Ely Sussman

Thursday's GamesMarlins Podcast Episodes Thursday's Marlins MiLB Notes: OF Griffin Conine (Jacksonville) went 3-for-4 with his first Triple-A stolen base. He's slashing .371/.405/.657 in nine games since joining the Jumbo Shrimp. C Paul McIntosh (Pensacola) hit an eighth-inning, game-winning home run. Beloit lost a 13-inning thriller. In terms of innings, it was the second-longest game played by any Marlins minor league affiliate this season.NL Wild Card race updates: the Cubs and Diamondbacks won, while the Reds lost. The Marlins are two games back of the third Wild Card spot.Elsewhere around the majors, The Washington Post reports that Stephen Strasburg is retiring. Coming off winning 2019 World Series MVP honors, Strasburg signed a seven-year, $245 million contract to stay with the Nats. Unfortunately, injuries (most notably, thoracic outlet syndrome) have kept him off the mound. Strasburg is the all-time leader with 21 career wins against the Marlins and he made what turned out to be his final MLB start at LoanDepot Park on June 9, 2022. The Nationals enter this weekend having won four consecutive series. They're suddenly tied with the Mets for fourth place in the NL East. The Rangers have lost seven games in a row.We’ve got a new episode of Fish On First LIVE streaming tonight at 5:30 p.m. ET on /Twitch/Twitter. Special guest: Ryan Schlesinger. Super Subscribers, submit your series predictions before first pitch. With chiropractic care and functional health, La Pop takes a preventative approach that optimizes wellness and quality of life for all ages. Find out more here! https://fishonfirst.com/la-pop/The Marlins have a 64.8% chance to win their series opener against the Nationals, per FanGraphs. High-A Beloit (7:35 p.m. ET) and Single-A Jupiter (6:30 p.m. ET) are at home, while Triple-A Jacksonville (7:05 p.m. ET) and Double-A Pensacola (7:35 p.m. ET) are on the road.Kim Ng, Jeff Conine, Jake Burger and JT Chargois will be at Kensington Park Elementary for a school supplies distribution event this afternoon. Former Marlins closer Antonio Alfonseca and infielder Kurt Abbott are in the house tonight for Flashback Friday. After the final out, the Marlins are opening the roof for a drone light show.I wrote about how Josh Bell has gone five years since his last stolen base (he came sooooo close to swiping one earlier this season). He's the only everyday starter in the majors who's gone steal-less during that span.https://fishonfirst.com/analysis/josh-bell-stolen-base-drought/Enrollment for 2024 Marlins memberships is now open. The lowest price point averages out to $11 per game. Early enrollment continues through Sept. 5.Our partners at Homage have Flashback Friday-flavored products in their Miami Marlins collection. Shop here.Photo by Kelly Gavin/MLB Photos via Getty Images

Since being acquired on August 1, Josh Bell has been quick to positively impact the Miami Marlins in a multitude of ways. Most obviously, he's been doing it as a power-hitter. Bell leads the Marlins in slugging percentage this month and matched a record for most home runs through 18 games played with the franchise. No Miami player had ever gone deep from both sides of the plate in the same contest until he did. Bell's immense raw power has always been apparent—he just needed to lift the ball more frequently to fully capitalize on that. Since joining the Fish, Bell has reduced his groundball rate to 40.7%, the third-lowest of any individual month of his MLB career, per Baseball Savant. Even outside of his homers, Bell is consistently getting on base. He's done so in each of his first 20 Marlins games (.376 OBP). Ryan Mountcastle of the Orioles and Ozzie Albies of the Braves (who's on the injured list) are the only MLB players with longer active streaks. There have already been moments where the 261-pound Bell has pleasantly surprised me as a baserunner, hustling out of the box for a double and taking extra bases on his teammates' hits (he has gone first-to-home on doubles three separate times). Overall, though, Bell's legs are a liability, and he recognizes that. On September 27, 2018, with the Pittsburgh Pirates trying to manufacture their first run of the game, Bell drew a one-out walk against Jon Lester in the top of the third inning. The next batter, Francisco Cervelli, worked the count full and Bell took off on Lester's 3-2 pitch. Cervelli struck out swinging and catcher Willson Contreras attempted to throw out Bell, but Contreras dropped the ball on the exchange. Safe at second. https://coach-video.mlb.com/mlb/2018/09/28/bfee6420/1265b6ac/video_1538096902153_1200k.mp4Four teams, five years and more than 900 stolen base opportunities later, that remains Josh Bell's most recent steal. Bell has been caught stealing three times since then, once in 2019, once in 2022 and once earlier this season. On April 2, in his fourth game as a Cleveland Guardian, Bell got a good jump against Mariners left-hander