Ely Sussman

Thank you for the correction. I did know that! I'm just more prone to errors when writing too late at night/too early in the morning.

Offishial News for 9/24/24 On Monday, Fish On First's Isaac Azout reported that Dane Myers will be reinstated from the injured list prior to the start of the Marlins/Twins series. Myers spent the previous week on a minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Jacksonville, slashing .333/.429/.833 with no strikeouts in four games. The 28-year-old is coming back from a left ankle fracture that he sustained in July during a post-ejection tantrum. 🔷 MLB Pipeline has new scouting reports on INF/OF Andrew Salas and RHP Kevin Defrank, who have deals in place to sign with the Marlins on January 15. Salas and Defrank rank fourth and 39th, respectively, on Pipeline's list of Top 50 international prospects for the 2025 signing period. 🔷 Joe Mack is Baseball America's Marlins 2024 Minor League Player of the Year. Cool tidbit from BA's Walter Villa about how Mack's Pensacola teammates dispensed advice on weight training, proper sleep and better nutrition this season. 🔷 For their flight to Minnesota, Marlins rookie players and staff dressed up in costumes, including Eury Pérez as Big Bird, Otto Lopez as Papa Smurf, Declan Cronin as a leprechaun, Adam Oller as a clown, and Valente Bellozo, Javier Sanoja and Jhonny Pereda as members of a mariachi band. 🔷 Looks like the 2024 Prediction Time contest title will go to either @Daniel Rodriguez, @Nicholas Milton, @Sean Millerick or @Alec Chao. With only two Marlins series remaining, here's an updated look at the Prediction Time leaderboard. Make series predictions with us all season long when you become a Fish On First SuperSub. 🔷 Jesús Luzardo is the Marlins nominee for the 2024 Roberto Clemente Award. Vote for Luzardo here through Sunday. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the Tigers control their own destiny in the American League Wild Card race. They've made the bold decision to call up RHP Jackson Jobe, arguably baseball's top pitching prospect. The Phillies clinched the NL East title, their first since 2011. With their next loss, the White Sox will set a new modern-era, single-season MLB record. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter LHP Ryan Weathers) begin their final 2024 road trip against the Twins (RHP Bailey Ober). It's a crucial game for the Twins, who have a 51.3% chance to make the playoffs, per FanGraphs. With a loss or an Angels win, the Marlins can clinch the best possible odds of winning the 2025 MLB Draft lottery. First pitch at 7:40 p.m. ET. 🔷 Join us for a new episode of Fish On First LIVE today from 6:30-7:30 p.m. ET on YouTube/Twitter/Facebook. Special guests: Gregg Masterson of Twins Daily and Jonathan Mayer. FOF LIVE is presented by Berger & Hicks. If you’ve been injured as a result of somebody else’s negligence, give them a call at (305) 670-7050. Marlins podcast episodes View full article

The Offishial Show—Episode #218 Expect to see a much different group of players on the field for the Miami Marlins when the 2025 season begins. Attempting to predict the return of injured players, prospect promotions, spring training position battles and offseason acquisitions, four Fish On First staffers held a six-round draft of Opening Day roster candidates and explained reach of their selections. Nate Karzmer: Jesús Sánchez, Sandy Alcantara, Braxton Garrett, Nick Fortes, Jesús Tinoco and Matt Moore (bonus round) Isaac Azout: Connor Norby, Declan Cronin, Jonah Bride, Kyle Stowers, Javier Sanoja and Andrew Kittredge (bonus round) Kevin Barral: Xavier Edwards, Ryan Weathers, Calvin Faucher, Dane Myers, Deyvison De Los Santos and Amed Rosario (bonus round) Ely Sussman: Jesús Luzardo, Jake Burger, Otto Lopez, Andrew Nardi, Edward Cabrera and Walker Buehler (bonus round) Find The Offishial Show on the Fish On First YouTube channel, our new-look Apple Podcasts channel and wherever else you get your pods. FOF's audio programming also includes Fish Unfiltered, Swimming Upstream, Big Fish Small Pod and more. The Fish On First podcast is presented by MPT College Consulting! They pride themselves on helping clients navigate the college application process. This includes preparation for standardized testing, guidance through high school, assistance with essays and applications, and choosing the right college. Visit them today at mptcollegeconsulting.com to learn more about their services and schedule a free consultation. The following players on the current Marlins active roster entering the final week of the 2024 season were not drafted: Shaun Anderson, Lake Bachar, Mike Baumann, Valente Bellozo, Anthony Bender, Vidal Bruján, Jeff Conine, Xzavion Curry, Derek Hill, Darren McCaughan, Adam Oller, Cristian Pache, Jhonny Pereda, Michael Petersen and Anthony Veneziano. Follow Ely (@RealEly), Isaac (@IsaacAzout), Kevin (@kevin_barral), Nate (@NateKarzmer) and Fish On First (@FishOnFirst) on Twitter. Join the Marlins Discord server! Complete Miami Marlins coverage here at FishOnFirst.com. View full article

