Ely Sussman

Although barely halfway through the 2023 campaign, Major League Baseball unveiled its entire 2024 regular season slate on Thursday. The Miami Marlins devoted plenty of time and energy to producing their schedule-at-a-glance video starring Billy the Marlin and several of their sponsors, but apparently did not come prepared with a snazzy graphic overviewing all 162 games. I don't have the time to make one myself. Hopefully, this series of screenshots will suffice! Home games are in black, away games are in gray.

Today's Marlins news roundup also includes the 2023 draftee who will be most difficult for the Fish to sign.Marlins Podcast Episodes Up on the Fish On First podcast channel, Big Fish Small Pod wraps up the Marlins' 2023 draft class. Around the industry, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN likes to see the Marlins "settle on a point of view on what they scout and develop well—then lean into that as hard as they can." MLB Pipeline's Jim Callis ranks Miami's draft class as the sixth-best in the league (not too shabby for having the eighth-largest bonus pool).Prep left-hander Tristan Dietrich, who the Marlins drafted in the 18th round, tells Evan Wheaton of PA Prep Live that he plans to honor his commitment to Florida International University. I suspect Dietrich's signing bonus demands are in the mid-to-high six figures and it's unclear whether the Marlins will have the flexibility to afford that without incurring future draft penalties. In recent years, Miami picked right-hander Chris Mokma (2019, 12th round) and signed him for $557k, while right-hander Evan Chrest (2022, 17th round) declined an offer in a similar range and matriculated to Jacksonville University.We have dusted off the old @fishstripes Twitter account made it @MarlinsSpaces! That's the new home of Grant Kiefer's weekly State of the Fish program as well as breaking news/game reaction Twitter Spaces we'll be doing when applicable. Tune in to talk with us tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET.Elsewhere around the majors, in the most diplomatic way possible, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak says his team will be sellers at the trade deadline as they turn their focus from 2023 to 2024. Lots of appetizing options on the underachieving St. Louis roster. One under-the-radar fit I like: right-hander Ryan Helsley, who should be fully back from his forearm injury around the end of the month. The Athletics are calling up top prospects Tyler Soderstrom and Zack Gelof.The Marlins have listed Sandy Alcantara (Friday) and Braxton Garrett (Saturday) as their first two probable starters against the Orioles coming out of the break. DSL Miami (11:00 a.m. ET) is at home, while DSL Marlins (11:00 a.m. ET) is on the road.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. Nicole Cahill is unsurprised that the Marlins are succeeding now that Derek Jeter is no longer interfering with Kim Ng's baseball operations decisions./analysis/marlins-success-without-derek-jeter/Noble Meyer gradually developed into a first-round talent, writes Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald, but even Meyer thinks it's "crazy" that he's come so far in such a short time.On this day 30 years ago, Gary Sheffield and Bryan Harvey became the Marlins' first-ever All-Star Game representatives.Photo courtesy of Miami Marlins

Today's Marlins news roundup also summarizes Day 2 of the MLB Draft and looks ahead to third (and final) day.Monday's GamesMarlins Podcast Episodes Monday's Marlins MiLB notes: RHP Jeff Lindgren cleared waivers and was outrighted to Jacksonville. OF/INF Xavier Edwards (Jacksonville) won International League Player of the Week and 1B Troy Johnston (Pensacola) won Southern League Player of the Week. Another multi-hit game for two-way player Janero Miller (DSL Miami). He continues to be limited to designated hitter on days when he's not pitching. OF Jancory De La Cruz (DSL Marlins) upped his slash line to .291/.435/.523 and he's been getting all of his reps in center field. Intriguing!Johnny Cueto finally made it back onto the active roster as he's been returned from rehab and reinstated from the 60-day IL. Tough break for Sean Reynolds, who gets optioned without having yet made his major league debut. Jonathan Davis was transferred to the 60-day IL to create the opening for Cueto on the 40-man.Having watched most of Cueto's rehab work, I don't think he has a purpose on this pitching staff. Read more about why I believe the team should simply release him and look elsewhere for pitching