Ely Sussman

Entering this week, the National League Manager of the Year hype had begun to build around Clayton McCullough. The Miami Marlins have lost five of their seven games since then, with the latest double debacle underscoring why McCullough wasn't a true contender for that award in the first place. The Marlins were defeated twice by a non-competitive Atlanta Braves club on Saturday, in large part because they didn't fully utilize the talent on their roster in late-and-close situations. Game 1 (MIA 1, ATL 7) Hurston Waldrep pitched extremely well for the Braves in his previous outing at the inaugural Speedway Classic. This start was more of the same (6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 89 pitches/61 strikes). Waldrep kept the Marlins off balance with his six-pitch mix and his splitter was especially sharp. Only a handful of balls even escaped the infield against the rookie right-hander and Jurickson Profar bailed him out of his biggest mistake. Agustín Ramírez crushed a fly ball to left field that seemed destined to be a solo home run, but Profar scaled the wall with perfect timing to make the catch. zxn4wh_1.mp4 Serving as the Marlins' 27th man for this doubleheader, Ryan Gusto looked solid in his debut with the club (6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 98 pitches/67 strikes). Gusto's four-seam fastball was his best swing-and-miss pitch. He allowed only five total hard-hit balls, as defined by Baseball Savant. The Braves' hottest bat entering this series, Michael Harris II continues to turn his season around. His double off of Gusto in the bottom of the second inning ignited a two-run rally. But don't let the lopsided final score fool you: the Marlins were very much alive deep into the game. Trailing 3-1 in the top of the seventh inning, the potential tying runs were on first and second with nobody out. Dane Myers has slumped more severely lately than any other Marlins hitter, particularly versus right-handed pitching, yet Clayton McCullough stuck with him against Pierce Johnson. Myers grounded into a deflating double play. While it's true that McCullough's only pinch-hitting options were also righties, letting Myers take that plate appearance and swing away in that scenario (as opposed to attempting a sacrifice bunt) was a blatant mistake. The Marlins failed to score in the inning. The red-hot Harris then put the game out of reach. In relief of Gusto, George Soriano was inexplicably called upon to keep the deficit manageable, and he predictably stumbled. Harris was gifted a center-cut 0-2 fastball and drilled a three-run homer that made it 7-1 Atlanta. Soriano has surrendered seven long balls in 21 ⅓ innings pitched for the Fish in 2025. Signed by Miami a decade ago as an international free agent, it's getting very difficult to imagine his tenure lasting beyond this year. Newly promoted from Jacksonville—filling in for Anthony Bender, who's been placed on the paternity list—righty Tyler Zuber made quick work of the Braves in the bottom of the eighth. Cool milestone: first base umpire Jen Pawol became the first woman to ump an MLB regular season game. Here is a compilation of the plays she was responsible for calling. Game 2 (MIA 6, ATL 8) I was in disbelief watching the nightcap. Somehow, the game was scoreless through the first three innings despite extremely poor pitch execution from both Sandy Alcantara and Erick Fedde. They plainly "didn't have it." Well, two innings later, there were nine runs on the board, the majority of those scored by the team that has nothing left to play for. The Marlins seized a 4-0 advantage in the top of the fourth inning. Marcell Ozuna answered back with a majestic solo shot. Alcantara's lack of command was reminiscent of his rusty April/May self (he walked old friend Vidal Bruján twice). It took a fortuitous ground ball double play for him to escape the frame without yielding more damage. Even with Bender unavailable, McCullough had four relatively trustworthy relievers—Ronny Henriquez, Tyler Phillips, Lake Bachar and Calvin Faucher—to navigate the rest of the game. It was irrational to expect Alcantara to suddenly "settle in" given the evidence in front of us. Up 4-1, Alcantara led off the fifth inning by striking out light-hitting No. 9 hitter Nick Allen. Once the lineup flipped over, though, things collapsed in a hurry, and McCullough was too complacent. Jurickson Profar single. Matt Olson walk. Drake Baldwin RBI single. Ozuna go-ahead, three-run homer. 