Ely Sussman

Here's a taste of Marlins prospect Maximo Acosta and the well-rounded 2025 season he had as Triple-A Jacksonville's starting shortstop. At the time of his call-up to Miami, Acosta ranked second among all Marlins minor leaguers in hits. View full video

It is unclear what his specific role will be or how long his initial stint in The Show will last, but Maximo Acosta is being called up to help the Miami Marlins. That's what good teams need from their 40-man roster depth: the versatility to contribute when a need suddenly arises. Acosta began the 2025 season on a hot streak before falling off dramatically for much of April and May. But in 60 games played since Memorial Day, he's been very good (113 wRC+ with 10 HR and 14 SB). Important to note, the 22-year-old has been one of the youngest players in their entire Triple-A International League. As a reminder, the Marlins picked up Acosta from the Texas Rangers in the Jake Burger trade last offseason. It was, from what I recall, a very unpopular move in the eyes of most Miami fans considering Burger's strong finish to the 2024 campaign, his awesome reputation in the clubhouse and his status as a pre-arbitration-eligible player with four years of club control remaining. In 84 games with the Rangers, Burger is slashing .242/.275/.416 with a 90 wRC+ and 12 home runs. He has had two injured list stints (for his left oblique and left quad), drawn walks at one of the league's lowest rates and been defensively limited to first base. That down year would still constitute an upgrade over his nominal replacement, Eric Wagaman, but only a marginal one. Burger's main issue is chasing pitches outside the strike zone, an area in which the Marlins have collectively improved a lot under their new coaching staff, so maybe he would be more successful had he stayed put. It's impossible to say for sure. In addition to Burger, the Marlins received left-hander Brayan Mendoza and infielder Echedry Vargas, both of whom have spent the entire season with High-A Beloit. Mendoza has started in only four of his 19 appearances, posting a 5.45 ERA in 69 ⅓ innings pitched with a walk rate that has nearly doubled from year to year. Vargas owns a 52 wRC+, which would rank dead last in the Midwest League if he had enough plate appearances to be a qualified hitter. Needless to say, both players' stocks have dropped since joining the organization. Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville won, 6-5. Victor Mesa Jr. (3-4, 2 RBI, BB, SB) was the walk-off hero in his return from the injured list. Double-A Pensacola lost, 6-3. Ryan Ignoffo homered and he's now up to 58 RBI in 73 games played this season. High-A Beloit won, 1-0. Scoreless start for Brandon White (6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K, 73 pitches/48 strikes). Big offensive performance by Ian Lewis (3-3, 2 SB) despite not directly contributing to any runs being scored. Lewis is slashing .400/.479/.475 with eight steals in 11 games at the High-A level. Low-A Jupiter won, 2-1. Another scoreless start for Dameivi Tineo (5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K, 72 pitches/40 strikes). More Marlins news and content below: 🔷 Jakob Marsee is the MLB leader in wins above replacement since debuting on August 1 with 1.6 fWAR. For some context, Jesús Sánchez has never reached 1.6 fWAR in any single season of his career! "Marsee Mania" cannot be dismissed as a stretch of good luck. No other MLB hitter comes close to his .493 expected weighted on-base average this year, which clears Aaron Judge by 41 points. 🔷 The final reporter to interview Joey Wiemer prior to his call-up? Fish On First's own Nate Karzmer, who happened to be in Jacksonville over the weekend. 🔷 MLB.com's Christina De Nicola spoke with Otto Lopez's father about his unique baseball journey. 🔷 Liam Hicks discussed what it's like to catch several of his current and former teammates with David Laurila of FanGraphs. 🔷 With six weeks to go in the MLB regular season, Xavier Edwards (.3025) has pulled ahead of Will Smith (.3022) in the National League batting title race. 🔷 The Prediction Time leaderboard has been updated through the first 40 series. Become a SuperSub and we'll keep track of your predictions all season long! 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the Milwaukee Brewers' 14-game winning streak was snapped. The Los Angeles Dodgers swept the San Diego Padres to regain control of the NL West. Cal Raleigh hit his 47th homer of the season, one shy of tying the all-time MLB single-season record for a catcher. Philadelphia Phillies ace Zack Wheeler will be sidelined indefinitely due to a blood clot in his right shoulder. It's the most significant health issue of his six-year tenure in Philly and likely removes from National League Cy Young contention. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins begin a three-game set against the St. Louis Cardinals (probable starters RHP Eury Pérez and LHP Matthew Liberatore). The Cardinals have been horrible since the All-Star break, posting a 10-18 record which ranks second-worst in the big leagues. Among their many issues during that span, the team is slugging only .366—it's as if their entire lineup was full of Eric Wagamans. The Marlins have a 52.2% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 6:40 p.m. ET. 🔷 Prior to the series opener, Fish On First LIVE will preview it all beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET. FOF LIVE is presented by About The Fans. Check out our new merchandise collection (coupon code fof10 for 10% off). Marlins podcast episodes View full article

Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal readers. These notes apply to the third and final game of Miami's road series against the Boston Red Sox. Starting Lineup 2B Xavier Edwards (S) C Agustín Ramírez SS Otto Lopez DH Heriberto Hernández 3B Javier Sanoja RF Dane Myers LF Joey Wiemer 1B Eric Wagaman CF Derek Hill P Janson Junk Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below)

Who was the "centerpiece" of the Jesús Sánchez trade from the Miami Marlins' perspective? It was hard to tell in the moment. Nearly a month later, outfielder Esmil Valencia has been making a compelling case for himself. At first glance, acquiring Valencia looked like a bet on his speed and defense. In 87 rookie ball games with the Houston Astros organization, he had racked up 27 stolen bases while playing primarily center field. His SB volume doubled upon being promoted to Low-A with 50 steals in 83 games this season prior to the trade. He ranks 11th among all minor leaguers with 59 SB in 2025, and his Sprint Speed is second-best among current Jupiter Hammerheads, according to Statcast. All of a sudden, though, Valencia's bat has also caught fire. With a full week left in August, he has more total bases (35) than he had in any previous month of his professional career. His pre-trade track record was that of a league-average hitter, with wRC+ marks of 100, 98 and 103 during his three seasons with Astros affiliates. Since becoming a Marlins farmhand, he's slashing .362/.403/.603 with just as many walks as strikeouts and a 172 wRC+. Valencia is not particularly projectable for a 19-year-old, listed at only 5'10". Fortunately, he is making lots of quality contact as it is. He has a 90th-percentile exit velocity of 104.1 mph with Jupiter, per Prospect Savant. He has peaked at a 112.0 mph exit velo so far; for context, that exceeds the MLB/MiLB career-best EVs of Marlins outfielders Heriberto Hernández and Dane Myers. With that being said, I believe Valencia in his current form would get blown up by upper-minors pitching. His unorthodox hitting mechanics are easy to exploit. Valencia's setup and the finish to his swing remind me of former Marlin Yuli Gurriel—needless to say, that would be an incredible career outcome. The concern is what happens in between when he freezes his entire body for about half a second prior to the pitcher's delivery. He can overcome that to arrive on time and crush 86 mph sinkers like this one: NHl5YWpfV0ZRVkV3dEdEUT09X1Z3TURCbDBEVjFjQUNsb0ZWd0FIQmxWWEFGbFdVd0lBQndBRVVsQUZDVlVHVkZRQw==.mp4 However, that won't work versus high-end velocity. A statistical red flag has already popped up. Valencia is whiffing against 32.4% of the four-seam fastballs that he swings at. Only 18 of the 349 Statcast-qualified MLB hitters this season are north of that, per Baseball Savant, and they're obviously facing better four-seamers than Valencia. The average velocity of four-seamers thrown to him in the Florida State League has been 92.5 mph, whereas the MLB average is 94.5 mph. Valencia is maintaining an elite strikeout rate since the trade because opponents are trying to finish him off in two-strike counts with breaking balls and offspeed pitches. They are inadvertently doing him a favor! As he climbs the minor league ladder, the pitch-calling will be geared more toward his specific weaknesses, and his production will crater unless an adjustment is made. Valencia is 26th on the Fish On First Top 30 and likely to rise a bit in our end-of-season update. From there, we'll have to see what he changes about his pre-pitch routine in an effort to close this hole in his hitting profile. View full article

Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal readers. These notes apply to the second game of Miami's road series against the Boston Red Sox. Starting Lineup 2B Xavier Edwards (S) RF Jakob Marsee (L) DH Agustín Ramírez SS Otto Lopez C Liam Hicks (L) LF Heriberto Hernández 1B Troy Johnston (L) CF Derek Hill 3B Graham Pauley (L) P Cal Quantrill Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below)

Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal readers. These notes apply to the first game of Miami's road series against the Boston Red Sox. Starting Lineup 2B Xavier Edwards (S) LF Kyle Stowers (L) C Agustín Ramírez DH Liam Hicks (L) SS Otto Lopez CF Jakob Marsee (L) 1B Eric Wagaman 3B Graham Pauley (L) RF Dane Myers P Sandy Alcantara Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below)

Good chance Mesa would be on the active roster right now if healthy. Unfortunately, he's on the IL yet again, and Berry just joined him this week.

Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal readers. These notes apply to the third and final game of Miami's road series against the Cleveland Guardians. Starting Lineup 2B Xavier Edwards (S) LF Kyle Stowers (L) DH Agustín Ramírez C Liam Hicks (L) SS Otto Lopez CF Jakob Marsee (L) RF Heriberto Hernández 1B Troy Johnston (L) 3B Graham Pauley (L) P Edward Cabrera Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below)

Simply doesn't look like this organization will ever give him that chance. Minor miracle that they even called him up at all. Unfortunately, I fully expect Johnston to be DFA'd after the season regardless of what he does between now and then.

Got sent down again and I'm cautiously optimistic that he has pitched the final game of his Marlins career.

I can understand why they still want to see more from some of them, except for Josh White. Looks 100% ready to me.

Terrific stuff. I'll just add, I do feel the Marlins would've optioned Wagaman by now if there was a clear-cut, MLB-ready internal upgrade. There simply isn't one. Mervis flopped, De Los Santos needs another year and Berry is a similar player in a slightly different shape (who I think is dealing with a minor injury at the moment, anyway). They finally called up Johnston...and he doesn't look like an upgrade, either. As I've seen some folks recently ponder, with Norby on track for a return by month's end, that should bury Wagaman deeper on the bench. It may take the combo of Norby and Conine coming back in September to fully squeeze Wagaman out of the picture.

