Ely Sussman

Miami Marlins everyday shortstop and leadoff hitter Xavier Edwards has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left mid back strain. Edwards was off to an underwhelming start this season, slashing .263/.337/.292 with zero home runs, 11 stolen bases and poor SS defense. Still, he was a constant presence in the lineup, so his absence creates interesting ripple effects. It is good news for the longevity of Clayton McCullough's streak of batting order alterations. Through 45 games, the Marlins have used 45 different orders. The absurdity of that almost makes it seem intentional. Fish On First's Isaac Azout believes Agustín Ramírez could be Miami's leadoff hitter against left-handed starters, though that theory won't be tested until the Los Angeles Angels series this weekend. On the other hand, it is bad news for Edwards' pursuit of 60 steals. Even if cleared to return by the end of this month, he would have to average approximately one SB every other game through season's end to get there. Otto Lopez returned from the IL in a corresponding roster move, immediately contributing to Sunday's win. Reading between the lines of Sunday's postgame comments, it sounds like Lopez and Javier Sanoja will start most games at second base and shortstop, respectively, with Lopez handling SS and Ronny Simon filling in at 2B on days when Sanoja sits. Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville lost, 6-5. Jacob Berry extended his hit streak to five games and homered for the first time since April 30 as he gradually digs out of a season-opening slump. Double-A Pensacola won, 5-1. Nathan Martorella went 3-for-3 with a hit by pitch. High-A Beloit won, 8-6. Payton Green has recorded multiple hits in six of his last seven games. Gabe Bierman picked up the save and has gone 16 ⅓ consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. Low-A Jupiter lost, 8-4. Dillon Head finished the series 8-for-8 on stolen base attempts. He's gone 17-for-19 this season overall. More Marlins news and content below: 🔷 We have to talk about Liam Hicks, who continues to prove me wrong. When Nick Fortes was reinstated from the IL, I expected Hicks to be buried on the bench. Instead, he has added another dimension to his game by popping three homers since then to boost his season slash line to .282/.352/.487 (130 wRC+). The Rule 5 rookie has not struck out in more than a month!!! Hicks gained some experience at first base with his previous organizations. The Marlins should be using him there occasionally to keep his bat in the lineup. 🔷 Check out Sunday's State of the Fish show, featuring Kevin Barral, Louis Addeo-Weiss and I. 🔷 Christina De Nicola of MLB.com handed out awards for the first quarter of the Marlins season. She selected Kyle Stowers for MVP, Ronny Henriquez for Cy Young, Agustín Ramírez for best rookie and Hicks for best newcomer. 🔷 The Prediction Time leaderboard has been updated through the first 15 series. The Rays series was picked perfectly by @Richard. Become a SuperSub and we'll keep track of your predictions all season long! 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Philadelphia Phillies star reliever José Alvarado has been suspended 80 games for a positive PED test. He'll also be ineligible for the postseason should the Phillies qualify. Former Phillies first-round draft pick Mick Abel tossed six scoreless innings in his major league debut. The Los Angeles Dodgers released Chris Taylor, who played more than 1,000 games with them and was named MVP of the 2017 NLCS. The reigning champs were shockingly swept at home by the Angels in a three-game set. Jack Leiter carried a no-hitter through 6 ⅔ innings against the Houston Astros, but had to settle for a no-decision when the Texas Rangers bullpen faltered. Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Jared Jones is likely to undergo Tommy John surgery. 🔷 Today's MLB game: it's a rematch between the Marlins (probable starter RHP Edward Cabrera) and Chicago Cubs (RHP Ben Brown). Cabrera will take the mound on eight days' rest after experiencing a fluid build-up in his fingernail. Should the issue resurface early in the game, Valente Bellozo is available to provide length out of the bullpen. The Marlins have a 44.3% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 6:40 p.m. ET. 🔷 Today's MiLB schedule: FCL Marlins at FCL Mets, 12:00 p.m. ET Marlins podcast episodes

