Ely Sussman

Still called the Citrus Series and anything vs. an AL team is still considered interleague play. Just happens a lot more frequently than it used to, so doesn't feel quite as special.

Player status updates, insightful stats and more information to fully equip you for today's Marlins game. 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 Tampa Bay Rays. Starting Lineup RF Jesús Sánchez (L) C Agustín Ramírez DH Connor Norby LF Kyle Stowers (L) 1B Eric Wagaman 2B Ronny Simon (S) 3B Graham Pauley (L) CF Derek Hill SS Javier Sanoja P Max Meyer Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below) View full article

Today's news roundup also includes a peek ahead to the 2025 Citrus Series. "You can't deny the opposite-field power" of Kyle Stowers, as Mark DeRosa detailed on MLB Central. Stowers has opened up his batting stance more in 2025 and positioned himself farther back in the box, allowing him to consistently "catch the ball deeper" and send balls to left field with authority. Nobody would mistake the Miami Marlins outfielder for Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani, but those are the only two qualified MLB hitters who've been barreling the ball more frequently on a per plate appearance basis. Stowers enters Friday on pace for 38 home runs. No Marlins player has reached that total in a single season since Giancarlo Stanton won National League MVP in 2017. Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville won, 12-6, and lost, 5-4. Andrew Pintar drove in four runs on the day and now leads the Marlins farm system with 38 hits this season. Double-A Pensacola won, 9-6. Four strikeouts in relief for Dale Stanavich, which is one shy of matching his career-high. He still has not allowed any extra-base hits this season and no hits of any kind to left-handed batters. Low-A Jupiter won, 12-6. Jesús Hernández has been spectacular over his last 10 games, slashing .405/.436/.676. FCL Marlins won, 6-3. Eight stolen bases for the team. Luis León has eight steals by himself through eight games this season. Cody Morissette kicked off a rehab assignment, playing second base. More Marlins news and content below: 🔷 Laura Georgia checks in on the defensive progress that Agustín Ramírez should be focused on making as the season goes on. 🔷 The latest installment of Hector Rodriguez's draft profile series features prep shortstop JoJo Parker. 🔷 The Marlins continued their annual tradition of sending rookies (in full uniform) on a Starbucks run to the shop near Wrigley Field, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports. Sandy Alcantara picked up the tab. 🔷 The Prediction Time leaderboard has been updated through the first 14 series. Become a SuperSub and we'll keep track of your predictions all season long! 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the Minnesota Twins have won 11 straight games. Six of those victories coming at the expense of the Baltimore Orioles, who have inarguably been MLB's most disappointing team this season. The Los Angeles Dodgers erupted for 19 runs and are now tied with the Detroit Tigers for the best record in the majors at 29-15. Shohei Ohtani is on pace for a career-high 55 homers. Free agent signing Hyeseong Kim, who began this season in the minors, has posted a 195 wRC+ in 12 games since being called up. Awesome pitcher's duel in Texas, with Jacob deGrom and Hunter Brown going eight innings apiece while combining to allow only one run. Jake Burger's solo shot made the difference. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter RHP Max Meyer) open up the Citrus Series at home against the Tampa Bay Rays (RHP Taj Bradley). It's been a lopsided rivalry as of late, with the Rays winning the season series each of the last six years. The Marlins have a 50.0% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 7:10 p.m. 🔷 Prior to the game, Fish On First LIVE will preview the series 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). 🔷 Today's MiLB schedule: Triple-A Jacksonville at Norfolk, 6:35 p.m. ET Double-A Pensacola vs. Rocket City, 7:05 p.m. ET High-A Beloit at Wisconsin, 6:10 p.m. ET (doubleheader) Low-A Jupiter vs. Fort Myers, 6:30 p.m. ET FCL Marlins vs. FCL Astros, 12:00 p.m. ET Marlins podcast episodes View full article