With the Miami Marlins pitching staff decimated by injuries, Valente Bellozo pitched 68 ⅔ innings in the major leagues last season. Although the bottomline results were good, Bellozo's underlying performance was not, hence the chasm between his 1.6 bWAR and -0.1 fWAR. I was pretty confident that the fiery Mexican right-hander would have a reduced workload for the Marlins in 2025. Well, Bellozo is one more lengthy relief outing away from surpassing his 2024 innings total. There have been some encouraging changes in his new role, like an uptick in fastball velocity and a home run rate that's been sliced in half. His sweeper has developed into a plus pitch. However, he's still a control-over-command guy with one of MLB's lowest strikeout rates. He is a tantalizing matchup for left-handed batters and they have devoured him recently. The Marlins' game of the year, a chaotic comeback to topple the New York Yankees on August 1, was made all the more dramatic because Bellozo yielded a three-run home run to Trent Grisham on a fluttering changeup. His two appearances on the ongoing road trip have been mirror images of each other—entering the game with Miami trailing by only a run and allowing the deficit to swell. M3k0eVZfWGw0TUFRPT1fVUZKVVVGZFdVd0FBV2xBQUFnQUhCd2RXQUFBQVVWRUFVd2RYQjFJRFVsVmNWZ0pW.mp4 Sandwiched between those struggles, he breezed through 3 ⅔ scoreless frames against the Houston Astros, but that was easily the lowest-leverage situation of the bunch. The Marlins' usage of Bellozo is far more problematic than Bellozo himself. Why is he repeatedly being deployed in winnable games against the opposing team's most dangerous lefties, including José Ramírez in Thursday's loss? Every 26-man spot is important, so what is Tyler Zuber still doing here over Freddy Tarnok or Josh White, who are thriving in Triple-A Jacksonville with stuff packages that theoretically should work versus LHBs? In terms of both in-game maneuvers and roster construction, the Marlins have been questionably managed during their August downturn. Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville lost, 7-2. Nathan Martorella and Deyvison De Los Santos launched back-to-back home runs for the only Jumbo Shrimp offense. Double-A Pensacola lost, 9-0. High-A Beloit lost, 6-2. Brayan Mendoza's underwhelming season continues (5.0 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 83 pitches/52 strikes). Low-A Jupiter lost, 6-4. Since being acquired via trade, Esmil Valencia is slashing .419/.444/.631 with only three strikeouts in 36 plate appearances. DSL Marlins lost, 9-6. It's the first time since early July that they've suffered consecutive losses. DSL Miami won, 8-6. Kevin Defrank made his final regular season start (3.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K). Great day offensively for Alexander Requena (3-4, 2 RBI, SB). More Marlins news and content below: 🔷 Myles Lewis is out as the Marlins' director of data engineering, which adds some context to this job posting that went up earlier in the week. Lewis had been part of the organization's front office since the ownership change in 2017. His tenure included four years as director of analytics. 🔷 The Marlins are 13th in midseason farm system rankings from both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline. Entering this season, they were ranked 21st and 16th by those outlets, respectively. 🔷 The Arizona Fall League revealed their full 2025 schedule. This year, Marlins players will be affiliated with the Mesa Solar Sox. Their season opener is October 7. 🔷 Thursday was Eric Wagaman's 28th birthday. ForeverMarlins explained what potential the Fish still see in him despite his unimpressive outcomes at the plate. 🔷 The Prediction Time leaderboard has been updated through the first 39 series. Become a SuperSub and we'll keep track of your predictions all season long! 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the New York Mets lost their fifth series in a row and hold just a half-game lead over the Cincinnati Reds for the third National League wild-card spot. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. reached 20 home runs for the fifth straight season. Highly regarded Chicago Cubs outfielder Owen Caissie went 0-for-4 in his major league debut. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins enter the final leg of their three-city road trip with the series opener against the Boston Red Sox (probable starters RHP Sandy Alcantara and RHP Lucas Giolito). The Marlins have a lower all-time winning percentage against the Sox (.320) than any other MLB team. They have a 47.6% chance to win Sandy's start, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 7:10 p.m. ET. 🔷 Prior to the series opener, Fish On First LIVE will preview it all beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET. FOF LIVE is presented by About The Fans. Check out our new merchandise collection (coupon code fof10 for 10% off). Marlins podcast episodes View full article

Jakob Marsee went 4-for-5 with two home runs and a franchise-record-tying seven runs batted in on Wednesday, plus a stolen base and a sliding catch in center field. He's got a 1.414 OPS through his first 13 games as a Marlin. View full video

Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal readers. These notes apply to the second game of Miami's road series against the Cleveland Guardians. Starting Lineup 2B Xavier Edwards (S) LF Kyle Stowers (L) C Agustín Ramírez 1B Liam Hicks (L) SS Otto Lopez CF Jakob Marsee (L) DH Heriberto Hernández RF Troy Johnston (L) 3B Graham Pauley (L) P Eury Pérez Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below)

