Ely Sussman

With the reigning award winner underperforming this season and no other National League pitcher stepping up, Luzardo is gradually building a case for himself.Editor's Note: I was initially proud of myself for coming up with this article headline. However, it has since come to my attention that "slither" is specifically used to describe snakes and organisms that move similarly to them. The verb isn't applicable to Jesús "Lizard King" Luzardo in any way. I regret the error and hope it does not distract from the content below. I'll begin by saying that there is no comparison between 2022 Sandy Alcantara and 2023 Jesús Luzardo. Hopefully you savored every pitch Alcantara threw en route to becoming the unanimous National League Cy Young award winner because we may never see a campaign like that from a Miami Marlins starting pitcher again. It was a near-perfect blend of run prevention and volume. Fortunately for Luzardo, the NL Cy Young gets presented anew every season. In the lefty's first fully healthy season as an MLB starter, he owns a 3.22 ERA, legitimized by his matching 3.22 FIP, with a 1.15 WHIP in 120.1 IP through 21 starts. With Alcantara and many of the Senior Circuit's most venerable arms falling short of their preseason projections due to ineffectiveness and/or injuries, that's good enough to put Luzardo in the thick of the race. Luzardo had a career day on Sunday, striking out 13 Colorado Rockies batters over seven innings in a game his team absolutely needed to win. Despite an unprecedented workload, the 25-year-old isn't showing any signs of slowing down; on the contrary, he's expanding his pitch mix to stay ahead of his competition. https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-07/23/4ca81b06-1a6e4def-af9af912-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp4There is a heavy overlap between the leading Cy Young candidates and the Baseball-Reference wins above replacement leaders. Throughout the past decade, every AL and NL bWAR pitching leader with the exception of 2019 Mike Minor has been a Cy Young finalist in their respective league. Luzardo has a shot to lead the NL in 2023. He enters Tuesday in a tie for third (3.0 bWAR), only looking up at Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers (3.1) and Marcus Stroman of the Chicago Cubs (3.1). Kershaw is on the injured list and will need several weeks to be fully stretched out as a starter again. A pending free agent on a sub-.500 Cubs team, Stroman could potentially be traded out of the NL entirely, and he's been trending in the wrong direction anyway with just one quality start in his last five tries. Tied with Luzardo at 3.0 bWAR, Blake Snell is a trade candidate for the disappointing San Diego Padres for the same reason that Stroman is. I don't see Kershaw, Stroman or Snell as Luzardo's main adversaries, though. Right-handers Spencer Strider (Atlanta Braves), Zac Gallen (Arizona Diamondbacks) and Zack Wheeler (Philadelphia Phillies) were among the NL's most dominant starters in 2022. The league's leading strikeout artist on the league's best team, Strider has everybody's attention and his peripherals point to better run prevention moving forward. Unlike Luzardo, Gallen and Wheeler have demonstrated the ability to make 30-plus starts in a single season—you gotta be more confident in them maintaining their success in August and September than Luzardo because of that track record. There are others in striking distance, too. Kershaw, Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom have each repeated as Cy Young winners in the recent past. But to find the last example of different pitchers winning the hardware for the same team in consecutive years, you'd have to go way back to CC Sabathia (2007) and Cliff Lee (2008) of the then-Cleveland Guardians. Assuming that Luzardo starts every fifth Marlins game for the foreseeable future, his upcoming opponents will be the Detroit Tigers (Jul. 30), Texas Rangers (Aug. 4) and Cincinnati Reds (Aug. 9).

