Ely Sussman

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 Los Angeles Dodgers. View full article

Offishial News for 9/18/24 On Tuesday, Shohei Ohtani destroyed a Darren McCaughan sweeper for his 48th home run, but he also struck out three times (once each against McCaughan, Anthony Veneziano and Lake Bachar). Jesús Sánchez became the first Marlin in 2024 to have a five-hit game, including the hardest-hit ball of his career (117.2 mph), Jake Burger snapped out of his career-long, 21-game homerless drought and the team set a new season-high for runs scored in a home game. The Marlins won, 11-9. Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville lost, 4-3. Vidal Bruján, Derek Hill and Dane Myers began minor league rehab assignments, with Bruján and Hill each playing a full nine innings. Braxton Garrett (4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K, 77 pitches/44 strikes) ought to be Miami-bound after another scoreless rehab start. Promoted from the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (whose season just ended), INF Jared Serna and INF Graham Pauley made their Jumbo Shrimp debuts. INF Deyvison De Los Santos drove in two of their three runs. Here's more Marlins news and content: 🔷 Isaac Azout and Kevin Barral were on hand to observe the first live batting practice session of Sandy Alcantara's Tommy John surgery rehab. Alcantara did not induce any swinging strikes, but he was encouraged by his command and velocity (topping out at 99 mph). 🔷 Fish On First can confirm Francys Romero's report that David Hernandez-Beayne has been named the Marlins' new director of international scouting. At a time when there's been a ton of turnover across all departments of the organization, this is a rare internal promotion (Hernandez-Beayne had been serving as assistant director). Romero adds that Gabe Kapler will supervise international operations, which was previously Oz Ocampo's responsibility. 🔷 Hurry to get your teal Marlins Starter jacket from Homage, which has just been restocked in all sizes for the first time in months! 🔷 Jesús Luzardo is the Marlins nominee for the 2024 Roberto Clemente Award. Vote for Luzardo here through September 29. 🔷 The bat that Jake Burger used during Players' Weekend is being auctioned off to benefit the National Alliance on Mental Illness. As of early Wednesday morning, the highest bid is $370. 🔷 Congrats to RHP Adam Mazur and Janessa Romain on their engagement! 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the Tigers picked up their 79th win, their highest total in a season since 2016. The White Sox suffered their 116th loss. Juan Soto, who's somehow still only 25 years old, hit his 200th career home run and has now homered in every active MLB ballpark. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter LHP Ryan Weathers) continue their series against the Dodgers (RHP Landon Knack). It marks Weathers' return from a left index finger strain. He is not fully stretched out as a starter, but close enough after going five innings in his final rehab start. The Marlins have a 45.2% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 6:40 p.m. ET. 🔷 Today's MiLB schedule: Triple-A Jacksonville vs. Gwinnett, 7:05 p.m. ET Marlins podcast episodes View full article

Today's news roundup also includes our guide to this weekend's winter ball tournament at loanDepot park. On Wednesday out in the desert, Brandon White (0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 35 pitches/20 strikes) couldn't complete the first inning, largely because he was betrayed by the defense behind him. Dalvy Rosario went 0-for-3. The Peoria Javelinas lost, 8-1, committing six errors along the way. In the Dominican Winter League, Jesús Sánchez went 0-for-2, Deyvison De Los Santos went 0-for-4 and played third base, Vidal Bruján went 0-for-4 with a walk and Troy Johnston went 0-for-2. Here's more Marlins news and content: 🔷 At the GM Meetings, Peter Bendix indicated that the Marlins are nearly done with their managerial search, per MLB Network's Jon Morosi and the New York Post's Jon Heyman. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald added that Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough completed his in-person interview already, so feels like we're just waiting for McCullough to formally accept the position. It's frankly unclear who else they would pivot to if he turns them down. 🔷 The following Marlins minor leaguers reached the end of their contracts and elected free agency on Monday: RHP Delvis Alegre, RHP Elvis Alvarado, C Will Banfield, RHP Justin Evans, OF Diego Infante, RHP Yeuris Jimenez, RHP Angel Macuare, RHP Robinson Martinez, LHP Luis Palacios, RHP Edgar Sánchez and RHP Raffi Vizcaino. The organization also released RHP Angel Hernández, OF José Made and RHP Juan Ortega. In the aftermath of these moves, Nick Fortes is the only member of the Marlins' 2018 draft class who is still around. 🔷 Baseball America updated their ranking of the top 10 Marlins prospects for 2025. Unsurprisingly, LHP Thomas White is No. 1. Most notably, BA has OF Luis Cova ranked fourth, OF Jakob Marsee ranked 10th and 1B Deyvison De Los Santos excluded. To me, that shows they heavily prioritize plate discipline when projecting how these players will fare in the majors. 🔷 A former Marlins top prospect himself, Sixto Sánchez has fallen far short of fulfilling his potential. Then again, so did many of the pitchers who highly regarded entering the 2021 season. 🔷 Louis Addeo-Weiss likes reliever John Brebbia as a reclamation project for the Marlins. 🔷 The inaugural Choque de Gigantes is being held at loanDepot park beginning on Friday. Here's my guide to enjoying this winter ball tournament. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, longtime Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks signed a one-year, $2.5M deal with the Angels. The Padres extended manager Mike Shildt through the 2027 season. The Padres went 93-69 in Shildt's first season at the helm, an 11-win improvement from the previous year. Shohei Ohtani underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a labrum tear in his left shoulder. He is expected to be ready for spring training. 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 SuperSubs. These notes apply to the first game of Miami's home series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. View full article