Marco Gonzales. Even better, Gonzales had chosen to throw a slow breaking ball. Taking those factors into account along with Bell's speed and the pitch's location, Baseball Savant estimated that he had only a 13% chance of being caught. Mariners backstop Cal Raleigh defied those odds: https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/c9252cc6-18d9-4d68-a8b6-6a0a81efcdc2.mp4"I thought I had some fresh legs," Bell told Fish On First's Isaac Azout. "I was like, 'Challenge it!'" The Guardians did not oblige. Bell is 4-for-17 on stolen base attempts during his MLB career, the lowest success rate among active players with at least 10 attempts. His Sprint Speed has gradually declined during that period. He's at 25.9 ft/sec in 2023, which puts him in the 18th percentile among MLB qualifiers. "Once you get thrown out a couple of times, you get the red light pretty quickly in this game," Bell said. "So I'll leave the stolen bases to the real base threats." Still, it is notable that Bell has zero stolen bases over the last five seasons considering his availability and the frequency of his opportunities. He has played 617 games since 2019; only four other major leaguers have played even half as many contests—Daniel Vogelbach, Omar Narváez, Eloy Jiménez and teammate Jacob Stallings—without compiling any steals. That drought has endured despite MLB's recent rule changes intended to make stealing much easier (league-wide success rate has risen to 79.9%). Bell is due $16.5 million in 2024 unless he exercises the opt-out clause in his contract to pursue a larger deal. His post-trade excellence and the dearth of standout hitters in the upcoming free agent class have at least made it a conversation, though the likeliest outcome is still that he sticks around. The 31-year-old rates as only slightly better than a replacement-level player this season (0.3 fWAR/0.7 bWAR). Inactivity on the basepaths plays a role in suppressing his overall value. Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images

Wednesday's Gameshttps://fishonfirst.com/game-coverage/marlins-padres-8-23-23/https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-08/23/5d62e795-e27dba8a-98ed12b8-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp4Marlins Podcast Episodes Wednesday's Marlins MiLB Notes: Solid outing for Edward Cabrera (Jacksonville), who continues to show he's capable of providing length (5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K), though he threw only 60.4% of his pitches for strikes. OF Griffin Conine blasted a game-winning, two-run home run for the Jumbo Shrimp. Pensacola compiled 16 hits, including INF Jacob Berry's ninth homer of the season. In his latest rehab appearance, JT Chargois (Jupiter) pitched one hitless inning. RHP Jacob Miller started the game and matched his professional career high with eight strikeouts.After erupting for 11 runs in the opening game of their west coast road trip, the Marlins combined for only seven runs in the five subsequent games. Wednesday was the fourth time this season that they've been held scoreless during a Sandy Alcantara start, and he vented about it. Josh Bell continues to make steady contributions, reaching base in all 20 games of his Marlins career thus far.NL Wild Card race updates: the Cubs, Giants and Reds (x2) won, while the Phillies lost. San Diego's victory clinched the season series against the Marlins and would give them the tiebreaker if necessary. The Marlins are two games back of the third Wild Card spot.Elsewhere around the majors, Shohei Ohtani has been diagnosed with a torn right UCL. He previously suffered the same injury in 2018 and underwent Tommy John surgery, continuing to serve as a designated hitter during rehab, but obviously, he had to pause his pitching. It's especially complicated timing for such a setback considering that Ohtani will become a free agent this offseason. Aaron Judge had the first three-homer game of his career as the Yankees snapped their nine-game losing streak.High-A Beloit (7:35 p.m. ET) and Low-A Jupiter (6:30 p.m. ET) are at home, while Triple-A Jacksonville (6:15 p.m. ET) and Double-A Pensacola (7:35 p.m. ET) are on the road.Loud Marlins Fan is giving away an autographed card of a mystery player in the Marlins organization. Became a Fish On First Super Subscriber today to be eligible to win it!https://fishonfirst.com/fish-on-first-updates/super-subscriber-details/Glenn Geffner's View from the Bleachers makes the case that Luis Arraez should be re-installed as the Marlins leadoff hitter. Arraez has recorded only one multi-hit game in 14 starts since being lowered to the second spot in the order.Alex Eisert of FanGraphs believes the Marlins made a "premature and futile attempt at a postseason push" considering all the indications that the team was bound to regress during the second half of the season. Happy 26th birthday to Marlins INF Cobie Fletcher-Vance. He got his first taste of the Triple-A level earlier this season, but Fletcher-Vance has been mainly used as Double-A Pensacola's platoon third baseman. The Marlins acquired him originally in the minor league phase of the 2021 MLB Rule 5 Draft. During his two seasons in the Marlins org, Fletcher-Vance has slashed .247/.315/.336 (74 wRC+).https://fishonfirst.com/at-the-ballpark/cobie-fletcher-vance-marlins-fan-jacksonville-interview/Photo by Rob Leiter/MLB Photos via Getty Images

