Ely Sussman

Player development has become a year-round process. If you check out after the MLB/MiLB season ends, you may be confused by what you find when familiar faces report to spring training. Easy fix: stay updated with our annual Miami Marlins fall/winter ball tracker! This is where you'll find stats and highlights for Marlins players participating in the Arizona Fall League and various international professional leagues, plus reporting on what specifically they're doing to polish their game. The 2023-24 edition of the tracker includes the following players: IF Jacob Berry (Peoria Javelinas, AFL)RHP Gabe Bierman (Peoria Javelinas, AFL)RHP Huascar Brazoban (Gigantes del Cibao, LIDOM)IF/OF Vidal Bruján (Estrellas Orientales, LIDOM)RHP Ike Buxton (Peoria Javelinas, AFL)IF José Devers (Gigantes del Cibao, LIDOM)OF Diego Infante (Tiburones de La Guaira, LVBP)1B/OF Troy Johnston (Toros del Este, LIDOM)LHP Adam Laskey (Mesa Sola Sox, AFL)RHP Zach McCambley (Peoria Javelinas, AFL)C Paul McIntosh (Peoria Javelinas, AFL)RHP Josan Méndez (Gigantes del Cibao, LIDOM)C Jan Mercado (RA12, LBPRC)OF Dane Myers (Gigantes del Cibao, LIDOM)LHP Luis Palacios (Leones del Caracas, LVBP)RHP Anderson Pilar (Gigantes del Cibao, LIDOM)OF/IF Javier Sanoja (Cardenales de Lara, LVBP)LHP Dale Stanavich (Peoria Javelinas, AFL)LHP Evan Taylor (Peoria Javelinas, AFL)LIDOM (Dominican Republic)Vidal Bruján Regular Season Stats: 186 PA, .262/.405/.324, 0 HR, 18 RBI, 23 SB Bruján was acquired by the Marlins on November 17. He saw action at second base, third base and all three outfield positions while ranking second in the league in walks and first in steals. Bruján's consistency stood out, reaching base safely in 40 of his 43 games played. This was his best LIDOM season offensively (sub-.700 OPS in each of his four previous seasons with Toros del Este). He's still playing for Estrellas Orientales in LIDOM's Round Robin postseason tournament. Troy Johnston Regular Season Stats: 12 PA, .200/.333/.200, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1 SB Johnston only joined the club for the final week of the regular season. Pretty unconventional. Dane Myers Regular Season Stats: 89 PA, .266/.337/.329, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 9 SB https://videopress.com/v/hACgeyWz?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&posterUrl=https%3A%2F%2Ffishonfirst.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2023%2F11%2FScreenshot-2023-11-07-at-10.11.01%E2%80%AFPM.png&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true Myers played all three outfield positions, getting the largest share of his playing time in right. He raked against left-handed pitching in particular (.844 OPS). Myers played his final LIDOM game on November 27. Huascar Brazoban Regular Season Stats: 1 G/0 GS, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, 2 K in 1.0 IP Brazoban is still playing for Gigantes del Cibao in LIDOM's Round Robin postseason tournament. José Devers Regular Season Stats: 11 PA, .333/.455/.333, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB Josan Méndez Regular Season Stats: 3 G/0 GS, 5.40 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 0 K in 3.1 IP https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/5b6eea75-388d-47f8-96b7-a2e0a7bbf810.mp4Anderson Pilar Regular Season Stats: 11 G/2 GS, 2.63 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 25 K in 24.0 IP https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/51e7a1af-4248-4d90-8574-73ea9cd76dbb.mp4LVBP (Venezuela)Javier Sanoja Regular Season Stats: 76 PA, .292/.316/.403, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 3 SB Sanoja is being utilized as a corner outfielder. Making contact continues to be Sanoja's forte—he only struck out twice during the regular season! Even in a hitter-friendly environment, he is impressing against much older competition. Luis Palacios Regular Season Stats: 8 G/1 GS, 2.70 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, 4 K in 10.0 IP Palacios has been asked to adjust to middle-relief situations this winter after being developed as a starter throughout his professional career. LBPRC (Puerto Rico)Jan Mercado Regular Season Stats: 71 PA, .082/.200/.180, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 SB It's Mercado's fourth straight winter playing in his native Puerto Rico. His career progress continues to be stunted by a very high strikeout rate. AFLAll Marlins players who participated in the AFL were assigned to the Peoria Javelinas except for Adam Laskey (Mesa Solar Sox), who was in the Chicago Cubs organization at the time IF Jacob BerryRHP Gabe BiermanRHP Ike BuxtonRHP Zach McCambleyC Paul McIntoshLHP Dale StanavichLHP Evan TaylorJacob Berry (Fall Stars Game selection) Regular Season Stats: 76 PA, .265/.329/.441, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 0 SB https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-10/05/09013c65-c33678b8-138d3396-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp4 Berry's slash line was roughly league average by AFL standards. Continuing a trend from the regular season, he was significantly better batting righty (.868) than he was lefty (.712). Berry exclusively played third base for Peoria, starting 16 games at the position. He committed three errors on Oct. 7, but only one in his final 12 starts. Gabe Bierman Regular Season Stats: 5 G/3 GS, 6.75 ERA, 1.81 WHIP, 18 K in 16.0 IP https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/cc6e4f0c-45fb-43e4-8a32-1e163cdf8afc.mp4https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/b8ce823a-d43d-478f-82cc-2180180655b5.mp4Bierman completed multiple innings and allowed multiple runs in each of his outings, reaching a maximum pitch count of 76. Ike Buxton (Fall Stars Game selection) Regular Season Stats: 5 G/3 GS, 6.11 ERA, 1.75 WHIP, 19 K in 17.2 IP https://videopress.com/v/TpDrJYEa?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=trueBuxton made a pitch mix change from the regular season to the AFL, per Just Baseball's Aram Leighton, "phasing out the slider in favor of his sinker, changeup and four seam fastball." Adam Laskey Regular Season Stats: 9 G/0 GS, 1.00 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 15 K in 9.0 IP https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/20af8186-a099-46ad-a7b6-8561ce04b0e3.mp4Zach McCambley Regular Season Stats: 8 G/0 GS, 5.00 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 12 K in 9.0 IP McCambley allowed just one-extra base hit and struck out 29.3% of total batters faced. Paul McIntosh Regular Season Stats: 57 PA, .229/.351/.375, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 3 SB Dale Stanavich Regular Season Stats: 8 G/0 GS, 8.22 ERA, 1.83 WHIP, 6 K in 7.2 IP https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/a6e8a9d2-e547-4984-ae88-2de21b5813b5.mp4Evan Taylor Regular Season Stats: 6 G/0 GS, 10.80 ERA, 2.40 WHIP, 8 K in 5.0 IP https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/8b61eea2-9b75-4829-823a-efb716a4c8cf.mp4

