Kevin Barral

For the 2026 season, Fish On First will provide weekly reports on the Miami Marlins farm system, covering all levels. Here's the second May edition of our Fish On First Prospects Report and the first with a section dedicated to the Florida Complex League. This report covers the games played from May 5-11. Triple-A Jacksonville Robby Snelling and Joe Mack were just promoted from the Jumbo Shrimp. The top-ranked prospect remaining on their roster is Kemp Alderman, who continues to play first base on a part-time basis. He had another strong week of play against the Charlotte Knights, with a hit in five of the six games he played in, hitting a home run in the last game. Overall, Alderman is slashing .287/.370/.473/.843 with six home runs, 17 RBI and a 125 wRC+. It is unclear how long of a leash the Marlins will give Christopher Morel at first base, but with Alderman getting first base reps everyday, it does bring up the possibility that the Marlins could call him up soon if Morel struggles continue. Jacob Berry struggled this series against Charlotte, only knocking in two hits during the season, but overall he is slashing .280/.403/.410/.813 with two home runs, 16 RBI, 11 stolen bases and a 125 wRC+. Defensively, he has recently been splitting time between third base and right field. Although Deyvison De Los Santos is repeating Triple-A, he is showing improvements from struggles we saw in 2025. Going into the final game of the Charlotte series, De Los Santos was riding a six-game hit streak, which was snapped after an 0-for-3 day in the series finale. He is now slashing .260/.339/.450/.789 with four home runs, 19 RBI and a 109 wRC+. He is only striking out a career-low 17.4% of the time. On the pitching side, Bradley Blalock struggled for the first time this season, allowing seven runs on seven hits (one home run), walking five and striking out four in 4 ⅔ innings pitched. Overall, Blalock now has a 4.42 ERA, 5.45 FIP, 8.59 K/9 and 2.70 BB/9 in 36 ⅔ innings pitched. Blalock, who's FIP was a lot higher than his ERA going into this start against Charlotte, showed that he was getting a bit lucky. Zach Bryzkcy continues to absolutely dominate, posting a 0.66 ERA, 3.11 FIP, 9.88 K/9 and 4.61 BB/9 in 13 ⅔ innings pitched. Although the walks are an issue, he keeps inducing ground balls and striking out guys. The Marlins have already given other under-the-radar guys an opportunity this season. Bryzkcy is doing everything in his power to give himself a chance. Double-A Pensacola It was a good week for Wahoos starting pitching, but their offense lagged behind, paving the way to a 4-2 series loss at the hands of Rocket City. Pensacola scored just 17 runs over the six game slate. As a team, the Wahoos are now hitting .220, last in the Southern League. Brandon White, the Marlins’ 2021 12th-round pick, is a name that has not often been talked about over the years. It’s not hard to imagine why; shortly after being drafted, White underwent Tommy John surgery and didn’t return until 2023. Well behind schedule to start his pro career, White was finally able to pitch close to a full season’s sample of innings in 2024. Amidst the jump to High-A last season, he posted solid results including a 3.64 FIP and 6.7% walk rate. This season with Pensacola, White is pitching himself further into relevance by showcasing swing-and-miss stuff. That was especially on display this week when White struck out a career high 11 Trash Pandas and allowed just one hit in 6 ⅔ innings. His solid control and command has not only persisted but improved against Double-A batters as he’s walked a minuscule four batters in 26 innings. At 6’8”, 230, White is a massive physical specimen, though he’s always thrown from a pretty graceful windup and release and kept his long levers well under control. Working to his advantage is his ability to shorten the distance to the plate and throw from a high downhill arm slot, keeping opposing hitters well off balance. As a collegiate arm, White was clocked as high as 97 mph with his fastball. He hit that on a few occasions in his start this week and sat 95-96 showcasing a velo bump from last season when he sat 93-94. White's main breaking ball has morphed into a gyro slider, continuing a trend that we've observed with multiple Marlins pitchers in recent years. It features sharp downward break and plays well on both sides of the plate. He is also adding a sweeper to his arsenal and making strides with his changeup as a weapon he can run in to same-side hitters for front-door strikes and weak contact. Altogether, White is a repeatable arm from a huge frame that is beginning to look dominant as the velo ticks up and his third pitch becomes more usable. Despite being behind schedule, he’s a candidate to move to Triple-A this season and maybe even an option to get a look at the MLB level if the Marlins fall out of contention. White will once again be Rule 5-eligible this winter. Karson Milbrandt just keeps mowing down Double-A batters. This week, he threw a third straight quality start and came within two of tying his career high in strikeouts. Stuff was always present for the 22-year-old righty; his crux was figuring out his spotty command and control. Armed with mid-90s stuff that can tick up into the upper 90s and which he is garnering the comfort to elevate and a best-pitch slider, Milbrandt’s stuff and development mimics that of