Ely Sussman

Here is the moment when Beloit Sky Carp manager Billy Gardner told RHP Noble Meyer and LHP Thomas White that they've been selected to represent the Miami Marlins in this year's Futures Game (courtesy of marlins/Instagram): 54njwy.mp4 The exhibition will be held at Globe Life Field (home of the Texas Rangers) on July 13.

That would shock me. There was a big gap between his performance and the bare minimum that a competitive team looks for from a backup. I expect him to be out of baseball for the rest of the season, then try to reboot his career next spring.

In Bell's case, at least his recent history includes some stretches of good baseball. For what it's worth, he really is a leader in the clubhouse. I think it makes sense to keep trotting him out there until the deadline, then moving on if there are zero takers.

Offishial News for 7/3/24 On Tuesday, Valente Bellozo (5.0 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 98 pitches/61 strikes) was a bit better than his final line would suggest. He set a Marlins franchise record for most strikeouts in a single game by a Mexican-born pitcher. Ceddanne Rafaela's wall-scraping three-run home run allowed the Red Sox to pull away. Jesús Sánchez's 448-foot round-tripper was his second-longest of the season. The Marlins lost, 8-3. Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville won, 8-0. RHP Max Meyer (4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K, 86 pitches/53 strikes) had his first scoreless start of the season, and just as importantly, his longest outing since being optioned. I project him to return to the majors before the end of the month. 1B Troy Johnston hit a three-run homer and should have had a solo shot as well. Double-A Pensacola lost, 6-1. 1B Nathan Martorella went hitless for the fifth consecutive game. His slash line is .173/.228/.226 through 45 games with the Blue Wahoos. High-A Beloit won, 7-3. 1B Brock Vradenburg went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in his High-A debut. Low-A Jupiter lost, 2-0. Having started and recorded extra-base hits on four straight days, INF José Devers is seemingly on the verge of completing his rehab assignment. DSL Marlins lost, 2-0. DSL Miami lost, 1-0. Here's more Marlins news and content: 🔷 The Fish have mercifully pulled the plug on Tim Anderson, designating the 31-year-old for assignment. Hard to argue that any shortstop in Marlins history has ever struggled more during an extended audition at the position. TA's -1.2 fWAR is tied for sixth-lowest among all MLB hitters this season. He simply brought nothing to the table other than his intangibles and past experiences. In his place, Xavier Edwards will get regular starts at shortstop, Skip Schumaker said. Edwards was involved in a couple plays on Tuesday that showed how a lack of arm strength limits his defensive ceiling. I wouldn't be surprised if, by the end of the season, Edwards and Otto Lopez swap middle infield assignments. merge-0j2y4e.mp4 🔷 RHP Noble Meyer and LHP Thomas White are Arlington-bound as the Marlins' Futures Game representatives. They are undoubtedly the organization's top two prospects, though I wouldn't have minded seeing C Joe Mack get priority over Meyer on the basis of superlative individual production. Hopefully, both pitchers get to throw an inning during the exhibition. White just climbed 27 spots on MLB Pipeline's updated Top 100 prospects list. In a Marlins Radio Network interview (embedded below), Meyer referenced multiple times that he wants to get a taste of the Double-A level before season's end. 🔷 Bryan Hoeing (left hamstring strain) is back from his rehab assignment and just waiting for a spot in the Marlins bullpen to open up. Sadly, Ryan Weathers (left index finger strain) is still at least a week away from getting the green light to resume throwing. Don't expect to see him stretched out as a starter until late August. 🔷 The Marlins added another international free agent signing, 17-year-old Venezuelan right-hander Victor Rodriguez. He has been assigned to the DSL Miami roster. 🔷 The Florida Panthers have left Bally Sports Florida for Scripps Sports in an effort to reach a larger South Florida television audience. Bally still has local TV rights for the Marlins and Miami Heat. "Scripps has not had recent conversations with the Heat or Marlins," according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. 🔷 Former Marlins GM Kim Ng has been hired by the Athletes Unlimited Softball League as a senior advisor. The league will launch next May. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, talented yet injury-prone Twins third baseman Royce Lewis is likely bound for another IL stint after hurting his groin. The Mets offense again roared to life in extra innings, propelling the club above .500. Aaron Judge hit his 32nd home run and Shohei Ohtani hit his 27th. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter LHP Trevor Rogers) continue their series against the Red Sox (RHP Brayan Bello). The Marlins have a 48.7% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 6:40 p.m. ET. 🔷 We had a great turnout for the latest episode of Fish On First LIVE! Check out the replay if you missed it the first time. 🔷 Today's MiLB schedule: Triple-A Jacksonville vs. Charlotte, 6:05 p.m. ET Double-A Pensacola vs. Montgomery, 7:05 p.m. ET High-A Beloit vs. Wisconsin, 7:35 p.m. ET Low-A Jupiter vs. Palm Beach, 6:00 p.m. ET FCL Marlins vs. FCL Cardinals, 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. These notes apply to the first game of Miami's home series against the Boston Red Sox. View full article