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Tuesday's Gameshttps://fishonfirst.com/game-coverage/marlins-padres-8-22-23/https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-08/22/06ae4b92-71555607-2993bf53-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp4Marlins Podcast Episodes Tuesday's Marlins MiLB Notes: Garrett Hampson (Jacksonville) went 3-for-4. He's hitting .397 in 13 Triple-A games since being optioned earlier this month. C/1B Bennett Hostetler (Pensacola) now has nine home runs since the beginning of July, during which time he's slashing .333/.416/.731. Former Marlins prospect INF Kahlil Watson played against Beloit as a member of the Lake County Captains. He went 0-for-6 with four strikeouts. The FCL Marlins finished their season with a 27-25 record. Expect several players from that roster to get bumped up to the Hammerheads, most obviously undrafted free agent 1B Angelo DiSpigna (.373/.515/.627 slash line in 17 FCL games).Jesús Luzardo allowed only three baserunners in six scoreless innings against the Padres as the Marlins pitched their first shutout since June 29. Andrew Nardi's inning of relief was particularly electric—he struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh and threw the four fastest pitches of his MLB career (topping out at 98.8 mph).Avisaíl García strained his left hamstring while stepping on the first base bag. He's destined for an injured list stint with no guarantee of returning before season's end. The Marlins could go in several different directions with their corresponding call-up move, but I think it's time for Triple-A hitting king Xavier Edwards to get another shot. He could be the team's backup at second base, third base and shortstop with Jon Berti receiving a larger share of his playing time in left field. However, I suspect the Marlins will instead recall the versatile veteran Hampson despite his more limited ceiling as a player.https://fishonfirst.com/news/tracking-miami-marlins-injury-rehab-updates/NL Wild Card race updates: the Diamondbacks, Phillies and Reds won, while the Cubs and Giants lost. Zac Gallen's 14th win tied him for the major league lead in that department. The Marlins are one game back of the third Wild Card spot.Elsewhere around the majors, the Rays placed Wander Franco on administrative leave. The most recent high-profile major leaguer to be given that treatment was Trevor Bauer in 2021, who went through his own legal troubles and was ultimately released by the Dodgers. The Mariners collected their eighth consecutive win to move within a game of the AL West division lead. Mike Trout went 1-for-4 in his return from a seven-week IL stint.The Marlins have a 42.9% chance to win their series finale against the Padres, per FanGraphs. High-A Beloit (7:35 p.m. ET) and Low-A Jupiter (6:30 p.m. ET) are at home, while Triple-A Jacksonville (6:15 p.m. ET) and Double-A Pensacola (7:35 p.m. ET) are on the road.Covering at Petco Park, our own Isaac Azout interviewed old friend Garrett Cooper about his trade deadline deal, his early impressions of the Padres and favorite memories from his Marlins tenure. Please subscribe to the Fish On First YouTube account! Our partners at FOCO have dozens of products in their Miami Marlins collection. Shop here.Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

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Monday's Gameshttps://fishonfirst.com/game-coverage/padres-marlins-8-21-23/https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-08/21/f2e35d86-e8a5eafc-4b7765ca-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp4Marlins Podcast Episodes Monday's Marlins MiLB Notes: LHP Thomas White (FCL Marlins) made his professional debut by pitching during the resumption of a previously suspended game (0.2 IP, 0 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K). History will suggest that he debuted on August 8, but now you know better. RHP Elian Serrata (DSL Marlins) wrapped up his great 2023 campaign with a scoreless relief appearance (2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K). The 21-year-old Dominican lowered his ERA to 2.01 and struck out 34.8% of total batters faced. DSL Marlins concluded their regular season with a 22-30 record, while DSL Miami went 18-35.Facing the team that traded him away earlier this month, Ryan Weathers issued a career-high five walks and allowed a grand slam to Ha-Seong Kim. Weathers started in place of Johnny Cueto, who landed on the 15-day IL with a viral infection. Bookmark