Ely Sussman

As a reliever who rarely closes games, you have to be nearly perfect to get picked! That poor road trip he had last month probably killed whatever chance he had.

This line from Reice sums it up pretty well:

The Miami Marlins just wrapped up their best month of the past two seasons and they did it while essentially playing a man down. Throughout June, their active roster consisted of 12 position players with meaningful roles and also Jack Winkler. The right-handed-hitting infielder only stepped to the plate 11 total times, reaching base safely once. His lone complete game was a loss on June 18. Winkler was optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville on Monday. Fully recovered from a left wrist sprain, Derek Hill will be replacing Winkler, Fish On First's Kevin Barral reports. I won't be exaggerating the impact of somebody with a career 75 wRC+ who was striking out more often than ever prior to his injury, but Hill will help in certain situations. Miscast as Miami's primary center fielder earlier in the season, he fits much better as Dane Myers' backup at the position. Hill is the fastest player on the Marlins and capable of making loud contact against left-handers. This is in addition to being a plus defender. Fans are always eager to complain about injuries depleting their team's roster, but rarely savor when that luck turns around. With the exception of Griffin Conine, every major league-caliber Marlins position player is now healthy at the same time. That gives them a meaningful advantage over most opponents. Don't take it for granted. Down on the farm, the Marlins will be represented in the upcoming Futures Game by their top two prospects, Thomas White and Joe Mack. White was also one of the organization's Futures Game reps last year. The prospect showcase takes place at Truist Field on July 12. Robby Snelling (Pensacola), Jake Brooks (Beloit) and Dameivi Tineo (Jupiter) received Pitcher of the Week honors in the Southern League, Midwest League and Florida State League, respectively. FCL Marlins won, 7-5. DSL Marlins won, 7-3. DSL Miami won, 8-5. Luis Arana (2-4, 2B, 3B, 2 SB) continues to be a bat-to-ball sensation. He has struck out only once in 82 plate appearances this season. More Marlins news and content below: 🔷 Record-wise, the Marlins are exactly where the 2024 Detroit Tigers were through 82 games played. Those Tigers, famously, sold off several accomplished veterans at the trade deadline and still earned a postseason berth. I wrote about why that will be tough to duplicate. 🔷 Ten different FOF staffers gave their perspectives on the first half of the season in our latest roundtable. 🔷 On this day in 2015, Justin Bour crushed a three-run walk-off home run. That came in the midst of a stretch where Bour went yard in four consecutive games. 🔷 True to his nature, president of baseball operations Peter Bendix mostly stuck to platitudes in a one-on-one conversation with Christina De Nicola of MLB.com about the 2025 Marlins. He did, however, single out Rule 5 Draft pick Liam Hicks as the "most pleasant surprise" of the season. Hicks is legitimately on pace for the best rookie campaign in recent memory from a Rule 5 catcher. 🔷 The Prediction Time leaderboard has been updated through the first 27 series. Become a SuperSub and we'll keep track of your predictions all season long! 🔷 Wilyer Abreu hit a grand slam and an inside-the-park homer in the same game. With another scoreless start on Monday, Zack Wheeler took over the National League lead in strikeouts and the MLB lead in pitching bWAR. Losers of 13 of their last 16 games, the New York Mets have been plummeting in the standings. Surging in the other direction, the Houston Astros have won 14 out of 18, but star shortstop Jeremy Peña has landed on the IL with a rib fracture. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter RHP Edward Cabrera) are back home to begin a new series against the Minnesota Twins (RHP Joe Ryan). Old friend Jonah Bride was just designated for assignment on Sunday, so he will not be involved. The Marlins have a 43.7% chance to win, per FanGraphs. If they prevail, it would give them the franchise's longest win streak since 2008! Full organizational schedule below. 🔷 Prior to the game, Fish On First LIVE will preview the Twins series 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 Arizona Diamondbacks. Starting Lineup SS Otto Lopez DH Agustín Ramírez LF Heriberto Hernández 1B Eric Wagaman RF Dane Myers 3B Connor Norby C Nick Fortes 2B Jack Winkler CF Javier Sanoja P Cal Quantrill Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below)