Player status updates, insightful stats and more information to fully equip you for today's Marlins game. 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 Chicago Cubs. Starting Lineup SS Xavier Edwards (S) RF Jesús Sánchez (L) DH Agustín Ramírez 3B Connor Norby CF Kyle Stowers (L) LF Eric Wagaman 1B Matt Mervis (L) 2B Javier Sanoja C Nick Fortes P Ryan Weathers Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below) View full article

Today's news roundup also includes a policy decision that likely paves the way for Pete Rose to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Miami Marlins enter Wednesday having played 41 games, representing roughly 25% of their 2025 regular season schedule. Their 15-26 record is five games better than where they stood at the same point last year, but the overall performance has been inarguably awful. The Marlins rank 27th among MLB teams in winning percentage and 29th in run differential. FanGraphs generously gives them a 0.1% chance of qualifying for the postseason. Miami's best breakout story is outfielder Kyle Stowers, who has emerged as an everyday player and is on pace for 32 home runs after going deep to straightaway center field on Tuesday. Stowers is the Marlins' likely All-Star representative barring injury. The main issue has been starting pitching. Leaning more heavily than ever on data to design pitches and determine when to take starters out has produced disastrous results. Sandy Alcantara (8.10 ERA, 5.61 FIP and .269 BAA in 36.2 IP) is going through unprecedented struggles. It's already apparent that veteran stopgap Cal Quantrill will have zero value to contending teams come the trade deadline. The group's issues have been exacerbated by an inability to control the running game—opponents are on pace to steal 269 bases off the Marlins at a 89.5% success rate, which would shatter franchise records for both SB volume and efficiency allowed. Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville won, 6-4. Troy Johnston went 3-for-4 with a stolen base. Every Jumbo Shrimp position player reached base safely except for Jacob Berry. Double-A Pensacola won, 3-2. Jacob Miller (5.0 IP, 4 H ,0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 81 pitches/53 strikes) lowered his ERA to 2.23 and the Blue Wahoos pitching staff combined for 17 strikeouts. High-A Beloit won, 17-3. The offensive numbers were inflated by position player pitching, but still. Colby Shade erupted by going 4-for-4 with two walks and a steal, while Michael Snyder drove in a career-high six runs. Low-A Jupiter won, 5-4. Rehabbing Victor Mesa looks ready to return to Jacksonville after recording three hits and playing a complete game in left field. Andrew Salas' on-base streak was finally snapped after 24 games. FCL Marlins lost, 14-9. Check out the weekly Marlins Minor League Report for additional MiLB coverage. More Marlins news and content below: 🔷 Fish On First LIVE reacted to Dane Myers' oblique strain and Derek Hill's return from the IL. 🔷 MLB Pipeline's updated Top 100 prospects list includes Thomas White (34th), Starlyn Caba (69th), Robby Snelling (94th), Agustín Ramírez (97th) and Noble Meyer (98th). It's hard to understand why Joe Mack is not a consensus Top 100 prospect at this point. 🔷 Hector Rodriguez has a pair of new MLB Draft prospect profiles on Aiva Arquette and Billy Carlson. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced that individuals on the league's permanently ineligible list are no longer permanently ineligible. Once they're dead, they're removed from the list, Manfred has decided. This applies most notably to the late Pete Rose and "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, who can be considered for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame moving forward. Javier Báez is in the midst of one of the best offensive stretches of his decorated career. He hit a pair of three-run homers for the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday, the latter being of the walk-off variety. Báez has driven in 20 runs over his last 10 games. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Isaac Paredes had walk-off homers for the San Diego Padres and Houston Astros, respectively. Coming off his second ACL tear, former NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. began a rehab assignment in the Florida Complex League. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter LHP Ryan Weathers) conclude their all-Chicago road grip and aim to avoid getting swept by the Cubs (RHP Jameson Taillon). In advance of Weathers' season debut, Kevin Barral wrote about why he could be better than ever. The Marlins have a 42.2% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 7:40 p.m. ET. 🔷 Today's MiLB schedule: Triple-A Jacksonville at Norfolk, 6:35 p.m. ET Double-A Pensacola vs. Rocket City, 12:05 p.m. ET High-A Beloit at Wisconsin, 1:10 p.m. ET Low-A Jupiter vs. Fort Myers, 6:30 p.m. ET FCL Marlins vs. FCL Nationals, 12:00 p.m. ET Marlins podcast episodes View full article

