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. Got thoughts about this matchup? Head over to Fish On First's Marlins game thread. View full article

Offishial News for 6/28/24 On Thursday, the Marlins improbably lit up the vaunted Philadelphia Phillies bullpen. Bryan De La Cruz had the most consequential hit, a two-out, bases-clearing double against Matt Strahm that erased a 3-0 deficit. Jake Burger's solo home run off of Jeff Hoffman in the eighth inning put the Fish ahead for good. Kyle Schwarber (groin) and Bryce Harper (hamstring) both suffered late-game injuries. The Marlins won, 7-4. Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville won, 10-0. RHP Evan Fitterer (5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 7 K, 97 pitches/49 strikes) had a successful Jumbo Shrimp debut despite struggling with his control. C Will Banfield homered for the third straight game and INF Tristan Gray drove in four runs. Double-A Pensacola lost, 3-2. C Joe Mack crushed a fly ball 400-plus feet to center field and celebrated as if it was a home run. When it stayed in the ballpark, his lack of hustle limited him to a long single. He was subsequently removed from the game, seemingly as a disciplinary measure. In relief, RHP Zach McCambley set season highs in innings pitched (three) and strikeouts (six). High-A Beloit lost, 4-1. Pitching for the first time since June 8, RHP Noble Meyer was rusty (2.2 IP, 1 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 57 pitches/26 strikes). Low-A Jupiter lost, 10-3. OF Colby Shade hasn't played since June 20. FCL Marlins lost, 6-1. INF José Devers played in his second straight rehab game as he inches closer to returning from an April injury. DSL Marlins won, 16-1 and 4-3. DSL Miami lost, 3-2. Here's more Marlins news and content: 🔷 The FishOnFirst.com front page layout has been updated for both mobile and desktop users! We hope these changes make it more convenient to find what you're looking for. As a reminder, our Teal SuperSubs enjoy ad-free browsing for only $6 per month/$60 per year, and those subscriptions go a long way toward helping us make further upgrades. 🔷 We've reached the exact midpoint of the 2024 Marlins season. The team is on pace for: a 58-104 record, which would be third-worst in franchise history; a minus-248 run differential (second-worst); and a record-low .282 on-base percentage. Tanner Scott is on pace for 12 wins, but he's a lock to get traded in July. Nobody else on the pitching staff is on pace for more than six! 🔷 Check out the midseason edition of the Fish On First roundtable, featuring eight different perspectives on the state of the Marlins. 🔷 I applauded Valente Bellozo for his scoreless major league debut, while also explaining why his next scheduled start against the Red Sox should be a much tougher test. 🔷 Davy Andrews of FanGraphs is stunned by the Marlins' collective inability to draw walks. "Their roster is packed from stem to stern with players with absolutely no discipline at the plate," he writes. Relative to the league average, their walk rate is among the lowest single-season marks in the modern era. 🔷 MLB.com's Christina De Nicola went inside the recording studio with Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Nick Gordon. They plan to release an album together in the future. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Jordan Montgomery (2.2 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K) continues to be a huge disappointment for the Diamondbacks. The White Sox—patching things together with a bullpen game—upset Chris Sale and the Braves, 1-0. Aaron Judge and Bryce Harper were the leading vote-getters in the American League and National League, respectively, during Phase 1 of All-Star balloting. Phase 2 begins Sunday to determine the other starting position players for the Midsummer Classic. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter RHP Kyle Tyler) continue their series against the Phillies (LHP Cristopher Sánchez). I doubt you'll see Harper in the lineup as he undergoes further testing on his hamstring. The Marlins have a 29.7% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 6:20 p.m. ET. 🔷 Today's MiLB schedule: Triple-A Jacksonville vs. Nashville, 7:05 p.m. ET Double-A Pensacola at Biloxi, 7:35 p.m. ET High-A Beloit at Cedar Rapids, 7:35 p.m. ET Low-A Jupiter at Daytona, 6:35 p.m. ET DSL Marlins vs. DSL Rangers Blue, 11:00 a.m. ET DSL Miami at DSL Rangers Red, 11:00 a.m. ET FCL Marlins vs. FCL Astros, 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 SuperSubs. Got thoughts about this matchup? Head over to Fish On First's Marlins game thread. View full article