Today's Marlins news roundup also includes another domino falling on the reliever trade market.Monday's GamesMarlins Podcast Episodes Monday's Marlins MiLB Notes: Johnny Olmstead became the latest 2023 draft pick to make his professional debut, playing shortstop for the FCL Marlins. Among the many prospects being promoted this week, 1B/3B Jacob Berry and INF Josh Zamora are going from Beloit to Pensacola and 1B Torin Montgomery is filling Berry's shoes in Beloit. I look at June 8 as the inflection point in Berry's season. That is when the former top draft pick began getting reps at first base. In 37 games since then (splitting time between first and third during that stretch), he's slashing .283/.339/.461 (123 wRC+).Statcast has identified a cutter in Jesús Luzardo's pitch mix. He threw the pitch five times on Sunday (all to right-handed batters). You may recall that Braxton Garrett introduced a cutter of his own earlier this season. Luzardo's arsenal previously featured a four-seam fastball, slider, changeup and occasional sinker. Elsewhere around the majors, the Braves traded two pitching prospects to acquire Rockies right-hander Pierce Johnson. According to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, the Reds are willing to trade 2021 NL Rookie of the Year Jonathan India to get controllable starting pitching. The idle Marlins gained ground on all of their primary National League Wild Card competitors thanks to losses by the Phillies, Reds, Giants and Diamondbacks. The Chas McCormick breakout continues as he drove in six runs for the Astros in their win over the Rangers. McCormick became the first hitter to homer against Aroldis Chapman this season. Christian Yelich (Brewers) and Carlos Correa (Twins) had walk-off hits.We’re back with a new episode of Fish On First LIVE, streaming at 5:30 p.m. ET on /Twitch/Twitter. Kevin Barral is credentialed for the series, so he'll provide a live pressbox report from Tropicana Field. 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! The Marlins have a 38.3% chance to win their series opener against the Rays, per FanGraphs. Triple-A Jacksonville (7:05 p.m. ET), Low-A Jupiter (6:30 p.m. ET) and DSL Miami (11:00 a.m. ET) are at home, while Double-A Pensacola (7:35 p.m. ET), High-A Beloit (6:05 p.m. ET) and DSL Marlins (11:00 a.m. ET) are on the road.Here is Kevin's Citrus Series preview.Do you have a business or special cause that you're trying to promote? We are seeking a sponsor for our @MarlinsSpaces account! Somebody we can promote before/during/after each of our Marlins Twitter Spaces. Email Ely.Sussman@gmail.com for more information.Marlins Jeopardy returns on Thursday! It's a "Young Experts" special, featuring contestants who weren't even born the last time the Marlins won it all. As usual, we're including your audience questions. Please submit them here.On this day 20 years ago, scored eight runs in the eighth inning to rally past the Phillies in a pivotal game with playoff implications.Photo by Kevin Barral/Fish On First

Today's Marlins news roundup also includes a Jeimer Candelario rumor.Sunday's Games/game-coverage/marlins-rockies-luis-arraez-walk-off/https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-07/23/d5ac0ff6-438b466c-4e2b150a-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp4Marlins Podcast Episodes Sunday's Marlins MiLB Notes: 1B Troy Johnston and LHP Patrick Monteverde have been promoted to Pensacola to Jacksonville, Aram Leighton of Just Baseball reports. Simply put, they both had extraordinary production for the Blue Wahoos and deserved to get bumped up earlier. Johnston leads all of Minor League Baseball with 83 RBI this season. LHP Josh Simpson (Jacksonville) made his return from the injured list (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K). Making a rare start for the Blue Wahoos in right field, OF Victor Mesa Jr. earned two more outfield assists. OF Osiris Johnson (Beloit) had his best game of the season, going 3-for-3 with two walks, two stolen bases and an outfield assist. INF Ian Lewis (Jupiter) hit his third home run of the week; he had only one in 2023 prior to that.The Marlins won a baseball game for the first time in 14 days! Luis Arraez made the difference with the game-tying single in the sixth and the walk-off single in the 10th. Jesús Luzardo established new career highs in strikeouts (13) and pitches (115). However, A.J. Puk's slump continues. He has allowed four home runs in his last seven appearances, all of those in high-leverage situations.Craig Mish of SportsGrid generously joined State of the Fish for two-plus hours of Marlins talk. He reports that part of the Athletics' willingness to trade Puk had to do with their concerns about him pitching effectively on back-to-back days. He