Ely Sussman

Marlins news roundup for 3/18/24 Fish On First is providing extensive coverage on location throughout Marlins spring training. Click here to keep up with our latest updates. 🔷 On Sunday, Dane Myers went 3-for-4 with an opposite-field home run, raising his Grapefruit League slash line to .407/.467/.667. Sixto Sánchez tossed two perfect innings and he did it on only three days' rest (uncharted territory for somebody who previously worked on a starter's schedule). The Marlins lost, 7-6, on a José Iglesias walk-off home run. 🔷 Every Sunday throughout the 2024 season, we'll be hosting State of the Fish on the @MarlinsSpaces Twitter account, taking your questions about the Marlins. Fish On First SuperSubs get top priority! Here is the full recording of the latest episode. 🔷 We are bracing for bad news about Eury Pérez, who is being evaluated by doctors after experiencing right elbow soreness. Pérez had been attempting to pitch with a broken fingernail during his previous few appearances. 🔷 In Pérez's absence, there are four left-handed pitchers firmly locked into the Marlins starting rotation. Over the course of the season, we are likely to see a new franchise record set for most starts made by lefties. 🔷 Jolly Olive chronicles the rise and sudden fall of Josh Johnson. He's still the Marlins' all-time leader in career wins above replacement (both fWAR and bWAR). 🔷 From Christina De Nicola of MLB.com: with the Marlins pitching staff thinned by injuries, look out for Ryan Weathers, George Soriano, Sixto Sánchez, Mychal Givens and Bryan Hoeing. 🔷 Today's game: the Marlins (RHP Darren McCaughan) host the Astros (RHP Hunter Brown) at 1:10 p.m. No television coverage. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the Cardinals signed manager Oli Marmol to a two-year contract extension. Marlins podcast episodes Fish On First podcast (presented by MPT College Consulting): From the rest of the community: View full article

Big Fish Small Pod for Monday, March 18, 2024 After spending a full week around Miami Marlins spring training, Ely Sussman came away impressed by Sixto Sánchez, in awe of Luis Arraez and disappointed with the Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium fan experience. 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. 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

At least for the early portion of the 2024 season, southpaws are projected to start the vast majority of Miami's games. In society at large, only about one of every 10 people are left-handed. Baseball isn't representative of the entire population, though. While throwing righty is a pre-requisite for playing second base, third base, shortstop and catcher, all other positions welcome a diversity in handedness. Batters can track a righty's pitches from the mound to home plate with greater clarity when standing on the opposite side of the plate. To counteract that, every MLB team uses lefty arms to reclaim the platoon advantage in some of those situations. During the 2023 season, 48,691 of 184,110 total MLB plate appearances (26.4%) involved left-handed pitchers. The Miami Marlins were especially lefty-reliant. Braxton Garrett and Jesús Luzardo were constants in their starting rotation. Several of the club's most-trusted relievers also operated from the left side. Overall, lefties combined to work nearly half (45.7%) of their plate appearances. After coming up just shy of setting a handedness-related franchise record last year, the Marlins could shatter it in 2024. Garrett, Luzardo and various other southpaws combined to make 71 starts in 2023. The Marlins' single-season record is 72 starts made by lefties, according to Stathead, set by the 2007 Fish and matched in 2008. That looks extremely beatable this season, in large part due to injuries. Nearly half of last season's Marlins starts went to right-handers Sandy Alcantara (28 starts), Edward Cabrera (20), Eury Pérez (19) and Johnny Cueto (10). Alcantara is expected to miss all of 2024 due to Tommy John surgery rehab, while Cabrera and Pérez will miss an undetermined amount of time with arm injuries of their own. Cueto's major league career appears to be over. Even Miami's most-used opener, JT Chargois (five starts), is going to be on the IL early on. Who will fill in for them? Primarily lefties A.J. Puk, Ryan Weathers and Trevor Rogers. Puk is making the transition from reliever to starter and I'm very optimistic about how he'll handle his new role. Weathers is a former first-round draft pick who the Marlins acquired from the San Diego Padres last year. Injuries limited Rogers to only four starts in 2023. Barring any additional health hiccups during the final week of Grapefruit League action, the Marlins' Opening Day rotation will include Luzardo, Puk, Weathers and Rogers. The fifth and final spot will likely go to a righty such as Max Meyer or Bryan Hoeing, but Garrett (shoulder soreness) is on track to be stretched out as a starter by mid-April. Looking beyond the 40-man roster, lefties Patrick Monteverde, Devin Smeltzer, Kent Emanuel and Luis Palacios could potentially be called upon for spot starts over the course of the season. In case you're curious, the all-time single-season record for left-handed pitcher starts by an MLB team is 127 by the 1983 New York Yankees. While I don't foresee the Marlins challenging that mark, they could plausibly reach triple digits. Coincidentally, the 2018 Boston Red Sox were the last team whose LHPs made 100-plus starts, and they rode those arms to a World Series title. 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... View full article

