Ely Sussman

Scott should draw widespread interest on the trade market this summer. That doesn't mean any of his suitors will pay a steep price for the pending free agent. Tanner Scott was a relatively anonymous middle reliever when the Miami Marlins acquired him in April 2022. In 156 career innings pitched at the major league level, he had a lifetime 4.73 ERA (95 ERA+), 4.00 FIP and only one career save. He worked a career-high 62 games during the previous campaign for the 110-loss Baltimore Orioles, but still had unresolved control issues (14.7 BB% and 10 WP). For the cost of a competitive balance round draft pick and three fringy prospects—Kevin Guerrero, Antonio Velez and Yaqui Rivera—the Marlins were able to add Scott and fellow reliever Cole Sulser. In parts of three seasons with the Fish, Scott has established himself as a high-leverage weapon. He has sliced his home run rate in half, leading to a much-improved 2.89 ERA (152 ERA+) and 2.94 FIP. He has tallied 40 saves for Miami and was also on the mound to clinch the club's 2023 postseason berth. As of this writing, Scott is in the midst of a 15-inning scoreless streak (20 straight innings without allowing an earned run). Even with Sulser failing to contribute, the Marlins won that trade. Obviously, Scott's achievements make him appealing to a greater number of teams compared to a few years ago. However, his market value is not much higher at the moment. Flipping the veteran left-hander to a contender in the coming weeks won't fetch a huge haul, at least not if he's flipped on his own. Scott was undisputedly an elite reliever in 2023. He struck out 104 batters in relief, overpowering both righty and lefty opponents, compared to just 21 unintentional walks. He stranded all but three of the baserunners that he inherited. Scott ranked first among MLB bullpen arms in win probability added (4.9 WPA) and Baseball-Reference WAR (3.6 bWAR) and tied for first in FanGraphs WAR (2.8 fWAR). a04a3390-8cc3-4214-bd8a-1976353284a8.mp4 Understandably, Scott entered 2024 as Miami's full-time closer. He raised concerns during spring training when he surrendered 10 runs through his first three Grapefruit League appearances. He settled down after that, only to slump again once the real games began. The low point came on April 14 when he blew a save against the Atlanta Braves via Marcell Ozuna's go-ahead, three-run homer. He hasn't allowed an earned run since then. Ozuna remains the only batter who has taken him deep this year. Although Scott has everybody's attention with his streak and bottom line run prevention (1.30 ERA/331 ERA+ in 2024), that is not necessarily predictive of what he'll do moving forward. His reduced walk rate from last season (7.8 BB%) was an anomaly—he has soared to a 16.4 BB%, his worst since becoming an MLB regular. His FIP in 2024 is 3.51, approximately the same as his career mark. In the aftermath of the Luis Arraez trade, there were rumblings that the now-rebuilding Marlins could move Scott next, but six weeks have come and gone without any action. That last detail—the element of time—is crucial because Scott is a pending free agent. Even a notoriously hard worker like him is going to appear in fewer than half of his team's games. Relievers can have an outsized impact during the playoffs, but that is largely out of his control (the Marlins trailed throughout their 2023 NL Wild Card Series matchup, which took Scott out of the equation). While the upside for the acquiring club is still tantalizing, there's also the possibility that Scott doesn't move the needle whatsoever and leaves this coming winter. In the estimation of Baseball Trade Values, Scott had $3.7M in median trade value when the Marlins got him. As of Thursday, his value is at $3.6M. With his remaining club control evaporating, he has come full circle. When trading Arraez, the Marlins ate nearly all of the salary still owed to him this season to extract a better prospect return. They may attempt to do the same with Scott, who's making $5.7M (approx. $3.4M yet to be paid). That cannot be assumed, though. They'll need cooperation from their eventual trade partner. Those of you who were underwhelmed by the Arraez deal are about to be underwhelmed again. If Scott brings back a genuine blue-chip prospect, it will be because he was bundled with a bigger asset such as Jesús Luzardo or Jazz Chisholm Jr. If the Marlins shop Scott on his own, the realistic best-case scenario would look something like what the Marlins themselves gave up for David Robertson last summer (teenagers INF Marco Vargas and C/1B Ronald Hernández). 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