Despite facing much older competition throughout the season and being traded to a new organization midway through, De Los Santos went yard more often than any other minor leaguer. Deyvison De Los Santos led Minor League Baseball in home runs this year and it wasn't even close. The Miami Marlins first baseman went deep 40 times during the 2024 MiLB regular season, which concluded on Sunday. Ryan Ward of the Los Angeles Dodgers ranked second with 34 homers. It's the most home runs by any player in a single minor league season since MJ Melendez in 2021 and the largest gap between the MiLB leader and runner-up since Ryan Howard in 2004. DDLS joins Dallas McPherson (42 HR in 2008) as the only players to have won an MiLB home run title while playing for a Marlins affiliate. However, the vast majority of his round-trippers (28) came as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks organization—De Los Santos and fellow prospect Andrew Pintar were traded to the Marlins on July 25 in exchange for A.J. Puk. The trade that sent DDLS to the Marlins—and took him away from the ultra-hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League—only added to the degree of difficulty. The most recent example I could find of a minor league home run king who changed organizations midway through the season was Edwin Little in 1955. nnhmqr0vwdP_84gP.mp4 The correlation between minor league homers and major league success is not particularly strong. Looking back at the past decade, Kris Bryant and Pete Alonso immediately became stars in The Show, while all of the other single-season leaders during that period have been replacement-level players. MiLB HR Kings, 2014-Present 2014: Kris Bryant (Cubs), 43 2015: AJ Reed (Astros), 34 2016: Dylan Cozens (Phillies), 40 2017: AJ Reed (Astros), 34 2018: Pete Alonso (Mets) and Ibandel Isabel (Reds), 36 2019: Kevin Cron (Diamondbacks), 39 2021: MJ Melendez (Royals), 41 2022: Moisés Gómez (Cardinals), 39 2023: Yunior Severino (Twins) and Shay Whitcomb (Astros), 35 2024: Deyvison De Los Santos (Diamondbacks/Marlins), 40 Age is an important variable, though. De Los Santos, who turned 21 in June, is the youngest home run leader since Joey Gallo blasted 40 dingers as a 19-year-old in 2013. De Los Santos was Fish On First's fifth-ranked prospect following the trade deadline. Despite homering frequently with Triple-A Jacksonville, he didn't improve his prospect stock overall. In 49 games with Triple-A Reno, he slashed .289/.338/.588 with a 121 wRC+ and 22.9 K%; in a similarly sized 50-game Jumbo Shrimp sample, he slashed .240/.284/.459 with a 85 wRC+ and 28.4 K%. The main issue was a steep increase in how often he whiffed on pitches in the strike zone, particularly secondary pitches. For context, his post-trade 71.9 Z-Contact% would rank last among qualified MLB hitters this season (85.3% is the MLB average). Whether it's a matter of sharpening his pitch recognition ability or dialing down the ferocity of his swing, improving in that area is crucial to his long-term outlook. Assuming that De Los Santos is not called up during the final week of MLB regular season, the next step would be selecting him to the Marlins 40-man roster in mid-November, protecting him from the Rule 5 Draft. He'll enter spring training with an opportunity to compete for a 2025 Opening Day job. View full article

With the exception of its inaugural season, loanDepot park consistently draws fewer fans than any other stadium in the National League. The players change, the managers change, the team's performance varies, but some things about the Miami Marlins remain the same. In 2024, as has been the case during the 10 previous full-length seasons, the Marlins had the lowest attendance among National League teams. The race was particularly anti-climatic this time around. You could see it coming from the very first homestand. Sunday's home finale brought Marlins total attendance up to 1,085,055 (an average of 13,396 per game). There is a gap of more than half a million fans between them and the NL's next-lowest team, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Marlins attendance declined by an average of 960 fans per game compared to 2023. The drop-off in team success no doubt contributed to that, going from a postseason qualifier to the second-worst record in the majors. It does not help when last year's All-Stars (Luis Arraez and Jorge Soler) depart via trade and free agency and Miami's most talented and marketable starting pitchers (Sandy Alcantara, Eury Pérez and Jesús Luzardo) get derailed by injuries. The Marlins went 30-51 at loanDepot park, tying a franchise record for lousiest home performance. Renewing practices from recent seasons, the Marlins leaned heavily into heritage celebrations and theme nights. New for 2024, they rebranded "Flashback Fridays" as "Fiesta Fridays." They also experimented with all-you-can-eat seats. While those boosted social media engagement, no more than a few dozen people per game redeemed that promotion. The 33 largest crowds that the Marlins have played in front of this season were all on the road. The last time that the Fish did not draw the fewest fans in the NL? Way back in 2012, when "Marlins Park" made its debut. In 11 normal seasons since then—excluding the COVID-shortened, fan-less 2020 campaign—they've held steady in 15th place. The Oakland Athletics will rank 30th in Major League Baseball in attendance for the third consecutive season, but it isn't possible to make an apples-to-apples comparison. Their abysmal fan turnout is the byproduct of a messy relocation process. For the near future, they are scheduled to host games at Sacramento's Sutter Health Park, a Triple-A venue that ensures their streak will remain intact. The price to attend games at loanDepot park is cheaper than most MLB ballparks. However, as long as the team fails to be perennially competitive on the field, the stands will continue to be mostly empty. 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 SuperSubs. These notes apply to the third and final game of Miami's home series against the Atlanta Braves. 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 SuperSubs. These notes apply to the second game of Miami's home series against the Atlanta Braves. View full article