The Marlins' sophomore right-hander now has injury concerns that go far beyond a broken fingernail. The Miami Marlins' pitching depth has gradually dried up over the course of spring training, but Saturday brought the most deflating setback of them all: Eury Pérez experienced right elbow soreness following his most recent start (as first reported by the New York Post's Jon Heyman). He'll be visiting Dr. Keith Meister to be evaluated further. Pérez lived up to his top prospect hype during his rookie season, posting a 3.15 ERA, 4.11 FIP and 1.4 fWAR in 19 major league starts last year. After logging 128 total innings between Double-A and MLB, the hope was he'd be able to stick in Miami's rotation for practically all of the 2024 campaign. Instead, he'll join Braxton Garrett (left shoulder soreness) and Edward Cabrera (right shoulder impingement) on the season-opening injured list. The 20-year-old Pérez was unable to take part in the 2023 Marlins postseason run due to SI joint inflammation. However, he seemingly reported to spring training in perfect health. He exited his March 2 start prematurely after suffering a broken fingernail. He completed 3 ⅔ innings on March 8, relying almost exclusively on fastballs and curveballs to avoid aggravating the injury. Aiming to pitch even deeper into his start this past Wednesday, Pérez recorded only one out before being taken out. At the time, the Marlins described it as a precautionary decision related to his nail. Dr. Meister is a renowned orthopedic surgeon. He performed Tommy John surgery on Sandy Alcantara last October. It's not yet clear whether Pérez has any UCL damage. The projected Marlins rotation was previously expected to include Pérez and left-handers Jesús Luzardo, A.J. Puk, Ryan Weathers and Trevor Rogers. Among 40-man roster arms, right-hander Max Meyer ought to be first in line for a starting opportunity. If the Marlins insist on sticking with their original plan to option Meyer to Triple-A Jacksonville, that cracks the door open for non-roster invitees such as Yonny Chirinos, Vladimir Gutierrez and Devin Smeltzer. Although the revival of Sixto Sánchez has been an inspiring storyline this spring, he's only being viewed as a reliever for the time being. 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... View full article

And regarding Duvall, I would have absolutely topped that Braves offer and given him Avi's job.

Puk is the only player on the team who has significantly altered my opinion of him this spring. Until he arrived at camp, there wasn't a true way of gauging how useful his additional pitches would be (the pitches he shelved when working in relief). But now, he's showing that he can locate them and use them in complementary ways. The unknowable element is whether he can physically handle an extreme uptick in workload.