That may have been the last we'll see of Anderson in the major leagues. The Tim Anderson era is over in Miami, as first reported by Craig Mish of SportsGrid on Tuesday. Anderson has been designated for assignment with the expectation that he'll be released in the coming days. Just a week removed from his 31st birthday, he has rapidly declined from perennial American League batting title contender to one of MLB's least-valuable players. Anderson was the most expensive pickup of an uneventful 2023-24 Marlins offseason, signing a one-year, $5M deal in late February. The club handed him their starting shortstop job despite struggling mightily with the Chicago White Sox the year before (.245/.286/.296, 1 HR, 13 SB, 60 wRC+, -0.2 fWAR in 123 G). Given his age and impressive track record, Anderson looked to be a logical bounce-back and change-of-scenery candidate, plus none of Miami's in-house alternatives at the position were particularly exciting. It was the epitome of a low-risk, high-reward move. Unfortunately, Anderson did virtually nothing to "reward" the Marlins' faith in him during his half-season tenure. I expressed my concerns in early May and he made no improvements from there. He was useless offensively, lacking any semblance of plate discipline or power (.214/.237/.226, 0 HR, 4 SB, 31 wRC+, -1.2 fWAR in 65 G). At shortstop, his defensive performance was mixed at best. TA departs on a particularly low note. During Sunday's Marlins loss, he committed a crucial error that helped the Philadelphia Phillies score two unearned runs, then struck out swinging on a non-competitive pitch to make the final out. Anderson's DFA continues a trend. Last month, the Marlins moved on from outfielder Avisaíl García and catcher Christian Bethancourt. That veteran trio had more than $30M of guaranteed money remaining on their contracts. Dane Myers essentially replaced García on Miami's active roster, Ali Sánchez replaced Bethancourt and now Xavier Edwards will replace Anderson. Each of the newcomers are five-plus years younger than their predecessors. Midway through a non-competitive season, the Marlins are reallocating playing time toward guys who could have a future with their organization. It'd be a shame for Anderson to vanish from baseball so suddenly. Here's hoping that he finds a way to reinvent himself and resurface as a viable big leaguer in 2025. View full article

The annual Futures Game that kicks off MLB All-Star festivities is a fascinating snapshot of baseball's young talent. Beginning in 1999, it has given a platform to highly ranked prospects, many of whom will go on to play in the major leagues, whether that be for their current organization or another that is enticed to trade for them. The Miami Marlins' delegation at Citizens Bank Park for the 2026 event will include right-hander Karson Milbrandt, a homegrown stud who has had a huge breakthrough during his fifth professional season. MLB.com's Futures Game all-time roster was a crucial resource to me in compiling this list. However, that page includes several typos where participants were incorrectly labeled as representatives of the Marlins org. It's possible that I am missing a few names from the "Florida Marlins" era in cases where players were mislabeled. Please comment if you notice any omissions! Bold names went on to produce at least 5.0 fWAR during their major league careers. 1999—RHP A.J. Burnett and INF Pablo Ozuna 2000—RHP Josh Beckett and C Ramón Castro 2001—INF Miguel Cabrera and 1B Adrián González 2002—INF Miguel Cabrera and 1B Jason Stokes 2003—RHP Denny Bautista 2004—LHP Bill Murphy 2005—OF Jeremy Hermida and C Josh Willingham 2006—RHP José García 2007—INF Chris Coghlan and RHP Rick van den Hurk 2008—RHP Jesús Delgado 2009—OF Giancarlo Stanton (known as "Mike Stanton" at the time) 2010—INF Osvaldo Martínez and 1B Logan Morrison 2011—RHP Jhan Mariñez 2012—RHP José Fernández and OF Christian Yelich 2013—OF Christian Yelich 2014—RHP Domingo Germán 2015—LHP Jarlin García 2016—1B Josh Naylor 2017—INF Brian Anderson and RHP Tayron Guerrero 2018—RHP Jorge Guzman 2019—INF Isan Díaz, OF Monte Harrison and RHP Sixto Sánchez 2021—LHP Jake Eder and RHP Max Meyer 2022—RHP Eury Pérez 2023—LHP Patrick Monteverde and INF Nasim Nuñez 2024—RHP Noble Meyer and LHP Thomas White 2025—C Joe Mack and LHP Thomas White 2026—RHP Karson Milbrandt View full article

I'd say the realistic best-case scenario is that he becomes the primary Marlins catcher exactly 1 year from now. Enter 2025 with some combo of Fortes/Ali Sánchez/cheap veteran free agent. If Mack holds his own at Triple-A through half a season, that will earn him a call-up.

