Ely Sussman

Javier Sanoja looks ridiculously young in the photo above, doesn't he? With those soft facial features and a height of 5'7", you would not believe that he's a Major League Baseball player if you ever saw him without a Miami Marlins uniform. Sanoja hasn't captured national attention at any point in 2025 like fellow Marlins rookies Jakob Marsee and Agustín Ramírez, but this feels like the appropriate time to provide some important context about his first full season in the majors. The versatile Venezuelan was the most valuable Marlins player during Saturday's extra-inning loss in terms of win probability added. Playing third base on this particular afternoon, Sanoja recorded a trio of run-scoring hits, including game-tying ones in both the ninth and 11th innings. af7c41fe-1c62a331-cc5ac5d8-csvm-diamondgcp-asset-4000K.mp4 f3484dc4-b9e9-403d-bfd7-1400e810263e.mp4 The hot corner is the position that Sanoja has played most often this season (32 games), followed by second base (28), left field (26), center field (14) and shortstop (10). He is the only player in Marlins history to make at least 10 appearances at each of those spots in a single year. He's the 13th MLB player to ever be used in such a way, per Stathead, and easily the youngest in that exclusive club. Baseball Savant's fielding run value rates Sanoja as a league-average defender overall, while defensive runs saved views him a lot more favorably (6 DRS), particularly as an infielder. Sanoja has been pretty much as advertised at the plate. His 13.3 Whiff% would rank in the 95th percentile among MLB hitters if he had enough plate appearances to qualify. His power output was always going to depend on how often he could pull his hardest-hit balls. He has checked that box, pulling 19.8% of his batted balls in the air (MLB average is 16.7%). It's gone way under the radar that Sanoja (.393 SLG) is nearly slugging at a league-average level (.404 SLG). He has really picked it up since the All-Star break, slashing .284/.324/.552 in 71 plate appearances (138 wRC+). This is Sanoja's age-22 campaign (he turns 23 on Sept. 3). He's on track to be youngest position player to spend a full season on the Marlins active roster since Giancarlo Stanton despite signing for only $90,000 as a teenager. This career progression makes him the exception to the norm because Miami's player development has a laughably bad recent history of guiding amateur talent to The Show. The only other true "homegrown" hitters to appear for the 2025 Marlins have been Nick Fortes, Troy Johnston and Victor Mesa Jr.—Sanoja has accumulated more playing time than the rest of them combined. Sanoja lacks the physical projection that is typical of a 22-year-old, making it hard to forecast how much he will improve from here. Gaining all of this experience ought to benefit him, but will it be enough to graduate to an everyday player in the coming seasons, or just equip him to be a high-end utility man? Sanoja's highest priority should be learning to run the bases. Although he looks like somebody who'd be a pesky weapon in that department, he's been inefficient at every professional level, including 4-for-9 on stolen base attempts this season. It has been encouraging to see him attempting to take extra bases at a rate 8% above average, but there's the potential for him to be even more aggressive. 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 home series against the Toronto Blue Jays. 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 Javier Sanoja P Ryan Gusto Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below)

Connor Norby aced his previous minor league rehab assignment in April coming back an oblique strain. Different injury this time around (left hamate surgery), but the early results look familiar. Norby singled, homered and walked while playing five innings at third base for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp on Thursday afternoon. Assuming a similar rehab schedule as before, expect Norby to play twice over the next three days, then rejoin the big league club in Miami. It has been a replacement-level season from Norby thus far, slashing .241/.289/.364 with six home runs and seven stolen bases in 72 MLB games. His defense at the hot corner rates as significantly below average. With Graham Pauley sidelined by an injury of his own, Norby should be starting the majority of Marlins games down the stretch to assert himself as an important piece of the franchise's future. Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville won, 4-0 and 11-4. Robby Snelling (6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 K, 99 pitches/61 strikes) lowered his Jumbo Shrimp ERA to 1.13. He looks unequivocally major league-ready. Cody Morissette went 3-for-3 with a walk in his first career Triple-A start. Victor Mesa Jr. drove in six runs during the latter game. Double-A Pensacola lost, 6-1. Fenwick Trimble homered to provide the only Blue Wahoos offense. High-A Beloit lost, 6-2. Watching this game closely, it was a very mixed bag for Jacob Jenkins-Cowart. He went 2-for-2 with a hit-by-pitch, but also made two outs on the bases and had a crucial misplay in right field to allow a go-ahead two-run double in the eighth inning. Low-A Jupiter lost, 4-1. Liomar Martínez (5.0 IP, 2 H 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K, 70 pitches/44 strikes) had his fifth scoreless start of the season. Esmil Valencia's 24-game on-base streak was snapped. DSL Miami defeated DSL Marlins, 3-1. It was the opening playoff game for both teams. The new Forever, Marlins blog includes daily Marlins in the Minors recaps that go into much greater detail. More Marlins news and content below: 🔷 The Atlanta Braves claimed Cal Quantrill off waivers and they're plugging him into their starting rotation. The Marlins are calling up Ryan Gusto to take over his rotation spot. Quantrill is scheduled to make his Braves debut on Saturday, which means he is not lined up to pitch during next week's series at loanDepot park. 🔷 Congrats to Nate Karzmer on his Marlins Jeopardy victory over fellow Fish On First staffers Isaac Azout, Alex Krutchik and Sean McCormack. The full trivia competition is embedded below. 🔷 Janson Junk spoke with David Laurila of FanGraphs about pitch design and sharpening his command. Also on FanGraphs, Michael Baumann noticed how Jakob Marsee is pulverizing weak competition and mistake pitches. 🔷 The Prediction Time leaderboard has been updated through the first 41 series. Become a SuperSub and we'll keep track of your predictions all season long! 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the Milwaukee Brewers became the first MLB team to reach 80 wins. They remain comfortably on pace to post the highest winning percentage in franchise history. Aroldis Chapman completed a hidden no-hitter, having record 27 consecutive outs since he last surrendered a hit. Jesús Sánchez snapped out of an 0-for-27 slump with a 5-for-5 performance. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins begin a three-game set against the Toronto Blue Jays (probable starters RHP Ryan Gusto and RHP Shane Bieber). This will be Bieber's first start for his new club, marking his return to the majors after undergoing Tommy John surgery in April 2024. The Jays have drastic home/road splits—a 42-21 record in Toronto, but a 32-33 record in away games. The Marlins have a 39.4% chance to win, 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