reinforcements. (Craig Mish of SportsGrid reports that the 37-year-old will be used out of Miami's bullpen initially.)With their Day 2 MLB Draft picks, the Marlins selected only college prospects: 1B Brock Vradenburg (Round 3), LHP Emmett Olson (Round 4), RHP Andrew Lindsey (Round 5), OF Jake DeLeo (Round 6), LHP Justin Storm (Round 7), RHP Nick Maldonado (Round 8), OF Colby Shade (Round 9) and RHP Xavier Meachem Xavier (Round 10). Day 3 of the draft commences at 2:00 p.m. ET and covers Rounds 11-20.Victor Victor Mesa's tenure in the Marlins organization is likely over after he left Triple-A Jacksonville during a road trip last month. The most expensive international amateur signing in Marlins history ($5.25 million), VVM hasn't even reached the majors.Luis Arraez will bat sixth and play second base for the National League during tonight's All-Star Game. He'll share a starting lineup with former Marlin Zac Gallen. Jorge Soler is available off the bench for the NL, while Pablo Lopez could pitch out of the AL bullpen. As you can tell from the top photo, Arraez and López remain very friendly with each other six months after being involved in the same blockbuster trade. 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. Another one of our partners, FOCO, debuted their annual limited edition "bobbles on parade" Marlins All-Star bobblehead.Despite being on the cover of MLB The Show, Jazz Chisholm Jr. did not have one of MLB's 20 best-selling jerseys during the first half of the season. Neither did Arraez or any other Marlin.PBX Pickleball, a company that unites retired professional athletes with the pickleball community, has signed former Marlins greats Mike Lowell, Josh Beckett and Jeff Conine. Details about pickleball events involving them should be available in the coming weeks.Photo courtesy of billythemarlin/Instagram

Why won't the team accept that Cueto is a sunk cost?After years of stubbornly relying on internal, mostly inexperienced starting pitching options, Miami Marlins principal owner Bruce Sherman opened up his wallet so that his front office could add the accomplished and eclectic Johnny Cueto on a one-year, $8.5 million contract via free agency. The Marlins paid what was the going rate for an elderly back-end starter, anticipating some regression from his 2022 campaign with the Chicago White Sox—3.5 bWAR in 158.1 IP—but still counting on him to be an efficient innings eater and positive clubhouse presence. The Marlins were wrong, and now their stubbornness is manifesting itself in a different way. Cueto has been returned from rehab and reinstated from the 60-day injured list. He initially landed on the IL on April 4 with right biceps tightness, then suffered a sprained ankle during his initial rehab assignment. During his time away, the 37-year-old cut off his signature dreadlocks and put on some weight. He embarked on a fresh rehab assignment one month ago to reinforce a contending Marlins team with serious rotation depth concerns. Just one problem: he's washed up. https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/4716c077-a4ca-4773-93ba-07bbeab2c388.mp4https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/f80e057f-c467-442f-9054-e0f442c4cc91.mp4https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/892f9961-ac2c-48fd-9b65-966a2fc26fe5.mp4I really wanted this to work, as I imagine many of you did, but Cueto has nothing to contribute. Often one of the first places we look when evaluating starting pitchers is earned run average, but that isn't applicable to rehab assignments. ERA is fickle over such a limited sample size. I won't even reference ERA in Cueto's case. Rather, the Marlins (or any other MLB team) should be putting a greater emphasis on fielder independent pitching (FIP), quality of stuff and command when assessing a veteran's readiness to return. Cueto has not checked any of these boxes. There are more than 2,000 pitchers in Minor League Baseball this season who have thrown at least 20 innings. Cueto's 10.81 FIP across 29 frames is the worst of them all. We have advanced MiLB stats available going back to 2006 via FanGraphs and Cueto's FIP is third-highest for any single season during that span (min. 20 IP) behind only 2022 Jordan Sheffield (11.71) and 2011 Ian Snell (11.10), both of whom played in more extreme hitter-friendly environments. To be crystal clear, Cueto is struggling to this extent against minor leaguers—two starts with Double-A Pensacola and five with Triple-A Jacksonville—and now he's being bumped up to the highest level?! Home runs are largely responsible for inflating