I can confirm that he is not injured, but it's also unclear whether he's being added to the active roster immediately. We shall see...

The Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) will be launching in the spring of 2025 with the help of Ng, herself a former softball player. What's next for Kim Ng after her sudden split from the Miami Marlins organization last October? The Athletes Unlimited Softball League announced on Monday that she'll serve as a senior advisor. “I’m excited about this opportunity to be involved with Athletes Unlimited and the sport that I grew up playing, while helping to lead the AUSL as it prepares to launch,” Ng said in the AUSL press release regarding her hire. “Given its growth at the grassroots and collegiate levels in recent years, softball is poised for tremendous growth at the professional level, and I believe the AUSL is well positioned for success.” Launching in May 2025, the AUSL will feature four professional softball teams competing in a 30-game season with games in 6-8 different cities, according to the league's website. The AUSL will become a city-based league beginning in 2026. Ng played softball at the University of Chicago prior to beginning her baseball career in 1990. Three decades later, she was hired by the Marlins as the first female general manager in North American professional sports history. The Marlins had a 220-266 record (.453 winning percentage) during Ng's tenure. Of course, she went off on a high note, constructing the 2023 squad that crushed preseason expectations, finished 84-78 and earned a postseason berth in what was the final guaranteed year of her contract. Rather than present her with a multi-year extension and the chance to continue leading Miami's baseball operations department, owner Bruce Sherman sought a president of baseball ops to oversee her, citing concerns about the organization's barren farm system and overall sustainability. Under those conditions, Ng declined her side of a 2024 mutual option and left the Fish. Peter Bendix was brought in a few weeks later as POBO. Bendix overhauled the front office staff, but retained many of the players from the 2023 roster. The Marlins have a .357 winning percentage through his first half-season in charge, on pace for the third-worst record in franchise history. At the time of Ng's departure, the Boston Red Sox were the only other MLB team searching for a new baseball ops leader. The Red Sox reportedly requested her to interview for the vacancy, but she declined. They ultimately selected Craig Breslow. Whether it's with another MLB team or the commissioner's office, I suspect Ng will get the itch to return to baseball eventually. Through her AUSL position, she can utilize her vast experience in a different way if the right opportunity does not arise. View full article

The Miami Marlins have 29 days to trade pending free agent Tanner Scott. "Considering the deadline is nearly a month away, rival clubs are reporting that the Miami Marlins want a lot for their left-handed closer," The Athletic staff posted on Monday morning. The report identifies the Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers as teams who "have expressed some level of interest" so far. Not coincidentally, those four are virtual locks to reach the postseason, each with playoff odds of at least 98%, per FanGraphs. While teams further down the standings may be less enthusiastic about trading potential long-term contributors for two months of Scott's production (August and September), this quartet can feel confident they'll be getting something from him during October as well. Just as I pointed out on June 13, The Athletic acknowledges the concern about Scott's high walk rate and the possibility he could regress following an All-Star-caliber first half of the season. Working in the Marlins' favor, though, "the limited supply of quality relievers should result in them getting a decent return." In 35 appearances this season, Scott has a 1.50 ERA, 3.69 FIP and 1.14 WHIP in 36 innings pitched. He is peaking at the right time, having allowed runs in only one of his last 22 outings. View full rumor