believes Miami's main objective entering the trade deadline is to acquire a starting pitcher. The Marlins are willing to add payroll at the deadline, Mish says, but they will be reluctant to take on players who have pricey contracts beyond 2023 (ruling out Nolan Arenado in particular). They don't intend to subtract anybody from their active roster, not even pending free agents. He identifies Jake Eder and Karson Milbrandt as prospects who potential trade partners are showing strong interest in, though he clarifies that the Marlins are not openly "shopping" them. The Marlins' Dominican Summer League teams are being scouted closely, according to Mish. The organization's top DSL performers this season include OF Jancory De La Cruz, OF Daniel Gaitor, INF Erick Lara, INF Fabian López and RHP Elian Serrata. Mish believes that the optioning of Eury Pérez had a negative impact on the vibes in the Marlins clubhouse. He confirms that Pérez has been throwing bullpen sessions in Pensacola (though no game action). He expects Xavier Edwards, who leads the Triple-A International League batting race, to get another call-up in the "next week or so." He's also adamant that Sixto Sánchez will not make it back to the major leagues after three seasons of right shoulder issues.Fish On First Super Subscribers always get speaking priority on State of the Fish, as they did during the Mish special. Please consider joining the club for as little as $3 per month./fish-on-first-updates/super-subscriber-details/The Marlins have targeted Jeimer Candelario of the Nationals and see him as a "perfect fit" for their team, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. Candelario is slashing .254/.333/.474 (116 wRC+) with 2.7 fWAR in 92 games while playing the best third base defense of his career. He's a pending free agent.The Marlins have officially inked their 2023 MLB Draft class. Still another day until the draft pick signing deadline, but as Fish On First previously reported, 18th-rounder LHP Tristan Dietrich will not be joining the organization./mlb-draft/marlins-2023-signings-bonuses/Elsewhere around the majors, Anthony Rizzo snapped the second-longest homerless drought of his career as the Yankees swept a series for the first time since Aaron Judge's toe injury. Scott Rolen and Fred McGriff were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Skip Schumaker congratulated Rolen on Twitter and expressed thanks for teaching him "how to play the right way" when they were teammates on the Cardinals. The Marlins enter this new week with 48.4% playoff odds, per FanGraphs. FCL Marlins (10:00 a.m. ET) and DSL Miami (11:00 a.m. ET) are at home, while DSL Marlins (11:00 a.m. ET) are on the road.Since July 6, Nick Fortes has modified his batting stance, opening up slightly more and raising his bat angle more vertically. Sunday was his first multi-hit game with those adjustments.Do you have a business or special cause that you're trying to promote? We are seeking a sponsor for our @MarlinsSpaces account! Somebody we can promote before/during/after each of our Marlins Twitter Spaces. Email Ely.Sussman@gmail.com for more information.Marlins Jeopardy returns on Thursday! It's a "Young Experts" special, featuring contestants who weren't even born the last time the Marlins won it all. As usual, we're including your audience questions. Please submit them here.Congrats to Marlins alum Dontrelle Willis on his selection to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Hall of Fame.Kyle Bland of Pitcher List created Basemon, which translates advanced pitching stats into Pokémon card stats. Sandy Alcantara's closest comp is Pidgeot, Braxton Garrett's is Vileplume, Edward Cabrera's is Persian, A.J Puk's is Mr. Mime, etc. Congrats to Jon Berti and his wife Jill, who announced that they're expecting a baby daughter in February.https://www.instagram.com/p/Cu9r-u8gi_K/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

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The Miami Marlins have signed 20 of their 21 MLB Draft picks in advance of Tuesday's signing deadline. The Marlins allocated the majority of their 2023 bonus pool toward prep pitchers RHP Noble Meyer and LHP Thomas White, leaning into the organization's recent track record of developing big league starters. The Marlins had a total bonus pool of $12,829,600, the eighth-largest among MLB teams. They had the flexibility to go 5% beyond that ($13,471,080) to secure the services of players selected in the top 10 rounds plus those from Rounds 11-20 who sought more than $150,000. Any spending beyond that would've required forfeiting future draft picks. Round 1: RHP Noble Meyer signed for $4.5M (slot value was $5,475,300)Competitive Balance Round A: LHP Thomas White signed