Welcome to FOF's 67th Miami Marlins game thread of the 2024 season. For the first time this season and just the second time in his MLB career, Otto Lopez will start in the leadoff spot. The Marlins have a 3-19 record vs. left-handed starting pitchers, so gotta try something different. SuperSubs can access exclusive game notes here. Pregame roster moves: RHP JT Chargois (neck spasms) returned from rehab and reinstated from the 60-day injured list; RHP Emmanuel Ramírez optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville. Louis Addeo-Weiss will be writing the game recap.

Offishial News for 6/12/24 On Tuesday, Tim Anderson and Otto Lopez each helped manufacture crucial runs with aggressive baserunning. Tanner Scott retired the final six Mets batters in order for his eighth save of the season. Scott has not allowed a run since April! The Marlins won, 4-2. Despite the lack of scoring and prolonged delays, the 2:50 time of game was tied for fifth-longest for a non-extra-inning game Marlins this season. Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville won, 2-1. OF Griffin Conine did it again, homering for the fifth consecutive game and the 14th time this season. RHP Kyle Tyler went six scoreless innings for the second straight start. 1B Troy Johnston (FOF #13 prospect) had the go-ahead homer in the eighth inning and reacted with the delightfully awkward bat toss shown below. RHP Anthony Maldonado (FOF #17) retired the final five Indianapolis batters to secure the victory. Double-A Pensacola won, 3-1. C Joe Mack (FOF #25) did it again, homering for the sixth time in his last nine games. High-A Beloit lost, 6-5. FOF #11 prospect RHP Jacob Miller (6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 11 K, 94 pitches/60 strikes) set a new career high in strikeouts. Low-A Jupiter won, 11-10. Seven different Hammerheads recorded multi-hit games. In the first installment of the 2024 Dominican Summer League Civil War, DSL Miami beat DSL Marlins, 7-4. Dominance from RHP Yohanfer Santana (3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K). Here's more Marlins news and content for you: 🔷 Check out the full replay of Fish On First LIVE featuring 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. 🔷 JT Chargois (neck spasms) completed his rehab assignment and rejoined the Marlins in New York. He could be reinstated from the injured list any day now, with Emmanuel Ramirez and Huascar Brazoban being the leading candidates to be optioned in a corresponding move. 🔷 On this day in 2019, Jordan Yamamoto was spectacular in his MLB debut. His seven innings pitched tied a franchise record for longest outing in a debut. Yamamoto also went seven frames in his second start, then never did it again during his career. He's now a high school baseball coach. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, J.T. Realmuto is scheduled to undergo right meniscus surgery today. Safe to assume he'll remain sidelined when the Marlins next visit Philadelphia from June 27-30, though he is expected to return in "about a month." Aaron Judge blasted his 25th long ball of the season. The Dodgers pummeled the Rangers with a season-high 15 runs scored. 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 LHP Braxton Garrett) visit the Mets (LHP David Peterson). When facing left-handed starters like Peterson, the Marlins are a major league-worst 3-19 this season. The Marlins have a 42.1% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 7:10 p.m. ET. 🔷 Today's MiLB schedule: Triple-A Jacksonville vs. Indianapolis, 7:05 p.m. ET Double-A Pensacola at Birmingham, 12:00 p.m. ET High-A Beloit at Quad Cities, 7:30 p.m. ET Low-A Jupiter vs. St. Lucie, 6:30 p.m. ET FCL Marlins at FCL Mets, 12:00 p.m. ET Marlins podcast episodes View full article

Welcome to FOF's 66th Miami Marlins game thread of the 2024 season. Both the Marlins and New York Mets had off days entering this series opener. SuperSubs can access exclusive game notes here. Pregame roster moves: none. Nate Karzmer will be writing the game recap.

