Ely Sussman

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Today's Marlins news roundup also includes DJ Svihlik's 2023 draft preview.Thursday's Games/game-coverage/marlins-cardinals-highlights-eury-perez-nolan-arenado/https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-07/06/008202d2-a3dc97ee-ed0600a6-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp4Marlins Podcast Episodes Thursday's Marlins MiLB notes: It's been a lousy season for RHP Ronald Bolaños (Jacksonville), but he was excellent in this one (6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K). INF Nasim Nuñez (Pensacola) heads off to the Futures Game with a .211/.330/.289 slash line, four home runs and 33 stolen bases in 76 games. Beloit overcame an early 4-0 deficit to win in extra innings. INF Ian Lewis (Jupiter) finally hit his first home run of the season. DH/LHP Janero Miller (DSL Miami) had one of the best games of his young career, going 2-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base.Even in a losing effort, Eury Pérez finished the first half of his rookie season on a high note. He enters the break with a 2.36 ERA and 3.72 FIP in 53.1 IP for the Marlins. Pérez became the first 20-year-old since Marlins legend José Fernández to throw so many pre-All-Star break innings.Jonathan Davis (right meniscus surgery) is expected to need 3-6 months to recover, so he's doubtful to return for the Marlins this season.Marlins principal owner Bruce Sherman tells Craig Mish and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald that he's prepared to allocate more resources leading up to the trade deadline (i.e. increase payroll) in pursuit of a postseason berth. Elsewhere around the majors, the Phillies come into Miami riding a 12-game road winning streak after sweeping the mighty Rays at Tropicana Field. The Reds swept a four-game series from the Nationals to reach a season-best 10 games over .500. We’re back with a new episode of Fish On First LIVE tonight, streaming at 5:30 p.m. ET on /Twitch/Twitter. 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 47.6% chance to win their series opener against the Phillies, per FanGraphs. Double-A Pensacola (7:35 p.m. ET), Low-A Jupiter (6:30 p.m. ET), FCL Marlins (12:00 p.m. ET) and DSL Marlins (11:00 a.m. ET) are at home, while Triple-A Jacksonville (7:04 p.m. ET), High-A Beloit (7:40 p.m. ET) and DSL Miami (11:00 a.m. ET) are on the road.Daily Luis Arraez batting average update: he enters today at .388. He went 1-for-3 with a double in his only previous matchup with Phillies starter Zack Wheeler. Additionally, Arraez is hitting .422 in home games this season and .379 in night games.You've seen Marlins players do their "just keep swimming" celebration on the basepaths throughout this season, right? Our partners at BreakingT have designed a t-shirt for it! Buy yours here.Joey Wendle came on Fish Unfiltered to reflect on every step of his professional baseball career and specifically why the Marlins have improved so much from last season to this season.Marlins senior director of amateur scouting DJ Svihlik touted the in the 2023 MLB Draft class.Hector Rodriguez continues pumping out draft prospect profiles of players who might be available with the Marlins' first-round pick. Find them all here.MLB Pipeline picked 2010 as the best draft class in Marlins history and the 2014 selection of Brian Anderson as the franchise's best individual pick of the last decade. Happy 26th birthday to Marlins RHP M.D. Johnson. The 2019 draft pick has progressed to Double-A Pensacola, posting a 3.58 earned run average in 70 career minor league games (52 starts)./farm/m-d-johnsons-unique-road-to-the-show/

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Hitting for contact is all the rage in the Marlins organization in 2023, including at the Low-A level.You read my recent Xavier Edwards article, right? That was actually supposed to be a Javier Sanoja article, but Edwards' proximity to the big leagues and the Miami Marlins' sudden center field vacancy gave him priority. Now, it's time to show some love to Sanoja. He may be undersized and under the radar, but he's putting together a fascinating age-20 season, and just like Edwards and Luis Arraez, his success has been fueled by his ability to put balls in play. Miami's 38th-ranked prospect according to Fish on the Farm, Sanoja was signed out of Venezuela as an international free agent in 2019. Due to COVID, he had to wait more than two years to make his Minor League Baseball debut. Sanoja immediately demonstrated special contact skills, striking out only once in his first 85 career plate appearances in the Dominican Summer League. He finished that 2021 campaign with the lowest strikeout rate among DSL qualifiers. Now, he's continuing to do it stateside, where we have more data and video with which to analyze how he's doing it. It has been an impressive 2023 season for Sanoja overall, posting above-average production at the plate (103 wRC+) against mostly older competition while being challenged defensively, rotating between center field, second base and shortstop (primarily CF). But let's zoom in on his last 30 days: Baseball-ReferenceAside from an anomalous day in Daytona on June 18, he's been getting his bat on practically