I'm optimistic that we will get the chance to do an extended interview with him in the offseason. He has been very helpful to us in private conversations even before this promotion.

The guy from Triple-A is Scott Kornberg. Whether it's with the Marlins or some other team, I could definitely see him getting a major league job next season. Puts a lot of passion into his work and has paid his dues.

The 20-year-old Snelling went six strong innings on Friday night, facing a Gwinnett lineup that included five players with MLB experience. The industry consensus was that the San Diego Padres paid a steep price on trade deadline day to acquire Tanner Scott and Bryan Hoeing from the Miami Marlins. They parted with four prospects in exchange for a pending free agent and a replacement-level pitcher without a well-defined role. The risk has absolutely paid off. Scott and Hoeing have both been terrific additions to the San Diego bullpen, contributing to a club that's won about two-thirds of its games since the deadline and could clinch a postseason berth as soon as this weekend. We'll soon find out how much the Marlins benefit from their side of the deal. Three of those prospects are already at the Triple-A level. RHP Adam Mazur spent August and September in the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp starting rotation, pitching for the final time on Wednesday. INF Graham Pauley was promoted from Double-A Pensacola at the beginning of the week. Fish On First's eighth-ranked prospect, LHP Robby Snelling, joined them on Friday, and made some history in the process. Snelling's final line against the Gwinnett Stripers: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 7 K, 94 pitches/61 strikes. Both runs scored in his sixth inning of work. At the age of 20 years and 276 days, Snelling became the youngest player ever to pitch for a Marlins Triple-A affiliate. It's difficult to pin down the exact date, but in 1993, RHP Kurt Miller (likewise a midseason trade acquisition) was about two months older than Snelling when he debuted for the Edmonton Trappers. As far as I can tell, those are the only minor leaguers in Marlins history to pitch at Triple-A prior to their 21st birthday. uxn6o4.mp4 This comes with an important caveat: a few exceptionally talented arms have skipped the Triple-A level entirely. Eury Pérez and José Fernández were thriving in the majors for Miami when they were even younger than Snelling is now. Snelling's Jacksonville debut is unprecedented and highly encouraging, but I'm not suggesting he's comparable to them. With the Jumbo Shrimp schedule concluding on Sunday, this represents the end of Snelling's 2024 season. He logged 115 ⅓ innings pitched, 42 of those coming after joining the Marlins organization. The change of scenery worked wonders on him. In his first 16 starts of the season with the Padres' Double-A San Antonio affiliate, Snelling posted a 6.01 ERA and 5.50 FIP; in eight post-trade starts, he had a 3.64 ERA and 2.93 FIP with his strikeout, walk and home run rates all significantly improving. He has demonstrated plus command of his four-pitch mix that portends a future as a major league starter. Snelling is a virtual lock to be a non-roster invitee at 2025 Marlins spring training. He will most likely headline Jacksonville's starting rotation coming out of camp, but barring severe injury, a midseason call-up to Miami looks increasingly realistic. 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 SuperSubs. These notes apply to the first game of Miami's home series against the Atlanta Braves. View full article

