Ely Sussman

Sandy Alcantara barely broke a sweat during his masterful start in Miami on Wednesday. Watch for yourself. 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 home series against the Chicago White Sox. Something to monitor: Griffin Conine is "under the weather," per manager Clayton McCullough, which is why he isn't in the starting lineup. Starting Lineup CF Jakob Marsee (L) 2B Xavier Edwards (S) SS Otto Lopez C Liam Hicks (L) DH Connor Norby RF Owen Caissie (L) LF Heriberto Hernández 1B Graham Pauley (L) 3B Javier Sanoja P Sandy Alcantara Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below)

Whatever expectations you had for the Miami Marlins entering the 2026 season should not change in any way based on a five-game sample against soft competition. However, those expectations may have been influenced by incomplete information if you didn't account for the switch that this team flipped during the middle of the previous year. Across nearly 900 innings, the Fish have excelled. For the sake of round numbers, let's look at the last 100 games. Dating back to June 14, 2025, the Marlins have a 57-43 record—that is tied for sixth-best in Major League Baseball, according to Stathead. The team they're tied with? The World Series-champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Every team with a superior record qualified for the 2025 postseason. Rk Team Span Started Span Ended ▼ WL% G W L 1 MIL 2025-06-10 2026-03-31 .660 100 66 34 2 TOR 2025-06-11 2026-03-31 .610 100 61 39 3 PHI 2025-06-11 2026-03-31 .600 100 60 40 4 SEA 2025-06-14 2026-03-31 .590 100 59 41 5 BOS 2025-06-09 2026-03-31 .580 100 58 42 6 MIA 2025-06-14 2026-03-31 .570 100 57 43 7 LAD 2025-06-10 2026-03-31 .570 100 57 43 This is the winningest 100-game stretch for the Marlins since the very end of 2022 (final eight games) and 2023 pre-All-Star break (92 games), when they went 58-42. Why this might be legit Consistency has been key for the resurgent Marlins. They've played in 32 series over this span, getting swept only once (9/1/25-9/3/25 against the Washington Nationals). Their record is comfortably above .500 both at home and on the road—they actually established an all-time franchise record for consecutive road wins at the beginning of these 100 games. What's been causing problems for the opposition? The Marlins offense constantly applies pressure. Their 19.5% strikeout rate over the last 100 games is fifth-lowest in MLB and they've stolen 91 bases, which is the fifth-highest total. The Marlins have won despite never being able to utilize a full-strength lineup. For the first 40 games, dynamic center fielder Jakob Marsee was still in the minor leagues. For the last 45 games, All-Star Kyle Stowers has been sidelined due to various injuries. During their brief overlap in availability, Griffin Conine and Connor Norby were both out. Knock on wood, all of those bats should be taking the field together later this month as Stowers (hamstring strain) gradually increases baseball activities. To the disdain of baseball traditionalists, Miami's coaching staff began calling every pitch from the dugout on September 19. The early returns have been awesome, with 21 different pitchers combining for a 3.21 ERA (eighth in MLB). Why this might be a mirage Tuesday's game was uncharacteristically comfortable for the Marlins. They won at a .566 clip over their previous 99 games despite an overall run differential of zero. That's the underlying performance of a .500 team. Offensively, the 2025 Marlins leaned heavily on rookies and other pre-arbitration-eligible hitters playing their first full-length MLB seasons. While some of them may continue getting better as they accrue additional experience, it's more common to see regression as the rest of the league interprets their data and learns their tendencies. Marlins relievers have been extraordinarily clutch since last summer. Is that because of manager Clayton McCullough pushing all of the right buttons, or are they beneficiaries of random variance? They will attempt to continue overachieving in this department without the services of electric right-hander Ronny Henriquez, who'll miss all of 2026 while recovering from elbow surgery. Sandy Alcantara is a stabilizing force for the franchise, on the mound and in the clubhouse. Only Cristopher Sánchez and Garrett Crochet have averaged more innings pitched per start among MLB qualifiers during this span. The Marlins were open to trading him in the past; now in the final guaranteed season of his contract (and due a pay raise if his 2027 option is exercised), those conversations are highly likely to resume. Can youngsters sufficiently fill his shoes if the front office gets an offer they can't refuse? View full article

In 4 of the previous 5 years, he was injured before the season even began. It's a minor miracle that he actually made his first scheduled start for a change haha.

Good observation. Looking back at most of the game, I saw that by default, Hicks sets an initial target around waist high, but then drops his glove down and reacts to the pitch. This applied to most pitch types. The grand slam was an example of his default position. With a lot of fastballs, he would show an even higher target around the letters. I believe this was just terrible execution, but the pitch they wanted. Paddack likes throwing his changeup to both LHB and RHB.