Max Meyer who, after some growing pains, has arguably grown into the Marlins’ most effective starter this year. Scrapping the changeup as his third pitch in place of a cutter has proved advantageous. Milbrandt also tosses from a funky, deceptive windup. If Milbrandt’s control and command persists, a promotion to Triple-A should happen once organizational pitching depth allows. High-A Beloit Low-scoring affairs were the theme for the Carp and Tin Caps this week, with Beloit coming up on the wrong side of the equation more often than not. With just 36 total runs scored over the course of the week, Beloit salvaged two games, including the only contest where more than six tallies were plated on Sunday night. Beloit fell to 14-18 on the season. Starlyn Caba continues his power surge at the plate, proving his early season success was no fluke and that it can be sustained. This is all happening while Caba is playing in significantly cool climates in the Midwest League. During this series, the infielder went 5-for-20 with a double, his third homer of the season and a 6/4 K/BB. The long ball came in extra innings and propelled Beloit to a victory. He’s now already amassed his career high in homers. While still showing off good discipline and vision that has led to a 16% walk rate, Caba is showing an enhanced ability to shorten his swing on pitches inside and over the plate. He’s also swinging with noticeably more aggression and effort behind his pull-side, which is leading to more strikeouts but at 21%, the K rate is still manageable. His always quick bat speed is still present. These traits are leading to usual gap power turning into over the fence power in the previously mentioned hard to hit in environments. Adding more pop without sacrificing his great approach is the cherry on top of what is becoming an all-around potentially elite skill set for Caba and he’s still just 20 years old. Along with great defense and plus speed that allotted him 50 steals in 2024, we are looking at a potential five-tool talent. If the power sticks, he will be an unquestioned Top 100 prospect in baseball. Because Aiva Arquette is older and may quickly prove to be ready for the challenge to Double-A, Caba is also playing himself into that conversation. With continued success, it is plausible we will see him at Pensacola sooner than we thought. Speaking of promotions to Pensacola, Justin Storm is begging for one. With inning coverage in high demand across the entirety of the Marlins’ system, the 24-year-old has been lights out in High-A. He’s currently riding a scoreless innings streak of 6 ⅓ across his last five games. During that span he has a 10/2 K/BB. After a bit of a rocky start in the frigid Midwest League, Storm has adjusted well. His size-and-stuff profile including a sitting 93-94 mph fastball that can ramp to 96, a staple slider that moves on both planes and now also mixing in a high-70s curveball, Storm boasts potential high leverage inning coverage with the capacity to work multiple innings if needed. He’s a bit old for High-A and needs the challenge to Double-A to see if his stuff can stand up against upper minors competition. That would advantageously come as soon as Beloit is able to spare some arms. Eliazar Dishmey had been on a positive upswing, having gone at least five frames in each of his last two starts, the latter of which was a nine strikeout performance. He parlayed that into five shutout frames against the Tincaps. Perhaps most encouraging for Dishmey was that for a second straight outing, he limited walks to two while allowing just two hits. Both historically and currently, it’s always been all about control for Dishmey. When the 6’1”, 175-pounder has it, his solid stuff including mid-90s velo and a standout changeup on top of a sharp power curveball. He mixes his pitches well and shows good velo separation. When controlling, he has th swing-and-miss potential to rack up whiffs. When not controlling though, Dishmey drives his pitch counts up early, becomes reliant on the fastball and can become a bit one-dimensional for opposing hitters to wait out and riddle out. On Dishmey’s side is his age: he is still just 21, so there is plenty of time for him to fully iron out his control consistency. Limited size, a high-effort release and mechanics that can look stiff at times are working against him. Dishmey’s plus velo that he could ramp up more if asked to go shorter stints and plus secondaries give him a pretty high floor but there is reliever risk attached to him. Low-A Jupiter Emilio Barreras continues to hit, now slashing .300/.488/.467/.954 with two home runs, 13 RBI and a 173 wRC+. After a slow start to the season, Barreras had a hit in three of the four games in their most recent series against the Palm Beach Cardinals. A 2025 draftee who told Fish On First that he models his game after Luis Arraez, Barreras is now walking 23.2% of the time while striking out 14.6% of the time and slapping the ball to all parts of the field. Catcher Carlos Sánchez continues to succeed in his second stint at the Low-A level, slashing .235/.371/.529/.900 with five home runs, 12 RBI and a 143 wRC+. After posting high strikeout numbers in previous seasons, Sanchez is striking out at a career-low 14.5% rate compared to a 16.1 BB%. A promotion to High-A Beloit should be coming soon. After a bad first run in Low-A, first baseman Julio Henriquez is slashing .286/.368/.408/.777 with seven RBI and a 118 wRC+. At 21 years old, Henriquez repeating the level isn't the worst thing to happen. Esmil Valencia, who missed a good chunk of the season already due to a finger injury, is slashing .261/.333/.391/.725 with five RBI and a 100 wRC+. The only downside has been his 29.6% strikeout rate, which at the moment is a career-high. Although a high FIP continues to be a concern for righty Walin Castillo, he has a 1.37 ERA and 54.9% ground ball rate. That's up more than 10% from last year's performance with the Hammerheads. FCL Marlins It has been a rollercoaster of a week for the FCL Marlins, who had three off days, a rainout, and a doubleheader. Three players in particular who impressed in the Dominican Summer League last season are already beginning to make names for themselves in the FCL. Eiver Mosquera spent the entirety of his 2025 campaign in the DSL, where he posted a 2.45 ERA across 29 ⅓ innings pitched while striking out 33 batters compared to just eight walks. His ability to consistently throw strikes and limit damage made him one of the more intriguing young arms in the lower levels of the system. The right-hander made his first stateside appearance on May 5 and looked comfortable immediately. Across four innings, Mosquera allowed four hits and one earned run while walking none and striking out two. Luis Arana was one of the more productive hitters in the DSL last season after hitting .297 with five homers, 35 RBIs, and 30 walks compared to only 18 strikeouts. Along with his advanced approach at the plate, he also added 28 stolen bases and consistently found ways to impact games offensively. So far, he's done well with the transition to the FCL. Through his first 20 at-bats, Arana is hitting .400 with six stolen bases and has yet to strike out. His contact ability and discipline at the plate have immediately translated, while his speed has continued to be a major factor on the bases. Luis Cova also entered the season with plenty of attention after a strong DSL campaign last year. Ranked as Fish On First’s No. 12 prospect entering 2026, Cova has been viewed as one of the more talented young bats in the system. While the start to his season has been slower offensively, there are signs that things may be starting to turn around. On Monday afternoon, he went 2-for-3 with three walks in one of his best games of the season so far. After a disastrous season in the FCL last year, Luis Leon is off to the kind of start he needed in 2026. Through his first 16 at-bats, Leon is hitting .313 with three doubles after recording just four doubles during the entirety of the 2025 season. Strikeouts are still an issue, but the early extra-base production has been encouraging. The raw talent has always been there, and the improved offensive start is a positive sign for the young outfielder. He has also made four starts at second base early on. This week's MiLB schedule Triple-A Jacksonville at Memphis Double-A Pensacola at Chattanooga High-A Beloit vs. Peoria Low-A Jupiter at St. Lucie FCL Marlins vs. FCL Nationals, FCL Mets and FCL Astros View full article

MIAMI, FL — Game two against the Washington Nationals began to look like a repeat of game one, as the visitors took an early 4-0 lead. The Miami Marlins climbed back to tie the game at 4-4 thanks to home runs from Kyle Stowers and Xavier Edwards. It was unlikely hero Jakob Marsee who hit the go-ahead homer in the bottom of the eighth inning. Despite some stress in the top of the ninth, the Marlins held on for an 8-7 win, marking their largest comeback win of the season. Stowers, the Marlins' 2025 All-Star, suffered a right hamstring strain during spring training that kept him out for the 20 games of the season. He entered Saturday slashing .206/.296/.254/.550 with one RBI and a 56 wRC+. Stowers went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in the first game of the series, but Marlins manager Clayton McCullough felt like his final at-bat was "an encouraging one." Kyle Stowers hit his first home run of the season in the bottom of the fourth inning. He took Nationals pitcher Zack Littell deep to the second deck in right field. "He seemed like less in between," McCullough said after Friday's game. "He got some swings off and I think the Kyle that we know is someone who's incredibly convicted in his approach. Kyle is smart, and he goes into an at-bat generally knowing what he's looking for, where he's looking for it. Trust his eyes to lay off and just feeling for it a little bit to me. Looked like early on and then the last one, I think he got in there and got off some much more aggressive and convicted swings." He finished the game going 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. It was his second three-hit performance of the season. "I think just coming in with a plan was the difference for me," Stowers said. "When it comes to committing to a plan, there are areas in which you're still gonna give up, so once you get beat, it's making sure that there's a hill that you're willing to die on." In what looked like a replay of Edwards' third home run of the season from Friday night, he took Nationals reliever Mitchell Parker 422 feet deep to left field, tying the game at four apiece. It was his longest MLB homer in terms of distance and set a new career-high for most homers in a single season. It also marked the first time in his career