Ely Sussman

Today's news roundup also includes a big hire for the Marlins' amateur scouting department. On Sunday out in the desert, OF Andrew Pintar went 2-for-4 with a walk and INF Jay Beshears went 1-for-4. Pintar has reached base safely in 14 of his 15 AFL games, recording hits in 11 straight. LHP Justin Storm (1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K) and RHP Jun-Seok Shim (1.0 IP, 0 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 0 K) both pitched in relief. Shim still doesn't have any strikeouts in the AFL. The Peoria Javelinas lost, 8-4. OF Kemp Alderman did not play with them...because he just started his honeymoon in Antigua. Congrats to Kemp and his new wife, Sailor! In the Dominican Winter League, 1B Troy Johnston continues to rake. His first home run upped his season slash line to .314/.390/.429. RF Vidal Bruján went 0-for-4 with a walk, 1B Deyvison De Los Santos went 2-for-5 and RHP Elvis Alvarado threw a scoreless inning. Here's more Marlins news and content: 🔷 Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the Marlins and White Sox remain interested in managerial candidate Craig Albernaz. George Lombard was previously in the mix for both openings, but the Sox have moved on from him. 🔷 The Marlins have hired Marti Wolever to be a senior advisor to their amateur scouting department (h/t Greg Zumach, North Side Bound). Wolever previously held the same title for them from 2018-2021 before becoming a national crosschecker for the Cubs. He was honored as West Coast Scout of the Year in 2023 and has accrued more than 40 years of experience in various scouting roles, most notably serving as assistant GM and scouting director for the Phillies. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Shohei Ohtani suffered a left shoulder subluxation on Saturday, but he's expected to be in the Dodgers lineup for World Series Game 3. 🔷 Today's MLB postseason schedule: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Yankees, 8:08 p.m. ET View full article

Offishial News for 8/13/24 On Monday, multiple reports detailed the latest wave of Marlins personnel changes under the direction of Peter Bendix. Assistant general managers Dan Greenlee and Oz Ocampo are both gone, according to Craig Mish of the Miami Herald and ESPN's Alden Gonzalez. Greenlee had overseen analytics for the Marlins for all seven seasons of Bruce Sherman's ownership tenure. He had a loud voice within the front office before Bendix's arrival. Ocampo (pictured above) was hired by Kim Ng two offseasons ago, running the pro scouting department last year and shifting to international operations in 2024. As a side note: not that this justified his firing, but it was bizarre how Ocampo remained based out of Houston throughout his Marlins tenure, per Mish. Even this year, a high percentage of his public posts were dedicated to cheering for his former Astros prospects rather than Miami's own talent. Fellow A-GMs Gabe Kapler and Brian Chattin are safe. Bendix's housecleaning also includes the dismissals of international scouting director Roman Ocumarez, minor league field coordinator Patrick Osborn, hitting coordinator Tom Slater, performance coordinator Frank Moore and pitching coordinator Scott Aldred. While Bendix's desire to "bring in his own people" is understandable, it'll be tough to improve upon the work that Aldred did. Countless pitchers developed by the Marlins in recent years have acknowledged Aldred's influence, whether it be teaching them a new pitch, refining an old one or solving mechanical issues. Gonzalez adds that "more than 10 scouts have also been let go through multiple waves. More changes are expected throughout the organization in the coming weeks...The Marlins are expected to replace all of the scouting positions as well as most—if not all —of the front office spots that have been left vacant." As noted in Offishial News last week, applications are already being accepted for new area scouts. Down on the farm, DSL Marlins lost, 8-1, and won, 4-1. Jeremy Almonte continues to have a great offensive season as the team's primary catcher, boosting his slash line to .323/.430/.414 in 31 games. INF Joseph Tailor took the Marlins organizational lead with his 20th hit by pitch in only his 44th game! He also leads all Dominican Summer League players in that category. DSL Miami lost, 4-2 (completing a game that was previously suspended due to rain). C/1B Agustín Ramírez was selected to MLB Pipeline's Prospect Team of the Week. Marlins draft pick Eric Rataczak created an Instagram account dedicated to detailing the journey of what it's like being a professional athlete with Type 1 diabetes. Here's more Marlins news and content: 🔷 Rewatch our off-day edition of Marlins Jeopardy, the first trivia contest we've done since the 2024 regular season began. It came down to Final Jeopardy between Isaac Azout and Sean Millerick, with Isaac securing his 10th career victory. 🔷 Josh Norris of Baseball America ranks Marlins OF Andrés Valor as the No. 7 prospect in the Florida Complex League this season: "Valor is lithe and athletic and has speed that borders on double-plus, which gives him a great chance to stick in center field as he matures. If he does, he could be above-average at the position. Valor has plenty of strength and bat speed, which scouts believe should lead to plenty of power as he develops. He will have to do a better job of laying off of breaking pitches as he moves up the ladder, but he’s got plenty of time to close that hole. If he reaches his ceiling, he has the chance to be a standout center fielder with a wealth of skills on both sides of the ball." 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Víctor Robles signed a two-year, $9.75M contract extension with the Mariners. Mookie Betts returned to the Dodgers lineup after nearly two months on the IL, homering and driving in three runs. Blake Snell carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, but had to settle for a no-decision as the Braves ultimately won in 10 innings. The lowly White Sox stunningly routed the Yankees, 12-2. The Yanks drew 11 walks, but went 2-for-18 with runners in scoring position, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. exited early with a left elbow injury. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter TBA) begin a two-game series against the Phillies (RHP Taijuan Walker). The Phils have slumped since the All-Star break with a 7-15 record (worst in the National League), including several of their most lopsided losses of the season. First pitch at 6:40 p.m. ET. 🔷 Join us for a new episode of Fish On First LIVE today from 4:00-5:00 p.m. ET on YouTube/Twitter/Facebook. Special guest: Alex Carr. 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. Memphis, 7:05 p.m. ET Double-A Pensacola vs. Montgomery, 7:05 p.m. ET High-A Beloit vs. Quad Cities, 7:35 p.m. ET Low-A Jupiter at Palm Beach, 5:00 p.m. ET DSL Marlins at DSL Nationals, 11:00 a.m. ET DSL Miami vs. DSL Colorado, 11:00 a.m. ET Marlins podcast episodes View full article