Cueto's FIP. Perhaps the most astonishing stat I've come across: he has allowed more homers in seven MiLB games this year (16 HR) than he did in 25 MLB games last year (15 HR). While there have been a few "unlucky" wall-scrapers, there have been just as many wall-bangers that could've flown out with the help of a gentle breeze: https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/2cac4143-f60b-40ca-ada2-b465ab79dcb2.mp4https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/d90407b7-5891-44d5-8ae7-55ec429dd1d4.mp4Cueto has an expansive pitch mix including a sinker, four-seamer, cutter, changeup, slider and a break-in-case-of-emergency curveball. He used everything he's got during his rehab starts and everything was getting barreled. The only mildly encouraging note from Saturday's Triple-A outing is he averaged 90.7 miles per hour on sinkers and four-seamers combined, slightly above where he had previously been. However, even that falls below his 2022 average (91.4 mph) and would place in the bottom 10% of current major leaguers. Cueto still has the ability to throw the ball over the plate, topping a 60% strike rate in every rehab start. Consistently down the middle, though seldom on the corners (lousy command). I wholeheartedly recommend him for the 2024 Home Run Derby, if it's not too soon to apply. Perhaps Adolis García would be interested in hiring him. Initially, the Marlins will utilize Cueto out of the bullpen, Craig Mish of SportsGrid reports, presumably to mop up in low-leverage situations. Some will say it's a worthwhile experiment considering how solid the two-time All-Star was only a year ago. Bring him into games that are already out of reach and see if something clicks. If nothing does, part ways once an injured arm like Edward Cabrera, Matt Barnes or Andrew Nardi is ready to come off the IL. What I'm trying to tell you is that the 2023 version of Cueto is not even qualified for that thankless role. Name a random Jumbo Shrimp pitcher—Devin Smeltzer, Daniel Castano, Chi Chi González, Jeff Lindgren, Enmanuel De Jesús...they are all better than Cueto right now and similarly stretched out. If the Marlins are so underwhelmed by them, go outside the organization for an alternative and show some urgency to improve a roster that's capable of being the franchise's best in 20 years. Including the remainder of his 2023 salary and the buyout of his 2024 club option, Johnny Cueto is owed more than $5 million. The Marlins made a poor investment, but hey, that's baseball. As much as it would hurt to let a healthy pitcher walk at this stage of the season, they're tempting fate by enabling somebody who could make their staff substantially worse. Photo courtesy of johnnycueto47/Instagram

First-half splits that I would've never seen coming entering 2023.The biggest understatement in Fish On First's young history: this Miami Marlins season has gone differently than anticipated. Even if you dared to dream of them ascending to 14 games above .500, this probably is not the "formula" you had in mind. Inevitably, there are injuries that upend the depth chart, but putting those aside, I spent some time reflecting on how the 2023 season has strayed furthest from my pre-Opening Day expectations. Honorable mentions on this topic include Jean Segura's struggles (would've made the cut if not for his two-week hot streak entering the break), Eury Pérez's 2.36 earned run average (even more awe-inspiring for somebody who skipped Triple-A), and minor league Rule 5 Draft pick Dane Myers starting as many games in center field (five) as Jesús Sánchez, Bryan De La Cruz and Peyton Burdick combined. Without further adieu, read my top five biggest surprises below. 1) Sandy Alcantara's 4.72 ERA—There was inevitably going to be some regression from Alcantara's Cy Young campaign, and you figured the rest of the league would be working diligently to find something in his tendencies that they could exploit. That being said, his first-half results were worse than anybody could have reasonably feared. He has already allowed more earned runs than he did during the entire 2022 season! The most glaring difference has been the effectiveness of his changeup, which after accruing a minus-25 run value last year, according to Statcast, is now his biggest liability (plus-6 RV). 