Cutting down on the grounders will be important, but in his defense, weak contact isn't worrying me. His one from last night, for example, was 110 mph off the bat. He also has the hardest-hit ball of the entire Marlins season so far (113.5 mph, recorded on Saturday). The power has been in him the whole time even when the results aren't there.

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 Chicago White Sox. Starting Lineup CF Jakob Marsee (L) 2B Xavier Edwards (S) C Agustín Ramírez 1B Liam Hicks (L) SS Otto Lopez DH Owen Caissie (L) LF Heriberto Hernández RF Griffin Conine (L) 3B Graham Pauley (L) P Janson Junk Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below)

The two biggest transactions of the 2025-26 Miami Marlins offseason both subtracted major league starting pitchers to fortify the organization's position player pipeline. The Marlins insisted that this was not punting on their current team, that the quality of their rotation depth will be strong enough to make up for the absences of Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers. I was dubious of that argument, but we're still several months away from being able to render a verdict. If you are in the Marlins front office, Monday's performances were unsettling. Signed to a one-year free agent deal in the aftermath of the Cabrera and Weathers trades, Chris Paddack took the mound at loanDepot park. He began his night with two sharp innings against the Chicago White Sox, following by two catastrophic innings. Paddack had been susceptible to home runs throughout the second half of last season, and that was his undoing here, as Austin Hays (three-run homer) and Miguel Vargas (grand slam) combined to give the visitors an insurmountable lead. The veteran right-hander individually allowed more runs than the entire Marlins pitching staff did during their previous series sweep of the Colorado Rockies. Meanwhile, Chicago's other MLB club also won comfortably, led by Cabrera. He tossed six scoreless, efficient innings at Wrigley Field, extracting 18 outs from the 19 Los Angeles Angels batters he faced. Cabrera "might be as important as anyone to the team's pursuit of its first full-season division title in almost a decade—and he showed why on Monday," explains Northside Baseball's Matthew Trueblood. Matched up against a Seattle Mariners offense that projects to be among MLB's elite, Weathers did pretty well in his debut, too. Although removed after just 4 ⅓ innings, he struck out seven. Seattle's lone run off of him came via a broken-bat blooper. The 26-year-old lefty received a no-decision as the Mariners ultimately won in walk-off fashion. I'd be remiss not to mention that rookie outfielder Owen Caissie was acquired in exchange for Cabrera. He has made an immediate positive impact, doing his best Kyle Stowers impression through four Marlins games with a 231 wRC+ and a walk-off homer. Perhaps even if the back end of Miami's rotation proves to be a weakness, Caissie could add enough pop to their lineup to compensate for it. Conveniently, Weathers is lined up to face the Fish at Yankee Stadium on Saturday. 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 Chicago White Sox. Chris Paddack will be making his Marlins debut. Newly acquired infielder Leo Jiménez might as well—he's available off the bench. Starting Lineup CF Jakob Marsee (L) 2B Xavier Edwards (S) DH Agustín Ramírez C Liam Hicks (L) SS Otto Lopez RF Owen Caissie (L) 1B Connor Norby LF Griffin Conine (L) 3B Graham Pauley (L) P Chris Paddack Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below)

Glad you appreciate them! Should be able to find them at the game notes tag moving forward.

Just being a nice guy and giving everybody else a head start 😉

Fish On First LIVE discusses the keys to the Marlins winning another series as they host a Chicago White Sox team with an explosive offense, but leaky pitching staff. View full video