that he has hit a homer in back-to-back games. Right-handed hitting was a weakness in 2025 for the switch-hitting Edwards. This year, he has an incredible .342/.405/.526 slash line from that side. "I like to treat both sides like two different hitters, so that's what I'm trying to do," Edwards said. "Got rid of my toe tap on the right-hand side, and kind of freed me up a little bit. My body moves different on the right-hand side, so let's try to treat it like that." With the game tied in the bottom of the eighth inning, Stowers knocked in his third hit and Connor Norby worked a walk. Jakob Marsee, who many have been calling for him to be sent back down to Triple-A as he entered Saturday's game with a 67 wRC+, hit a go-ahead three-run homer to give the Marlins a 7-4 lead. "Confidence is a weird thing," Clayton McCullough said postgame. "You're never quite sure where it's going to come from. Hopefully having some moments and coming through will certainly help spark that. I think also that is going to getting back to what we believe and what they think will lead to the opportunity to have success, and that's just getting there with some conviction in the box and being ready to go. If you get something that you like to get some swings off and not be so worried about it needing to be the perfect pitch, or what the pitch is—just having a plan and letting it go." For Marsee, his faith and his support system have helped him get through this slump to begin 2026. "Just trusting that everything happens for a reason," Marsee said. "It's all gonna work how it's supposed to, so that's been huge. These guys here every day have been huge for me. Then people back home that care and support me, so to have them is huge." Esteury Ruiz hit a double in the ensuing at-bat, stole third (sixth stolen base of the season) and Leo Jimenez drove him in on a sac fly to center field, extending he lead, 8-4. In six innings of work, Junk allowed four runs on seven hits, two walks and six strikeouts. Three of the four runs Junk allowed came in the top of the first inning when James Wood hit his 11th home run of the season and CJ Abrams knocked in his league-leading 36th RBI of the season. Four of Junk's sixth strikeouts came on his fastball, which he threw 37% of the time. All of those four strikeouts came looking. He also landed his fastball six out of 10 times for a first-pitch strike (60%). Where Junk struggled was surrendering a season-high 10 hard-hit balls. Of those 10, four of them came on the fastball. Michael Petersen, who entered into a pretty comfortable situation, leading 8-4, allowed three runs in the top of the ninth inning. After finally getting two outs, McCullough summoned lefty John King out of the bullpen to get the final out of the game. King earned his first career save in what was his 11th consecutive scoreless outing. With the win, the Marlins improve to 18-22 on the season while the Nationals drop to 19-21. Sandy Alcantara will get the nod for Miami in the rubber match on Mother's Day. First pitch is at 12:15 pm and the game will be aired exclusively on Peacock. It'll be the first of back-to-back Sunday games aired on that streaming service. View full article

MIAMI, FL - Friday's series opener against the Washington Nationals marked one of the most highly anticipated major league debuts in a long time, as Fish On First's No. 2 prospect Robby Snelling took the mound. Unfortunately, the Marlins offense went ice cold, including going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position, falling by a final score of 3-2. "He's made really tremendous strides since we've acquired him," said president of baseball operations Peter Bendix before the game. "It's a testament to Robby, how hard he works, the kind of competitor that he is. It's also a testament to our pitching group from top to bottom, Bill Hezel, our director of pitching, and everybody who's been involved in Robby's development. The great thing about Robby is he's really good right now. We're really excited about tonight, and he still has a lot of improvements that he can make. He has true top-of-the-rotation upside." Usually, a starting pitcher keeps to himself before an outing and is not spoken to, but Snelling took a different approach, and has throughout his whole career. During Marlins batting practice, Snelling was hanging out, chatting up teammates and staff just outside the Marlins dugout. Part of his reasoning is to keep things "super light" and doesn't want his start day to feel different from any other day. "Come in, try and chop it up with the guys," Snelling said. "My thing is kind of going out, and I was joking about the roof being closed today. I try and go out and roam around the outfield barefoot and walk around, and usually BP is not going on. There was no sun out today, so it's kind of like being able to just be outside of the clubhouse and interact with people. I don't want to feel isolated on any day. I want to treat it just like a normal day. Kind of gets my mind right." In five innings of work, Snelling allowed three runs on five hits, four walks and only two strikeouts. All three runs he allowed came in the top of the first inning with two outs. An RBI single from CJ Abrams and then a two-run homer from Jacob Young. He finished the game throwing 86 pitches, with 54 landing for strikes. He averaged about 17 pitches per inning. "For him to really navigate