Here's what you should know with 91 days to go until Marlins Opening Day... Wednesday’s winter ball notes: In the Dominican Republic, 3B Vidal Bruján went 2-for-5 with a stolen base in his first playoff game. In Venezuela, RF Javier Sanoja went 0-for-4 in his regular season finale.Elsewhere around baseball, Isiah Kiner-Falefa (2/$15M) signed with the Blue Jays. Craig Mish of SportsGrid reports that the Marlins pursued IKF, but didn't offer as much as the Blue Jays did. Shortstop was already a thin position in this free agent class and this leaves Miami with even fewer alternatives. If Amed Rosario is willing to take comparable money, that'd be a better fit, in my opinion. More offensive upside.With 60 BBWAA ballots entered into Ryan Thibodaux’s Hall of Fame tracker, former Marlin Gary Sheffield has received 73.3% of the vote (needs 75.0% for election). I’ll continue updating his status in Offishial News as more ballots come in.Our new episode of The Offishial Show dissects Sheffield and many of the other players on the BBWAA ballot. At the end, Louis Addeo-Weiss and I reveal how we would vote.Carlos Collazo of Baseball America did a 2019 redraft. Factoring in both previous and expected future performance, he has the Marlins taking Gunnar Henderson with the fourth overall pick and Andrew Nardi (who fell all the way to the 16th round in real life) going to the Astros at No. 32. The Marlins' actual top pick from that class, JJ Bleday, didn't make the cut. Yikes!Congrats to the Marlins' Scott Fairbanks on winning 2023 Bill Harper Scout of the Year. Fairbanks scouts amateur players in Northern California and the Northwest. I figure this award is largely about acknowledging his role in the signing of 2023 first-rounder Noble Meyer.Marlins Podcast Episodes Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images