Somewhat of a surprising twist: not only was pending free agent right-hander Cal Quantrill claimed off waivers from the Miami Marlins, but he was claimed by the Atlanta Braves, who are even further away from the National League playoff picture than the Fish are. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, who broke the news Tuesday that Quantrill had been placed on waivers, was also first to report his departure on Thursday. Quantrill made 24 starts for the Marlins this season, posting a a 5.50 ERA, 4.59 FIP and 1.39 WHIP in 109 ⅔ innings pitched. Miami attempted to trade the 30-year-old for young talent prior to last month's MLB trade deadline, but to no avail. They wind up settling for a smidge of financial relief. The Braves are taking responsibility for the approximately $734k that remains of Quantrill's $3.5 million salary. The waiver claim order is based on the reverse standings, so every team with a lower winning percentage than the 58-69 Braves passed on Quantrill. Right-hander Ryan Gusto will slide right into Quantrill's rotation spot beginning on Friday against the Toronto Blue Jays, reports Fish On First's Kevin Barral. Craig Mish of FanDuel Sports Network Florida adds that Gusto is getting the opportunity to stick around for an extended period. The Marlins previously recalled Gusto to start during a doubleheader in Atlanta on August 9. He went right back down to Triple-A Jacksonville after that and struggled in his lone outing since then (3.1 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 0 K). Overall, the rookie righty has 92 innings pitched in the majors, most of which came with the Houston Astros (4.92 ERA, 4.14 FIP and 1.43 WHIP in 86.0 IP prior to being traded). 6a84c2fb-03054b8f-74e3b16b-csvm-diamondgcp-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 Janson Junk and Eury Pérez are projected to start against the Blue Jays on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. After the Blue Jays, Quantrill and the Braves come to loanDepot park for a three-game series beginning on Monday. The Marlins now have an open spot on their 40-man spot and could easily create another when needed by transferring Anthony Bender to the 60-day injured list. View full article

I still had concerns about Marsee's overall hit tool prior to his debut and won't let a few weeks change that. But he's done everything possible to suggest an extremely high floor moving forward. If I had to bet on any current Marlins hitter still being a decent big leaguer 3 years from now, I would have more trust in Marsee over anybody else (assuming no off-the-field hijinks that weaken his eyesight 😅).

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 home series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Starting Lineup 2B Xavier Edwards (S) CF Jakob Marsee (L) C Agustín Ramírez 1B Liam Hicks (L) DH Heriberto Hernández RF Joey Wiemer LF Troy Johnston (L) 3B Javier Sanoja SS Maximo Acosta P Sandy Alcantara 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 second game of Miami's home series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Starting Lineup 2B Xavier Edwards (S) CF Jakob Marsee (L) C Agustín Ramírez DH Liam Hicks (L) SS Otto Lopez LF Heriberto Hernández 1B Eric Wagaman RF Troy Johnston (L) 3B Maximo Acosta P Edward Cabrera 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 home series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Starting Lineup SS Otto Lopez C Agustín Ramírez LF Jakob Marsee (L) DH Heriberto Hernández RF Dane Myers 1B Eric Wagaman 3B Javier Sanoja 2B Maximo Acosta CF Derek Hill P Eury Pérez Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below)

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)