The Miami Marlins quietly set an unfortunate franchise record over the weekend, and they continued to add to it on Tuesday. After the Cleveland Guardians stole two bases against them, the Marlins have now surrendered 143 total steals this season, exceeding their 2024 total of 139. They also rank dead last in the majors in caught stealing rate (11.7%). The timing and deception of a pitcher's delivery has the biggest influence on controlling the running game. Left-handers inherently have an easier time monitoring runners at first base and less than 10% of Miami's pitches this season have been thrown by lefties. Worth noting, though, Marlins opponents have been successful on 20 consecutive stolen base attempts, a streak that coincides almost perfectly with veteran catcher Nick Fortes being traded away. This shouldn't be as much of a problem in 2026 and beyond assuming southpaws Ryan Weathers and Robby Snelling are starting rotation staples and highly regarded prospect Joe Mack takes over as the club's primary backstop. In the meantime, the Marlins are on pace to allow 195 steals by season's end. That would be the most by any MLB team since the 2001 Boston Red Sox (223 SB). Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville lost, 8-4. William Kempner was thrown into the fire in his Jumbo Shrimp debut, entering with the bases loaded in a tie game in extra innings. He allowed a grand slam. Double-A Pensacola lost, 13-2. High-A Beloit lost, 4-2. Good night for Karson Milbrandt (5.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 6 K, 86 pitches/51 pitches), but the Sky Carp bullpen struggled. Aiva Arquette went 1-for-1 with two walks and a sacrifice fly. Low-A Jupiter won, 6-1. Joey Volini threw a scoreless inning of relief in his professional debut. Andrew Salas has homered in three of his last 13 games after going yard zero times in his first 72 games. DSL Marlins lost, 11-7. DSL Miami won, 10-3. Sandy Presbot became the fourth player on the team to reach 25 stolen bases this season. This was only the team's 51st game! More Marlins news and content below: 🔷 Miami's newest international amateur free agent signing is Dominican right-hander Ricardo Arredondo. The 18-year-old is listed at 6'0", 163. The latest minor leaguers to be released are right-hander Anderson Pilar and left-hander Kevin Vaupel. 🔷 Released by the Fish earlier this month, Matt Mervis and Rob Brantly signed minor league deals with the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Yankees, respectively. 🔷 There is serious doubt about Jesús Tinoco (right forearm strain) returning this season as his body isn't responding well to throwing sessions. He's undergoing further evaluation. Tinoco was terrific after being claimed by the Marlins off waivers last summer (2.03 ERA, 2.08 FIP, .141 BAA, 3 SV in 26.2 IP). However, that didn't carry over into 2025, even before landing on the injured list in June. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, despite Shohei Ohtani blasting his National League-leading 43rd home run, the San Diego Padres have pulled even with the Los Angeles Dodgers atop the NL West standings. Pete Alonso surpassed Darryl Strawberry to become the New York Mets' all-time home run leader. The Milwaukee Brewers won their 11th consecutive game. They're on pace for 102 victories overall, which would set a new franchise record. Athletics rookie Jacob Lopez extended his scoreless streak to 24 innings. Baltimore Orioles pitchers Zach Eflin (lower back surgery) and Félix Bautista (shoulder injury) have been ruled out for the rest of the season. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins continue their three-game set against the Cleveland Guardians (probable starters RHP Eury Pérez and RHP Gavin Williams). The Guardians have won 10 of their last 12 games. The Marlins have a 42.7% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 6:40 p.m. ET. Marlins podcast episodes View full article

Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal readers. These notes apply to the first game of Miami's road series against the Cleveland Guardians. Starting Lineup 2B Xavier Edwards (S) C Agustín Ramírez SS Otto Lopez RF Dane Myers DH Heriberto Hernández LF Jakob Marsee (L) 1B Eric Wagaman CF Derek Hill 3B Javier Sanoja P Janson Junk Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below)