our Marlins injury/rehab tracker! https://fishonfirst.com/news/tracking-miami-marlins-injury-rehab-updates/Because he was not recalled, Edward Cabrera's Triple-A Jacksonville stint has surpassed the 20-day threshold, officially exhausting his final minor league option. The enigmatic right-hander will be out of options entering 2024.During a play at home plate in the first inning of Monday's contest, Fernando Tatis Jr.'s left elbow struck Nick Fortes in the head. After several minutes of evaluation, Fortes remained in the game. He's expected to start again tonight (as he usually does when Jesús Luzardo is on the mound).NL Wild Card race updates: the Phillies, Cubs and Diamondbacks, while the Giants lost. The Marlins are 1.5 games back of the third Wild Card spot.Elsewhere around the majors, the Nationals have extended manager Dave Martinez through 2025 with a club option for 2026, and they also have a deal in the works with GM Mike Rizzo. Both Martinez and Rizzo held those positions with the organization when the Nats won the World Series in 2019.Check out the latest episode featuring former Marlins radio announcer Glenn Geffner. Find him writing daily about the Marlins and Major League Baseball on his View from the Bleachers Substack newsletter. With chiropractic care and functional health, La Pop takes a preventative approach that optimizes wellness and quality of life for all ages. Find out more here! https://fishonfirst.com/la-pop/The Marlins have a 39.8% chance to win their next game against the Padres, per FanGraphs. High-A Beloit (7:35 p.m. ET), Low-A Jupiter (6:30 p.m.) and DSL Miami (11:00 a.m. ET) are at home, while Triple-A Jacksonville (6:15 p.m. ET), Double-A Pensacola (7:35 p.m. ET), FCL Marlins (10:00 a.m. ET) and DSL Marlins (11:00 a.m. ET) are on the road.We're in the midst of releasing a four-part Swimming Upstream megapod in which Alex Carver and Kevin Barral spotlighted dozens of Marlins prospects spanning all levels of the organization. Find it by subscribing to Fish On First wherever you get your podcasts.Sandy Alcantara ranks 12th, Eury Pérez ranks 35th, Jesús Luzardo ranks 36th and Braxton Garrett ranks 82nd on The List of Top 100 starting pitchers for fantasy baseball created by Nick Pollack of Pitcher List.Fish On First has a new intern: Mykanthony Valdez. He'll be contributing to our multi-platform Marlins coverage and working behind the scenes to make this community even better. Follow him on Twitter.Photo by Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images

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Sunday's GamesMarlins Podcast Episodes Sunday's Marlins MiLB Notes: INF/OF Xavier Edwards (Jacksonville) started another game at shortstop. 1B Troy Johnston hit his 23rd home run of the season, tying him for the Marlins MiLB lead. 1B Jacob Berry (Pensacola) went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI. The switch-hitter has been particularly hot from the right side of the plate since joining the Blue Wahoos (slashing .333/.387/.704 in 31 PA). OF Jake Thompson (Beloit) extended his on-base streak to 14 games. Thompson has a .579 OBP during that red-hot stretch. Rehabbing from a right rib cage strain, JT Chargois (Jupiter) made another relief appearance (2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 34 pitches/24 strikes). He's on track to be reinstated from the IL within the next week. INF Ian Lewis stole two more bases, racking up 10 of those during the Hammerheads' series against St. Lucie.The Marlins signed INF JT Mabry as an undrafted free agent. He's the son of assistant hitting coach John Mabry. The 23-year-old right-handed hitter played five seasons at Middle Tennessee State, slashing .325/.362/.479 this past spring.Luis Arraez's .220 batting average over the last 15 games is his lowest for any 15-game period since August/September 2022. Listen to the recording of our weekly State of the Fish Marlins call-in show. As usual, the panel covered a wide variety of topics ranging from Jordan Groshans' stunted development to David Robertson's postgame interview. Become a Super Subscriber if you'd like priority to speak on the next Twitter Space. (Here is the Robertson interview in question.)NL Wild Card race updates: the Cubs and Giants won, while the Phillies and Reds lost. The Marlins are one game back of the third Wild Card spot.Elsewhere around the majors, Dallas Keuchel carried a perfect game into the seventh inning against the Pirates. The Twins won and increased their AL Central lead to a season-high six games over the Guardians. After getting swept by the rival Red Sox, the Yankees have lost eight straight games, their longest skid since 1995.We’ve got a new episode of Fish On First LIVE streaming tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET on /Twitch/Twitter. Special guest: former Marlins radio announcer Glenn Geffner! Super Subscribers, submit your series predictions before first pitch. With chiropractic