Ely Sussman

Marlins news roundup for 4/16/24 On Monday, the Marlins made a flurry of roster moves. Max Meyer was sent down to Triple-A Jacksonville while Jake Burger (left intercostal muscle strain) and Christian Bethancourt (viral illness) landed on the 10-day injured list. Edward Cabrera and Otto López both impressed in their season debuts (Jhonny Pereda was selected to take Bethancourt's spot). The Marlins led most of the game, but George Soriano and Andrew Nardi allowed the Giants to rally in the seventh inning. The Marlins lost, 4-3. Down on the farm, Low-A Jupiter OF Mark Coley II was named Florida State League Player of the Week. Coley slashed .400/.464/.760 with three stolen bases during those six games. 🔷 Here's more Marlins news and content for you: 🔷 Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix did not make himself available to local media to explain Meyer's demotion, but he did take some questions from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The Marlins could have moved A.J. Puk to the bullpen or optioned Ryan Weathers to the minors instead of Meyer, and those alternatives were "strongly considered." Bendix admits that “I don’t have the exact answer on how to best keep anybody healthy, let alone someone like him. But we’re trying." Bendix's objective is to keep Meyer pitching consistently—for the time being, in three-inning spurts—without reaching an "irresponsible" workload. 🔷 My rebuttal: If the main factor behind the move truly is workload management, Meyer should be contributing to the Marlins bullpen, which has been a f****** disaster in 2024. He had experience as a reliever during his amateur career. This pitching staff is irrefutably better with him than without him and most of Miami's bullpen arms have minor league options as well (including the struggling Soriano and Nardi). Sending down Meyer unjustly deprives him of money and MLB service time while making this cellar-dwelling club less competitive. Especially this early in the season, when you decline to optimize your roster with the best talent, you piss off your own players and signal to your fanbase that the current team is not worth their time and emotional investment. 🔷 We had a long segment about Meyer on the latest episode of Fish On First LIVE. Check it out if you missed the original airing. 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. 🔷 As expected, recently DFA'd Matt Andriese cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Jacksonville. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, there is somehow still a team that's even worse than the Marlins: the White Sox, who were shut out again and have been averaging only 2.1 runs scored per game this season. 🔷 Today's MLB game: (probable starter LHP Ryan Weathers) host the Giants (RHP Jordan Hicks) at 6:40 p.m. ET. The Marlins have a 46.8% chance to win, per FanGraphs. 🔷 It is Autism Acceptance Night at LoanDepot Park. Our own @Noah Berger discusses his journey with Autism. 🔷 Today's MiLB schedule: Triple-A Jacksonville vs. Norfolk, 11:05 a.m. ET Double-A Pensacola vs. Rocket City, 7:05 p.m. ET High-A Beloit vs. South Bend, 2:05 p.m. ET Low-A Jupiter at Fort Myers, 7:05 p.m. ET Marlins podcast episodes View full article

Welcome to FOF's 17th Miami Marlins game thread of the 2024 season. Before the series has even begun, we've got some deflating news pertaining to two of the club's most important players. It's also the Marlins debut of Otto López, who I expect to start most games against left-handed pitching for the near future. SuperSubs can access exclusive game notes here. Pregame roster moves: RHP Edward Cabrera returned from rehab and reinstated from 15-day IL and INF Otto López recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville; RHP Max Meyer optioned to Jacksonville and INF Jake Burger (left intercostal muscle strain) placed on 10-day IL. Get your live on-site coverage from Isaac Azout and Alex Krutchik.

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

Enjoy!