everything. It is genuinely entertaining to watch Sanoja fight for his life in two-strike counts. Some examples: June 8—Sanoja fouls off back-to-back, up-and-in fastballs at 98 miles per hour, then waits long enough on a changeup to keep it fair down the left-field line for a triple.https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/cbbde6c6-f88e-4341-aab5-d92f029652a7.mp4https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/e6e38452-dc51-4390-9e68-eb16edf27761.mp4https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/9dd8162f-1439-435f-a1a9-3627b427fa73.mp4June 9—Sanoja somehow spoils a fastball up around his chin before singling on a curveball low and away.https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/1b9dcc3c-e0dc-4e20-8b0b-53bb9fde0017.mp4https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/06274a68-56f9-4ae9-9e0a-25e86ebef0ed.mp4July 2—Sanoja fouls off a curveball and shows a good eye by taking a fastball that's a few inches outside, then blasts his first home run of the season.https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/3f28c730-3126-462d-99db-87263970974f.mp4https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/5ff9cb34-2fb0-4a08-9e51-947aef7ddc6e.mp4https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/d526114d-8bf4-4459-b192-5b3e72bf449d.mp4The Marlins recognize that they have something in Sanoja. I say that because he has started all 76 Hammerheads games this season, including a handful of doubleheaders. This wouldn't be the case if there were other prospects on Jupiter's roster that the organization felt deserved lots of reps for themselves. He's being prioritized. Sanoja's average exit velocity of 85.9 mph would only rank in the fourth percentile among MLB hitters while his max exit velo of 106.4 mph would put him in the 23rd percentile. How much more strength can be pack onto his five-foot-seven frame to get those numbers up? Defensive performance will be crucial to his future—over-the-fence power isn't as much of a pre-requisite if he's a valuable up-the-middle fielder. In High-A Beloit, Sanoja's main positions—CF, 2B and SS—are being manned by Osiris Johnson, Yiddi Cappe and Kahlil Watson, respectively. Perhaps Johnson gets a few more weeks to turn his season/career around (after all, he is a former second-round draft pick). But if Sanoja's next 30 days look similar to his last 30, I expect him to be promoted. Photo courtesy of Jupiter Hammerheads

Today's Marlins news roundup also includes injury updates on Jonathan Davis and Matt Barnes.Wednesday's Games/game-coverage/marlins-cardinals-walk-off-error/https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-07/05/b0b2f24b-1e8f6497-24e3bfd2-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp4Marlins Podcast Episodes https://open.spotify.com/episode/2kAOXJEWyRItoI1lHvUbEv?si=2KdALfc9RMaszumui5n6TQWednesday's Marlins MiLB notes: CF/2B Xavier Edwards (Jacksonville) stayed scorching hot, going 3-for-4 with a home run and a walk. Scoreless start for LHP Jake Eder (Pensacola), though his control and fastball velocity were lacking (5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 4 K, 85 pitches/48 strikes). RHP Eli Villalobos cleared waivers, got outrighted to the Blue Wahoos and struck out three in relief of Eder. 1B/3B Jacob Berry (Beloit) continues trending in the right direction, going 3-for-5 with three doubles. Ronald Hernández (.479 OBP) and Marco Vargas (.473 OBP) are on-base machines for the FCL Marlins. There's ample playing time available for either of them with Low-A Jupiter whenever the Marlins decide to challenge them with tougher competition.Joey Wendle was credited with a single on his walk-off dribbler against Jordan Hicks. Dane Myers made his first major league start and played the entire game in center field. The Marlins have racked up 30 runs in this series for three straight victories, matching the win total they had vs. the Cardinals at LoanDepot Park from 2018-2022 combined (h/t Loud Marlins Fan).Jonathan Davis is undergoing right meniscus surgery today. Matt Barnes (left hip impingement) had a setback following Monday's rehab appearance. At the very least, the Marlins will have to complete this week without him./news/tracking-miami-marlins-injury-rehab-updates/Elsewhere around the majors, old friend Pablo López threw a shutout for the Twins, the first complete game of his career. López upped his strikeout total to 138, the third-highest in MLB this season. With the Mets down to their final strike, rookie Francisco Álvarez launched a game-tying solo home run. Mark Canha would later deliver the decisive RBI triple. For the first time in 2023, the underachieving Padres swept a three-game series. Yankees reliever Jimmy Cordero has been suspended for the rest of the season for violating MLB's Joint Domestic Violence policy.Although Jorge Soler isn't participating, Cuba will be well represented at the Home Run Derby. Luis Robert Jr., Adolis García and Randy Arozarena are doing it along with Pete Alonso, Mookie Betts, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Julio Rodríguez and Adley Rutschman.The Marlins have a 50.0% chance to win their series finale against the Cardinals, per FanGraphs. Double-A Pensacola (7:35 p.m. ET), Low-A