Ely Sussman

Today's news roundup also includes reaction to an outstanding performance by Edward Cabrera. I knew the number would be high, but didn't expect to be this high. Barely a year and a half into Peter Bendix's tenure, the Miami Marlins have acquired 20 different players via waiver claims. That doesn't even count those claimed by them multiple times and trades for cash considerations, which are essentially deluxe waiver claims. Right-handed reliever Ronny Henriquez is one of Miami's most recent waiver wire pickups, and he's already proving to be one of their most impactful. The former Minnesota Twins farmhand has had 10 scoreless appearances in a row, lowering his ERA to 1.78 and culminating in his first career save on Sunday. Henriquez can put batters away with four different pitches, though he typically does it with elevated fastballs and low-and-away sweepers. Otto Lopez has separated himself from the pack as a well-rounded, everyday middle infielder, contributing 3.1 fWAR since debuting for the Fish. The rest of the rankings will surely change as the 2025 season wears on, but I currently have Henriquez right behind Derek Hill as the third-best waiver claim of the Bendix era: Otto Lopez Derek Hill Ronny Henriquez Declan Cronin Jesús Tinoco Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville lost, 7-3. Freddy Tarnok had his worst appearance of the year (2.0 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 6 BB, 1 K, 61 pitches/30 strikes). Double-A Pensacola lost, 6-2. The Blue Wahoos were swept in their six-game series hosting the Birmingham Barons. High-A Beloit lost, 5-1. It's been a rough transition for recently promoted outfielder Jacob Jenkins-Cowart (2-for-33 since joining the Sky Carp). Low-A Jupiter won, 4-3. Andrés Valor homered for the first time since April 11. He's also been successful on nine straight stolen base attempts. More Marlins news and content below: 🔷 Edward Cabrera's scoreless start on Sunday was among the best of his Marlins career. His breaking balls were especially effective—he registered seven strikeouts and 13 total whiffs on sliders and curveballs. Cabrera lowered his season FIP to 4.16, which is on pace to be a career-best. 🔷 I explained how opposing pitchers have been relentlessly attacking Matt Mervis with fastballs since his hot start to the season. Mervis has not driven in a run since April 23. 🔷 The Marlins held a swing-decision competition during their last homestand, as MLB.com's Christina De Nicola detailed. 🔷 The Prediction Time leaderboard has been updated through the first 17 series. Become a SuperSub and we'll keep track of your predictions all season long! 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, reigning American League Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal threw his first career shutout, striking out 13 batters and finishing the game with a 103 mph heater. Promising Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Jared Jones underwent Tommy John surgery. A five-game winning streak has carried the Tampa Bay Rays into second place in the AL East. The Athletics snapped their 11-game losing skid by upsetting the Philadelphia Phillies. The Colorado Rockies lost their 17th consecutive series to begin the season. Former Marlin Jean Segura announced his retirement. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter LHP Ryan Weathers) continue their road trip by opening a series against the San Diego Padres (RHP Randy Vásquez). The Padres are coming off a victory on Sunday, but they lost seven of their previous eight contests, largely because of a lethargic offense. Old friend Luis Arraez is only hitting .284 this season. The Marlins have a 42.5% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 8:40 p.m. ET. 🔷 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: FCL Marlins at FCL Nationals, 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 Los Angeles Angels. Starting Lineup RF Jesús Sánchez (L) C Agustín Ramírez SS Otto Lopez LF Kyle Stowers (L) 1B Eric Wagaman 3B Connor Norby DH Matt Mervis (L) CF Derek Hill 2B Javier Sanoja P Edward Cabrera Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below) View full article