Marlins news roundup for 4/15/24 On Sunday, the Marlins rallied back from a 5-1 deficit to take a lead into the ninth inning. Tanner Scott came one strike away from sealing the victory, but Marcell Ozuna had other ideas. Along the way, Jake Burger (oblique) and Vidal Bruján (knee) exited due to injury concerns. The Marlins lost, 9-7. They continue to own the National League's worst winning percentage (.188) and run differential (-35). Dating back to 2022, they've lost eight of their last 10 series to the Braves. Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville lost, 9-4. INF Otto López (2-for-3, 2 2B) remains one of Minor League Baseball's hottest hitters. He exited the game early for unspecified reasons. Perhaps he is Miami-bound if either Burger or Bruján go on the injured list? Double-A Pensacola won, 4-2. RHP Paul Campbell (5.0 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) pitched well again. In the midst of an 0-for-20 slump, INF Jacob Berry rode the bench. High-A Beloit won, 9-4. INF Yiddi Cappe went 3-for-5 with a stolen base. Low-A Jupiter won, 2-1. RHP Jake Brooks (6.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) retired 18 of the 20 batters he faced, including the final 13 in a row. OF Mark Coley II reached base safely in all four of his plate appearances, raising his on-base percentage to .459. Here's more Marlins news and content for you: 🔷 Through five Marlins series, FOF staffer @Daniel Rodriguez sits atop the Prediction Time leaderboard with eight points, though I have entered the picture thanks to perfect Braves series picks. Make series predictions with us all season long when you become a Fish On First SuperSub. 🔷 Listen back to our weekly State of the Fish Twitter call-in show. 🔷 Every Monday (until they are firmly out of contention), I will update the Marlins' playoff odds. Per FanGraphs, those have been cut in half over the last week, from 6.3% to 3.4%. 🔷 I broke down Max Meyer's hot start to the season and what more he still needs to work on. Here is Ryan Schlesinger's take on Miami's early-season ace. 🔷 Marlins director of player development Rachel Balkovec talks to MLB.com's Christina De Nicola about the importance of accountability, practicing with game-like intensity and establishing clear key performance indicators. 🔷 Jake Burger's grandfather, Terry, shows off his "Jake's Journey" scrapbook chronicling the ups and downs of the slugger's baseball career. 🔷 Lou Hennessy of Twins Daily writes that Pablo López has put in the work on and off the field to make himself a fan favorite in Minnesota. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Andrew McCutchen hit his 300th career home run as his Pirates improved to 11-5 on the season. Tommy Pham has agreed to a minor league deal with the White Sox. The Nationals blew a 6-1 lead to the Athletics. With a 3-for-4 day, 39-year-old Justin Turner now leads the majors with a .386 batting average. 🔷 Join us for a new episode of Fish On First LIVE tonight from 5:30-6:30 p.m. ET on YouTube/Twitter/Facebook. Special guest: Cade Neidhamer. SuperSubs are encouraged to make 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. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter LHP A.J. Puk) host the Giants (LHP Kyle Harrison). The Marlins have a 51.9% chance to win, per FanGraphs. Unless he puts forth a genuinely great performance, I believe Puk will be removed from the starting rotation moving forward. Happy Jackie Robinson Day. Marlins podcast episodes View full article

The State of the Fish panel discusses Sunday's decision to pull hot-hitting infielder Otto López from the Triple-A Jacksonville game. Is he on the next flight to Miami? View full video

Left oblique discomfort for Jake Burger. Yikes. An oblique strain would be a multi-week IL stint.

Welcome to FOF's 16th Miami Marlins game thread of the 2024 season. Claim your free Whopper Jr.! The last time that Jesús Luzardo and Charlie Morton started opposite one another on a Sunday at LoanDepot Park, the Marlins cruised to victory. Tim Anderson is missing his third straight start due to what the Marlins say is a minor illness. SuperSubs can access exclusive game notes here. Pregame roster moves: none. Get your live on-site coverage from Kevin Barral and Louis Addeo-Weiss.

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

During this stretch of 26 games in 27 days, I'm sure he'll pitch more frequently than he has thus far.

What made Eury's situation unique was how limited his previous workloads had been. At least with Meyer, he reached 111 innings back in 2021. He won't make a full 32 starts because that is still a huge leap, but he can get relatively close to that and not necessitate an awkward midseason break.