Two full weeks before the MLB All-Star break, the Miami Marlins have already reached the halfway mark of their regular season schedule—81 games down, 81 games to go. The bottomline results so far are similar to what most folks anticipated on Opening Day, but as is always the case, there have been individual performances and other subplots that make this season notable. The following stats from the first half of 2025 caught my attention. Will they be duplicated during the second half? Stolen bases allowed The Marlins have made steady progress in this department, but were so vulnerable early in the season that they are still lapping the field. Steals have been prevalent regardless of who is behind the plate. The majority of the blame must be placed on Miami's pitchers for being slow with their deliveries and yielding so many walks and singles. The Marlins are on pace to allow 210 stolen bases, so it'd take a miraculous second-half turnaround to stay under the franchise record of 139 set in 2024. It has been a quarter-century since any MLB team allowed at least 210—that was the 2001 Boston Red Sox (223 SB). Unique batting orders used All things considered, the Marlins have had decent injury luck in 2025. It's just been frustrating how often one of their players suffer a new setback just as somebody else has completed their own rehab. Partly as a consequence of that pattern, the batting order constantly changed throughout the first half of the season. They are on pace to use 156 different lineups. The franchise record for the universal designated hitter era is 154 from the 2022 season. The Marlins active roster consisted of the same 13 position players throughout the month of June. That ain't happening in July with Derek Hill wrapping up a rehab assignment and the trade deadline looming, and it's safe to assume some standout hitters from the upper minors will earn the opportunity to debut in August/September. I expect this pace to slow down, but only slightly. Xavier Edwards: homerless qualifier? Edwards' first full-length season in the majors is going solidly, particularly since he made the switch from shortstop to second base. However, there is still a glaring deficiency in his skill set: the switch-hitting leadoff man has 20-grade power from both sides of the plate. As researched by Davy Andrews of FanGraphs, no MLB player has had a qualified season (min. 502 PA) while hitting zero home runs since Myles Straw in 2022. All of the players currently on pace to qualify in 2025 have gone deep at least once with the exception of Edwards, and he frankly hasn't even come close yet. The only player in Marlins history who has posted a homerless qualified season is somebody to whom X is frequently compared, Luis Castillo. He did so in 1999, which was coincidentally his first full-length MLB campaign as well. Castillo would go on to play six more seasons with the Fish after that, earning three All-Star selections and contributing to the 2003 World Series title. Edwards could also become the league's first "barrel-less" qualifier since David Fletcher in 2021. That is less flattering company—during the ensuing years, Fletcher hasn't come close to re-establishing himself as an everyday big leaguer. Closer carousel Marlins pitchers have fared okay in the ninth inning this season, even though the man on the mound in those situations constantly changes. Batter handedness and earlier events often dictate who Clayton McCullough calls upon to protect a lead at the end of the game. Calvin Faucher is Miami's saves leader with eight, and there was a stretch from late May through mid-June when he converted all of the team's saves. However, Faucher blew his latest opportunity in San Francisco, then entered a game in the seventh in Arizona, so it is back to being a guessing game. Anthony Bender, Ronny Henriquez, Janson Junk, Freddy Tarnok and Jesús Tinoco each have recorded saves at various points. The current pace of 12 different pitchers with saves would break the franchise record of eight (2019 and 2024). I like the odds of the Marlins maintaining that pace. At least one of those aforementioned names should get dealt to a contending team during trade season and there are various arms doing well in the upper minors ready to fill their shoes. Maybe Andrew Nardi completes his comeback from a season-long injured list stint to handle high-leverage work at some point as well. Let the kids hit Signed by the Marlins to be more of a coach than a player, Rob Brantly was forced into action for a week early in the season when the club was thin on catching depth. It took only three games for his 35-year-old body to betray him—Brantly has been on the IL since April 21, initially because of a lat strain and now knee inflammation. Aside from Brantly, every hitter used by the 2025 Marlins has been under the age of 30. They have accounted for 99.8% of all plate appearances. To the Marlins' credit, the youth movement is going well. Their offense has significantly exceeded preseason expectations, ranking 18th among MLB teams in runs scored per game. The only 29-year-old position players with the organization, Dane Myers and Derek Hill, won't celebrate their next birthdays until after the season ends. Led by a pair of rookies, the catcher position has been a strength, so health permitting, there shouldn't be much need for Brantly or 30-year-old Brian Navarreto (assigned to Triple-A Jacksonville). Most importantly from a team-building perspective, all of the Marlins' hitters are multiple years away from free agent eligibility. This is a core that can continue to develop together. There is zero pressure on the front office to shake things up unless they're blown away by overly generous trade offers or confident in internal alternatives at certain positions. View full article

Fish On First LIVE explains what Sandy Alcantara still needs to show to re-establish himself as a frontline starter. The Miami Marlins right-hander just completed his best month of the 2025 season, but ended June on a sour note by allowing seven earned runs to the Arizona Diamondbacks. 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 Arizona Diamondbacks. Starting Lineup 2B Xavier Edwards (S) RF Jesús Sánchez (L) SS Otto Lopez DH Agustín Ramírez LF Kyle Stowers (L) 1B Eric Wagaman C Liam Hicks (L) 3B Connor Norby CF Dane Myers P Sandy Alcantara Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below)

That's the one I wrote last week, and I stand by that. Stowers has heated up recently to make himself the best Marlins candidate. Even with that, some amazing NL outfielders would need to be snubbed to make room for him on the All-Star roster.