The television voice of the Marlins since 2018, Severino grew up rooting for the Yanks. Per the New York Post, he was a candidate to replace retiring broadcaster John Sterling, but isn't among the finalists. As Paul Severino winds down his seventh season on the mic for Miami Marlins television broadcasts, he has at least been willing to entertain other career opportunities. Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post reported Friday morning that Severino was a candidate to be the next radio play-by-play announcer for the New York Yankees. However, he is not believed to be among the finalists for the position. The rumor is unsurprising considering the 40-year-old Severino grew up in Connecticut as a passionate Yankees fan. If the compensation was comparable to his Bally Sports Florida salary and he had the opportunity to "come home" while working for a team that's more consistently competitive than the Marlins are, it'd be tough to turn down. Also, getting the Yankees gig would likely mean more long-term stability—outgoing radio voice John Sterling spent more than three decades in that seat. Bally's future is murky as its parent company, Diamond Sports Group, remains in bankruptcy court. Severino was hired by Bally (then known as FOX Sports Florida) entering the 2018 season. The Marlins have played 1,022 regular season games during his tenure and I would estimate that he has been there for at least 95% of those, occasionally spelled by Craig Minervini and national broadcasts. Severino hasn't exactly been put in position to thrive in Miami. While he's had the opportunity to call postseason-clinching victories in 2020 and 2023, the Marlins overall have the second-fewest wins among all MLB teams since '18. Their roster has lacked continuity and so has the Bally broadcast booth—this season alone, Severino was paired with four different analysts (Tommy Hutton, Rod Allen, Gaby Sanchez and Jeff Nelson). a5f30bc9-af51216a-f52e6680-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 745f1362-e81fe94a-53e97fc8-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 Moreover, Severino had big shoes to fill. To the dismay of many Marlins fans, Rich Waltz was let go in the fall of 2017 when new ownership arrived. In reaction to the WFAN rumor, nearly seven years later, Fish On First Twitter replies and quote-tweets were filled with pleas to bring back Waltz. Severino has nine more games left to call here in 2024 as the Marlins host the Atlanta Braves this weekend, then conclude their regular season with visits to the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays. View full article

Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal SuperSubs. These notes apply to the third and final game of Miami's home series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Player status updates, insightful stats and more information to fully equip you for today's Marlins game. View full article

Offishial News for 9/19/24 On Wednesday, the Dodgers homered three times off of Ryan Weathers (4.1 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 74 pitches/48 strikes). Weathers looked fully healthy, just rusty with each of those long balls coming against poorly located fastballs. Shohei Ohtani stole his 49th base. Ugly game for Miami defensively with throwing errors committed by Connor Norby and Nick Fortes, plus an ill-advised throw home by Javier Sanoja which had the same impact as an error despite not being scored as such. Xzavion Curry retired all eight batters he faced in relief and has quietly made a case to stick with this organization beyond 2024. The Marlins lost, 8-4. Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville won, 7-3. Vidal Bruján delivered a crucial three-run, go-ahead homer. He and Derek Hill seem destined to be reinstated from the injured list this weekend. C Agustín Ramírez went 3-for-3 with a walk. Each of his hits had exit velocities above 100 mph. RHP Adam Mazur (5.0 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 88 pitches/59 strikes) made his final start of the season. C Ryan Ignoffo was deservedly named a Florida State League All-Star. He slashed .330/.393/.484 (147 wRC+) in the FSL with nearly as many walks as strikeouts, then continued playing well following his late-summer promotion to High-A. Here's more Marlins news and content: 🔷 Eury Pérez is throwing from 45 feet, he tells El Extrabase. But don't get your hopes up for an expedited rehab process: he mentions the 2025 All-Star Game as the target for his MLB return. That would be 15 months removed from when he underwent Tommy John surgery. 🔷 The bat that Jake Burger used during Players' Weekend is being auctioned off to benefit the National Alliance on Mental Illness. As of early Thursday morning, the highest bid is $370. The auction closes at 8:00 p.m. ET. 🔷 Jesús Luzardo is the Marlins nominee for the 2024 Roberto Clemente Award. Vote for Luzardo here through September 29. 🔷 Texas A&M outfielder Jace LaViolette has moved ahead of Ethan Holliday in Baseball America's 2025 MLB Draft prospect rankings. Carlos Collazo explains why here. In related news, the Marlins are close to securing a tie for the best odds of winning the draft lottery. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the Brewers and Yankees clinched postseason berths, with Milwaukee also securing the NL Central title. The Tigers continue to apply pressure to other American League postseason contenders, moving to within half a game of the Twins and two games of the Royals. Dylan Cease (8.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K, 103 pitches/70 strikes) came two outs away from shutting out the Astros. The White Sox are up to 117 losses. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the series finale between the Marlins (probable starter RHP Edward Cabrera) and Dodgers (RHP Jack Flaherty). Flaherty held the Fish scoreless in each of his previous two starts against them. The Marlins have a 42.6% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 4:40 p.m. 🔷 Today's MiLB schedule: Triple-A Jacksonville vs. Gwinnett, 7:05 p.m. ET Marlins podcast episodes View full article