Quick hits on a trio of homegrown players who impressed enough during the first quarter of the 2025 minor league season to boost their prospect stock. The Miami Marlins farm system has improved substantially over the past year-plus largely via trade acquisitions. However, the three new names who've cracked the Top 30 of our Fish On First prospect rankings are all homegrown players: outfielder Kemp Alderman (#23), right-handed pitcher Liomar Martínez (#28) and outfielder Fenwick Trimble (#30). Miami's second-round draft pick out of Ole Miss in 2023, Alderman has played approximately one full season's worth of minor league games, slashing .236/.306/.382 with 13 home runs and 17 stolen bases in 578 plate appearances. That does not account for his brief yet extraordinary Arizona Fall League stint—he went yard six times in nine games last October, posting exit velocities that rival any other player in the Marlins org. Alderman enters Tuesday with a 118 wRC+ in the ultra-pitcher-friendly Southern League. He continues to trim his strikeout rate, from 29.3% in 2023 to 24.4% in 2024 to 18.4% this year. The next step for the 22-year-old is elevating the ball with more regularity. The Dominican right-hander Martínez did not have much pitching experience when the Marlins signed him for a modest $80,000 bonus in 2022. Spending his first full season in pro ball with Low-A Jupiter, the velocity on his sinker has spiked and his curveball's sharp vertical break has been able to induce ugly swings from opponents. He ranks fourth in the Florida State League with 36 strikeouts. Trimble could soon become the first member of the 2024 Marlins draft class to reach Double-A. For the time being, the James Madison product is showing off his great plate discipline and speed with High-A Beloit while getting reps at all three outfield spots. NXl5YjFfV0ZRVkV3dEdEUT09X0FRUUFVd1pWVmxBQVhGc0xWd0FIVUFkZkFBTU5WMVVBQUFFRlV3VlhVMUJXQkZGVQ==.mp4 Trimble's walk rate has nearly quadrupled since last summer's Jupiter Hammerheads residency. We will be making another addition to the FOF Top 30 at the end of this month when Agustín Ramírez graduates from prospect eligibility. Candidates include Nigel Belgrave, Eliazar Dishmey, Ryan Ignoffo and Abrahan Ramírez. View full article

Player status updates, insightful stats and more information to fully equip you for today's Marlins game. 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 Chicago Cubs. Starting Lineup SS Xavier Edwards (S) RF Jesús Sánchez (L) DH Agustín Ramírez LF Kyle Stowers (L) 1B Matt Mervis (L) 2B Ronny Simon (S) CF Derek Hill C Liam Hicks (L) 3B Graham Pauley P Cal Quantrill Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below) View full article

Player status updates, insightful stats and more information to fully equip you for today's Marlins game. 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 Chicago White Sox. Starting Lineup SS Xavier Edwards (S) RF Jesús Sánchez (L) DH Agustín Ramírez LF Eric Wagaman CF Kyle Stowers (L) 3B Connor Norby 1B Matt Mervis (L) C Nick Fortes 2B Javier Sanoja P Sandy Alcantara Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below) View full article