Next season is truly the year to let the kids attempt to fill the voids. Lots of outfield candidates (Dane, Sanoja, Mesa, Stowers, etc.) and Agustin Ramirez will get a chance to catch (despite my doubts about his defense). They'll sign one veteran free agent bat whose market craters. Can't possibly do worse than Tim Anderson.

Offishial News for 9/17/24 We have mercifully arrived at this season's final week of Miami Marlins home games. They'll be hosting the Dodgers and Braves for three games apiece. Fun opportunity to play spoiler against one team that's vying for the National League's best record and another that's currently on the outside looking in at the final NL Wild Card spot. There are two more theme games—Heat Night on Friday and Harry Potter Day on Sunday—that include tank tops/jerseys when you purchase a special ticket package. There's also a "rewind sale" throughout the weekend where you can snag merch from this season's previous theme games. With six home games left, the Marlins are 190,820 short of last year's total attendance. It would require the best six-game stretch in loanDepot park regular season history (including multiple sellouts) to close that gap. Here's more Marlins news and content: 🔷 With the first full-length offseason of the Peter Bendix era approaching, more longtime Marlins employees have lost their jobs. Francys Romero reports that three international scouts were dismissed. Among them, Angel Izquierdo, whose impact on the organization will be felt for years to come thanks to his signing of Eury Pérez for $200k in 2019. Coordinator of baseball information services Bradley Woodrum announced that the team let him go after seven seasons. Let's hope they land even better opportunities elsewhere! 🔷 Fish On First has learned that Ryan Weathers will make his return from the injured list on Wednesday. A strained index finger on his throwing hand disrupted what was shaping up to be a breakout season. For the first time since the trade deadline, his presence inserts a lefty into the Marlins rotation. Because Weathers is on the 60-day IL, corresponding moves will be needed to get him back on both the 40-man and active rosters. 🔷 I observed that Shohei Ohtani's NL MVP-caliber season is eerily similar to what Giancarlo Stanton did in 2017. 🔷 Made The Cut revisits the "disastrous" tenure of Barry Bonds as Marlins hitting coach. 🔷 Happy 28th birthday to RHP Jeff Lindgren and 22nd birthday to INF Yiddi Cappe. Lindgren was called up by the Marlins last week, but hasn't appeared in a game for them yet this season (he logged seven innings in relief last season). Cappe just concluded his season with High-A Beloit. Fully moved off of shortstop and barely hitting for any power, he has fallen out of the Marlins Top 30 prospects conversation and seems poised to repeat the High-A level again in 2025. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Starling Marte's walk-off single ensured a winning season for the Mets and a losing season for the Nationals. The Tigers pulled to within 1.5 games of the Twins for the final AL Wild Card spot (though the Twins own the tiebreaker). The day after I acknowledged it in Offishial News, Luis Arraez's no-strikeout streak came to an end. He also exited the game early with knee inflammation, but isn't expected to miss extended time. 🔷 Today's MLB game: it's the first of three contests between the Marlins (probable starter RHP Darren McCaughan) and the Dodgers (RHP Bobby Miller). The Marlins have a 42.1% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 6:40 p.m. 🔷 Join us for a new episode of Fish On First LIVE today from 5:30-6:30 p.m. ET on YouTube/Twitter/Facebook. Special guests: @Sean Millerick and Gianmarco Ranalli (marlins.city on Instagram). 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. 🔷 Today's MiLB schedule: Triple-A Jacksonville vs. Gwinnett, 7:05 p.m. ET Marlins podcast episodes View full article