I don't find The Athletic's Jim Bowden to be particularly reliable on these sort of things, but for what it's worth: I surveyed more than 35 executives — including presidents of baseball operations, general managers and assistant GMs — and asked them to name the best starting pitcher, reliever and position player they think will be traded. The execs were granted anonymity so they could answer candidly. Their responses were illuminating — and in some cases surprising. 1. Jazz Chisholm Jr., INF/OF, Marlins I thought Luis Robert Jr. of the White Sox would be leading this part of the poll, but he wasn’t even close. Based on the responses, the industry believes Chisholm is the position player most likely to be traded between now and July 30. Chisholm, 26, is starting his prime years and has a special combination of speed and power that many evaluators think will result in him someday joining the 30-home run/30-stolen base club. This year, he’s reached base at a .330 clip with 10 homers and 14 steals. He has a 113 OPS+. Some teams are interested in him as a center fielder and others view him as a middle infielder, where he played before a position switch last year. Either way, it sounds like he’ll be traded if Miami gets the right offer over the next five weeks. He would fit nicely with the Phillies or Giants. View full rumor

Offishial News for 6/27/24 On Wednesday, RHP Valente Bellozo (5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 72 pitches/46 strikes) exceeded all expectations in his major league debut. Bellozo had not made a scoreless start in the minors all season! However, the BABIP gods finally got their revenge against Huascar Brazoban. Entering the day allowing a .184 batting average on balls in play this season, Brazoban surrendered five consecutive hits with two outs in the eighth inning. The Marlins lost, 5-1. Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville lost, 12-11. RHP Max Meyer pitched into the fifth inning for the first time since his demotion, though the results were unremarkable. Double-A Pensacola won, 7-6. RHP M.D. Johnson exited in the first inning after getting hit on the arm by a comebacker. RHP Austin Roberts recorded his farm system-leading 12th save. High-A Beloit lost, 8-6. Three-hit games for INF Carlos Santiago and INF Josh Zamora. Low-A Jupiter won, 5-4. LHP Justin Storm is looking like the Hammerheads' latest bullpen success story with a 1.21 ERA and strikeouts in 13 of his 14 relief appearances (36.0 K% overall). FCL Marlins won, 5-3. OF Andrés Valor has 13 stolen bases in his last 13 games without being caught, Business as usual for RHP Juan De La Cruz (5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K). Here's more Marlins news and content: 🔷 Christian Bethancourt cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Jacksonville. Now we wait to see whether he'll elect free agency or stick around as organizational depth. 🔷 According to Jim Bowden's survey of more than 35 baseball executives, Jazz Chisholm Jr. is the (non-rental) position player most likely to be traded by the July 30 trade deadline. Several survey respondents also remain hopeful that Jesús Luzardo (lumbar stress reaction) could still be dealt "if the medicals are eventually cleared with little risk." I find that highly implausible, though—the Marlins are better served giving Luzardo the chance to restore some value by pitching for them over the final quarter of the season. 🔷 Cool news for out-of-market Marlins game viewers like me: MLB.TV is now showing live Bally Sports Florida pregame and postgame covering. Every other Bally-affiliated team already had this included on their MLB.TV streams entering the season, but better late than never. 🔷 Through 26 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. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Dodgers rookie Gavin Stone pitched a shutout against the White Sox. Aaron Judge blasted his 30th home run. Former Marlins prospect Nasim Nuñez recorded his first major league hit with the Nationals 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter LHP Trevor Rogers) begin a four-game set against the Phillies (RHP Zack Wheeler). The first-place Phils own MLB's best home record at 31-12. The Marlins have a 32.0% chance to win the series opener, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 6:20 p.m. ET. 🔷 Join us for a new episode of Fish On First LIVE tonight from 5:00-6:00 p.m. ET on YouTube/Twitter/Facebook. Special guest: Locked On Marlins stud Peter Pratt. 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. Nashville, 7:05 p.m. ET Double-A Pensacola at Biloxi, 7:35 p.m. ET High-A Beloit at Cedar Rapids, 7:35 p.m. ET Low-A Jupiter at Daytona, 6:35 p.m. ET FCL Marlins at FCL Astros, 12:00 p.m. ET DSL Marlins vs. DSL Tigers 1, 10:00 a.m. ET (resumption of suspended game followed by regularly scheduled game) DSL Miami at DSL Tigers 2, 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. Got thoughts about this matchup? Head over to Fish On First's Marlins game thread. View full article