This Miami Marlins season is about development, as president of baseball operations Peter Bendix referenced multiple times in his new interview with MLB.com's Christina De Nicola. Hamstrung by the lowest player payroll in Major League Baseball entering 2025, Bendix was quiet last winter coming off an 100-loss campaign. The Marlins' belief in their internal options was genuine, but they did not feign interest in chasing victories. Their Opening Day roster was the youngest in the league, rife with players who hadn't experienced a full-length MLB season before. Throughout much of the first half, the Marlins' results were unsurprisingly awful. They made it deep into June without having swept a single series. They briefly owned the National League's second-worst record, leading only the historically inept Colorado Rockies. Even the most optimistic Marlins fans were counting down the days until the MLB trade deadline when veterans could be flipped to better position themselves to be competitive in 2026. Then came an exhilarating road trip and a win streak with no precedent in the franchise's history. Miami's overall body of work is still mediocre, but the same could have been said of last year's Detroit Tigers just past the midpoint of the regular season schedule. Through the first 82 games of their respective seasons: 2024 Tigers: 37-45 record, minus-22 run differential, 8.0 games back of final AL wild-card spot 2025 Marlins: 37-45 record, minus-74 run differential, 8.5 games back of final NL wild-card spot FanGraphs had almost given up on the Tigers. Multiple times in early August, their estimated playoff odds bottomed out at 0.2%. The demise of the Marlins looked even more definitive. They spent most of June with 0.0% playoff odds. Detroit leadership determined that they didn't have sufficient offensive firepower to pursue an October berth. The Tigers entered the trade deadline with the 23rd-ranked wRC+ in MLB. They made four deals that week, shipping off Jack Flaherty, Andrew Chafin, Mark Canha and Carson Kelly. None of the seven players they received in return had big league experience. Over the next month, Bendix and Co. will likely come to the same sobering conclusion about their ballclub and behave accordingly, except they'll point to pitching as the issue. Entering Monday, the Fish have a 4.37 FIP which ranks—you guessed it—23rd in MLB. The staff's strike-throwing has gradually improved, but it is still hard to imagine a fiery finish to the season given their lack of swing-and-miss. Moving prospects for immediate reinforcements on that front would be irresponsible. On the contrary, it's been widely reported that the Marlins are open to discussing trades involving longtime ace Sandy Alcantara and former top prospect Edward Cabrera. Handicapped by their own front office, how did the 2024 Tigers rally to 86-76, make it into the postseason, upset the Houston Astros in the first round and come within a game of reaching the ALCS? Well, it helped to have one of the best pitchers on the planet, Tarik Skubal. The eventual AL Cy Young award winner was elite and durable from the team's 83rd game onward (2.46 ERA and 2.28 FIP in 95.0 IP). Once the Tigers punched their ticket to October, Skubal led them to shutout victories in each of his first two career playoff starts. Tyler Holton was also indispensable during that same stretch (0.68 ERA and 2.44 FIP in 52.2 IP), contributing as both an opener and high-leverage reliever. The Tigers offense ticked up, but only marginally. Parker Meadows established himself as their everyday center fielder, combining plus defense with a .299/.344/.513 slash line over his final 50 games of the season. Colt Keith had Detroit's second-highest second-half fWAR on the position player side, shaking off an atrocious beginning to his MLB career. Based on current FanGraphs projections, 86 wins could be Miami's magic number, too. Shocking the world starts with holding onto Alcantara through season's end. Even if the quality of his pitching continues to pale in comparison to his pre-surgery norms, it's critical that he eats enough innings to keep the bullpen fresh. The boost in quality would have to come largely from Ryan Weathers—eligible to return from a lat strain in mid-August—and Eury Pérez, who was recently reincorporated into the rotation. A deep lineup deserves most of the credit for the Marlins' seven-game win streak and their significant improvement from last season, but let's not lazily assume that their hitters will continue to overachieve to this degree. The club's .307 batting average on balls in play is second-highest in the big leagues. The Fish have clustered their hits effectively, performing way better with runners in scoring position than they do with the bases empty. Regression could be coming. Frankly, I do not see a winning record being attainable, much less a Tigers-like surge to 10 games over .500. However, the similarities between the teams at this particular juncture of their seasons are interesting, nonetheless. View full article

Player status updates, insightful stats and more information to fully equip you for today's Marlins game. 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 Chicago White Sox. Starting Lineup SS Xavier Edwards (S) RF Jesús Sánchez (L) 1B Eric Wagaman C Agustín Ramírez LF Kyle Stowers (L) 3B Connor Norby DH Ronny Simon CF Dane Myers 2B Javier Sanoja P Edward Cabrera Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below) View full article