Ohtani's 2024 production in the batter's box closely resembles what Big G did in his final Marlins season. Shohei Ohtani is putting the finishing touches on an unprecedented season. No previous MLB player had ever tallied 47 home runs and 48 stolen bases in the same campaign. To satiate our society's round-number fetish, he has an outside shot of becoming the first-ever 50/50 player when the Los Angeles Dodgers visit the Miami Marlins for a three-game series beginning on Tuesday. Barring a severe year-end slump, he's going to be first major leaguer to win a Most Valuable Player award while being used as a full-time designated hitter. The narrative surrounding Ohtani is alluring: a two-way superstar limited to DH duty while rehabbing from elbow surgery is still extraordinarily impactful for a championship-caliber team. However, if we refrain from getting swept up in the intangibles, his season seems familiar. Not so long ago, the Marlins employed their own MVP-caliber hitter with awe-inspiring power. Courtesy of Stathead and Baseball Savant, here is how 2017 Giancarlo Stanton compared to Ohtani across a wide variety of offensive stats (Ohtani's Dodgers still have 12 regular season games left): In terms of both style and substance, the resemblance is uncanny. Stanton's average home run distance was 418 feet; Ohtani's is 414 feet. Stanton led the majors in max exit velocity; Ohtani ranks third behind only Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates and the now-34-year-old Stanton. Their strikeout, walk and intentional walk totals are on track to be practically identical. No doubt, Ohtani has brought considerable value to his team with his base-stealing, combining volume with elite efficiency (92.3% success rate). Keep in mind, though, the whole point of steals is to best position yourself to score runs. Stanton scored 123 times and Ohtani is currently at 118, so they're gonna wind up in the same neighborhood. Ohtani's 50/50 pursuit is being covered more fervently than Stanton was when he was attempting to become the first "clean" NL player to reach 60 homers. Unsurprising when the former's fanbase is so much larger than the latter's. Also, the 2024 Dodgers are in the mix for baseball's best record and on the verge of a 12th consecutive postseason berth, while the 2017 Marlins had already fallen out of contention, missing out on October baseball for the 14th straight year. But I genuinely don't believe that Ohtani's season is significantly better than Stanton's was. In closing, let's be grateful for the implementation of the universal DH for allowing Ohtani to continue putting on a daily spectacle during a "down year." Even limited to his bat and his legs, he's been appointment viewing, and the elevated attendance at loanDepot park over the next three days should reflect that. View full article

Hopefully we see Weathers on Wednesday. Looked very sharp in his previous start.

Offishial News for 9/16/24 On Sunday (Roberto Clemente Day), MacKenzie Gore (6.0 IP. 0 ER) and James Wood (2-3, 2 HR, BB) shined brightest for the Nationals. Wood's second home run came against Declan Cronin, snapping his 65-inning/51-appearance, nearly season-long homerless streak. The Marlins lost, 4-3. Having fallen 13.5 games back of the Nats with only 12 regular season games remaining, the Fish have secured their 10th last-place finish in franchise history (first since 2019). Down on the farm, Double-A Pensacola won, 6-5. In their 2024 season finale, INF Josh Zamora cashed in the walk-off hit in the 10th inning off of position player Mason Auer. Blue Wahoos LHP Dale Stanavich has been promoted to Triple-A Jacksonville for the final week of their campaign. He's been arguably the best reliever in the Marlins org since the All-Star break, allowing only two earned runs (0.89 ERA) to go along with a 43.0 K%. Stanavich is the first pitcher from the Marlins' 2022 draft class to reach AAA. Here's more Marlins news and content: 🔷 With only four 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. 🔷 Jake Burger reflected on the 2024 season with the Marlins Radio Network, including his emergence as a clubhouse leader. He pointed to his streaky personal performance as a prime example how long the major league season is. 🔷 Perfect Game produced a behind-the-scenes documentary about PJ Morlando's draft day experience. It details his baseball background and provides glimpses of both his brashness and his humility. 🔷 I had not realized that LHP Keyner Benítez was the youngest pitcher in the entire Florida State League at the time of his midseason promotion to Low-A. Marlins director of minor league operations Hector Crespo spoke with MLB.com's Christina De Nicola about Benítez's leap to full-season ball. 🔷 Jesús Luzardo is the Marlins nominee for the 2024 Roberto Clemente Award. Vote for Luzardo here through September 29. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the Braves and Mets are tied for the final National League Wild Card spot after both teams lost on Sunday. Aaron Judge hit his 53rd homer, a 445-footer to straightaway center field. Heliot Ramos became the first right-handed hitter in Oracle Park's history to record a "Splash Hit" into McCovey Cove. Old friend Luis Arraez is running away with the NL batting title, having built a 15-point lead over the next-best NL qualifier. Dating back to August 10, he's gone 140 consecutive plate appearances without striking out! It's the longest MLB streak since Juan Pierre (147 PA in 2004). 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 SuperSubs. These notes apply to the fourth and final game of Miami's road series against the Washington Nationals. View full article