2) 21-6 record in one-run games—The Marlins don't have a veteran manager or an untouchable closer or superb defensive replacements or a home crowd that intimidates visitors, so how come they're thriving in late-and-close situations? With 70 games to go, rookie skipper Skip Schumaker is just three shy of matching his predecessor, Don Mattingly, in one-run wins. Although some of this turnaround is inexplicable and frankly unsustainable, Schumaker and his coaching staff deserve some credit for sufficiently preparing their players for what to expect in specific matchups and for using the players who are best suited for those high-leverage moments. https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-07/05/72461d97-b6f6114f-95c55d0b-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp43) Luis Arraez hitting .383—It has been decades since the last time a qualified MLB hitter owned as high a BA as Arraez does entering the All-Star break. The Marlins paid a steep price to acquire him from the Minnesota Twins largely because they valued his high floor—Arraez's supernatural bat control makes him practically slump-proof. Even with the advantageous rule change restricting infield shifting, the 26-year-old is bursting through his perceived ceiling. Most emphatically on April 11 (4-for-5 vs. PHI) and June 16 (5-for-5 vs. WSH), Arraez has carried the Marlins to key victories. /game-coverage/marlins-nationals-highlights-luis-arraez/4) Jon Berti stealing only nine bases—En route to leading the majors with 41 steals in 2022, Berti once amassed nine on a single road trip! By limiting pitcher disengagements with the rubber and increasing the size of the bases, his task was supposed to get even easier this season. He has actually received more playing time at age 33 while reaching base safely at a similar rate. And yet, he's attempting thefts less than half as often. The Marlins collectively rank tied for 19th among MLB teams with 56 SB. 5) Jacob Stallings out-hitting Nick Fortes (by wRC+)—I was one of the many voices who called upon the Marlins to make Fortes the club's primary catcher this season. They obliged and Fortes has demonstrated that he's the (in addition to being the far more impactful baserunner). But there's no sugarcoating it: Fortes has blown his opportunity to establish himself as Miami's long-term starter by being terrible in the batter's box (52 wRC+ to Stallings' 61 wRC+). Only seven extra-base hits in 66 games?! Fewer barrels than his rookie year, more strikeouts, fewer walks, more groundballs...everything has trended in the wrong direction. He's been particularly vulnerable to breaking balls (.135 BA and .189 SLG in 74 AB ending with them). Let's say the Marlins have an opportunity to acquire an above-average catcher at the trade deadline without mortgaging too much of their future. I really think optioning Fortes to Triple-A is more likely to be the corresponding move than cutting Stallings.Photo by Danis Sosa/Fish On First

Today's Marlins news roundup also includes a report on the "tentative plan" for the handling of Eury Pérez during the second half of the season.Sunday's Games/game-coverage/marlins-phillies-home-runs-jesus-luzardo/https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-07/09/fa2f9646-afe3da2d-12e650cd-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp4Marlins Podcast Episodes Sunday's Marlins MiLB notes: After a sixth straight multi-game, OF/INF Xavier Edwards (Jacksonville) leads the International League with a .368 batting average. C Austin Allen, OF Peyton Burdick, OF/1B Jerar Encarnación and 1B Troy Johnston all homered, putting them in a four-way tie for the Marlins minor league lead in that category with 18 each. Edward Cabrera was supposed to begin a rehab assignment with Jupiter, but did not appear in either game of their doubleheader. LHP Josh Simpson began his own rehab with the Hammerheads and struggled (0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 20 pitches/13 strikes). It was another big day for 1B Torin Montgomery, who continues to lead the Florida State League in on-base percentage by a massive margin. INF Carlos Santiago's first hit since coming back from a PED suspension was a walk-off single.The Marlins head into the All-Star break having won four of their last five series. Miami's 53-39 is second-best in the entire National League behind only the Braves. Dane Myers posted a 175 wRC+ during his first week in the majors, all but cementing himself as the club's stopgap center fielder until Jazz Chisholm Jr. returns from injury. Jean Segura ended his first half on a very high note as well, reaching base safely in 12 straight games since coming back from his own IL stint (122 wRC+).With their Day 1 MLB Draft picks, the Marlins selected prep RHP Noble Meyer (10th overall), prep LHP Thomas White (35th overall) and Ole Miss OF Kemp