Marlins news roundup for 3/15/24 Fish On First is providing extensive coverage on location throughout Marlins spring training. Click here to keep up with our latest updates. 🔷 On Thursday, A.J. Puk and Sean Manaea started a sim game on the Marlins backfields, facing mostly Triple-A-bound Mets and Marlins hitters. Puk's final line: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K (threw somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 pitches). His build-up from reliever to starter continues to go smoothly. 🔷 Alex Carver details the professional development and burgeoning friendship between Noble Meyer and Thomas White. 🔷 Kevin Barral writes about why Mychal Givens signed with the Marlins and what made him an effective reliever prior to his injury-riddled 2023 season. 🔷 We asked Fish On First members to rank their top 30 Marlins prospects. Here's what they came up with. 🔷 Today's games: Marlins prospects (LHP Thomas White) vs. Cardinals prospects (RHP Tink Hence) in the seven-inning Spring Breakout showcase at 2:05 p.m., followed by the regularly scheduled Marlins (LHP Ryan Weathers) vs. Cardinals (LHP Steven Matz) Grapefruit League game at 6:05 p.m. Watch Spring Breakout on ESPN+ or MLB Network. The night game will be televised on Bally Sports Florida with Marlins play-by-play announcer Paul Severino on the mic for the first time this spring. You could also make the trip to Jupiter! I'll be in attendance. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Adam Duvall (1/$3M) signed with the Braves. It continues a trend of reputable veterans with plenty left in the tank having to settle for extremely cheap free agent deals. Duvall OPS'd .834 last season! Gerrit Cole's worrisome elbow injury will not need season-ending surgery, though he's expected to miss at least one-quarter of the regular season. 🔷 Sandy Alcantara has been an avid gamer for years and he'll have ample time for it throughout this season while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. Alcantara will now be streaming his gaming sessions via the @Sagamingg22 Twitter account. Marlins podcast episodes View full article

Here's who you think the top prospects in the Miami Marlins organization are entering the 2024 season. Ranked Prospects Noble Meyer Thomas White Max Meyer Victor Mesa Jr. Luis Cova Xavier Edwards Dax Fulton Jacob Amaya Troy Johnston Yiddi Cappe Karson Milbrandt Andrés Valor Dane Myers Jacob Berry Patrick Monteverde Jacob Miller Juan De La Cruz Anthony Maldonado Will Banfield Kemp Alderman Josh Simpson Javier Sanoja Fabian López Jancory De La Cruz Brock Vradenburg Tristan Gray José Castro Evan Fitterer Sixto Sánchez Ike Buxton

After what he's been through, how can you have any confidence in him being able to physically handle a starter's workload? That is the main reason for my continued skepticism. Even when he's performing well, how long will it last until his shoulder barks again? His most recent game does help legitimize the notion of him having enough stuff and command to get outs in real competition. I'd still insist on tempering expectations.

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... View full article

Marlins news roundup for 3/13/24 Fish On First is providing extensive coverage on location throughout Marlins spring training. Click here to keep up with our latest updates. 🔷 On Tuesday, Nick Gordon went 2-for-3 with a stolen base and a great defensive play. Jesús Luzardo had a solid start despite a mediocre final pitching line (skewed because two of his inherited runners scored). The Marlins lost to the Astros, 9-1. 🔷 JT Chargois (neck spasms) made his 2024 Grapefruit League debut, but frankly looked awful doing it. Beyond just subpar fastball velocity, his slider wasn't breaking normally or being located well. Not particularly surprising that he is now going to see a specialist. A season-opening injured list stint seems inevitable. 🔷 Edward Cabrera has been diagnosed with a right shoulder impingement. Same injury that sidelined him for five weeks last season. My Marlins roster projection has been updated accordingly. 🔷 The Marlins made their third round of spring training cuts, most notably including Max Meyer (FOF's #3 prospect). He'll headline their Triple-A Jacksonville rotation. Troy Johnston (FOF #10) also got reassigned to minor league camp. 🔷 It was the Marlins' turn to be featured on MLB Network's 30 Clubs in 15 Days series. Here are all of the interviews they did with Tim Anderson, Luis Arraez, Peter Bendix, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Skip Schumaker. I found this TA quote to be the most notable: "(The Marlins) invested in me. Not just money, but teaching me things, offensively and defensively. I'm soaking it all up." 🔷 In advance of Spring Breakout, OF Victor Mesa Jr. reflects on the remarkable year he had, on and off the field (via Christina De Nicola, MLB.com). 🔷 Today's game: Nationals (RHP Jake Irvin) vs. Marlins (RHP Eury Pérez) at 1:10 p.m. Out of the bullpen, Sixto Sánchez is scheduled to make his third spring appearance (and first multi-inning appearance). No television coverage. 🔷 Join us tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET for a new episode of Fish On First LIVE streaming 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. Marlins podcast episodes View full article