Offishial News for 7/1/24 On Sunday, the Marlins blew one of their biggest leads of the season. They were up by four in the middle of the fifth inning thanks to a uncharacteristically strong offensive effort against Ranger Suárez. Alas, the bullpen that had been extraordinarily sharp in recent weeks was wobbly this time. A Tim Anderson error led to two unearned runs in the sixth, then Andrew Nardi and Anthony Bender combined to let the Phillies take the lead in the seventh. The Marlins lost, 7-6. Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville lost, 7-6. Looks like Edward Cabrera (3.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 67 pitches/46 strikes) will need one more rehab start before being reinstated by the Marlins. INF Xavier Edwards hit his first home run of the season. Double-A Pensacola won, 5-1. C Joe Mack mashed his 10th homer of June and 16th of the year (tied for the highest total in the Marlins org). RHP Matt Pushard is—no pun intended—pushing for a promotion. He has held the opposition scoreless in 15 of his last 16 relief appearances. The Southern League has a .101 batting average against him. High-A Beloit lost, 7-3. Infielders Johnny Olmstead and Josh Zamora continue to carry the Sky Carp offense, hitting back-to-back solo shots in the fifth inning. Low-A Jupiter won, 3-1. RHP Jake Brooks (6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 73 pitches/53 strikes) continues to be the consistent Marlins minor league starting pitcher and 1B Brock Vradenburg had an inside-the-park home run. Here's more Marlins news and content: 🔷 June is in the books. The Marlins had a 9-17 record and minus-57 run differential, numbers that are pretty closely aligned with their overall 2024 season performance. Now, the calendar flips to the always-chaotic month of July, featuring the MLB Draft, All-Star break, a wave of prospect promotions and the MLB trade deadline. 🔷 Through 27 Marlins series, here's an updated look at the Prediction Time leaderboard. Make series predictions with us all season long when you become a Fish On First SuperSub. 🔷 The Marlins and Burger King have made co-branded paper crowns. They're available at participating Burger King locations in South Florida and will be given away to fans attending Tuesday's and Thursday's games at loanDepot park. 🔷 Hector Rodriguez and Sean McCormack each share their updated Marlins mock drafts. Hector has the Fish selecting Wake Forest's Seaver King with their first-round pick, while Sean goes with Oklahoma State's Carson Benge. 🔷 Members of the Marlins traveling party have started a tradition of organizing pickup basketball games during every road series, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com details. "It's just the bonding that is the most important to me," Skip Schumaker said. 🔷 Bob Nightengale of USA Today describes Tanner Scott as the "best reliever on the market" with his reporting suggesting that the Athletics won't be trading closer Mason Miller this summer. 🔷 Baseball Trade Values made a trade deadline primer for the Marlins highlighting many of their potential trade chips. Weirdly no mention of Declan Cronin, who I think they will aim to sell high on. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Rangers rookie Wyatt Langford hit for the cycle, helping to snap his club's six-game losing streak. The Rockies edged out the White Sox with a 5-4 victory in 14 innings. Owning the worst records in the National League and American League, respectively, their offenses combined to go 3-for-35 with runners in scoring position. Nationals top prospect James Wood will make his major league debut tonight against the Mets. The 21-year-old outfielder has a 173 wRC+ in 52 Triple-A games this season. Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson is MLB's first confirmed Home Run Derby participant. Phase 2 of All-Star voting continues through Wednesday at 12:00 p.m. ET. 🔷 Today's MiLB schedule: Triple-A Jacksonville vs. Charlotte, 7:05 p.m. ET Double-A Pensacola v.s Montgomery, 7:05 p.m. ET High-A Beloit vs. Wisconsin, 7:35 p.m. ET Low-A Jupiter vs. Palm Beach, 6:30 p.m. ET FCL Marlins at FCL Mets, 12:00 p.m. ET DSL Marlins vs. DSL Tigers 1, 11:00 a.m. ET DSL Miami at DSL Twins, 11:00 a.m. ET Marlins podcast episodes View full article

The 21-year-old enjoyed his best month as a pro in June, slashing .297/.373/.681 with 10 home runs in 25 Double-A games. View full video

Big Fish Small Pod for Monday, July 1 Ely Sussman shares recent stats and observations about prospects from each full-season level of the Miami Marlins farm system: Triple-A Jacksonville 1B Troy Johnston, Double-A Pensacola OF/INF Jacob Berry, High-A Beloit LHP Emmett Olson and INF José Devers, who's rehabbing with Low-A Jupiter. 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. Johnston tied for the Marlins organizational lead with 33 hits during the month of June while also going 5-for-5 on stolen base attempts. Berry has reached base safely in 18 of 20 games since returning from a two-week absence. He homered on both Saturday and Sunday. Deploying him at third base continues to go poorly, though. Through 12 starts this season, Olson has a 2.34 ERA with only one home run allowed. He has limited left-handed batters to a .221 slugging percentage. His slider is his most effective pitch. Devers' extended rehab from a head injury seems to be finally nearing its conclusion. He joined the Hammerheads over the weekend and should be back with Jacksonville a week from now. The longtime Marlins prospect is a pending minor league free agent. 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

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. These notes apply to the fourth and final game of Miami's road series against the Philadelphia Phillies. View full article

It would be very amusing if the only four-game series win they've gotten all season came against the team that's arguably baseball's best.