0ad0eee5-343975fb-325f8d59-csvm-diamondgcp-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 Alcantara, to his credit, stopped the bleeding and kept the game at 5-4. Facing a Braves team that has repeatedly choked under similar circumstances this season, the door was still open to salvage a doubleheader split, even after the Marlins went down quietly in the top of the sixth. First man out of the 'pen to relieve Sandy? Not Henriquez...nor Phillips...nor Bachar...nor Faucher. Valente Bellozo, huh? McCullough got too cute, thinking that practically any right-hander would be able to put up a zero against the soft bottom of the Braves order. Instead, both Bruján and Luke Williams reached base safely, Allen bunted them over, and Olson and Baldwin delivered the all-important insurance runs to make it 8-4. The Fish did indeed keep fighting, but it was too little, too late. Another awesome Jakob Marsee game (2-2, RBI, 2 BB, 3 SB) went to waste. The Marlins are the first road team since the New York Mets (June 16-18) to lose a series at Truist Park. It's entirely possible that the Marlins would've gone winless on Saturday even with a pinch-hitter for Myers, a shorter leash on Alcantara and more reliable arms used in place of Soriano and Bellozo. All McCullough can do is put his players in position to be successful. He disappointed in that regard this time. The Marlins head into Sunday's series finale trailing the Mets by six games for the final NL wild-card spot. Cal Quantrill looks to shake off his awful performance from earlier in the week (4.1 IP, 7 ER vs. HOU). Left-hander Joey Wentz starts for the Braves. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. ET.

Acquired via trade from the Astros in July 2025 August 2025 update: Valencia plays all aspects of the game with a very high motor. He takes extra bases and makes defensive plays that you wouldn't expect, while also attempting the hit certain pitches that he'd be better off taking. He is on pace to rank among Minor League Baseball's top 10 base-stealers this season. Professional awards/accolades 2026 Spring Breakout participant FOF Top 30 history August 2025: #26 September 2025: #25 October 2025: #19 January 2026: #24 April 2026: #23

Signed via international free agency ($550k signing bonus) FOF Top 30 history August 2025: #25 September 2025: #24

Down on the farm, I have to take a few paragraphs to give Robby Snelling his flowers before recapping the rest of Thursday's Miami Marlins minor league action. This performance against the Nashville Sounds (6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 11 K, 95 pitches/65 strikes) might have been his best since being promoted to Triple-A Jacksonville, and that's saying a lot. When Snelling previously struck out 11 batters on July 26, he leaned heavily on an explosive fastball. His velocity was less extraordinary this time around (averaging 94.1 mph), so his curveball was just as important as a putaway pitch. As you can see below, the 21-year-old lefty was repeatedly enticing guys to chase outside the strike zone thanks to its luscious shape. Moving up a level has done nothing to rattle Snelling. He had a 2.92 FIP in 14 starts with Double-A Pensacola and he has a 2.99 FIP in five starts with the Jumbo Shrimp. mrt0d9.mp4 Snelling is certain to make at least one more minor league start. As discussed last month in relation to Joe Mack, the Marlins are incentivized to preserve Snelling's rookie eligibility for 2026—delaying his call-up until August 15 would satisfy that. Also, Snelling does not have any professional experience pitching on four days' rest. That box almost always gets checked before a prospect is plugged into a regular MLB rotation spot, so if his next outing comes on Tuesday, we're officially on call-up watch. Ultimately, I believe the timing of Snelling's debut is closely connected to the status of Cal Quantrill. A spot opens up if another team claims Quantrill off waivers or if he has a couple more ineffective starts similar to what he did against the Houston Astros on Tuesday. There is still a scenario in which the rising star finishes out the season in the minors. Also for Jacksonville in their 7-2 win, Maximo Acosta homered and Nathan Martorella went 3-for-5. Martorella is 6-for-14 with a 1.071 OPS since arriving at AAA. Double-A Pensacola lost both ends of their doubleheader, 2-1 and 7-0. Dax Fulton carried a shutout into the sixth inning before a regrettable hanging breaking ball. High-A Beloit won, 8-1. Four different Sky Carp had multi-hit games, including 2025 draftee Wilson Weber. Low-A Jupiter won, 4-1. Esmil Valencia hit his first home run with the Marlins organization. DSL Marlins won, 13-12. DSL Colorado rallied for eight runs with two outs in the top of the ninth inning. The home team ultimately prevailed in 11 innings. With no pitch clock in the Dominican Summer League, it took a not-so-tidy five hours and 41 minutes. DSL Miami lost, 4-0. More Marlins news and content below: 🔷 Thursday's loss in Atlanta was arguably the worst for the Marlins this season. We even did an instant reaction Twitter space about it. 