for $4.1M ($2,420,900)Round 2: OF Kemp Alderman signed for $1.4M ($1,825,300)Round 3: 1B Brock Vradenburg signed for $916k ($916,000)Round 4: LHP Emmett Olson signed for $460k ($609,600)Round 5: RHP Andrew Lindsey signed for $340k ($429,400)Round 6: OF Jake DeLeo signed for $300k ($333,900)Round 7: LHP Justin Storm signed for $241k ($261,000)Round 8: RHP Nick Maldonado signed for $160k ($207,800)Round 9: OF Colby Shade signed for $180.9k ($180,900)Round 10: RHP Xavier Meachem signed for $169.5k ($169,500)Round 11: RHP Jake Brooks signed for $150kRound 12: RHP Josh Ekness signed for unspecified amountRound 13: RHP Colson Lawrence signed for unspecified amountRound 14: LHP Jack Sellinger signed for $100kRound 15: RHP Nigel Belgrave signed for $150kRound 16: LHP Kevin Vaupel signed for $75kRound 17: OF Mark Coley II signed for $50kRound 18: LHP Tristan Dietrich did not signRound 19: 3B Johnny Olmstead signed for $25kRound 20: Two-way player Ryan Ignoffo signed for $75khttps://www.instagram.com/p/Cu47c0jJVDh/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==https://www.instagram.com/p/Cuu08OCODaY/?img_index=3By my calculations, the Marlins were able to offer LHP Tristan Dietrich up to $703,680 to sign without forfeiting future picks. That's roughly equivalent to the slot value of the 95th overall pick (late third round). Instead, he'll be honoring his commitment to Florida International University, Fish On First's Kevin Barral reports. As of Sunday, the Marlins have also signed undrafted free agents 3B Tony Bullard and 1B Angelo DiSpigna. Photo courtesy of Miami Marlins

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Miami-Marlins-2023-Game-Notes-Friday-July-21-vs.-COLDownload

Today's Marlins news roundup also includes details about Noble Meyer's underslot deal and upcoming appearance at LoanDepot Park.Thursday's GamesMarlins Podcast Episodes Thursday's Marlins MiLB Notes: INF/OF Xavier Edwards (Jacksonville) has now stolen 23 consecutive bases without being caught, including 14 this month alone, while C Austin Allen went 3-for-5 with three doubles and four RBI. LHP Jonathan Bermudez (Pensacola), LHP Cade Gibson (Beloit) and RHP Ike Buxton (Jupiter) each had scoreless starts of at least six innings pitched. 1B Troy Johnston drove in the game-winning run for the Blue Wahoos, his 78th of the season. Newly signed draft picks LHP Kevin Vaupel and RHP Xavier Meachem each made scoreless relief appearances for the FCL Marlins. SS Erick Lara (DSL Marlins) is slashing .395/.509/.591 in his first 12 games as a pro.The Marlins finalized their signings of first-round draft pick RHP Noble Meyer ($4.5 million bonus) and second-rounder OF Kemp Alderman ($1.4 million), both at substantially below slot value. They will be introduced at LoanDepot Park today.However, Fish On First's Kevin Barral reports that 18th-round pick LHP Tristan Dietrich will not be signing. It's a comparable situation to RHP Evan Chrest, Miami's late-round high school pick in 2022 who turned down a mid-six-figure bonus offer to pitch in college. Dietrich is committed to Florida International University.Elsewhere around the majors, the Brewers, Blue Jays, Tigers and Mariners each pitched shutouts. The Tigers game was started by trade candidate Michael Lorenzen, whose scoreless streak has reached 21 2/3 innings pitched.We did the latest during Thursday's off day! Still time for Super Subscribers to participate in Prediction Time here. The Marlins have a 65.0% chance to win their series opener against the Rockies, per FanGraphs. Double-A Pensacola (7:35 p.m. ET), High-A Beloit (7:35 p.m. ET) and DSL Marlins (11:00 a.m. ET) are at home, while Triple-A Jacksonville (7:35 p.m. ET), Low-A Jupiter (6:35 p.m. ET), FCL Marlins (12:00 p.m. ET) and DSL Miami (11:00 a.m. ET) are on the road.Do you have a business or special cause that you're trying to promote? We are seeking a sponsor for our @MarlinsSpaces account! Somebody we can promote before/during/after each of our Marlins Twitter Spaces. Email Ely.Sussman@gmail.com for more information.On Fish Unfiltered, we go through our updated ranking of the best prospects in the Marlins organization. Dane Myers is the biggest riser (from an honorable mention to No. 10) since May's version of the FOF Top 30.MLB Pipeline mentions Patrick Monteverde (our No. 25 prospect) as possible trade bait for the Marlins as the deadline approaches.Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald got clubhouse reaction to the Marlins' season-long six-game losing streak.FanGraphs' annual Trade Value series ranks Sandy Alcantara at No. 17 and Eury Pérez at No. 18. No other Marlins cracked their top 50.Tonight's Flashback Friday festivities feature Marlins alumni A.J. Burnett, Aníbal Sánchez, and Charles Johnson.