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

As logical as it would be to act now, it takes a trade partner that's willing to do the same. Has to be a unique situation to get something done at this point in the season (Arraez was unique). Most buyers want to wait for a full understanding of what alternatives are on the market. Especially in the NL, there are so many teams clustered together that can't choose a direction for themselves yet.

Offishial News for 6/11/24 On Monday down on the farm, FCL Marlins won, 10-2. LHP Luis Cesar (5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K) extended his scoreless streak to 15 innings—a promotion to Jupiter ought to be around the corner. OF Kemp Alderman continued his rehab assignment by going 1-for-5 with a stolen base. DSL Marlins won, 6-5. That's despite a golden sombrero from two-way player Janero Miller, whose strikeout rate is up to 64% this season (46.2 K% for his career). He may not be a two-way player for much longer. DSL Miami won, 7-5. They drew 10 walks, three hit-by-pitches and stole 10 bases without being caught! INF Breyias Dean has slashed .529/.652/.824 through six games this season. Here's more Marlins news and content for you: 🔷 Xavier Edwards has been sent back down to Triple-A after just three games with the Marlins. Makes you wonder why he was called up in the first place? Skip Schumaker and Edwards himself were seemingly under the impression that he would get an extended opportunity to prove himself in the majors, even if there wasn't room for him to continue starting daily. 🔷 Alex Krutchik and I took a look at how nine of Peter Bendix's acquisitions are doing so far this season. The best of the bunch would have to be either Otto Lopez or Declan Cronin. 🔷 Jazz Chisholm Jr. was selected by some of his peers as baseball's most overrated player. Ten respondents (accounting for 20.3% of the vote) in The Athletic's MLB Player Poll selected the Marlins center fielder. "Though most respondents did not elaborate on their reasoning, one player did question how the former All-Star ended up on the cover of last year’s 'MLB The Show' video game," the article mentions. In my observation, the public perception of Chisholm does seem out of line with his on-field production, though not to an extreme degree. The biggest knock on him in the past has been lack of durability, and so far this season, he deserves credit for addressing that. 🔷 Echoing previous reports, The Athletic's Jim Bowden names Jesús Luzardo, Josh Bell and Tanner Scott among the players on non-contenders who are expected to be dealt prior to the trade deadline. 🔷 Christina De Nicola of MLB.com details Ryan Ignoffo's conversion to catcher. Ignoffo has been Low-A Jupiter's top hitter in 2024. 🔷 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: Instagram creator Marlins City. 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. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the White Sox suffered their 50th loss, leading the Mariners 4-0 in the eighth inning only to get beaten 8-4 on a Cal Raleigh walk-off grand slam. In one of the most improbable sequences of the season, strikeout machine Alex Jackson fell behind 0-2 in the count against Orioles acce Corbin Burnes, then worked the count full before blasting his first home run as a Ray. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter LHP Jesús Luzardo) visit the Mets (RHP Tylor Megill). Luzardo has fared very well against the Mets in his career (3.00 ERA in 39.0 IP), including throwing six scoreless innings in his start on May 17. The Marlins have a 46.0% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 7:10 p.m. ET. 🔷 Today's MiLB schedule: Triple-A Jacksonville vs. Indianapolis, 7:05 p.m. ET Double-A Pensacola at Birmingham, 7:00 p.m. ET High-A Beloit at Quad Cities, 7:30 p.m. ET Low-A Jupiter vs. St. Lucie, 12:05 p.m. ET FCL Marlins at FCL Nationals, 12:00 p.m. ET DSL Marlins vs. DSL Miami, 11:00 a.m. ET Marlins podcast episodes View full article

I believe Low-A Jupiter has more stolen bases this season than any other team in Minor League Baseball (131), so please keep Nelson Prada in mind as well.

Lots of relievers to sell! Of course, none of the individually will bring back a substantial return. I expect the objective to me bundling them a la Bass and Pop to the Blue Jays (only with a better target than Groshans in mind).