🔷 Odd to see none of the Braves batters swing-and-miss against Eury Pérez's fastball. That has been a consistently dominant pitch for Pérez this season, generating at least three whiffs in each of his previous 10 starts with an average of 6.2 per start. 🔷 In an MLB Now interview, Kyle Stowers attributes his breakout season to a change in mindset and prioritizing be on time for fastballs. 🔷 July was the most-watched month for the Marlins on cable since September 2023, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. Also, the streaming audience in the FanDuel Sports Network app was up 62% over last July. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Paul Skenes held his opponent scoreless for the fifth time in his last seven starts. His 1.94 ERA this season is best among all MLB qualifiers. Athletics rookie Jacob Lopez had an even more dominant performance (7.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K). The Seattle Mariners swept the Chicago White Sox and improved to a season-high 10 games over .500. 🔷 Today's MLB game: it's the second of five contests between the Marlins and Braves (probable starters RHP Edward Cabrera and RHP Bryce Elder). Cabrera has strangely only faced Atlanta once over the last two seasons combined when he went five scoreless innings at Truist Park last August. The Marlins have a 42.8% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 7:15 p.m. ET. Marlins podcast episodes

The Atlanta Braves stink. It's been nearly a decade since the last time we were able to say that so matter-of-factly. Pretty much everything has not gone according to plan for them since Opening Day, and there has been no let up in bad news lately. The Braves and Miami Marlins last faced off from June 20-22. Since then, Atlanta owns the worst record in Major League Baseball (12-25). They face off again for five games over the next four days with Ronald Acuña Jr. and Austin Riley both sidelined by injuries and the home team's "best" projected starting pitcher being...Erick Fedde? This is a must-win series against arguably the weakest opponent remaining on the Marlins' 2025 schedule. Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville won, 9-0. Recent waiver claim Joey Wiemer (3-3, 2 HR, 5 RBI, BB, HBP) reached base safely in all five of his plate appearances in his Marlins organizational debut. Patrick Monteverde tossed five scoreless innings, helping his own cause with the outstanding defensive play embedded below. Double-A Pensacola lost, 11-5. Brutal night for Alex Williams (3.0 IP, 10 H, 8 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 88 pitches/60 strikes). Payton Green, Colby Shade and Eric Rataczak each recorded hits in their Double-A debuts. High-A Beloit lost, 3-0. Brandon Compton drew three walks and stole a base. Low-A Jupiter lost, 8-5. More Marlins news and content below: 🔷 Ryan Weathers (left lat strain) threw a 20-pitch bullpen session on Wednesday. Realistically, that still leaves him at least five weeks away from returning to the majors as a starter, but manager Clayton McCullough is "hopeful" that he will indeed return before season's end. 🔷 Third base has been one of the Marlins' weakest positions in 2025. However, in 19 games since Connor Norby was placed on the injured list, the Marlins are getting great production at the hot corner. Javier Sanoja has excelled on the short side of that platoon, but it's been mostly Graham Pauley's position. He is slashing .250/.348/.450 with a 123 wRC+ during this latest stint. His defense has been nearly flawless, saving runs with his reaction time and ability to make accurate, off-balance throws across the diamond. If Pauley can keep this up, it will be fascinating to see how the Marlins utilize him once Norby gets back. 🔷 On this day nine years ago, Ichiro Suzuki recorded his 3,000th MLB hit, and on this day 15 years ago, Dan Uggla and Hanley Ramírez played vital roles in a thrilling 10-inning victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. 🔷 The Prediction Time leaderboard has been updated through the first 37 series. Not much movement since the previous update considering how confident most folks were in the Marlins to continue their streak of series victories. Become a SuperSub and we'll keep track of your predictions all season long! 