Who will join former Marlins manager Jim Leyland in the Baseball Hall of Fame's class of 2024? Louis Addeo-Weiss and Ely Sussman dissect the players on the BBWAA ballot, including what to make of Gary Sheffield entering his final year of eligibility. Subscribe to the Fish On First YouTube channel to watch video versions of every episode of The Offishial Show. There have been 60 BBWAA ballots revealed as of early Thursday morning. Adrián Beltré (98.3%), Todd Helton (81.7%) and Joe Mauer (81.7%) are above the all-important 75% threshold so far, while Sheffield (73.3%) and Billy Wagner (71.7%) have some catching up to do. The voting results will be announced on January 23. Louis' ballot: Bobby Abreu, Carlos Beltrán, Adrián Beltré, Todd Helton, Andruw Jones, Joe Mauer, Gary Sheffield, Chase Utley and Billy WagnerEly's ballot: Carlos Beltrán, Adrián Beltré, Todd Helton, Andruw Jones, Joe Mauer, Andy Pettitte, Manny Ramírez, Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield and Chase UtleyTell us who you would vote for if given the chance! Follow Louis (@addeo_louis00), Ely (@RealEly) and Fish On First (@FishOnFirst) on Twitter. Join the Marlins Discord server! Complete Miami Marlins coverage here at FishOnFirst.com. Our Fish On First podcast programming includes The Offishial Show, Fish Unfiltered, Swimming Upstream, Big Fish Small Pod and What a Relief. All new episodes are posted to FishOnFirst.com/podcasts. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Podbean, Megaphone or wherever you normally get your pods from.

Here's what you should know with 92 days to go until Marlins Opening Day... Tuesday’s winter ball notes: In Venezuela, RF Javier Sanoja went 2-for-5 with an RBI triple and LHP Luis Palacios pitched a scoreless inning of relief (1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K). It was a rare start for Sanoja in the leadoff spot.The Marlins announced that their annual FanFest will be held on Friday, January 26. Tickets to attend are free as usual, but I assume that holding it on a Friday instead of a Saturday (as they've traditionally done) will negatively impact attendance.https://fishonfirst.com/news/2024-marlins-fanfest-announced/Elsewhere around baseball, Kevin Kiermaier (1/$10.5M) re-signed with the Blue Jays and Martín Maldonado has a one-year deal in place with the White Sox. The Marlins reportedly showed interest in Maldonado earlier in the offseason, though it would have been redundant to add both him and Christian Bethancourt.Louis Addeo-Weiss makes the case for the Marlins to prioritize Teoscar Hernández as a free agent target over Jorge Soler.MLB.com included the Marlins' comeback win vs. the Yankees on August 13 as one of MLB's wackiest/wildest games of 2023.https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-08/13/b0c47811-e9622266-262e9a6e-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp4With 50 BBWAA ballots entered into Ryan Thibodaux’s Hall of Fame tracker, former Marlin Gary Sheffield has received 74.0% of the vote (needs 75.0% for election). I’ll continue updating his status in Offishial News as more ballots come in.Congratulations to Jordan McPherson, who just celebrated his sixth anniversary working at the Miami Herald. The Marlins have been his primary beat throughout that period.Happy birthday to C Joe Mack. The 2021 draft pick and 28th-ranked prospect on our Fish On First Top 30 list turns 21 today. Mack spent this past season with High-A Beloit, where he slashed .218/.295/.287 (69 wRC+) in 120 games.https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/3c3a5e9e-c1db-4182-b08c-5ec7390eb46c.mp4Photo courtesy of Minor League Baseball

Marlins FanFest is only one month away. LoanDepot Park will opens its doors on Friday, January 26 from 5:00-9:00 p.m., offering "player meet & greets, interactive games, behind the scenes tours and more." Traditionally, FanFest takes place on the Saturday right before the start of Marlins spring training. The 2023 edition, for example, was on the afternoon of Saturday, February 11. It included a first look at the "Cubano Gigante" sandwich and was punctuated by Jeff Conine's announcement about the club's plans to utilize throwback uniforms on Flashback Fridays. However, the ballpark is hosting the 2024 Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) from February 1-9, disrupting the usual routine. Tickets are free! Go here to claim up to six tickets per person. Tickets for Beerfest are also for sale ($25 each). With FanFest being held so far in advance of spring activities, I wonder how that could impact the attendance of some Marlins players. Luis Arraez, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Sandy Alcantara, Jesús Luzardo and Braxton Garrett are among those who conveniently make their offseason homes in South Florida, but what about Eury Pérez, Jake Burger and Josh Bell? Will they fly in early for a four-hour event? Expect more details to be available as the event date approaches.