For a couple weeks in April, it seemed like the Marlins may have found a useful platoon power bat, but MLB pitchers have quickly adjusted to Mervis. He's been completely overmatched since then. The Miami Marlins shrewdly bought low on Matt Mervis in December. Despite being a lifetime .268/.361/.508 hitter (121 wRC+) in the Chicago Cubs minor league system, Mervis wasn't going to have an extended runway to establish himself with their big league club. Meanwhile, the Fish could afford to be patient with him. For a brief stretch, he looked poised for a smooth take-off. Then, underlying mechanical issues delayed those plans. Weeks later, a solution is still nowhere in sight. "Mash Mervis" has turned into a Door Matt for Marlins opponents. Mervis has been a sub-replacement-level first baseman/designated hitter in 40 games played entering Sunday, slashing .175/.258/.386 (73 wRC+) with seven home runs. He is striking out in 38.3% of his plate appearances. Those overall numbers actually mask how unproductive he's been for most of his Marlins tenure. The slugger who once led all Minor League Baseball players in RBI for a season has gone more than a month without driving in a single run. His underlying batted ball data is even uglier than his results. If the Marlins were motivated to be contenders, he would have been demoted to the minors by now. Some all-or-nothing hitters are simply streaky, just a small tweak away from carrying an offense. Marlins fans will remember Jake Burger being a prime example of this in 2024. In Mervis' case, however, his struggles stem from the way pitchers have been attacking him differently. Mervis generates plus bat speed and utilizes a modest leg lift. And yet, he's still been unable to consistently time up fastballs. The league has noticed and bullied him with them, especially early in counts: The Marlins ensure Mervis has the platoon advantage as much as possible (92.9% of total PA), but that isn't helping. The average right-handed four-seam fastball in the majors this season has been 94.6 mph, according to Baseball Savant. The average right-handed sinker has been 93.8 mph. In plate appearances ending in four-seamers/sinkers with at least average velo, he has gone 2-for-26 with 17 strikeouts and two walks. That does not even includes sequences like the one Mervis had against José Soriano in the fourth inning on Saturday night. With runners on the corners and one out, his mission was simple: pull a fly ball to drive in a run. Soriano won the battle fairly easily, getting ahead in the count with four consecutive heaters, then tunneling his curveball off of that to get an awkward chase out of the zone for the K. merge-7muzhs.mp4 Optioning Mervis to Triple-A seems inevitable, though that is not an easy fix. Starters down there don't possess the same kind of fastball velo, and many of the relievers who do lack control of it (otherwise they'd already be in MLB). If nothing else, a minor league stint would potentially restore the 27-year-old's confidence. If the Marlins make that move, Eric Wagaman would take over as their primary first baseman, either with Liam Hicks handling the rest of the workload or Troy Johnston finally getting his shot. View full article

