes: Fortes started each of the previous 4 games. The team prioritized his chemistry/game-calling history with Luzardo and Garrett (thus starting him with them Friday and Saturday) over having his bat available on Sunday.

Big Fish Small Pod for Monday, May 20 Ely Sussman shares recent stats and observations about prospects from each full-season level of the Miami Marlins farm system: Triple-A Jacksonville INF Xavier Edwards, Double-A Pensacola C Joe Mack, High-A Beloit INF Josh Zamora and Low-A Jupiter OF John Cruz. Find Big Fish Small Pod on the Fish On First YouTube channel, our new-look Apple Podcasts channel and wherever else you get your pods. FOF's audio programming also includes The Offishial Show, Fish Unfiltered, Swimming Upstream and more. The Fish On First podcast is now being presented by MPT College Consulting! They pride themselves on helping clients navigate the college application process. This includes preparation for standardized testing, guidance through high school, assistance with essays and applications, and choosing the right college. Visit them today at mptcollegeconsulting.com to learn more about their services and schedule a free consultation. Having finally overcome a foot infection, Xavier Edwards (Fish On First's #8 prospect) began a rehab assignment with Jacksonville on Saturday. Last season at the Triple-A level, he hit .351 with a career-high seven home runs and went 32-for-36 on stolen base attempts. Edwards has played second base in each of his first two rehab games. He's eligible to be reinstated from the 60-day IL on Friday. Joe Mack (FOF #25) is slashing .237/.301/.387 (110 wRC+) in 24 games since his promotion to Double-A. The 21-year-old is splitting time evenly between catcher and designated hitter. Keep in mind, there have been very pitcher-friendly conditions in the Southern League so far this season. Undrafted out of the University of Nevada and unranked on the FOF Top 30, Josh Zamora has hit exceptionally well for the Sky Carp this season (.276/.379/.524, 150 wRC+). He has struck out in less than 15% of his career plate appearances since turning pro and already matched his home run total from the entire 2023 season. A bump up to Pensacola could be coming shortly. John Cruz (FOF #16) is struggling mightily since being acquired by the Fish in the Jon Berti trade. His 81.6 mph average exit velocity would rank in the first percentile among major leaguers. His batting average has not topped .200 at any point this season. Fortunately, Cruz has time on his side and ample room to add strength to his 6'2" frame. Follow Ely (@RealEly) and Fish On First (@FishOnFirst) on Twitter. Join the Marlins Discord server! Complete Miami Marlins coverage here at FishOnFirst.com. View full article

Marlins news roundup for 5/20/24 On Sunday, Sixto Sánchez again put his team at an immediate deficit and Skip Schumaker vented about that disturbing pattern. The Marlins have received home runs from 12 different players this season now that Dane Myers and Christian Bethancourt each went yard for the first time. A.J. Puk still hasn't allowed a hit since rejoining Miami's bullpen. The Marlins lost, 7-3. Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville won, 7-3. Five different Jumbo Shrimp enjoyed multi-hit games, including INF/OF Javier Sanoja. He's slashing .296/.373/.409 at AAA with three times as many walks (12) as strikeouts (four). Tim Anderson went 0-for-4 with a walk and played the entire game at shortstop. He could be reinstated from the injured list as soon as Tuesday. Double-A Pensacola won, 2-0. RHP Paul Campbell lowered his ERA to 2.04 and RHP Austin Roberts recorded his organization-leading eighth save. High-A Beloit lost, 5-3. Would you believe INF Josh Zamora is now tied for third among Marlins minor leaguers with seven home runs? Zamora has already matched his total from the 104 games he played last season. Low-A Jupiter lost, 6-5. OF Colby Shade improved to 13-for-14 on stolen base attempts. Here's more Marlins news and content for you: 🔷 The Marlins signed Japanese RHP Raisei Nakamura to a minor league deal. Nakamura had made eight brief regular season appearances (totaling six innings) for the Hiroshima Carp in the Japan Western League from 2022-2023. This spring, he pitched for the Asian Breeze, throwing six scoreless innings, the team said in this press release. Nakamura's arsenal consists of four pitches, per Marlins assistant general manager Oz Ocampo. The 21-year-old is listed at 6'3" and 170 pounds. He'll make his MiLB debut in the Dominican Summer League next month. 🔷 It was an encouraging week of Marlins baseball any way you slice it, featuring consecutive series wins and a season-high four-game winning streak. The lone losses were both games where the Fish trailed by only one run entering the ninth inning. Leading trade candidates like Jesús Luzardo and Josh Bell look as sharp as they've been all season. 🔷 The Marlins as a team have allowed 30 first-inning runs in 2024. Sánchez has allowed 11 of those by himself! His ERA in the first inning has been 19.80. How much longer until Max Meyer gets a shot to reclaim that starting rotation spot from him? 🔷 Listen back to Sunday's State of the Fish call-in show. 🔷 Through 15 Marlins series, @Daniel Rodriguez holds a one-point lead atop the Prediction Time leaderboard. Make series predictions with us all season long when you become a Fish On First SuperSub. 🔷 Christina De Nicola of MLB.com details how a handful of players from the just-completed Marlins-Mets series had South Florida roots. 🔷 Jolly Olive has begun an elaborate video series reviewing the trade history of the Marlins. 🔷 On this day in 1999, Derrek Lee's 14th-inning walk-off single propelled the Marlins past the Pirates. 🔷 Join us for a new episode of Fish On First LIVE tonight from 5:30-6:30 p.m. ET on YouTube/Twitter/Facebook. FOF LIVE is presented by Berger & Hicks. If you’ve been injured as a result of somebody else’s negligence, give them a call at (305) 670-7050. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the Athletics (eight straight losses), the Yankees (seven straight wins) and the Twins (six straight losses) are each in the midst of lengthy streaks. Rafael Devers has homered in five consecutive games to match a Red Sox franchise record. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter LHP Ryan Weathers) host the Brewers (RHP Joe Ross). The Marlins have a 47.0% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 6:40 p.m. Marlins podcast episodes View full article