Peter Bendix has crammed a lot of transactions into his brief tenure as Miami Marlins president of baseball operations, including six moves on the day of the 2024 MLB trade deadline. None of them were as popular among Marlins fans in the moment as the deal sending left-hander Trevor Rogers to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for infielder Connor Norby and outfielder Kyle Stowers. It doesn't take an industry insider to see a robbery in broad daylight. Squint very hard and you can see the Orioles' vision (sort of). They had to try something at the deadline to bolster their perpetually shaky starting rotation. The defending American League East division champions were clinging to a half-game lead over the New York Yankees, but the market was thin on starters who had multiple years of club control remaining. They settled for Rogers and had a plan for maximizing his potential after several seasons of injuries and mediocrity. And the O's were justified in viewing Norby and Stowers as expendable assets. They already had bigger and better versions of them in Coby Mayo and Heston Kjerstad. Both Mayo and Kjerstad were consensus top-50 MLB prospects entering the 2024 season and had been performing as such with Triple-A Norfolk, each with an OPS in the high .900s at the time of the deal. Rogers had posted a 4.53 ERA, 4.43 FIP and .276 BAA for the Marlins that season, averaging five innings per start. He couldn't even reach that level in Baltimore (7.11 ERA, 5.01 FIP and .338 BAA with 4.75 IP/GS), striking out fewer batters than any other comparable stretch of his career. The Orioles optioned him to Triple-A after only four outings and did not recall him the rest of the year. They finished three games behind the Yankees and got knocked out in the opening round of the postseason, swept by the visiting Kansas City Royals in the AL Wild Card Series. As disappointing as that was, Rogers' contractual situation still gave the Orioles hope of salvaging the trade entering 2025. The 27-year-old settled for a modest $2.6 million to avoid arbitration and had a full winter to put the club's fresh ideas into practice. It turns out he made it only most of the way through the winter before suffering a right knee dislocation. Rogers was behind schedule this spring and had to be placed on the injured list. He began a minor league rehab assignment on April 23. His first four starts on the farm looked a lot like his last four big league starts of 2024, so they formally optioned him again on May 11. An Orioles pitching staff with a 5.52 ERA (ranked 29th in MLB) does not view this version of Rogers as a clear reinforcement? Yikes. Regardless, the Orioles' ultra-talented lineup would be productive enough to keep them in contention this season, right? Not even close, as it turns out. All-Star third baseman Jordan Westburg regressed and suffered a left hamstring strain in late April. There is no timeline for his return following a recent setback. His understudy, Coby Mayo, was called up, only to be jettisoned back to Norfolk less than a week later. In 21 career MLB games dating back to the Rogers trade, Mayo has an inconceivably bad .094/.186/.094 slash line with strikeouts in nearly half of his plate appearances. Meanwhile, manning the same position, Norby has been a league-average bat with his new team. The O's also figured that the corner outfield spots were accounted for. They already had Kjerstad and 2024 AL Rookie of the Year runner-up Colton Cowser. Moreover, their largest position player expenditure of the offseason was inking Tyler O'Neill to a three-year, $49.5 million free agent contract. Kjerstad, Cowser and O'Neill have combined to hit .195 with seven home runs. All by himself, Stowers is hitting .305 with 10 homers. Stowers' 1.3 fWAR in 2025 easily clears anybody on Baltimore's roster. 886a8e41-bf144095-5db4725e-csvm-diamondgcp-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 Despite spending more than twice as much on their payroll this season as the Marlins, the Orioles' record is three games worse. They have just fired manager Brandon Hyde for shortcomings that were very clearly beyond his control. The front office could have capitalized on the prospect hype surrounding Mayo or Kjerstad (or both) to trade for a true top-of-the-rotation starter, rather than a reclamation project like Rogers. Jesús Luzardo's value was dinged coming off an injury-riddled 2024 campaign—the O's easily had enough ammunition to outbid the Philadelphia Phillies, but didn't. The silver lining for Orioles GM Mike Elias is his team has cratered so badly, they are in contention for one of the top picks in the 2026 MLB Draft. Elias has consistently turned early-round picks into quality big leaguers, even if the process takes awhile as it did for Stowers. However, if next season's results are anything like what we're currently witnessing, he won't remain employed long enough to oversee the development of that draft class.

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 Tampa Bay Rays. Starting Lineup RF Jesús Sánchez (L) DH Agustín Ramírez 3B Connor Norby CF Kyle Stowers (L) 1B Matt Mervis (L) LF Eric Wagaman 2B Otto Lopez C Liam Hicks (L) SS Javier Sanoja 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 second game of Miami's home series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Starting Lineup RF Jesús Sánchez (L) DH Liam Hicks (L) 3B Connor Norby CF Kyle Stowers (L) LF Eric Wagaman 2B Ronny Simon (S) 1B Matt Mervis (L) C Nick Fortes SS Javier Sanoja 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 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)

"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

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)

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

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.

Drafted by the Marlins in 2024 (Round 4, $550k bonus) July 2025 update: The James Madison product is showing off his great plate discipline and speed while getting reps at all three outfield spots. Trimble's walk rate has more than quadrupled since last summer's Jupiter Hammerheads stint. Fresh off being added to the FOF Top 30, Trimble became the first player from the 2024 Marlins draft class to be promoted to Double-A. After missing nearly two months due to a hamstring strain, he has began a rehab assignment. Injury history Hamstring strain (2025) Professional awards/accolades 2025 Southern League Player of the Week 2026 Spring Breakout participant FOF Top 30 history May 2025: #30 June 2025: #29

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)