Big Fish Small Pod for 6/10/24 Ely Sussman switches up the prospect spotlight format a little bit to focus on the two hottest players in the Miami Marlins farm system: Triple-A Jacksonville OF Griffin Conine and Double-A Pensacola C Joe Mack. 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 now being 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. Conine and Mack each homered four times last week, slashing .500/.600/1.150 and .455/.539/1.091 over that span, respectively. 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 6/10/24 On Sunday, A.J. Puk allowed a game-deciding three-run home run to Tyler Freeman (awkward timing for Fish On First on the heels of Kevin Barral's article about his bullpen success). Jake Burger hit his fifth homer of the season, but just his first at loanDepot park. The Marlins lost, 6-3. They've dropped four series in a row. Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville won, 7-4. OF Griffin Conine capped off a phenomenal week with his organization-leading 13th home run. His season slash line has skyrocketed to .272/.378/.543. Double-A Pensacola won, 8-7. C Joe Mack saw his homer streak snapped after four games, but at least he scored the game-winning run in the 10th inning. OF Jake Thompson is hitting .438 (7-for-16) since being promoted back up to the Blue Wahoos. High-A Beloit lost, 5-3. Only two hits for the Sky Carp. Low-A Jupiter lost, 7-6, having blown a 6-2 lead in the ninth inning. That squandered a great outing by RHP Jake Brooks (6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 74 pitches/55 strikes). OF Colby Shade (3-for-4, 1 RBI) continues to have a wacky season at the plate—his .438 BABIP is by far the highest among Marlins minor leaguers. Here's more Marlins news and content for you: 🔷 The Avisaíl García era is officially over. Designated for assignment by the Marlins on Tuesday, García cleared waivers and was released by the Marlins on Sunday. The underperforming veteran outfielder is now a free agent and he'll continue getting paid what remains of his $53M Marlins deal. 🔷 Ryan Weathers went on the 15-day injured list with left index finger soreness. The Marlins are skipping his rotation spot this week, but will have to come up with a stopgap after that. 🔷 Xavier Edwards started all three games of the Guardians series at shortstop. Both Tim Anderson (bereavement list) and Otto Lopez (paternity list) are expected to rejoin the Marlins on Tuesday. It would be bizarre to bring Edwards up in the first place only to immediately send him back down to Triple-A, right? We'll see what the club does there. 🔷 Yet another roster-related storyline: JT Chargois is on the verge of being reinstated from the IL. He's been nearly flawless over the last three weeks with Jacksonville. The Marlins have a vacancy for him on their 40-man roster, so it's just a question of which reliever gets squeezed off the active roster in a corresponding move. 🔷 Bizarre timing, but the Marlins have hired a new minor league pitching coach: Mitchell McIntyre. This spring, McIntyre was the pitching coach at Iowa Western Community College. He also had a brief professional playing career from 2018-2019. 🔷 Listen back to the latest State of the Fish call-in show. Every Sunday at 6:00 p.m. ET, we review the previous week of Marlins baseball and invite you to share your questions and takes. 🔷 Through 21 Marlins series, here is a peek at the Prediction Time leaderboard. Make series predictions with us all season long when you become a Fish On First SuperSub. 🔷 Kevin Barral spoke with Logan Allen about pitching a big league game in Miami, so close to where he played college ball at Florida International University. 🔷 Hector Rodriguez's latest MLB Draft profile focuses on Kansas State infielder Kaelen Culpepper. 🔷 On a day that the Marlins celebrated Dontrelle Willis with a bobblehead giveaway, he spent a full inning in the Bally Sports Florida TV booth. D-Train took questions from the media right after that and described the relationship he has with Jesús Luzardo. 🔷 The daughter of the late José Fernández, Penelope, attended her first Marlins game on Friday. He died shortly before she was born. 🔷 The Florida Panthers "have had conversations" with the Marlins about bringing a hockey game to loanDepot park, per George Richards of Florida Hockey Now. The roof would have to be closed, of course. 🔷 Tim Kelly of Just Baseball ranked the 10 greatest pitchers in Marlins history (he went with all starters). 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the Mets and Phillies split the London Series. Aaron Judge hit his 24th home run, putting him on pace for 58 this season. The Twins erupted for seven runs in the 10th inning to snap a five-game losing streak. The Braves dropped to 35-28, the closest they've been to .500 since mid-April. Four teams—the Cubs, Reds, Giants and Cardinals—are in a virtual tie for the third National League Wild Card spot. 🔷 Today's MiLB schedule: FCL Marlins at FCL Cardinals, 12:00 p.m. ET DSL Marlins vs. DSL Giants Orange, 11:00 a.m. ET DSL Miami at DSL Arizona Black, 11:00 a.m. ET Marlins podcast episodes View full article