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Trevor Rogers continues to be spectacular since rejoining the Baltimore Orioles starting rotation. His ERA actually went up to 1.44 despite holding the Philadelphia Phillies to one run across six innings pitched. The Milwaukee Brewers became the first MLB team to reach 70 wins this season. Chicago Cubs right-hander Andrew Kittredge threw an immaculate inning. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins and Braves begin their supersized series at Truist Park (probable starters RHP Eury Pérez and RHP Carlos Carrasco). The Marlins have a 51.4% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 7:15 p.m. ET. 🔷 This weekend, Jen Pawol will become the first woman to umpire MLB regular season games. She'll work both ends of Saturday's doubleheader, then call balls and strikes on Sunday. 🔷 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

The Miami Marlins were a last-place team in early June. They've been one of the best MLB teams since then. What changed? By far the biggest difference-maker has been the quality of their starting pitching. That's what has made this Houston Astros series so out of character. In getting hit hard on Monday, at least Sandy Alcantara saved the bullpen by continuing to attack the strike zone and completing seven innings. But following that up with Cal Quantrill's terrible showing the next night—lasting just 4 ⅓ frames—was deflating. By Game Score, Quantrill (16) had the worst outing by any Marlins starter since April. Trailing both the New York Mets and San Diego Padres by seven games with 50 left to play, the Marlins have barely any margin for error. Scheduled to play 28 of those games in the next 29 days, they need both run prevention and volume from their SPs to be playing meaningful games in September. Down on the farm, 2025 MLB Draft picks Aiva Arquette (Round 1 pick), Brandon Compton (2), Max Williams (3), Drew Faurot (4), Chris Arroyo (5), Carson Laws (14) and Cannon Pickell (20) played their first official games as members of the Marlins organization. Arquette and Compton debuted with High-A Beloit, while the others did so with Low-A Jupiter. Emilio Barreras (8), Wilson Weber (12) and Chase Renner (13) are likely to debut tonight. In addition to the previously mentioned Brock Vradenburg, minor leaguers Matt Mervis, Rob Brantly, Jun-Seok Shim, Jake Thompson, Harrison Spohn, Josh Zamora, Ricky DeVito, Jorge Mercedes and Wilfredo Henriquez were released, creating room for the draft picks to be activated. Their MiLB stats from this season are posted below. Also, Wilfredo Lara was suspended, presumably for his role in this benches-clearing incident last Saturday. More Marlins news and content below: 🔷 Jakob Marsee is exceeding even the most optimistic projections thus far. His 359 wRC+ since debuting on Friday is third-best in the majors (min. 10 PA), plus he's doing well defensively in center field. His 0.7 fWAR through five games this season matches Luis Arraez's output through 108 games! Marsee was part of the prospect package that the Marlins received for Arraez last year. 🔷 Alex Krutchik updates where Agustín Ramírez stands in the National League Rookie of the Year race. 🔷 Kyle Stowers was named the 2025 Miami Marlins Heart and Hustle Award winner by the MLBPAA. Previous Marlins winners include Jon Berti (2022), Luis Arraez (2023) and Jake Burger (2024). 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Nathan Eovaldi has been MLB's best starting pitcher this season when healthy. Eight more scoreless innings on Tuesday lowered his ERA to 1.38. Max Muncy and Teoscar Hernández each had multi-homer games for the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 12-6 win. It had been more than a month since they previously topped seven runs in a game. Shea Langeliers tied a modern era record for most total bases by a catcher in a game with 15. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins will try to salvage the finale of their series against the Astros (probable starters RHP Janson Junk and RHP Spencer Arrighetti). Jose Altuve is having another big series. He has a lifetime 1.008 OPS in 23 games against the Fish, his best vs. any opposing team. The Marlins have a 48.7% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 4:40 p.m. ET. Marlins podcast episodes