SuperSubs, comment below with your Prediction Time picks: 1. How many games will the Marlins win in this series? (three-game series) 2. Who will be the Series MVP? (determined by win probability added) Recent history tells us that the Miami Marlins are difficult to predict, but that won't stop us from trying. Welcome to a new season of Prediction Time. Once again in 2026, I will be monitoring the prognostications from our valued SuperSubs, Fish On First staffers and livestream guests. Individual article pages like this one will be created prior to every Marlins series and featured prominently on the FOF site. Consistent participation is key if you want to win this annual contest. Submissions only take a few seconds. Scoring system A "perfect" series is worth three points: Earn one point for predicting which team will win the upcoming series Earn one point for predicting the precise number of victories for each team Earn one point for predicting the “Series MVP” who accumulated the highest win probability added (WPA) during the series as calculated by FanGraphs (could pick a player from either team) Here is a reminder of what the 2025 season leaderboard looked like. There is currently a 12-way tie atop the 2026 leaderboard, which will be updated between every Marlins series. If you are a SuperSub, leave a comment with your Prediction Time picks on this page, or join the Marlins Discord Server and submit there. We'll feature them on the upcoming Fish On First LIVE episode and track your points throughout the season! Any picks submitted prior to the first pitch of the series opener will be counted. If you are not a SuperSub, please consider signing up here to support the FOF staff. Series preview notes Probable starting pitchers: RHP Chris Paddack and RHP Davis Martin on Monday RHP Janson Junk and RHP Erick Fedde on Tuesday RHP Sandy Alcantara and RHP Shane Smith on Wednesday The Marlins rank eighth in MLB with a 123 wRC+ and third in MLB with a 2.55 FIP. They are 3-0 at home this season. The following Marlins players are on the injured list: Maximo Acosta (10-day IL), Ronny Henriquez (60-day IL), Adam Mazur (60-day IL), Christopher Morel (10-day IL), Esteury Ruiz (10-day IL) and Kyle Stowers (10-day IL). The White Sox rank tied for 12th in MLB with a 108 wRC+ and 28th in MLB with a 6.06 FIP. They are 0-3 on the road this season. The following White Sox players are on the injured list: Brooks Baldwin (10-day IL), Prelander Berroa (15-day IL), Ky Bush (60-day IL), Kyle Teel (10-day IL), Drew Thorpe (15-day IL) and Mike Vasil (15-day IL). View full article

Prior to the start of each new Miami Marlins series, we invite the Fish On First staff, FOF LIVE guests and SuperSubs to participate in Prediction Time. Results for the 2026 season will be tracked here. This is how the scoring system works: Earn one point for predicting which team will win the upcoming series Earn one point for predicting the precise number of victories for each team Earn one point for predicting the “Series MVP” who accumulated the highest win probability added (WPA) during the series as calculated by FanGraphs (could pick a player from either team) That's a maximum of three points per series. Rank Name Total Prediction Points Series Winner Points Series MVP Points 1 Sean Millerick 18 16 2 2 Jeremiah Geiger 17 14 3 3 TenofSpades BK 15 14 1 4 Robert Hanson 15 12 3 5 Stevo 14 13 1 6 David Fernandez 14 11 3 7 Sean McCormack 14 13 1 8 Kevin Barral 13 12 1 9 Michael Cronin 13 12 1 10 Baby Seal 13 10 3 11 2qbn 13 12 1 12 Hector Rodriguez 13 12 1 13 Sportsman38 13 11 2 14 JustMyFandom 12 10 2 15 Daniel Rodriguez 11 10 1 16 Chad Turner 11 8 3 17 Alex Carver 10 10 0 18 Nate Karzmer 10 9 1 19 Hans Herrera 10 10 0 20 JustMarlins 10 7 3 21 Loud Miami Fan 9 7 2 22 Gabriel Revilla 9 7 2 23 Ely Sussman 9 7 2 24 Saul Goodman 9 9 0 25 rings 8 8 0 26 1993 fan from start 8 8 0 27 Ryan Schlesinger 7 7 0 28 MRDHU75 7 7 0 29 M.J.S 7 6 1 30 Richard 6 6 0 31 Alex Krutchik 6 5 1 32 Jose Herrera 6 6 0 33 Bassmaster4 5 5 0 34 Slacker Mills 4 3 1 35 Casey Marika 4 3 1 36 Louis Addeo-Weiss 3 2 1 37 Isaac Azout 3 3 0 38 Thomas Joseph 3 3 0 39 One Regend 2 2 0 40 Shawn 2 2 0 41 David Slaton 2 2 0 42 njp 2 2 0 43 MarlinszDude86 1 1 0 44 ducat2 1 1 0 45 Hippyboi 1 1 0 Last series 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 home series against the Colorado Rockies. It's the debut of the club's teal Sunday alternate uniforms as well as recently recalled first base prospect Deyvison De Los Santos. Starting Lineup RF Austin Slater C Agustín Ramírez CF Jakob Marsee (L) SS Otto Lopez DH Connor Norby LF Heriberto Hernández 2B Xavier Edwards (S) 1B Deyvison De los Santos 3B Javier Sanoja P Max Meyer Click HERE to download Friday's game notes Click HERE to download Saturday's game notes Click HERE to download Sunday's game notes (preview below)

Fish On First LIVE makes the case for Jakob Marsee, Eury Pérez and more young Marlins players as candidates for long-term contract extensions. View full video

The Fish On First staff makes their series predictions for the three-game set between the Miami Marlins and Colorado Rockies. View full video