This past February, the event was held at a major league team's home ballpark for the first time and drew hundreds of thousands of fans. As announced on Tuesday, loanDepot park will be hosting the Caribbean Series again in 2028. Miami Marlins president of business operations Caroline O'Connor released the following statement (via Daniel Álvarez-Montes, El Extrabase): “We are thrilled to follow on the immense success of the 2024 Caribbean Series and bring the prestigious international tournament back to Miami in 2028 in partnership with LIDOM. This year’s tournament was a marquee event for our community, and we thank LIDOM for an outstanding partnership that once again brings the best of winter baseball to loanDepot park.” From February 1-9, loanDepot park hosted the 66th edition of Serie del Caribe, featuring the champions of seven professional baseball leagues. Venezuela's Tiburones de La Guaira won the tournament, managed by former Marlins skipper Ozzie Guillén. The Marlins went all out to amplify the Caribbean Series stateside. They struck a multi-year deal with the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation for exclusive broadcast rights, which included English language television coverage of every game via Bally Sports. The Final drew 36,677 fans to Miami, setting a tournament record. Overall, the 25 Caribbean Series contests drew an average of 13,613 fans. O'Connor said that the many of them were South Florida residents and she was hopeful they'd return to the ballpark during the MLB regular season. Alas, the Marlins have averaged only 12,496 fans per game, not only the second-lowest mark in the majors but a 13% decrease from their 2023 season. The club's unambitious offseason moves and subsequent non-competitiveness—they fell out of the playoff race almost immediately—certainly made it more difficult to "convert" them. In between the 2024 and 2028 tournaments, loanDepot park will also be a host site for an even bigger international event: the 2026 World Baseball Classic. View full article

Offishial News for 6/26/24 On Tuesday, the Marlins scored a pair of runs on balls that didn't even leave the infield. Four Miami relievers combined to allow only one hit. Tanner Scott has eclipsed 10 saves for the third straight season. The Marlins won, 2-1. Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville won, 2-0. Dominant effort by the rehabbing Edward Cabrera (4.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K, 60 pitches/37 strikes) as well as the pitchers who entered after him. The Jumbo Shrimp staff combined for 16 strikeouts. Double-A Pensacola lost, 5-4. Nice bounce-back start for LHP Adam Laskey (5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 67 pitches/51 strikes). INF Cody Morissette has extra-base hits in four of his last five games. High-A Beloit won, 7-2. Nine straight wins for the Sky Carp! RHP Jacob Miller (7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 86 pitches/56 strikes) enjoyed the longest outing of his career. Low-A Jupiter won, 7-5. Struggling outfielders Kemp Alderman and John Cruz had much-needed strong showings, each going 3-for-4 with 2 RBI. DSL Marlins won, 8-6. DSL Miami lost, 21-7. Three different relievers allowed five earned runs, including Japanese RHP Raisei Nakamura. Nakamura did collect his first career MiLB strikeout, though. Here's more Marlins news and content: 🔷 The Marlins claimed LHP Austin Kitchen off waivers from the Rockies and optioned him to Jacksonville. Kitchen has no MLB experience, but has performed solidly in the upper minors during his age-27 season (33.0 IP, 3.00 ERA and 3.47 FIP with a 56.3 GB%). He has a four-pitch mix: 91 mph fastball, 83 mph changeup, 78 mph slider and 73 mph curveball. Sixto Sánchez was transferred to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move. That means he isn't eligible to be reinstated until July 31 (I'm skeptical that we'll see Sánchez return to the big leagues in any capacity this season). 🔷 Marlins major league strength and conditioning coach Brendan Verner has been selected to handle strength and conditioning for the National League All-Star team. What does that even entail when the team is only together for parts of two days? Congrats anyway, I guess. 