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 Arizona Diamondbacks. Starting Lineup 2B Xavier Edwards (S) RF Jesús Sánchez (L) SS Otto Lopez C Agustín Ramírez DH Kyle Stowers (L) 1B Eric Wagaman LF Heriberto Hernandez 3B Connor Norby CF Javier Sanoja P Eury Pérez Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below)

I am all for "changing the narrative" and keeping great players. There's just a big distinction between middle-aged (by baseball standards) hitters and pitchers. For as much as Sandy has shown during his career to make us trust his durability, it is all too common for pitchers' careers to abruptly fall apart. His first couple months of the season were highly concerning, even with all the caveats about coming back from surgery. Personally, I'm not as convinced of him ever getting back to being a true #1 starter. But I do trust his work ethic to bring him as close as possible to maximizing his potential. It ultimately depends on what offers are out there. In our Sandy rumor coverage so far, we've been focusing on scenarios that bring back young players with extremely high ceilings. A trade wouldn't be worth considering otherwise.

Before trades, injuries and regression to the mean intervene, savor it: this has been the best two-week stretch of Miami Marlins baseball that we've seen since 2023. The Marlins just swept another road series, this time against a postseason-caliber opponent. They scored 24 runs, establishing a new season-high for any series in 2025. Poor starts like the one Janson Junk had on Thursday have become increasingly rare, and Miami's offense and bullpen were able to pick him up, anyway. Even the fielding has improved as the season's midpoint approaches. The Marlins' playoff odds flatlined at 0.0% last month. Their recent 9-4 record will do nothing to preclude the front office from flipping veteran players to other teams if the prospect packages being offered are reasonable. On a macro level, though, this season is trending toward being a legitimate stepping stone to contention rather than a dreary repeat of 2024. Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville lost, 6-2. Joe Mack snapped out of his 40-game homerless streak. Rehabbing from a left wrist sprain, Derek Hill started at designated hitter and went 1-for-4. Expect Hill back with the big league team next week. Double-A Pensacola won, 10-6. Nathan Martorella and Grant Richardson drove in three runs apiece. High-A Beloit lost, 14-5. Low-A Jupiter won, 6-0. Dameivi Tineo was dominant (5.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 9 K, 79 pitches/47 strikes). DSL Marlins lost, 19-3. Anthony Abreu is raking (.260/.439/.600 slash line with 4 HR), but he has already committed seven errors in his first 12 career games at shortstop. DSL Miami won, 7-3. Kevin Defrank (2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) had his shortest outing as a pro. Juan Alva (0-2, 2 BB, SB) extended his on-base streak to 15 games. More Marlins news and content below: 🔷 The Marlins signed 20-year-old right-hander Luis Gómez as an international free agent. He'll begin his minor league career in the Dominican Summer League. 🔷 Marlins director of amateur scouting Frankie Piliere joined the Fish Unfiltered podcast to discuss all things MLB Draft-related (subscribe to Fish On First wherever you get your pods). Additionally, Kevin Barral has updates on every member of the 2024 draft class. 🔷 The Marlins announced a multi-year partnership with Sahlen's to become their official hot dog provider. For one game only on July 18 against the Kansas City Royals, loanDepot park hot dogs will be priced at $1 (they are normally $3 each at 3o5 Menu locations and $6 each at The Press Box). 🔷 Cristian Crespo of Just Baseball believes Dane Myers is the Marlin who's most deserving of being selected to the National League All-Star team. I was briefly on the Dane Train as well, but think Kyle Stowers has done enough lately to steady himself and retake the "lead" in that department. In either case, the challenge is finding room on the roster when the NL is so loaded with productive outfielders. 🔷 The Prediction Time leaderboard has been updated through the first 26 series. Become a SuperSub and we'll keep track of your predictions all season long! 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, former Tampa Bay Rays star Wander Franco was found guilty of sexual abuse of a minor in the Dominican Republic. Franco was given a suspended two-year prison sentence and remains on MLB's restricted list. Current Rays star Junior Caminero became the youngest MLB player to reach 20 homers since Ronald Acuña Jr. (2019) to reach 20 homers before the All-Star break. Bobby Witt Jr. announced that he will once again play for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic next year. Witt was a lightly used reserve during the 2023 WBC, but figures to be USA's primary shortstop this time around. Clayton Kershaw is now just three strikeouts away from 3,000 in his career. Colorado Rockies president and COO Greg Feasel is stepping down after 30 years in their front office. The team's press release cites the desire for a "fresh, forward-looking perspective"—that is amusing because Feasel is being replaced by the owner's son, Walker Monfort, who has spent his entire adult life in the Rockies organization. The second phase of MLB All-Star voting begins on Monday. Here are the finalists at each position. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter RHP Eury Pérez) begin a new series against the injury-riddled Arizona Diamondbacks (RHP Merrill Kelly). It will be Pérez's first time ever facing the D-backs, who sit fourth in the NL West standings despite entering 2025 with championship aspirations. The Marlins have a 40.0% chance to win, per FanGraphs. 🔷 Prior to the game, Fish On First LIVE will preview the Diamondbacks series beginning at 8:30 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