Alderman (47th overall). I was lukewarm on these picks in the moment considering that Meyer and White will command the majority of the team's entire bonus pool, but they're growing on me. Extraordinary upside./news/mlb-draft-marlins-noble-meyer//news/mlb-draft-marlins-thomas-white-kemp-alderman/The "tentative plan" for recently optioned Eury Pérez involves him making abbreviated minor league starts to stay in rhythm while limiting his workload, leading to a call-up in early August, Aram Leighton of Just Baseball reports. It's completely unclear who will fill his Marlins rotation spot in the meantime as Edward Cabrera still needs to be stretched out and Johnny Cueto looks unfit for upper-minors competition, much less MLB.Rewinding to Saturday, INF Nasim Nuñez won the Larry Doby Award as MVP of the Futures Game. Nuñez was playing with a heavy heart, Savannah McCann of Baseball America writes, after recently losing his grandfather to lung and prostate cancer. Nuñez dedicated the game to him. Elsewhere around the majors, the Rays, Guardians, Rangers, Orioles, Astros and Blue Jays occupy the current American League postseason spots. The Braves, Reds, Dodgers, Marlins, Diamondbacks and Giants would be going to October on the NL side if the season ended today.Revisiting Marlins vs. Phillies series predictions, Alex Aguirre and Carlos Acosta made perfect picks. We'd love for you to participate in Prediction Time with us coming out of the break. Become a Fish On Fist Super Subscriber for as little as $3 per month and you're in./super-subscribers/marlins-prediction-time-leaderboard/Just like last year, our MLB Draft reaction show drew a huge audience. With many well-regarded college bats still on the board, the Meyer pick caught most of us off guard. 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! Entering the All-Star break, the Marlins have 74.3% playoff odds, per FanGraphs. Light schedule today. DSL Marlins (11:00 a.m. ET) are at home, while DSL Miami (11:00 a.m. ET) are on the road. Day 2 of the draft commences at 2:00 p.m. ET. The Marlins pick next at No. 78 overall.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.On this day 15 years ago, Hanley Ramirez capped off his 5-for-6 night with an 11th-inning, game-winning home run against the Dodgers.Photo courtesy of billythemarlin/Instagram

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Nuñez made the most of his limited time on the field by driving in three runs, stealing a base and completing the game-sealing double play.Infielder Nasim Nuñez and left-hander Patrick Monteverde represented the Miami Marlins proudly during Saturday's All-Star Futures Game at T-Mobile Park, with the former becoming the first Marlin in the event's history to earn MVP honors (the Larry Doby Award). Ranked ninth on the Fish on the Farm Marlins top prospects list, Nuñez came off the bench for the National League in the bottom of the fifth inning and played second base the rest of the way. His lone plate appearance came in the sixth. With the bases loaded and one out, he padded the NL's 2-0 lead by lining a 97 mile-per-hour sinker to left field and clearing the bases. https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/910403b5-0320-407e-beb8-0442b1d16a41.mp4Two pitches later, Nuñez stole third base without a throw. No surprise there—the Pensacola Blue Wahoo leads all Marlins minor leaguers with 33 steals this season and has only been caught thrice. FOTF's 13th-ranked prospect, Monteverde took the mound with one out in the seventh and final inning. After allowing a single to Drew Gilbert, he secured the shutout victory by getting Edgar Quero to ground into a 6-4-3 double play. Fittingly, Nuñez was right in the middle of it. https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/6ea172a3-5c02-4d64-9e70-5223d9db899b.mp4In a quarter-century of Futures Game exhibitions (the event began in 1999), there has never been a Marlin selected as MVP...until now. Congrats to Nuñez on this awesome milestone! Nuñez took the field wearing custom cleats painted by Adrian Lorenzo, the Marlins senior director of international operations. @MLBLife/TwitterEvery Larry Doby Award winner has gone on to have a Major League Baseball career with the exception of Brennan Davis (2021), who's still just 23 years old and has ample time to join the club. Nuñez is unlikely to play for the Marlins this year, but expect him to be selected to their 40-man roster in the offseason and enter 2024 in competition for an Opening Day job. Photo courtesy of MLB

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