As of this writing, the MLB trade deadline is only 13 days and 12 hours away. I maintain the belief that Sandy Alcantara will remain with the Miami Marlins after the deadline passes, but the possibility of a departure cannot be entirely ruled out—this front office is always having conversations. If a strong enough package of young talent is offered to them, Alcantara's eight-year Marlins tenure could abruptly come to a close. Alcantara will take the mound at loanDepot park tonight and he's very likely to do so again next Wednesday. After that, the Marlins don't play again in Miami until August 1, when their roster will inevitably look different. Understandably considering his poor performance, fans haven't been buying tickets specifically to see Alcantara lately. If it's feasible for you to make it to the one of these home games, maybe make an exception, just in case the former ace becomes a former Fish at the deadline. Down on the farm, Luis Arana, Diwarys Encarnación and Almen Tolentino were named Dominican Summer League All-Stars. All three have put up terrific offensive numbers, but Arana has been particularly impressive, making the majority of his appearances at shortstop and striking out only 4.5% of the time. Also, it's his first minor league season, whereas Encarnación and Tolentino are repeating the level. DSL Marlins won, 3-0. Outfielder David Shirley went 0-for-2 with two walks and a stolen base in his MiLB debut. DSL Miami won, 3-2. Kevin Defrank (4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K) made his third consecutive scoreless start. His fastball velocity topped out at 100.4 mph. This video from Josh Norris of Baseball America includes swinging strikes on his changeup and slider, too. More Marlins news and content below: 🔷 The Marlins will be without Connor Norby for most of the second half following left hamate bone surgery. "If you truly know me, you know how hard I’ll work to beat timelines and how hard I have and will continue to work to learn from this season and be better for it," he tweeted on Thursday. Graham Pauley should be the club's primary third baseman in the meantime. 🔷 Michael Petersen is back in the Marlins organization after being claimed off waivers from the Atlanta Braves. The right-handed reliever pitched out of Miami's bullpen last September. He'll report to Jacksonville this weekend. Jesús Tinoco was transferred to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding roster move. Tinoco has been on the IL for 45 days already. The Marlins are optimistic that he could be ready for reinstatement as soon as he's eligible on August 2. 🔷 In partnership with About The Fans, we made a Gus Bus t-shirt! It's available in black and heather deep teal (as pictured below). Use coupon code fof10 at checkout for 10% off your order. 🔷 On this day in 1995, the Marlins topped the Giants in 14 innings in large part thanks to Greg Colbrunn's 7 RBI. 🔷 More than 60% of Fish On First Twitter followers voted that, aside from Kyle Stowers, Eury Pérez is the likeliest player on the team to be selected as an All-Star in 2026. 🔷 Aram Leighton of Just Baseball delves into the significant progress that the Marlins have made this year and urges Bruce Sherman to provide the resources that his front office will need to continue piecing together a legitimate contender. 🔷 Per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, the Marlins internally view Otto Lopez and Xavier Edwards as their starting middle infielders moving forward. The prospects most impacted by that are Maximo Acosta and Jared Serna, both of whom have been used exclusively at shortstop and second base in 2025 and are already on the 40-man roster. Also on the prospect front, Jackson describes the Marlins as "inclined" to have Robby Snelling spend the rest of this season in the minors, "though that’s subject to change." 🔷 Emilio Barreras and his family were overcome with emotion after Barreras was drafted by the Marlins in the eighth round. 🔷 A pair of 2024 draftees, Grant Shepardson and Nate Payne, were ranked among Baseball America's top 25 Florida Complex League prospects. Shepardson is 14th and Payne is 21st. They're scheduled to make one more start each before the FCL season ends. 🔷 Chad Jennings and Tim Britton of The Athletic observe that corner outfield bats are in short supply on the trade market this year, which could boost Jesús Sánchez's value. 🔷 Congratulations to Matt Mervis and Sydney Leonard on their engagement. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, 13-year MLB veteran Kyle Gibson announced his retirement. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins host the Kansas City Royals in the opener of a three-game series. Following Alcantara, Cal Quantrill is lined up to start on Saturday and Janson Junk on Sunday. Bobby Witt Jr. was among the hottest hitters in baseball entering the break, slashing .369/.400/.631 during a 16-game on-base streak. Full organizational schedule below. 🔷 Prior to the game, Fish On First LIVE will preview the Royals series beginning at 6:00 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 second game of Miami's road series against the Los Angeles Angels. Starting Lineup RF Jesús Sánchez (L) DH Agustín Ramírez SS Otto Lopez CF Kyle Stowers (L) LF Eric Wagaman C Liam Hicks (L) 3B Connor Norby 1B Matt Mervis (L) 2B Ronny Simon (S) P Cal Quantrill Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below) View full article

High-A Beloit Sky Carp right-hander Noble Meyer retired 12 of the 16 batters he faced on Thursday. After struggling with control in his previous starts, Meyer threw 69.1% of his pitches for strikes in this outing, establishing a new season-high. Meyer is currently ranked 10th on the Fish On First Top 30 list. View full video

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 Los Angeles Angels. Starting Lineup DH Agustín Ramírez 1B Eric Wagaman SS Otto Lopez 3B Connor Norby LF Kyle Stowers (L) C Nick Fortes CF Derek Hill RF Jesús Sánchez (L) 2B Javier Sanoja P Sandy Alcantara Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below) View full article