The last pitcher named to the Opening Day starting rotation, Meyer is Miami's top-performing starter so far. Whenever a team records only three wins over a 15-game span, it's safe to assume the roster is rife with underachieving players. If not for Max Meyer, the Miami Marlins might be entering Sunday with even fewer than three wins. The former top draft pick has gotten off to a terrific start to the 2024 season to give fans something to feel encouraged about. Spring training injuries cracked open the door for Meyer to make his return to the majors so soon. The Marlins optioned him to Triple-A Jacksonville on March 12. Later that week, however, it became clear that both Eury Pérez (elbow) and Edward Cabrera (shoulder) would not be ready to go for Opening Day. The initial rotation order was Jesús Luzardo, A.J. Puk, Ryan Weathers, Trevor Rogers and Max Meyer. Through the first three full turns of the rotation, Meyer looks like he genuinely belongs. Most importantly, the 25-year-old right-hander is providing length, leading the club with 17 innings pitched (5.2 IP per start). He has allowed only 15 baserunners and four runs (team-best 2.12 ERA). The Marlins won his starts on April 7 and April 13, and he exited with a lead on April 1 as well before the bullpen blew it. Meyer's stuff and pitch mix are similar to what he showed prior to his Tommy John surgery in 2022. Nearly half the time, he leans on his plus-plus slider. He averages 88.8 mph with it, making it the fastest breaking ball that any Marlins pitcher is using this season, per Baseball Savant. Particularly on Saturday against the Atlanta Braves, it was fascinating to watch how often he induced whiffs and manageable balls in play on sliders even when leaving them in the heart of the strike zone. 4ekpdh_1.mp4 Meyer's changeup is still inconsistent, but there have been exciting flashes, For the most part, he's keeping it below the knees and out of harm's way. Left-handed batters are only 3-for-26 against Meyer with a .448 OPS so far. Much of the skepticism about Meyer sticking as a major league starter long term stems from his relatively short stature (6'0"). To his credit, he has adjusted his delivery post-surgery to partially mitigate that handicap. After averaging only 6.0 feet of extension on his pitches in 2022 (ranking in MLB's 23rd percentile), he's up to 6.4 feet this season (38th percentile). Hitters don't have quite as much time to decipher what he's throwing. Despite the hot start, Meyer still has plenty to prove. He is undoubtedly getting lucky on batted balls, yielding barrels in 9.2% of his plate appearances (doubled the MLB average), thus the massive gap between his 2.12 ERA and 3.96 xERA. He has recorded only one strikeout on fastballs (four-seamers and sinkers combined), making him predictable in two-strike counts. That being said, Meyer clearly deserves to continue his rotation spot trial. Braxton Garrett and Edward Cabrera are both due back from the injured list shortly. The new-look rotation should be comprised of Luzardo, Garrett, Cabrera, Meyer and one of Puk/Weathers/Rogers. View full article

Skip's reaction to having to watch another LHP shut down his lineup 😒

Welcome to FOF's 15th Miami Marlins game thread of the 2024 season. The Marlins enter the day still winless at home and winless against left-handed starting pitchers. These droughts must end eventually...right? Tim Anderson is missing his second straight start due to what the Marlins say is a minor illness. SuperSubs can access exclusive game notes here. Pregame roster moves: RHP Calvin Faucher recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville; RHP Matt Andriese designated for assignment. Get your live on-site coverage from Nick Turok.

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

I'm still extremely discouraged by Bruján's quality of contact. There are some similarities to Xavier Edwards, except that Edwards is even faster and has a better understanding of the strike zone. I don't know how you justify keeping Bruján on the roster once Edwards is back to full strength. Otto López and Tristan Gray can force a change even sooner if they maintain what they've been doing so far in Jacksonville.

Welcome to FOF's 14th Miami Marlins game thread of the 2024 season. The Marlins have lost every season series to the Atlanta Braves since 2014. Yikes! Tim Anderson is missing his first start of the season due to what the Marlins say is a minor illness. SuperSubs can access exclusive game notes here. Pregame roster moves: none. Get your live on-site coverage from Kevin Barral and Alex Krutchik.

I am intrigued. It ought to be a serious conversation very soon (the López vs. Brujan conversation).