🔷 The Caribbean Series is coming back to Miami in 2028. “This year’s tournament was a marquee event for our community," Marlins president of business operations Caroline O'Connor said in a statement, "and we thank LIDOM for an outstanding partnership that once again brings the best of winter baseball to loanDepot park.” Average attendance for 2024 Serie del Caribe games surpassed what we've seen during the Marlins regular season despite the tournament's rosters relying mostly on minor league and unaffiliated players. 🔷 The Miami New Times selected Luis Arraez as the "Best Miami Marlins Player" in their annual "best of" issue despite him no longer being on the Marlins. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Aaron Judge is on pace for 58 homers and 150 RBI after hitting a grand slam on Tuesday. The White Sox also reached the halfway point of their season and are on pace for 120 losses. The Astros have won six in a row to pull within a game of the .500 mark. Christian Encarnacion-Strand is scheduled to undergo wrist surgery that will likely end his 2024 season. Even when healthy, his sophomore campaign had gotten off to an awful start. Overall, Reds first basemen have a 62 wRC+ this year. Maybe a fit for Josh Bell if they play well leading up to the trade deadline? 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter RHP Valente Bellozo) wrap up their series against the Royals (RHP Brady Singer). The 24-year-old Bellozo will be making his major league debut! Bellozo will wear uniform No. 83. The most likely corresponding roster move is designating Kent Emanuel for assignment (again). The Marlins have a 47.7% chance to win, per FanGraphs. Unless the results are abysmal, I would expect Bellozo to make a second start after this one as Edward Cabrera needs more time to build up his pitch count on his rehab assignment. First pitch at 2:10 p.m. ET. 🔷 Today's MiLB schedule: Triple-A Jacksonville vs. Nashville, 12:05 p.m. ET Double-A Pensacola at Biloxi, 7:35 p.m. ET High-A Beloit at Cedar Rapids, 1:05 p.m. ET Low-A Jupiter at Daytona, 6:35 p.m. ET FCL Marlins vs. FCL Mets, 12:00 p.m. ET Marlins podcast episodes View full article

The 24-year-old Marlins right-hander went five scoreless innings against the Royals on Wednesday. With their depth chart depleted by numerous injuries, the Miami Marlins starting pitcher carousel keeps on spinning. Only halfway through the 2024 season, Miami has already used 14 different starters, including 10 in the last 30 days alone. The newest addition to that not-so-exclusive club, Valente Bellozo, was arguably the least qualified. When he was acquired via trade from the Houston Astros in April, the Mexican right-hander had just four career games of experience above the High-A level. He had never been invited to a big league spring training camp. During the first half of the minor league campaign, Bellozo split time between Double-A Pensacola and Triple-A Jacksonville, posting ERAs worse than league average at both stops. He wasn't even on the 40-man roster, but the decision to call him up prior to Wednesday's game against the Kansas City Royals speaks to the Marlins' desperation. What makes baseball beautiful is how unpredictable it can be in small samples. Bellozo's results in his debut were excellent: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 72 pitches/46 strikes. If not for an abrupt Huascar Brazoban implosion, he would have earned the win. Bellozo was poised for this special occasion. With their adrenaline flowing, it's common to see a velocity spike from debuting pitchers, coming at the expense of their control. But Bellozo actually threw his fastball a half-tick slower in Kansas City (averaging 91.1 mph) than he did in his Triple-A outings (91.6 mph). In the bottom of the second inning, Vidal Bruján lost his battle with the sun on what should have been a routine, inning-ending popout. As a result, Bellozo had to pitch with runners in scoring position for the first time. He responded by striking out Garrett Hampson on three pitches, then retiring every batter he faced from that point forward. b1c6a24c-32fa-44c9-979f-ceddbb107be0.mp4 With that being said, Bellozo was fortunate to keep the Royals off the scoreboard. Excluding the sun-aided double, he allowed only one hit despite six hard-hit balls against him. His overall batting average on balls in play was .133, which is unsustainable. The Marlins went to their bullpen without letting the rookie begin his third trip through