Jupiter (6:30 p.m. ET) and DSL Miami (11:00 a.m. ET) are at home, while Triple-A Jacksonville (7:04 p.m. ET), High-A Beloit (7:40 p.m. ET) and DSL Marlins (11:00 a.m. ET) are on the road.Daily Luis Arraez batting average update: he enters today at .384. He has no prior history with Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty. Additionally, Arraez is hitting .416 in home games this season and .373 in night games.Kevin Barral interviewed Braxton Garrett about his career year and what he'll be working on during the second half of the season.Into the multiverse: On , Sean Millerick and I chose key decisions from Marlins history that we would undo if we had the power to.Hector Rodriguez continues pumping out MLB Draft prospect profiles of players who might be available with the Marlins' first-round pick. Find them all here.Glenn Geffner's View from the Bleachers make the case that adding a starting pitcher should be the Marlins' top trade deadline priority. Subscribe to his daily Substack to read more.There's a new alternative to Twitter called Threads! You can follow Fish On First there. Congrats to old friend Brian Anderson and his wife Alex on the birth of their son, Baker.Toby Srebnik vents about LoanDepot Park's "unfriendly attitude" toward fans during batting practice.

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Edwards' incredible streak of contact hitting makes him an even more intriguing call-up candidate for the Marlins.Baseball fans adore Luis Arraez. One key to that is his ongoing flirtation with an unfathomable .400 batting average, but the manner in which he accrues those hits is also part of the appeal. Regardless of the pitch type or the location, Arraez believes he can get his bat on the ball. His 5.3% strikeout rate is by far the lowest among qualified major leaguers this season and on pace to be the best we've seen since Juan Pierre in 2007, back when triple-digit fastball velocity was a rarity. That brings us to Xavier Edwards. The speedy switch-hitter had a couple MLB stints in May, but only received limited playing time (.381/.391/.429, 125 wRC+ in 22 PA). Since the latter stint ended about a month ago, he's been thriving in a familiar way. Behold Edwards' recent game logs and all of the zeroes that populate the "SO" column: Baseball-ReferenceThree total strikeouts in 25 games, including a three-week period in which he never K'd. He's been slashing .362/.396/.448 since being optioned. His overall strikeout rate in Triple-A this season is down to an Arraez-like 5.4%, ranking him first among all qualified minor leaguers at full-season levels. Edwards seldom lets a hittable pitch pass by without offering at it. During his 4-for-6 performance on Tuesday, he saw 13 total pitches (2.2 P/PA). While Arraez is a line-drive machine, Edwards compiles his hits in a wider variety of ways. He registered a blazing sprint speed of 29.7 ft/sec on his latest bunt single. https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/632d497b-0e04-43fa-828b-41c632fadec0.mp4Edwards continues to utilize his legs once he reaches base, having gone seven-for-seven on steal attempts during the last month-plus. A lifetime infielder, he began to learn center field this spring. He has played nearly half of his defensive innings there in 2023. I mention that because in the midst of an otherwise-awesome Miami Marlins win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday, Jonathan Davis went down with a right knee injury. The Marlins were already thin at the center field position as Jazz Chisholm Jr. is expected to miss several weeks with a left oblique strain. Davis filled in admirably during Chisholm's previous IL stint, coinciding with incredible team success. In 34 games since being acquired from Detroit, he has slashed .244/.307/.378 (88 wRC+) with good defense. The Marlins own a 20-7 record with him in their starting lineup. The Marlins are describing Davis' injury as a right knee contusion for now. However, once he undergoes an MRI and further testing, he may be facing his own long-term absence. Newly called up Dane Myers completed Tuesday's game in CF. He can contribute there in emergencies, but Myers' promotion was primarily about his offensive upside and versatility to handle the corner infield and corner outfield spots. The converted pitcher made only eight appearances in center during his MiLB career. /news/dane-myers-call-up-interview/ The Marlins have the option of using Jesús Sánchez in CF on days when Myers or Jorge Soler occupy right field. In 81 MLB games at the most challenging outfield position, Sánchez has accrued plus-3 defensive runs saved and minus-2 outs above average. His glaring issue is a lack of range. Also, he's got a lousy track record at the plate against left-handed pitchers, so he wouldn't be an everyday solution. I suspect that in the event of a Davis IL stint, the Marlins will recall veteran Garrett Hampson, and that wouldn't be entirely unreasonable. The 23-year-old Edwards is among their best prospects and they'd prefer to get him everyday playing time with the Jumbo Shrimp while gaining more CF experience, rather than shoehorn him into a platoon role. That being said, Edwards' refusal to swing-and-miss would raise the floor of Miami's offense.