Big Fish Small Pod for Tuesday, August 13 With less than a quarter of the Minor League Baseball season remaining, it's a two-horse race for Miami Marlins Minor League Player of the Year honors. Ely Sussman presents the cases for C Joe Mack and INF/OF Javier Sanoja while updating the progress they've made in terms of player development. Find Big Fish Small Pod 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 The Offishial Show, Fish Unfiltered, Swimming Upstream 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. FOF #1 prospect LHP Thomas White is a virtual lock for the organization's Pitcher of the Year honors, but it's still too early to forecast a winner on the hitting side. Mack leads all Marlins minor leaguers in home runs (19) and runs batted in (66) while showing he has what it takes to stick behind the plate. Sanoja has a farm system-leading 121 hits and the versatility to handle shortstop, second base or center field. He's also been challenged at the Triple-A level for most of the 2024 season (Mack is still at Double-A). Who would get your vote if the season ended today? Follow Ely (@RealEly) and Fish On First (@FishOnFirst) on Twitter. Join the Marlins Discord server! Complete Miami Marlins coverage here at FishOnFirst.com. View full article

Offishial News for 8/12/24 On Sunday, the Marlins led wire to wire in an upset of Dylan Cease and the Padres. Max Meyer pitched a career-high 6 ⅓ innings, though his effectiveness waned after his first trip through San Diego's lineup. Jake Burger homered for the third consecutive game, the fifth time during the homestand and the 12th time since the All-Star break. Luis Arraez went 3-for-5 and continues to lead the National League with 145 hits this season. Andrew Nardi very nearly blew the lead in the ninth, allowing a fly ball to Ha-Seong Kim that ricocheted off Kyle Stowers' glove and over the wall. But it was determined to be a ground-rule double rather than a game-tying long ball, and George Soriano came in to record his first save of 2024. The Marlins won, 7-6. Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville won, 7-6. Each of this farm system's top three prospects—INF Connor Norby, 1B Deyvison De Los Santos and C Agustín Ramírez—hit home runs. Double-A Pensacola lost, 10-1. Jacob Berry had three of the six Blue Wahoos hits, but also committed an embarrassing error. High-A Beloit lost, 4-1. Low-A Jupiter lost, 5-4. RHP Walin Castillo (4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 48 pitches/31 strikes) had his most dominant outing as a Hammerhead, but the bullpen behind him issued eight walks. Here's more Marlins news and content: 🔷 Listen back to Sunday's State of the Fish call-in show. 🔷 The Phillies claimed Kyle Tyler off waivers from the Marlins. In eight games (seven starts) at the major league level this season, Tyler posted a 5.40 ERA, 5.04 FIP and 1.74 WHIP in 31.2 IP. It's unclear what the team will do to fill his vacant rotation spot—for the time being, it's just Meyer, Edward Cabrera, Valente Bellozo and Roddery Muñoz. Shaun Anderson cleared waivers and was outrighted to Jacksonville. 🔷 Through 38 Marlins series, here's an updated look at the Prediction Time leaderboard. In addition to yours truly, @Nicholas Milton, @Alec Chao, @Gabriel Revilla and @Ryan Schlesinger each made perfect picks this past weekend. Make series predictions with us all season long when you become a Fish On First SuperSub. 🔷 As explained to FanGraphs' David Laurila, Marlins top prospect Thomas White transformed his signature slurve into a sweeper this season by changing the orientation of his hand. The new weapon plays off his fastball better and carries more velocity (averaging 82 mph). YUswbEJfV0ZRVkV3dEdEUT09X1ZBbFJVbDBGVVFFQVhWQlJVZ0FBQjFKVEFBTlFBZ1VBQ3dBSEF3UldCZ3BWVVFkZQ==.mp4 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Aaron Judge mashed his 42nd home run and Giancarlo Stanton reached 20 homers in a season for the 13th time in his career. Yordan Alvarez may be MLB's hottest hitter in August (just ahead of Burger), slashing .438/.561/.969 since the month began with more intentional walks (four) than strikeouts (two). The Braves took a 8-2 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning against the Rockies and blew it! They've lost seven of their last eight games, allowing 8.5 runs per contest during that span. The slump has caused their playoff odds to dip by 27%. 🔷 Speaking of contests, join us for the return of Marlins Jeopardy tonight from 7:00-8:00 p.m. ET on YouTube/Twitter/Facebook. 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: DSL Marlins vs. DSL Giants Orange, 10:00 a.m. ET (doubleheader) DSL Miami at DSL Rangers Red, 10:00 a.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 SuperSubs. These notes apply to the third and final game of Miami's home series against the San Diego Padres. 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 San Diego Padres. View full article