Marlins director of amateur scouting Frankie Piliere praises how outfielder Fenwick Trimble has improved his swing decisions and speed since being selected in the fourth round of last year's MLB Draft. 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 third and final game of Miami's road series against the San Francisco Giants. Starting Lineup 2B Xavier Edwards (S) RF Jesús Sánchez (L) SS Otto Lopez DH Agustín Ramírez LF Kyle Stowers (L) 1B Eric Wagaman 3B Connor Norby CF Dane Myers C Nick Fortes P Janson Junk Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below)

Kahlil Watson sits comfortably atop the "headcase" rankings. Actually got off to a very hot start this season at AA! Strikeouts have been piling up recently, though. Maybe gets a cup of coffee with the Guardians next season.

After getting nothing from first baseman Matt Mervis over the previous month, the Miami Marlins had finally run out of patience, designating him for assignment on May 30. It was a classic example of "addition by subtraction." Mervis was acquired by the current Marlins front office and given an outsized role on the team, but they were still willing to concede that it wasn't working out, and that's commendable. This was the Marlins' opportunity to reward one of their young hitters with a promotion...and they went with Heriberto Hernandez?! It was a baffling corresponding move. The 25-year-old outfielder was in the midst of a solid season with Triple-A Jacksonville, slashing .220/.319/.454 (108 wRC+) with a lot of hard-hit balls. However, he also had a career-worst 35.0% strikeout rate. Hernandez had a glaring swing-and-miss issue against both right-handed and left-handed pitching. While I cannot truly speak for everybody, the overwhelming sentiment at the time was that the Marlins were wasting a roster spot on a player who was destined to fail. It took just a few games for Hernandez to begin proving myself and the other skeptics wrong. By FanGraphs wins above replacement, Hernandez (0.5 fWAR) has been the third-most valuable Marlins position player since debuting. He only trails Xavier Edwards and Otto Lopez, who have accrued nearly twice as many plate appearances during that span. He enters Thursday with a .340/.377/.480 slash line (138 wRC+). His 26.4 K% is on pace to be the lowest that he has posted at any level of competition since rookie ball! Moreover, his defense in the outfield corners grades out as above average. Hernandez is coming off his most impactful game as a big leaguer, driving in four total runs against high-quality righty relievers to propel the Marlins to an extra-inning win over the San Francisco Giants. c3d71aba-b9fd0f7c-a26c56b6-csvm-diamondgcp-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 Hernandez's weighted on-base average (.374) and expected weighted on-base average (.375) are practically identical, so it's not as if he is getting extremely lucky. With few exceptions, though, a player's career batting average in the minor leagues represents the ceiling for what they're capable of doing in the majors, and he was only a .260 MiLB hitter. He continues to have an underlying whiffing problem that should result in more strikeouts moving forward. Regardless of the quality of contact, a .457 batting average on balls in play is unsustainable. Any way you slice it, Hernandez has justified the move to select his contract. The Marlins have other Triple-A outfielders—more conventional "prospects" like Jakob Marsee and Victor Mesa Jr.—making the case to be called up, but they will have to bide their time until trades or injuries create an opening. Hernandez's job ought to be secure for the foreseeable future. View full article