Here's a taste of Miami Marlins left-hander Thomas White. Fish On First's top-ranked Marlins prospect, White spent his 2024 season with the Low-A Jupiter Hammerheads and High-A Beloit Sky Carp. View full video

It's been a season of constant roster turnover for the 2024 Marlins. Fittingly, they now own an all-time record to reflect that. This isn't quite the worst season in Miami Marlins history nor is it the weirdest—the 1998 and 2020 teams have a stranglehold on those distinctions, respectively. However, the 2024 edition of the Fish might finish runner-up in both categories. Peter Bendix's first season in charge of baseball operations has been plenty bad and plenty bizarre. You cannot point the finger at any particular player when there have been so, so many of them. More than any other team in MLB history, in fact. With the Miami debut of right-hander Michael Petersen during Friday night's game, the Marlins set an obscure record: most players used by a team in a single season. They broke a tie with the 2021 Chicago Cubs, who utilized 69 different individuals. It's been eclectic mix of players that Bendix inherited from the previous Marlins administration as well as trade acquisitions, waiver claims and free agent signings (Petersen was just claimed earlier this week). The body count doesn't even include Sandy Alcantara and Eury Pérez, who have been around the team for much of the regular season, but unable to contribute while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. By and large, it's been an inexperienced collection of talent. Of the 70 players used by the 2024 Marlins, nearly half of them entered the season with less than one full year of MLB service time, including 11 who have made their major league debuts with this club. Those with the most service time were Avisaíl García (released in June), Tim Anderson (released in July) and Josh Bell (salary-dumped in July). The final total will definitely surpass 70. Along with Petersen, right-hander Jeff Lindgren was also called up prior to the Nats series. Several injured pitchers are projected to return eventually, but their reinstatements are not imminent, so his active roster spot is temporarily safe. Additionally, four healthy players on the 40-man roster haven't yet played for the Marlins this season: Adam Mazur, Graham Pauley, Agustín Ramírez and Josh Simpson. The Marlins have 14 more games to create some breathing room between themselves and other MLB teams who may inadvertently pursue their record in the future. View full article

Today's news roundup also includes an upcoming change to your Marlins television-viewing experience. On Sunday in the Dominican Winter League, 1B/OF Troy Johnston (Toros del Este) went 1-for-3 with a walk. Johnston has started all five of his team's games thus far. 1B Deyvison De Los Santos (Gigantes del Cibao) struck out in a pinch-hitting opportunity. De Los Santos still hasn't reached base safely through his first nine plate appearances. Here's more Marlins news and content: 🔷 Bally Sports has officially become FanDuel Sports Network. The affiliate that carries Marlins games, FanDuel Sports Network Florida, is still available on the same channels it used to be prior to the rebrand and the mobile app's rebrand has already gone into effect. 🔷 Random Marlins stat of the day: this team has used 15 different starting center fielders over the last two seasons. If you could name at least 13 of them without cheating, I'd be extremely impressed. Aside from Jazz Chisholm Jr., all of the others had 25 starts or fewer during that span. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the 2024 World Series matchup is set, featuring the teams who had the best regular season records in their respective leagues. The Yankees defeated the Guardians in five games with Giancarlo Stanton (1.222 OPS with 4 HR) earning ALCS MVP honors. The Dodgers took down the Mets in six games (Tommy Edman was the NLCS MVP). It's the first time since 1981 that the Yankees and Dodgers are meeting in October. No matter the result, several former Marlins players will be getting WS rings (Stanton, Chisholm, Jon Berti, Cody Poteet and Aaron Boone on New York's side; Miguel Rojas, Kiké Hernández and Alex Vesia for LA). View full article

Speaking with Peter Pratt on Locked On Marlins, Ely Sussman explains how a change in pitch usage has made a huge difference for Edward Cabrera down the stretch of the 2024 season. View full video