A couple weeks away from the Marlins' season opener, I'm projecting which 26 players are best positioned to make the Opening Day roster. This article was originally published early Wednesday morning under the assumption that JT Chargois (neck spasms) should be ready for Opening Day. It has since been updated with the news that he's not fully healthy yet. Ideally, you hope to see players on the roster bubble demonstrate tangible improvements during spring training to earn their place on the big league team. The Miami Marlins have had some of that. Unfortunately, the outcomes of spring competitions are more often dictated by injuries and the amount of control that the club can exert over particular guys. A clearer picture of the Marlins' initial 26-man squad is coming into focus mainly because of those factors. Look out for one more roster projection update before Opening Day. Position Players Catchers (2): Christian Bethancourt, Nick Fortes Infielders (6): Tim Anderson, Luis Arraez, Josh Bell, Jon Berti, Jake Burger, Vidal Bruján Outfielders (5): Jazz Chisholm Jr., Bryan De La Cruz, Avisaíl García, Nick Gordon, Jesús Sánchez Just missed: Xavier Edwards, Dane Myers Projected MLB IL: none These 13 selections are unchanged from my previous projection. Entering Wednesday, García has recorded only one extra-base hit in 30 plate appearances while striking out one-third of the time. I still doubt that the Marlins cut their losses until assessing him in regular season contests. An outstanding spring for Edwards—both offensively and defensively—could have potentially propelled him back to Miami. However, his OPS was only .462 through five Grapefruit League games, handling shortstop still looks like a pipe dream, and his playing time has been limited by a minor foot injury. Among Miami's non-roster invitees, Trey Mancini was best-positioned to make the team. He simply hasn't performed. Pitchers Starters (5): Jesús Luzardo, Eury Pérez, A.J. Puk, Ryan Weathers, Trevor Rogers Relievers (8): Anthony Bender, Declan Cronin, Bryan Hoeing, Anthony Maldonado, Sixto Sánchez, Andrew Nardi, Tanner Scott, George Soriano Just missed: Vladimir Gutierrez, Max Meyer Projected MLB IL: Edward Cabrera, JT Chargois, Braxton Garrett The Marlins rotation is set. These are the only five pitchers remaining in big league camp who are on the 40-man, injury-free and on track to be stretched out by Opening Day. A fascinating wrinkle: the arms occupying the final three spots combined to make only six starts for the 2023 Fish. Meyer would be the next man up while Garrett and Cabrera recover from their respective shoulder problems. Miami's relief situation is still very much in flux beyond the highest-leverage arms of Scott, Nardi, Bender and Soriano. I believed that Josh Simpson was well-suited for the role of third lefty 'pen weapon, but he has been betrayed by his elbow (last game appearance was Feb. 27). Huascar Brazoban (visa issues) remains unable to report to camp and we're past the point of him being able to make up for lost time. Hoeing gets the multi-inning mop-up man role and Maldonado has nothing left to prove in the minor leagues. Chargois looked very rusty during Tuesday's relief appearance. I originally did this projection under the assumption that he'd get things straightened out in the coming weeks, but instead, he's meeting with a specialist to evaluate his neck/spine issue. Sixto Sánchez's revival has been a fun development! As explained here, he's still far away from being a viable MLB reliever. But given the lack of fully healthy alternatives and Sánchez's out-of-options status, this opportunity has fallen in his lap. 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... View full article