Before officially signing with the Miami Marlins organization on Wednesday, INF/OF Andrew Salas spent his age-16 season playing for Marineros de Carabobo in Venezuela's Liga Mayor de Béisbol Profesional. 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 SuperSubs. These notes apply to the first game of Miami's home series against the San Diego Padres. View full article

Offishial News for 8/9/24 On Thursday, the bottom third of the Marlins lineup drove in all four of their runs. If they had any help from the other hitters, it would have been a Miami victory in regulation. Instead, the game dragged on long enough for Emmanuel Ramírez to implode in the 10th inning. The Marlins lost, 10-4. Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville won, 6-3. C Agustín Ramírez had a rough game as a receiver, but more than made up for it at the plate (3-4, 3 RBI, BB). Double-A Pensacola won, 4-2. Multi-hit games for 1B Nathan Martorella, C Joe Mack and scorching-hot SS Jared Serna. The Jacob Berry second base experiment continues, seemingly because the Marlins are prioritizing the development of Graham Pauley at third base. High-A Beloit won, 5-1. LHP Thomas White (5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 73 pitches/46 strikes) further solidified himself as this organization's top overall prospect. Low-A Jupiter lost, 2-0. It included the professional debuts of 11th-round draft pick Jake Faherty and 16th-rounder Eric Rataczak. DSL Marlins won, 6-3. INF Joseph Tailor is up to 43 runs scored in 40 games played this season. DSL Miami lost, 9-8. Here's more Marlins news and content: 🔷 Marlins first-round draft pick PJ Morlando has been diagnosed with a lumbar stress reaction. His minor league season might be over after only one plate appearance. This injury shouldn't impact his performance and availability beyond 2024, but the missed reps are still costly. Morlando will be a month shy of his 20th birthday when the 2025 MiLB season gets underway. 🔷 Another new draftee, Micah McDowell, is sidelined by a right hip flexor strain, per Alex Carver. 🔷 Nick Gordon cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A. Because he has more than three years of MLB service time, Gordon could elect free agency rather than report to Jacksonville. Even if he thrived for the Jumbo Shrimp, Gordon's chances of reappearing for the Marlins down the stretch would be slim and he'd just be non-tendered in the offseason anyway. 🔷 The Miami Herald's Craig Mish and Barry Jackson detail the Marlins' "internal fascination" with RHP Jun-Seok Shim, who they acquired from the Pirates in the Bryan De La Cruz trade. "He hasn’t pitched this season because of what the Pirates called a minor shoulder injury resulting from a previous pectoral injury," they report. "But a Marlins source said there is no structural problem with the right (throwing) shoulder, and the Marlins medical testing did not reveal any red flags." The Pirates haven't gotten anything out of their end of the trade yet with DLC going 4-for-27 at the plate with a -25 wRC+. 🔷 Through 37 Marlins series, 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. 🔷 Happy 25th birthday to Xavier Edwards! Through 65 career games in the majors, the infielder is slashing .345/.403/.413 with 18 stolen bases in 20 attempts. He's simply been an elite player since taking over as Miami's everyday shortstop in early July. Make sure to watch/listen to FOF's exclusive interview with Edwards embedded below (and available wherever you get your podcasts). 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Mitch Haniger's walk-off, bases-clearing double moved the Mariners into a virtual tie with the Astros for first place in the AL West. The Brewers racked up 16 runs on six long balls against the Braves. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter RHP Edward Cabrera) welcome the Padres (LHP Martin Pérez). The Padres come to town having won 14 of their last 16 games, in possession of the National League's top Wild Card spot. It's 90s Night at loanDepot park. Expect pregame roster moves on Miami's side to bring in fresh arms as four different relievers have appeared on back-to-back days. The Marlins have a 46.9% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 7:10 p.m. ET. 🔷 Join us for a new episode of Fish On First LIVE tonight from 6:00-7:00 p.m. ET on YouTube/Twitter/Facebook. Special guest: @PHeyser08. 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 at Toledo, 7:05 p.m. ET Double-A Pensacola at Mississippi, 7:35 p.m. ET High-A Beloit at West Michigan, 6:35 p.m. ET Low-A Jupiter vs. Fort Myers, 6:30 p.m. ET DSL Marlins at DSL NYY Yankees, 11:00 a.m. ET DSL Miami vs. DSL Arizona Black, 11:00 a.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 SuperSubs. These notes apply to the fourth and final game of Miami's home series against the Cincinnati Reds. View full article

