Ely Sussman

Today's Marlins news roundup also includes MLB Draft intel.Monday's Gameshttps://fishonfirst.com/game-coverage/marlins-blue-jays-highlights-shutout/https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-06/19/d8e845bb-87d501ff-2f3b5094-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp4Marlins Podcast Episodes Monday's Marlins MiLB notes: José Gerardo (FCL Marlins) hit his first stateside home run, though his strikeout rate is up to 36%. Venezuelan right-hander Oswaldo Aponte (DSL Marlins) had the best start of his young professional career (4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K). Fabian López (DSL Miami) homered for the third time and now leads all Marlins rookie ball players with 11 RBIs this season.For the second time in his last three games, Luis Arraez went 5-for-5 at the plate, upping his average to an even .400. Truly astounding.Jorge Soler assisted the offensive outburst with his 21st homer of the year, but he did not draw any walks. That snaps his franchise record-tying streak of 10 games with at least one base on balls.Eight different Marlins players drove in runs on Monday, including rookie Jacob Amaya, who will presumably get a start tonight against Blue Jays lefty Yusei Kikuchi.Elsewhere around the majors, Joey Votto made his 2023 season debut. He homered to help the Reds to their ninth straight win and they took over the National League Central division lead in the process. The Giants rallied from a 4-0 deficit to beat the Padres for their eighth consecutive victory. Drafted as a catcher, former No. 1 overall draft pick Henry Davis made his MLB debut for the Pirates in right field. Pittsburgh was shut out by the Cubs, extending their losing streak to seven in a row.On the latest edition of , our panel discussed Amaya's call-up, the Marlins' complicated starting rotation situation and Bryan De La Cruz's inconsistency. 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 55.4% chance to win their next game against the Blue Jays, per FanGraphs. Low-A Jupiter (6:30 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 (7:05 p.m. ET), Double-A Pensacola (7:00 p.m. ET), High-A Beloit (7:35 p.m. ET) and DSL Marlins (11:00 a.m. ET) are on the road.Phase 1 of MLB All-Star voting continues through Thursday. You can vote up to five times per email address each day—take advantage of it!Sandy Alcantara ranks 23rd, Jesús Luzardo ranks 36th, Braxton Garrett ranks 41st and Eury Pérez ranks 42nd on The List of top starting pitchers for fantasy baseball created by Nick Pollack.In his updated MLB mock draft, Keith Law of The Athletic reports that the Marlins are "absolutely all over the place" in identifying candidates for the 10th overall pick. They've got interest in right-hander Noble Meyer, catcher Kyle Teel, shortstop Colin Houck and shortstop Matt Shaw.The Marlins created a montage of Luis Arraez smacking Jon Jay on the left pec every time he arrives at first base. Some of their interactions look legitimately painful!On this day 20 years ago, Miguel Cabrera made his MLB debut. The 20-year-old contributed immediately with an 11th-inning, walk off home run to beat the Devil Rays.