We lead off today with a bunch of Miami Marlins farm system updates. The Marlins claimed Joey Wiemer off waivers and optioned him to Triple-A Jacksonville. A few years ago, Wiemer looked to be emerging as an intriguing outfielder with plus power and defensive aptitude. He has had a lot of trouble tapping into that game power recently, though, with a .312 slugging percentage in Triple-A during each of the last two seasons. He's doubtful to get more than a cup of coffee in Miami down the stretch—rather, the Marlins are focused on fixing him for 2026, when he'll be out of minor league options. Brock Vradenburg was released barely two years after being selected him in the third round of the 2023 MLB Draft and signing for $916,000. Vradenburg boosted his draft stock with terrific offensive output in his junior season at Michigan State (13 HR and 175 wRC+ in 55 G), but his power hasn't translated at all to the pros (13 HR and 90 wRC+ in 225 G). It's unusual to see early-round picks receive such a short leash; then again, the decision-makers responsible for picking him are no longer with the organization. For the second time in as many days, a pending free agent reliever was traded for cash considerations. Right-hander Austin Roberts, a former minor league Rule 5 Draft pick, has been dealt to the Milwaukee Brewers. As a reminder, last week's MLB trade deadline only applied to players on 40-man rosters. Roberts accrued a farm system-leading 122 appearances over the last three seasons and excelled as Double-A Pensacola's closer for most of 2024. There's nothing deeply flawed about him—just wasn't going to be in the club's plans, so the Marlins got whatever compensation they could. Marlins affiliates in U.S. domestic leagues enter Tuesday with an even .500 winning percentage, but they are mostly doing it with legitimate prospects instead of older depth placeholders, as J.J. Cooper of Baseball America details. By weighted age, their affiliates have the third-youngest pitchers and tied for the fifth-youngest hitters. On the field, Kemp Alderman was named Southern League Player of the Week for the third time this season. Alderman ranks sixth among Southern League qualifiers with a 132 wRC+ this season. Julio Mendez was named Florida State League Pitcher of the Week. DSL Marlins won, 5-1. Luis Cova played his 100th career game in the Dominican Summer League. His overall stats are excellent—.265/.398/.434 slash line with 69 stolen bases and more walks (67) than strikeouts (60). DSL Miami won, 12-7. Eiver Mosquera (3.2 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K) came down to earth after entering the day with a 0.87 ERA in his previous 20 ⅔ innings pitched, but his teammates scored 12 unanswered runs following his exit. José Castro hit his 13th homer, the highest single-season total on record for a Marlins prospect in a foreign rookie ball league. The Marlins are six games back of the San Diego Padres for a National League postseason spot. More Marlins news and content below: 🔷 Derek Hill made his return from a left middle finger sprain and homered in his first plate appearance. Jack Winkler was designated for assignment in a corresponding roster move. 🔷 Anthony Veneziano is no longer in DFA limbo after being claimed off waivers by the St. Louis Cardinals. In 34 MLB appearances with Miami, Veneziano posted a 4.18 ERA, 4.46 FIP and .278 BAA in 32 ⅓ innings pitched. 🔷 Sandy Alcantara was hit hard by the Houston Astros, particularly during a five-run top of the fourth inning. 🔷 Sean McCormack highlights the best picks that the Marlins made in last month's draft, ranging from first-rounder Aiva Arquette to 16th-rounder RJ Shunck. 🔷 Happy 28th birthday to Braxton Garrett. The former Marlins first-round draft pick has a lifetime 4.03 ERA, 3.84 FIP and .260 BAA in 326 ⅓ innings pitched across parts of five MLB seasons. He's been spending all of 2025 rehabbing from elbow surgery. 🔷 Just Baseball is organizing a meet-up at loanDepot park on August 23, offering a variety of giveaways for those purchasing tickets for that afternoon's Marlins game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Details here. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the New York Yankees bullpen blew it again, allowing a game-tying home run to Joc Pederson in the ninth inning and a walk-off homer to Josh Jung in the 10th. Chicago Cubs trade acquisition Michael Soroka suffered a shoulder injury in his debut with the club and has been placed on the 15-day IL. 🔷 Today's MLB game: steady Cal Quantrill starts for the Marlins against the Astros, who'll be using an opener. The Marlins have a 41.3% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 6:40 p.m. ET. Marlins podcast episodes