Serna generates so much more power than Sanoja does despite their physical similarities. His ceiling as a player is far higher. Still waiting on Sanoja to more efficiently translate his speed into valuable baserunning. That would partially close the gap between them.

Offishial News for 8/8/24 On Wednesday, all of Miami's offense came via the home run: two Jake Burger solo shots and a Derek Hill(?!) grand slam. On the mound, Valente Bellozo (5.2 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K, 92 pitches/56 strikes) had a great outing, albeit a somewhat lucky one. His dependency on fly balls has me nervous about his future. Declan Cronin and Andrew Nardi combined to make a mess in the seventh inning, but never relinquished the lead. The Marlins won, 6-4. Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville won, 6-4. 1B/C Agustín Ramírez had a productive night at the plate (3-3, HR, 2 RBI, BB) and Connor Norby played third base for the first time since being acquired. Double-A Pensacola lost, 5-4. Jacob Berry made his professional debut at second base and recorded two hits. High-A Beloit lost, 7-0. RHP Noble Meyer (0.2 IP, 1 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 0 K, 35 pitches/15 strikes) couldn't escape the first inning and finished with only one swinging strike. Low-A Jupiter lost, 10-2. It was even messier for RHP Eliazar Dishmey, who allowed every batter he faced to reach base (0.0 IP, 2 H, 7 ER, 5 BB, 0 K, 36 pitches/15 strikes). Here's more Marlins news and content: 🔷 The Fish On First staff released our updated Marlins Top 30 prospects list on Monday. Now it's your turn! Become a FOF member to submit your personal Top 30 with the option of leaving comments to explain your reasoning. Those submissions will be combined into a public prospect ranking after voting closes on Sunday night. 🔷 The Marlins are hiring area scouts for five different regions: Northeast, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic/Ohio Valley, Midwest/Ohio Valley and South Texas. Joe Frisaro of Man On Second Baseball previously reported that several of the organization's pre-existing scouts were let go following the MLB Draft. 🔷 Updated farm system rankings from Baseball America and ESPN have the Marlins at 18th and 19th, respectively. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the White Sox fired second-year manager Pedro Grifol. He had a 89-190 record (.319 winning percentage). The Padres have won 13 of their last 15 games. Even in a losing effort, Pittsburgh's Aroldis Chapman threw a fastball at 104.7 mph, the top velocity of the pitch-tracking era for a pitch that resulted in a strikeout. The Diamondbacks are similarly hot, victors in 12 of their last 14. They swept a doubleheader from the Guardians with the aid of two Josh Bell homers. Kyle Schwarber (4-4, 3 HR, 7 RBI, BB) singlehandedly led the Phillies past the Dodgers on the scoreboard and past the Guardians in the standings to reclaim MLB's best record. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter RHP Kyle Tyler) conclude their series against the Reds (RHP Hunter Greene). The Marlins have a 40.3% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 6:10 p.m. ET. 🔷 Today's MiLB schedule: Triple-A Jacksonville at Toledo, 7:05 p.m. ET Double-A Pensacola at Mississippi, 7:35 p.m. ET High-A Beloit at West Michigan, 6:35 p.m. ET Low-A Jupiter vs. Fort Myers, 6:30 p.m. ET DSL Marlins vs. DSL Mets Orange, 11:00 a.m. ET DSL Miami at DSL Mets Blue, 11:00 a.m. ET Marlins podcast episodes View full article