Despite completing only one full season as a qualified MLB hitter, Sánchez has distinguished himself with a franchise that notoriously devalues continuity. It'd be hyperbolic to call Jesús Sánchez a Miami Marlins legend, but he is a survivor. Even if this proves to be his final season with the Fish, Sánchez already finds himself in rarefied air. Admittedly, Sánchez has not been particularly valuable as an overall player. As of this writing, he ranks 36th among Marlins position players in career fWAR, three-tenths of a win behind a single season of Iván Rodríguez and three-tenths of a win ahead of Dontrelle Willis (yes, D-Train the hitter/baserunner, excluding all of his pitching contributions). I'm just here to draw attention to what he has accomplished as a compiler. The Dominican outfielder has 482 games played as a Marlin. He just passed Justin Bour for 27th place all-time. Health permitting, he will move up three more spots by the All-Star break. Sánchez is tied for 18th on the franchise's career home runs list with 63. He really stands out in that category if we filter by handedness. The only left-handed batters who went yard more times as Marlins were Cliff Floyd (110), Bour (83), Mike Jacobs (69) and Jazz Chisholm Jr. (66). Throughout much of its history, loanDepot park has been a pitcher-friendly environment. Nonetheless, Sánchez performs much better in Miami than he does on the road. Minimum 500 plate appearances at LDP, his .800 OPS trails only Giancarlo Stanton (.994), Marcell Ozuna (.847) and Bour (.844). Now for the very silly stuff. Statcast defines a "barrel" as a batted-ball event whose comparable hit types (in terms of exit velocity and launch angle) have led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage. You usually know it when you see it and when you hear it. Predictably, Stanton has the most barrels of any Marlin ever with 164. Sánchez ranks second with 126. League-wide Statcast tracking dates back to 2015. We can make educated guesses about a dozen former Fish who had more barrel-caliber moments, but only Stanton's total is confirmed to be higher. Same deal regarding longest Marlins home runs ever recorded. Stanton tops the Statcast-era list with a 504-footer hit at Coors Field on August 8, 2016. Sánchez has come closest with a 496-footer on May 30, 2022 (also at Coors). Sánchez has played for the Marlins in regular season games while wearing four different uniform numbers: No. 76, No. 7, No. 12 and No. 42 (on Jackie Robinson Day). That variety of uniform numbers ties a franchise record. The Marlins have club control over Jesús Sánchez through the 2027 season, though it's difficult to imagine him being retained for that long. He is already their highest-paid active position player with a $4.5 million salary, and that will continue to rise the next two years via arbitration. Sánchez's overall offensive numbers in 2025 are similar to his career norms, but he has become more well-rounded. His .344 on-base percentage represents a career-high, and after historically having extreme platoon splits, he's putting up a better fight against lefty pitchers. A trade could potentially be coming this summer to maximize the prospect return and open up steady playing time for the likes of fellow outfielders Dane Myers, Victor Mesa Jr. and Andrew Pintar. At just 27 years old, despite occasional injuries, inconsistencies and fundamental lapses, Sánchez has loudly left his mark. 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 home series against the Chicago Cubs. Starting Lineup RF Jesús Sánchez (L) C Agustín Ramírez 1B Eric Wagaman LF Kyle Stowers (L) SS Otto Lopez 3B Connor Norby DH Matt Mervis (L) 2B Graham Pauley L) CF Derek Hill P Max Meyer 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 second game of Miami's home series against the Chicago Cubs. Starting Lineup RF Jesús Sánchez (L) DH Agustín Ramírez CF Kyle Stowers (L) 1B Matt Mervis (L) LF Eric Wagaman 2B Ronny Simon (S) 3B Graham Pauley L) C Nick Fortes SS Javier Sanoja P Ryan Weathers Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below) View full article

He's done it AGAIN. Miami Marlins outfielder Jesús Sánchez stunned the Chicago Cubs with a two-run, game-winning triple on Monday. He previously had a walk-off single vs. the Philadelphia Phillies (8/2/23), a walk-off single vs. the Colorado Rockies (5/2/24) and a walk-off single vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers (5/6/25). Relive them all here! View full video

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 Chicago Cubs. Starting Lineup RF Jesús Sánchez (L) C Agustín Ramírez 2B Otto Lopez LF Kyle Stowers (L) 1B Eric Wagaman 3B Connor Norby DH Liam Hicks (L) CF Derek Hill SS Javier Sanoja P Edward Cabrera Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below) View full article

Today's news roundup also includes a bunch of headlines from around Major League Baseball. 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 View full article