Bleday has quietly emerged as the everyday center fielder for the A's. The Miami Marlins ran out of patience with JJ Bleday, and I recall most people being okay with that. They swapped former first-round draft picks with the Oakland Athletics in advance of 2023 spring training: Bleday (2019 first-rounder) for A.J. Puk (2016 first-rounder) straight up. The thinking was that they had a greater need for a controllable, high-leverage reliever than a more controllable but less dynamic platoon corner outfielder. When you draft the reigning SEC Player of the Year and a Golden Spikes Award finalist, you place expectations on them to be a key contributor at the major league level. Bleday's pedestrian production throughout his time in the Marlins organization made it difficult to envision him fulfilling his potential. The rapid progression of the players selected immediately after him made it all the more disheartening. To Bleday's credit, he has gradually improved. Five years after entering professional baseball, he has become a well-rounded big leaguer. Entering Monday, Bleday owns a .237/.321/.453 slash line this season, which translates to a great 123 wRC+ in what's been a challenging offensive environment. His strikeout rate has dipped to 18.4%, lower than it was with any of Miami's minor league affiliates. According to both defensive runs saved and outs above average, he rates as an average center fielder so far in 2024. Perhaps most impressively, he's done it while playing every single A's game and producing equally well against left-handed pitching as he has against righties. 70661782-9fadf1fd-72c77d4f-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 Although not quite to the same extent as Bleday who was a sub-replacement level player as a Marlins rookie, Jesús Sánchez had also disappointed in 2022. He contributed just 0.3 fWAR in four-plus months prior to being demoted to Triple-A Jacksonville. He resurfaced during the final days of the regular season after excelling in the minors, apparently convincing the front office that he should still be ahead of Bleday on their outfield depth chart. Did the Marlins choose correctly? It's still premature to reach a conclusion considering the gap between Sánchez's actual and expected results, but things are trending in Bleday's direction (also worth noting that Bleday has an additional year of club control and minor league options remaining just in case). Only 16 months after parting with Bleday, the direction of the Marlins franchise has drastically changed. Instead of trading prospects to enhance their major league roster in pursuit of a postseason berth, they're on the other side of those conversations. Destined for one of MLB's worst records this season, they'll have a chance of receiving the top pick in the 2025 draft. Let Bleday's story serve as a reminder that even for the most polished college stars, development is not always quick or linear. The critical question is whether the Marlins—under new baseball operations leadership—are finally equipped to mold young hitters into the best versions of themselves, or if we will continue to see their careers take off only following a change of scenery. View full article

Former Marlins pitcher Dontrelle Willis joined Paul Severino and Rod Allen in the Bally Sports Florida broadcast booth during the second inning of Sunday's game. The fan giveaway at loanDepot park was a D-Train bobblehead. View full video

Welcome to FOF's 65th Miami Marlins game thread of the 2024 season. There is a Dontrelle Willis bobblehead giveaway at loanDepot park and D-Train himself is in the building for it. The roof at loanDepot park is closed. SuperSubs can access exclusive game notes here. Pregame roster moves: none. Enjoy live on-site coverage from Louis Addeo-Weiss and Alex Krutchik.