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Today's Marlins news roundup also includes life perspective from the fathers in Miami's clubhouse.Sunday's Gameshttps://fishonfirst.com/game-coverage/mia-4-wsh-2-sweeping-the-nation/https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-06/18/9a2e18a0-11673618-c5314d9c-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp4Marlins Podcast Episodes Sunday's Marlins MiLB notes: Xavier Edwards (Jacksonville) hit his second home run and has recorded hits in 12 of 13 games since being sent back down to Triple-A. Another "golden sombrero" for Jerar Encarnación, who leads all levels of professional baseball with 115 strikeouts this season. Jacob Berry (Beloit) continues to increase his reps at first base, starting three of his six games there this past week. In his 11th rehab game with Jupiter, Paul McIntosh went 1-for-4 with a walk. I have to imagine that he'll be reinstated from the injured list any day now.Jacob Amaya tallied an RBI, a single and a stolen base in his major league debut. Here's his postgame interview with Bally Sports Florida.Twenty consecutive appearances without allowing an earned run for Andrew Nardi. He joins Anthony Bender (21 straight in 2021) as the only Marlins pitchers to do that since MLB's three-batter minimum rule went into effect.The Marlins have beaten the Nationals 21 times since the start of 2022, the most head-to-head wins for any MLB team over another during that span.The Marlins have swept—not just won, but swept—five of their last 10 series. Sunday marked the end of the "softest" part of their 2023 schedule and they fully capitalized on it.Kyle Sielaff hosted the inaugural Marlins Radio Twitter Space on Sunday morning (though it wasn't recorded). Grant Kiefer led our State of the Fish weekly wrap-up.Everybody with the exception of Alex Carver received at least one point for their Marlins vs. Nationals series predictions. Nicole Cahill, Paolo Torres, Romeo Rodriguez and David K. Tobin each submitted perfect picks. If you want to make predictions with us prior to every Marlins series opener, please consider becoming a Super Subscriber for as little as $3 per month. You also get access to all of our homemade GIFs to save and use as you desire.Elsewhere around the majors, the Reds (eight in a row), Giants (seven), Braves (six) and Phillies (six) each extended their long winning streaks. Pete Alonso (left wrist bone bruise/sprain) returned from the injured list much sooner than expected. The Red Sox swept a doubleheader from the Yankees. The Pirates are calling up Henry Davis, the No. 1 overall pick from the 2021 MLB Draft—you'll get to see him at LoanDepot Park this week.In honor of Father's Day, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com writes about how Skip Schumaker's dad encouraged his baseball career. Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald asked Schumaker and many of the Marlins players how fatherhood changed their perspective on life.We’ve got a new episode of Fish On First LIVE streaming on /Twitch/Twitter beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET. Super Subscribers, make 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 50.5% odds of making the playoffs, per FanGraphs. They have a 46.6% chance to win their series opener against the Blue Jays. FCL Marlins (12:00 p.m. ET) and DSL Miami (11:00 a.m. ET) are at home, while DSL Marlins (11:00 a.m. ET) is on the road.Phase 1 of MLB All-Star voting continues through Thursday. You can vote up to five times per email address each day—take advantage of it!Fish On First just launched a series on potential Marlins trade targets. You'll find them all here. On Baseball America's preseason Marlins top prospects list, Jacob Berry and Sixto Sánchez ranked third and fifth, respectively. Both have dropped out of the top 10 on their midseason update to the list. MLB Pipeline spotlights 14th-round draft pick Torin Montgomery as the member of Miami's 2022 draft class who's off to the best start this season. Montgomery's .459 on-base percentage would be leading the Florida State League if he had enough playing time to qualify. Good breakdown by R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports on how Eury Pérez has made such a smooth transition to the majors.Featured image courtesy of Miami Marlins

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The skilled shortstop gets his first shot at The Show after sustained success at Triple-A.Prior to Saturday's game, the Miami Marlins recalled Jacob Amaya, one of the organization's top position player prospects. He'll be wearing uniform No. 67. Jean Segura (left hamstring strain) was placed on the 10-day injured list as the corresponding move. The Marlins acquired Amaya from the Los Angeles Dodgers in January in exchange for Miguel Rojas. The 24-year-old wasn't able to crack the Opening Day roster, but he's been hitting well with Triple-A Jacksonville for the better part of two months to make his call-up case. https://fishonfirst.com/game-coverage/at-the-ballpark/marlins-prospects-jacob-amaya-interview/Amaya is especially productive with the platoon advantage. The right-handed hitter has a .922 OPS against lefties in 2023 after posting a .964 OPS against them last year (albeit in high-scoring offensive environments). Amaya wasn't in Saturday's starting lineup as the Marlins went up against Washington Nationals right-hander Jake Irvin. Through the first 70 games of the season, the Marlins have used Joey Wendle (34 starts), Jon Berti (25) and Garrett Hampson (11) at shortstop. Amaya has the potential to be a defensive upgrade over any of them. He has made SS his full-time defensive home, only moving off the position for a brief period in early May to accommodate Wendle during the veteran's rehab assignment. https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/bc50a13e-6a6c-4b0e-b370-7e447325c419.mp4The Marlins obviously would love for Amaya to solidify their starting shortstop spot the way Rojas did for a handful of years, but it's unreasonable to automatically expect that. Although a well-rounded player, he lacks electric tools. This period between now and the MLB trade deadline will be an important evaluation period. With the club in postseason contention, Amaya must perform firmly above replacement level to stick on the active roster and convince the Fish not to trade for an established alternative at the position. Amaya will become the fifth player to make his MLB debut for the Marlins in 2023, joining Xavier Edwards, Jeff Lindgren, Eury Pérez and George Soriano. Featured image courtesy of Miami Marlins