the lineup. Also worth noting, the Royals conceded the platoon advantage to Bellozo. They started only two left-handed batters, one of whom, MJ Melendez, has had a terrible year at the plate (67 wRC+). Bellozo is projected to make his next start at loanDepot park on Tuesday against the Boston Red Sox. They are practically tied with the Royals in the AL Wild Card race, but should put up a tougher fight. The Sox have been one of MLB's most consistent offensive teams lately and they typically start seven lefties when facing a right-hander. Bellozo was able to navigate his debut with only a handful of changeups and no curveballs; against Boston, expect to see increased usage of both pitches. Bellozo's ability to hold baserunners will eventually be tested. His MiLB opponents have gone 11-for-12 on stolen base attempts this season. The Red Sox can be relentless in that department, swiping nine bags on June 16 (the highest single-game total for any MLB team in 2024). Thanks to an off-day on Monday, the Marlins will have the option of coddling Bellozo again and turning to their rested relief corps before the Red Sox lineup gets too comfortable. Despite launching his MLB career on a very positive note, I'd advise waiting to see what he does for an encore before putting any expectations on him. 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. Got thoughts about this matchup? Head over to Fish On First's Marlins game thread. View full article

Offishial News for 6/25/24 On Monday, Roddery Muñoz continued to be very susceptible to home runs, allowing three more of them to the Royals. Predictably, Cole Ragans (6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 11 K, 108 pitches/68 strikes) had an easy time with Miami's lineup, as most left-handers do. Josh Bell sat out his first game of the season. The Marlins lost, 4-1. Down on the farm, RHP Eliazar Dishmey won Florida State League Pitcher of the Week. The FCL Marlins swept their doubleheader, winning 4-2 and 6-5. They stole 11 bases in 13 offensive innings! LHP Luis Cesar (5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K) lowered his ERA to 1.08. DSL Marlins won, 9-3. DSL Miami won, 9-5. The Marlins finished the "first half" of the minor league season with a higher winning percentage than any other organization, and that was prior to this undefeated day. Here's more Marlins news and content for you: 🔷 If you are a Florida-based Comcast subscriber who can't access Bally Sports Florida broadcasts on cable, follow these steps to claim two free months of the Bally Sports+ Marlins package. 🔷 The Marlins gave up barely anything to acquire relievers Declan Cronin and Calvin Faucher this past offseason. Now, they could be flipped to contenders for prospect reinforcements, writes Kevin Barral. 🔷 In an interview with the Marlins Radio Network, LHP Thomas White (FOF #1 prospect) describes figuring out his changeup this season and turning his slurve into a "true slider" by throwing it harder. "Narrowing my misses was my big goal this year and I think I've accomplished that pretty well." 🔷 FSL Network went around the bases with OF Colby Shade. Shade leads all Marlins minor leaguers with 31 stolen bases this season. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the Guardians reached 50 victories and have won six in a row. The White Sox were shut out for the 11th time this season. The Cubs blew a 4-0 lead to the Giants. Both teams are 37-42, which is still within striking distance of a National League Wild Card berth, but that's actually tied for the third-worst record in the NL, ahead of only the Marlins and Rockies. Phase 1 of MLB All-Star voting remains open through June 27. Vote up to five times per day. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter RHP Yonny Chirinos) take on the Royals again (RHP Seth Lugo). The Marlins have a 41.2% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 8:10 p.m. ET. 🔷 Today's MiLB schedule: Triple-A Jacksonville vs. Nashville, 7:05 p.m. ET (Edward Cabrera rehab start) Double-A Pensacola at Biloxi, 7:35 p.m. ET High-A Beloit at Cedar Rapids, 7:35 p.m. ET Low-A Jupiter at Daytona, 6:35 p.m. ET DSL Marlins at DSL Giants Orange, 11:00 a.m. ET DSL Miami vs. DSL Rockies, 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. Got thoughts about this matchup? Head over to Fish On First's Marlins game thread. View full article

I just don't believe that to be the case. Edwards should certainly be on the big league roster right now, but his style of hitting that works so well in Triple-A won't completely translate against superior MLB fielders and advance scouting.