Today's Marlins news roundup also includes an update on JJ Bleday's progress with the Oakland A's.Wednesday's Games/game-coverage/marlins-cardinals-swept-sandy-alcantara/https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-07/19/9773d864-f04fb916-1f439cfc-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp4Marlins Podcast Episodes Wednesday's Marlins MiLB Notes: INF/OF Xavier Edwards (Jacksonville) started at third base for the second time in as many weeks. Intriguing development for somebody who is already capable of helping the Marlins offensively and just needs a defensive home. The Pensacola Blue Wahoos secured their 50th win of the season behind seven scoreless innings from LHP Luis Palacios and RHP Zach McCambley's first professional save. Rehabbing Avisaíl García went 0-for-3 with a walk as their right fielder. C Joe Mack (Beloit) finally hit his first home run of the season in his 78th game. That accounted for the only Sky Carp offense.For the 13th time this season, the Marlins lost a Sandy Alcantara start. They lost 13 of his starts during Alcantara's entire 2022 NL Cy young campaign. A winless week has caused Miami's playoff odds to plummet by 27.8%, per FanGraphs. Every game of this losing streak has been decided by three runs or fewer. They're the only MLB team that's still winless since the All-Star break.Signing bonus amounts are in for 13 of the Marlins' 2023 draft picks. Additionally, Competitive Balance Round A pick Thomas White told The Boston Globe that he'll be joining the organization and third-round pick Brock Vradenburg confirmed his signing via Instagram.Elsewhere around the majors, the MLB owners will vote next week on the re-election of commissioner Rob Manfred and "it's a forgone conclusion" that Manfred will receive the majority support he needs, Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic report. Phillies top prospect RHP Andrew Painter is expected to undergo Tommy John surgery, pending a consultation with the surgeon on Monday. Painter suffered his elbow injury in March and hasn't pitched competitively this year. Tommy John would wipe out his entire 2024 season, too. Old friend JJ Bleday is settling in as Oakland's everyday center fielder. He homered for the second straight day and raised his wRC+ to 108, which happens to be Bryan De La Cruz's mark for the season as well.We’re back with a new episode of Fish On First LIVE, streaming at 7:00 p.m. ET on /Twitch/Twitter. Our special guest is Marcello De Vivo. 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! Double-A Pensacola (7:35 p.m. ET), High-A Beloit (7:35 p.m. ET), FCL Marlins (12:00 p.m. ET) and DSL Miami (11:00 a.m. ET) are at home, while Triple-A Jacksonville (7:35 p.m. ET), Low-A Jupiter (6:35 p.m. ET) and DSL Marlins (11:00 a.m. ET) are on the road.I checked in on the Marlins' only 2022 trade deadline deal, which sent Anthony Bass, Zach Pop and a player to be named later (Edward Duran) to the Blue Jays for Jordan Groshans. Do you have a business or special cause that you're trying to promote? We are seeking a sponsor for our @MarlinsSpaces account! Somebody we can promote before/during/after each of our Marlins Twitter Spaces. Email Ely.Sussman@gmail.com for more information.Garrett Cooper discusses his hitting mechanics with David Laurila of FanGraphs.Happy birthday to World Series-winning Marlins catcher Charles Johnson (52) and outfield prospect Victor Victor Mesa (27). This is probably the latter's final birthday as a member of the Marlins organization.Photo courtesy of Miami Marlins