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Rated as one of Miami's top prospects at the time of the trade, Salas can't buy a hit with his new organization.I was critical of the price that the Miami Marlins paid in trading for Luis Arraez and won't run away from that stance just because it has worked out gloriously. It was difficult to fathom why the Marlins deemed it necessary to deal multiple prospects to the Minnesota Twins in addition to Pablo López when one of those players was highly regarded infielder José Salas. In a market starved for affordable starting pitching, they should've had more leverage. Well, perhaps Miami's front office deserves more credit in hindsight, because Salas' value has rapidly deteriorated since then. While Arraez flirts with .400 against the best pitchers in the world, Salas hasn't even sniffed the Mendoza Line since High-A Opening Day. Entering Saturday, Salas ranks dead last among all qualified hitters in the Midwest League with a .165 batting average and a 46 wRC+ (100 represents the league average). The 20-year-old still has youth on his side—every pitcher he has faced in 2023 has been older than him—but that didn't stop him from posting a .230 BA/88 wRC+ in his 48 games there last season. Salas is showing less game power and getting worse results on balls in play despite putting the ball in the air more often. Can't blame the struggles of the Cedar Rapids Kernel on his new surroundings—Salas' numbers on the road are nearly as bad as those at his home ballpark of PG Cares Field. Whatever plagues the talented switch-hitter is affecting him from both sides of the plate. It's especially difficult to explain why his strikeout rate has soared from 18.9% to 28.4% when his swinging strike rate is almost identical. https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/e2d98f1b-03c7-4ee9-9e6f-f163c2060a46.mp4Already this season, Arraez has twice recorded five-hit games; meanwhile, Salas has had only two two-hit games. Even his "good" days haven't been that impactful. During the past week, Salas consistently batted seventh or eighth in the Cedar Rapids lineup. That in itself is worrisome—if the Twins regarded him internally as a 45/50 grade prospect the way that most public talent evaluators did entering 2023, wouldn't they be maximizing his reps regardless of results? Salas is only sixth on his team with 197 plate appearances. The Twins currently lead the American League Central division and they inked López to a long-term extension. Hopefully, that takes some of the pressure off of Salas and he gets back to playing the way he's capable of. Featured image courtesy of josesalas593/Instagram

Arraez's 5-for-5 night bails out bad Alcantara.Were you worried about Luis Arraez? Never worry about Luis Arraez. "La Regadera" snapped his streak of 15 hitless at-bats by going a flawless 5-for-5 on Friday, putting the Miami Marlins offense on his back en route to a 6-5 win over the Washington Nationals. https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-06/16/75d759df-df0aafbb-d5c7c4bd-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp4Were you worried about Sandy Alcantara? If so, this outing did nothing to assuage your concerns (5.1 IP, 10 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HR). Alcantara had more hard-hit balls allowed than swinging strikes. His 4.97 earned run average remains the highest among all current Marlins starting pitchers. https://darkroom-clips.mlb.com/b0262ad4-8ea3-4a60-96b5-240a0164bbfc.mp4This was the first time in 2023 that Alcantara already had a lead before taking the mound. Jesus Sanchez drove in a pair of runs off of Trevor Williams with an opposite-field single. Alcantara squandered that 2-0 lead immediately, but Arraez restored the Miami advantage with an improbable two-run homer. The only other tater he's had as a Marlin came on April 11 as part of his historic cycle. However, Alcantara continued to struggle. Alex Call took the frustrated right-hander deep in the bottom of the first on a four-seam fastball. Alcantara barely threw that pitch for the remainder of the game. Problem is, he wasn't locating his sinker with much precision and the Nats weren't whiffing on his secondary stuff. These clubs were tied entering the eighth inning. Garrett Cooper stepped to the plate with two on and two out as a pinch-hitter for Jacob Stallings. Carl Edwards Jr. induced a ground ball, but CJ Abrams couldn't handle it cleanly. Yuli Gurriel busted his ass from second to home and although Abrams' throw beat him to the plate, the ball popped out of Keibert Ruiz's glove. Per usual, the Marlins bullpen was superb. Andrew Nardi stranded two of Alcantara's baserunners in the sixth and authored a scoreless seventh. Tanner Scott took the mound next and retired the side in order in the eighth. A.J. Puk handled the ninth to earn the save. Additional Info The Marlins are 4-0 against the Nats this season and 19-4 in their head-to-head matchups dating back to 2022.It could've been a more comfortable victory had the Marlins not grounded into three double plays. They continue to lead the league in that category with 75.Arraez joins Juan Pierre (2005) as the only Marlins players to have multiple five-hit games within a single season.Scott has had 16 straight scoreless appearances (15.2 IP), entrenching himself as Puk's main setup man. Skip Schumaker's Postgame Press Conference https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/1669893175685554176/vid/1280x720/0PcHq83OXmGEVLb9.mp4The Marlins and Nats continue their series on Saturday at 4:05 p.m. ET. Probable starters are left-hander Braxton Garrett and right-hander Jake Irvin (who I've frankly never seen pitch in a game before).

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No, I did not publish 200-plus articles today. Our Fish On First email notifications would lead you to believe that! That was a mistake. My apologies. The vast majority of those old articles were authored by Alex Carver on his own site, Fish on the Farm. After years of collaboration and friendship, Alex and I are forming a partnership between FOF and FOTF. With his direct involvement, we'll be able to keep you in the loop regarding all things related to Marlins prospects. Moving forward, you can find his content in the "Farm" section of our site (still under construction). Enjoy your weekend and I appreciate your patience while we take steps like this to build Fish On First into the destination for complete Miami Marlins coverage.