Here's what you should know with 94 days to go until Marlins Opening Day... The MLB Competition Committee approved several subtle rule changes for the 2024 season, most of them geared toward further speeding up the pace of games. The runner's lane from home plate to first base has also been widened to include the dirt area between the foul line and the infield grass. Mitch Garver (2/$24M) is signing with the Mariners. Garver would've been a good fit for the Marlins, splitting time between catcher and designated hitter. This development seemingly makes it less likely that Seattle gets Jorge Soler, who they were previously linked to.On Friday and Saturday, Xavier Edwards held his sixth annual baseball skills camp in Coconut Creek. "I think there’s a misconception with kind of waiting until your name gets bigger and waiting to get to the big leagues to have a camp," Edwards told Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. "I don’t believe that. I think there’s always somebody you can help and give back to." The Marlins denied Victor Mesa Jr.'s request to play for the Cuban Professional Baseball Federation in next month's Intercontinental Series, according to Francys Romero. Mesa defected from Cuba in 2018 and hasn't had an opportunity to represent his country is a baseball competition since then.Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors reflects on Braxton Garrett's emergence as a staple of the Marlins rotation.Brian Dunleavy of Marlin Maniac makes the case that Soler is "too limited" to fully fill the hole in Miami's lineup. With 43 BBWAA ballots entered into Ryan Thibodaux’s Hall of Fame tracker, former Marlin Gary Sheffield has received 69.8% of the vote (needs 75.0% for election). I’ll continue updating his status in Offishial News as more ballots come in.I'll fill up this space throughout the day with Christmas-themed social media posts from notable Marlins players and personnel. Enjoy the holiday! https://www.instagram.com/p/C1QWTjcRtxc/?e=177b8e32-65b6-43bb-a1ce-9003c7b36faa&g=5 Marlins Podcast Episodes Photo courtesy of Miami Marlins

Watch hits, stolen bases, walks and defensive plays from IF/OF Vidal Bruján with Estrellas Orientales of the Dominican Winter League. In 43 games played during the 2023 regular season, Bruján led the entire league with 23 steals. He ranked second in walks (36) and third among qualifiers in on-base percentage (.405). Midway through the season, his MLB team, the Tampa Bay Rays, traded him to the Miami Marlins. Please subscribe to the Fish On First YouTube channel if you don't already! Getting close to the 2,000-subscriber milestone.

Right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto is joining forces with fellow Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani, agreeing to a 12-year, $325M deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night. It's the largest guarantee ever given to a conventional pitcher (the two-way Ohtani belongs in a separate category, of course). The Dodgers' fiercest competition for Yamamoto reportedly came from the New York clubs. The Mets matched the terms of the final deal, per Andy Martino of SNY. The Yankees only bid $300M, but that would've been paid out over the course of 10 years, meaning it came with a superior $30M average annual value. There have been rumblings that the Miami Marlins are willing to consider trade offers for any of their healthy starters outside of Eury Pérez. With the Yamamoto sweepstakes now concluded, could we see those negotiations intensify? Jesús Luzardo would bring the Marlins a massive return if they decided to move him this winter | Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty ImagesAs Tim Britton and Will Sammon of The Athletic explain, the Mets were fixated on Yamamoto specifically: "the initial expectation is that the Mets will not simply pivot to the next-best available starting pitchers." In the Yankees' case, however, there is an apparent urgency to win now and—more importantly—a supply of young bats that the Marlins might covet. Peter Bendix is not plunging the Marlins into a rebuild, at least not this offseason. The organization is not aggressively shopping Jesús Luzardo, Braxton Garrett, Trevor Rogers or Edward Cabrera. The rumors regarding these SPs being available are born out of Bendix's long-term confidence in Miami's pitching supply...and his long-term concern about lacking offense. If a fair offer is made centered around an everyday-caliber hitter, then he might sign off on it. The ideal acquisition for the Marlins would be a young player with a chance to stick at a premium defensive position who's not yet eligible for arbitration. Two Yankees who fit that description and ought to be realistically attainable are infielder Oswald Peraza and catcher Austin Wells. Peraza was a consensus Top 100 MLB prospect entering last season. Coming up through the Yankees farm system, he slashed .273/.348/.424 (111 wRC+) in parts of six minor league seasons, leading all of their farmhands with 131 stolen bases during that period. He used to be a full-time shortstop, but primarily manned third base when called up to the Bronx in 2023 due to the presence of Anthony Volpe. https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/3ec9f899-bba7-4a58-9188-ca302c8ada02.mp4Given Peraza's limited major league track record (75 wRC+ and 0.1 fWAR in 70 G), ill-defined role on the 2024 Yankees roster and the fact that he's out of minor league options, the 23-year-old Venezuelan would be an intriguing buy-low candidate. The price to get Wells is likely steeper. He was a more productive hitter in the minors (career .260/.370/.476 slash line and 128 wRC+) and caught fire at the big league level at the tail end of last season. "Wells has made considerable progress as a receiver and ball-blocker," Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs writes in his newly updated Yankees top prospects list. Also, all of his minor league options are still intact. https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-09/26/7526e14c-125ebff6-9f155746-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp4I personally wouldn't entertain the idea of a Luzardo blockbuster unless both Peraza and Wells are included in the return. Whether or not it leads to a sizable trade, let's hope the Yamamoto signing will spur more conversation between the Marlins and pitcher-needy teams so that we get a clearer idea of how the market values these guys.