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Today's Marlins news roundup also includes an encouraging note about LoanDepot Park attendance.Monday's Games/game-coverage/marlins-cardinals-highlights-skip-schumaker-reunion/https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-07/03/fdd5fb53-d23590a5-c8059ff8-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp4Marlins Podcast Episodes Monday's Marlins MiLB notes: Johnny Cueto (Jacksonville) continues to have trouble with the long ball during his rehab assignment (6.0 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 BB, 3 HR). He's now fully stretched out as a starter, but the next steps for him are unclear considering the diminished quality of his stuff. INF Kahlil Watson (Beloit) tied up the game in the bottom of the ninth by stealing home. The Sky Carp would win it on a OF Davis Bradshaw walk-off single. Matt Barnes (Jupiter) pitched a scoreless inning of relief in what's expected to be his penultimate rehab appearance. INF Marco Vargas (FCL Marlins) reached base safely three more times to raise his on-base percentage to .475.The Marlins came from behind to pick up their 20th one-run win of the season, closing in on their 2022 total of 24. The game was followed by a fireworks show. The announced attendance of 19,638 was by far the Marlins' highest for a Monday home game since COVID.Jazz Chisholm Jr. (left oblique strain) expressed optimism that he'll be able to return at "110%" following the All-Star break, though his recovery timeline will depend on the severity of the strain. Dating back to the start of the 2021 season, Chisholm has played in only 55.9% of the Marlins' regular season games.Hot-hitting Dane Myers was called up from Triple-A to fill Chisholm's roster spot. Our own Kevin Barral details his first day as a big leaguer./news/dane-myers-call-up-interview/Elsewhere around the majors, the Mets made another minor trade, sending LHP Zach Muckenhirn to the Mariners for MLB right-handers Trevor Gott and Chris Flexen (Flexen was a salary dump and has been designated for assignment). The Braves won for the 17th time in their last 18 games, now 7.5 games ahead of the next-best National League team. The Rangers erased a 10-2 deficit to take an 11-10 lead over the Astros, but then blew the save and lost. Yankees rookie Anthony Volpe has recorded multiple hits in six of his last seven games, raising his batting average 30 points during that period.On Monday's episode of , we discussed Chisholm, Myers and whether the Cardinals will be sellers at the trade deadline. 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 58.5% chance to win their next game against the Cardinals, per FanGraphs. Double-A Pensacola (5:05 p.m. ET), Low-A Jupiter (6:00 p.m. ET), FCL Marlins (12:00 p.m. ET) and DSL Marlins (11:00 a.m. ET) are at home, while Triple-A Jacksonville (6:35 p.m. ET) and High-A Beloit (7:40 p.m. ET) are on the road.Daily Luis Arraez batting average update: he enters today at .388. He went 0-for-3 in his only previous matchup with Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright. Additionally, Arraez is hitting .425 in home games this season and .399 in day games.Garrett Cooper explained to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald how Miami's hitting coaches are personalizing plans for how each hitter on the team should attack their upcoming opponents. “They cover everything—how the pitcher is going to attack you if you have runners in scoring position, if it’s a double play possibility," Cooper said. "There’s so much more information that we didn’t have in the past.”Photo by Isaac Azout/Fish On First