Ramírez has wasted no time establishing himself as a fearsome run producer in the heart of the Marlins lineup, while preseason award favorite Roki Sasaki continues to struggle with his control. It's been 12 years since a Miami Marlins player last won National League Rookie of the Year, the longest drought in franchise history. With nearly a quarter of the 2025 season in the books, the "Gus Bus" is in the driver's seat. Marlins catcher/designated hitter Agustín Ramírez has as good a chance as any candidate of taking home the hardware. Ramírez immediately captured the baseball world's attention—he posted eye-popping numbers during his debut week. After a brief lull, he's raking once again. Through 15 MLB games entering Saturday, the 23-year-old is slashing .276/.312/.621 with a 151 wRC+, which leads the entire NL rookie class. He has the most extra-base hits on the Marlins (12) despite appearing in barely 40% of their total games played. It isn't outrageous to project Ramírez to continue being a great offensive player. He is doubtful to slug like peak Giancarlo Stanton all season, but he's capable of reaching base more frequently. Consistently spraying sharp line drives to left and center field, his expected batting average is .307, according to Baseball Savant, 31 points higher than his actual BA has been so far. More balls will find grass if he maintains this quality of contact. His walk rate should rise as well as opponents recognize the damage he's capable of doing and throw him fewer pitches in the strike zone. Opportunity is a huge piece of the NL ROY equation and Ramírez has that in Miami. Although the Marlins currently have three mouths to feed at the catcher position, he's still getting in the lineup on a near-daily basis. Ramírez has started 14 of 16 games since debuting, averaging 3.81 plate appearances per team game during that span. Staying on that pace through season's end would give him just enough playing time to become a "qualified" hitter (min. 502 PA). That would make his stats even more accessible to voters who may not be keeping on a close eye on the last-place Fish. Ultimately, award cases are all relative to the other candidates. Ramírez has the fortune of sticking out in an extremely underwhelming field. Signed as an international free agent last offseason, Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki was viewed as a potentially dominant MLB starter from the get-go. However, his fastball quality has been much less remarkable than advertised and his control is simply bad (nearly as many walks as strikeouts). Through eight starts, Sasaki owns a 4.72 ERA, 6.17 FIP and -0.3 fWAR. After getting his feet wet in the majors last August/September, Washington Nationals outfielder Dylan Crews entered 2025 as a consensus top-10 prospect in the sport, but like Sasaki, he's been a sub-replacement-level player. Crews is contributing very little outside of baserunning with a .183/.236/.305 slash line (52 wRC+). The former second overall draft pick has been unlucky on batted balls, plus he will have a playing time advantage over Ramírez barring significant injury or a minor league demotion. Still, Crews has dug a significant hole for himself through 36 games. There is still time for new challengers to emerge. Over the past decade (excluding the COVID-shortened season), four players have gone on to win AL/NL ROY while debuting on May 10 or later: Carlos Correa (2015, AL); Yordan Alvarez (2019, AL); Michael Harris II (2022, NL) and Paul Skenes (2024, NL). Conveniently, this article is going up on the day of Cade Horton's debut. He could be a fixture in the Chicago Cubs rotation moving forward. No Marlin has ever won NL ROY unanimously. Don't expect Ramírez to change that. He will be dinged for his choppy defense behind the plate and DH assignments. All things considered, though, I like his odds more than anybody else's. View full article

Player status updates, insightful stats and more information to fully equip you for today's Marlins game. 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 Chicago White Sox. Starting Lineup SS Xavier Edwards (S) RF Jesús Sánchez (L) 1B Eric Wagaman C Agustín Ramírez LF Kyle Stowers (L) 3B Connor Norby DH Liam Hicks (L) CF Dane Myers 2B Javier Sanoja P Max Meyer Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below) View full article

The team's "every decent player will be traded" stigma will take a while to shake off, and deservedly so. I'll just point out that last year was Bendix's first year in charge. He was hired to reset the organization from the ground up and he implemented changes quickly. I doubt we see that kind of trade frenzy from him again.