care and functional health, La Pop takes a preventative approach that optimizes wellness and quality of life for all ages. Find out more here! https://fishonfirst.com/la-pop/Entering this new week, the Marlins have 36.6% playoff odds, per FanGraphs. They have a 31.6% chance to win their series opener against the Padres. FCL Marlins (12:00 p.m. ET) and DSL Marlins (doubleheader beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET) are at home, while DSL Miami (11:00 a.m. ET) is on the road. Highly touted draft pick LHP Thomas White is expected to make his professional debut in the FCL Marlins game.We're in the midst of releasing a four-part Swimming Upstream megapod in which Alex Carver and Kevin Barral spotlighted dozens of Marlins prospects spanning all levels of the organization. Find it by subscribing to Fish On First wherever you get your podcasts.Jazz Chisholm Jr. has started his own foundation to support young athletes and their families from high-need communities in Florida and the Bahamas. Speaking to Christina De Nicola of MLB.com, he shares aspirations to expand the foundation's reach beyond just baseball. There's a launch event on August 28. The Jazz Chisholm Foundation Little League will play its first season this fall in Nassau, Bahamas.Glenn Geffner's View from the Bleachers dissects the Marlins' remaining 2023 schedule. Nick Pollack of Pitcher List rewatched the first inning of Jesús Luzardo's last start and came away cautiously optimistic about Luzardo being capable of breaking out of his recent slump. Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

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Thursday's GamesMarlins Podcast Episodes Thursday's Marlins MiLB Notes: Intriguing contest in Jacksonville. Edward Cabrera got hit hard early and struggled with his control throughout, but still kept runs to a minimum (5.2 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 2 K). Jorge Alfaro caught Cabrera, caught a runner stealing and went 2-for-4 at the plate in his return to the Marlins organization. Playing shortstop for the first time this season, Xavier Edwards went 2-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base. RHP Noble Meyer was promoted to Jupiter. Hopefully, he pitches in Port St. Lucie this weekend because then we'll have TV broadcast footage and Statcast data for him. Three more recent draft picks—RHP Josh Ekness, RHP Jake Brooks and RHP Colson Lawrence—made their professional debuts with the FCL Marlins. OF Andres Valor (DSL Miami) went 5-for-5 with three doubles.NL Wild Card race updates: the Diamondbacks beat the Padres. The Marlins remain percentage points behind the Cubs for the third Wild Card spot.Elsewhere around the majors, the Dodgers won their 11th straight game. Lance Lynn has a 1.44 ERA through four starts with his new team and Austin Barnes clubbed his firs homer of the season. Julio Rodriguez had a 5-for-5 game that included a game-winning home run for the Mariners.We recorded on Thursday's off day. Super Subscribers, you still have time to submit your series predictions before first pitch. With chiropractic care and functional health, La Pop takes a preventative approach that optimizes wellness and quality of life for all ages. Find out more here! /la-pop/The Marlins have a 44.5% chance to win their series opener against the Dodgers, per FanGraphs. Sandy Alcantara has a lifetime 18.00 ERA in three previous starts at Dodger Stadium. Miguel Rojas will be facing the Marlins for the first time in his career. Double-A Pensacola (7:35 p.m. ET) is at home, while Triple-A Jacksonville (7:05 p.m. ET), High-A Beloit (7:30 p.m. ET), Low-A Jupiter (6:10 p.m. ET) and FCL Marlins (10:00 a.m. ET) are on the road. DSL Miami and DSL Marlins are playing against each other (11:00 a.m. ET).Every other MLB team except for the Marlins has hit a grand slam in 2023. Still 40 games left to join the crowd, but most Fish On First followers are pessimistic.Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald focuses on how Tanner Scott has made such a dramatic year-to-year improvement.Enrollment for 2024 Marlins memberships is now open. The lowest price point averages out to $11 per game. Early enrollment continues through Sept. 5.Michael Baumann of FanGraphs examines the teams that are outplaying their Pythagorean records by the widest margins this season. "I have absolutely no idea how the Marlins are doing what they’re doing," Baumann concludes. Jeff Lindgren will receive this MLB debut plaque courtesy of Adopt A Minor Leaguer.Happy 25th birthday to Andrew Nardi and happy 23rd birthday to Nasim Nuñez. In parts of two major league seasons, Nardi owns a 4.98 ERA and 4.72 FIP in 59 appearances (56.0 IP). A 2023 Futures Game selection, Nuñez remains a consensus Top 30 prospect in the Marlins organization on the strength of his defense and baserunning. However, his hit tool has not developed as hoped.Photo by Jesus Sanchez/Fish On First