Here's what you should know with 98 days to go until Marlins Opening Day... Wednesday's winter ball notes: In the Dominican Republic, Troy Johnston went 1-for-7 with a walk during a doubleheader, RF Vidal Bruján went 0-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base, SS José Devers went 0-for-3 with an error and RHP Huascar Brazoban pitched a perfect inning of relief in his LIDOM season debut. The Brazoban development suggests that he'll be contributing for Gigantes del Cibao during the upcoming postseason Round Robin. The Marlins sent cash considerations to the Pirates in exchange for RHP Roddery Muñoz. It's technically Peter Bendix's third trade of the offseason, but it's essentially a glorified waiver claim. In the minors last season, Muñoz posted a 5.42 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 81 K in 78.0 IP (34 G/14 GS). Could be a decent MLB reliever in the future if he develops a competent changeup. He's the only "Roddery" in the history of professional baseball, as far as I can tell. Ryan Jensen was designated for assignment to make room for him.Free agent OF Diego Infante signed a minor league deal with the Fish. He played 454 games in the Rays organization over the last seven seasons, slashing .275/.342/.437. What sticks out to me is how little power production Infante had to the pull side in 2023. Most of his defensive reps have come in right field.The latest episode of Fish On First LIVE discussed those acquisitions along with Jesús Luzardo trade rumors. This was our first time crossposting the show to Instagram Live! We'll continue doing so with all future streams if there's an audience for it. Elsewhere around baseball, the Brewers traded Adrian Houser and Tyrone Taylor to the Mets for pitching prospect Coleman Crow.Cristian Crespo of Just Baseball explains why he trusts Peter Bendix, even if his approach doesn't necessarily put the Marlins in the best situation to contend in 2024.With 28 BBWAA ballots entered into Ryan Thibodaux’s Hall of Fame tracker, former Marlin Gary Sheffield has received 66.7% of the vote (needs 75.0% for election). I’ll continue updating his status in Offishial News as more ballots come in.The hiring of Frankie Piliere as Marlins director of amateur scouting is now official. His private Twitter account has been updated accordingly.Marlins Podcast Episodes Photo by Danis Sosa/Fish On First

The Miami Marlins swung another tiny trade on Wednesday, acquiring Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Roddery Muñoz for cash considerations, as first reported by Alex Stumpf of DK Pittsburgh Sports. The Marlins designated fellow righty Ryan Jensen to make room for him on their 40-man roster. The Dominican pitcher had spent his entire professional career with the Atlanta Braves organization before moving around this past year. He was the eighth-ranked prospect in the Braves system entering 2023, per FanGraphs. Muñoz was claimed off waivers by the Washington Nationals on July 17 and stuck with their Triple-A affiliate for the remainder of the season (used primarily as a starter). The Pirates claimed Muñoz off waivers on December 1, only to DFA him themselves this past Friday. In 287 total innings pitched in the minor leagues (88 G/56 GS), Muñoz has a 5.02 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 317 K. His 2023 performance was slightly below that standard (5.42 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 81 K in 78.0 IP) and that's despite being helped by a midseason FCL rehab assignment. With Triple-A Rochester, Muñoz's pitch mix was comprised of 47% fastballs (94.7 mph average velocity), 34% sliders (90.1 mph) and 19% changeups (89.8 mph). https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/ccca111f-2d0c-4ea9-a9ec-fe74a111b15c.mp4The Braves actually called up Muñoz to the big leagues for a couple days last season, but he didn't make an appearance. He turns 24 in April and has two minor league options left. Although Muñoz made nine straight starts to end the season, he rarely worked more than twice through an opposing lineup and continued to struggle against lefties (had issues with both walks and home runs). He profiles as a middle reliever moving forward. Fun biographical note: Muñoz has a twin brother, Rolddy Muñoz, who's also a right-handed pitcher. Rolddy is still with the Braves. The Marlins claimed Jensen off waivers from the Seattle Mariners on November 27. He's a former first-round draft pick of the Chicago Cubs, but control problems have stunted his progress, including a 17.4% walk rate last season. The Marlins are hoping he'll clear waivers this time, allowing them to outright him to the minors and retain control over him entering 2024. Photo courtesy of Rome Emperors