himself through five, maybe not the cleanest innings, but he really grinded well, showed a lot of moxie today," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. Snelling's fastball topped out at 97.2 mph and averaged 95.3 mph. Although the velocity of the fastball was up, the usage was down. Snelling threw his fastball 51.4% of the time in Triple-A, and on Friday, he threw it 33% of the time, his second most used pitch. "Everybody's geared up for 100 miles an hour up here," Snelling said. "I used my fastball in good spots where I needed to, and utilized my sinking fastball in really good spots to left-handed hitters. That got me a couple of groundouts tonight that I really needed." Some of the positives to take away from a start like this was his curveball playing well, generating five whiffs, including All-Star James Wood for his first career strikeout. Snelling suspected that Wood would be sitting on his fastball in that situation. "That guy is going to be geared up, expecting me to come out firing. and I was able to execute three really good pitches." The curveball was Snelling's most-used pitch on the night (34% usage). Another plus was landing 16 of 22 pitches for first-pitch strikes (73%), which he had told the media the day before he had been trying to work on at Triple-A. Although Snelling had a lot of traffic on the bases, the defense behind him helped him, turning two double plays (one in the second and another in the fifth). In total, Snelling had six groundouts. "Obviously, having runners on base as much as I did tonight, that's not what starting pitchers want," Snelling said. "Being able to continue to attack the zone, attack each hitter that stepped into the box, proud of myself about." Catching Snelling was Joe Mack, who spent a lot of time with him in the minor league after being traded from the Padres. When asked what he will remember the most from his debut, immediately went to "throwing to Joe." "Being able to go up through the minor leagues with him after I got traded, and create that dialogue with him and the relationship that I have, it's pretty cool." The Marlins scored twice off former KBO pitcher Foster Griffin in the bottom of the first inning. Xavier Edwards, who was leading off, took Griffin deep to left-center. It marked his first home run as a right-handed hitter and his third career leadoff homer. Kyle Stowers reached first on a fielder's choice and Otto Lopez, who was at second, scored on a throwing error. Unfortunately for the Marlins, Griffin was dominant after that. In seven innings of work, he allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits, one walk and struck out nine. His cutter generated nine whiffs, with four of his nine strikeouts coming on that pitch. "We just didn't put a whole lot of good passes on (the cutter) and he was able to crowd a lot of guys there," McCullough said. "He's having a really nice season, been throwing the ball well. I think just that combo of trying to bully guys in with action running into 'em and then go play the changeup off of it has been successful. Dump enough curveballs early in count to steal some strikes. He pitched a good game." With the loss, the Marlins drop to 17-22. Janson Junk gets the start on Saturday with a 4:10 pm first pitch. View full article

MIAMI, FL — On Friday, just under two hours before Robby Snelling made his major league debut, Miami Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix spoke to local media for about 10 minutes, discussing a variety of topics. His most notable responses are featured below, along with some additional context and statistics. What are you seeing with Owen Caissie, and how much longer of a leash do you give in at the big league level? "Adjusting to major league pitching is the hardest thing a player is ever going to do. With guys like Owen (Caissie), he has never failed at any point in his career. So what happens when you get punched? What happens when you get knocked down? You have to figure out a way to get back up and adjust. Players do that at different points in their career. It takes them different amounts of time. We saw Kyle Stowers get punched in the face every single night at the end of 2024 and then he was able to use that to make an adjustment. I'm optimistic that Owen can do the same thing." Through 34 games this season, Caissie is slashing .202/.261/.323/.584 with two home runs, 16 RBI and a 60 wRC+. The biggest issue for Caissie has been his strikeout rate, which is at 41.4%, highest in baseball (min. 100 PA). His last home run was hit on April 1 against the New York Yankees. Starting pitching leash and bullpen management. Does Clayton McCullough make all the moves? "Before every game, there is a meeting that involves a lot of different people that is run by Clayton to talk through as many different scenarios as we can imagine coming up in that game. I think the best decisions are the decisions that are made ahead of time, in the sense that you don't want to be caught off guard. You want to be prepared for anything that might happen. What's option A, option B and option C. That's not to say it's scripted a predetermined, it's just thought about ahead of time. There's a lot of time spent on that. A lot of it is managing both to win today and to get through 162 games." What are you seeing with Eury Pérez? "Eury is still one of the youngest pitchers in baseball. He's got as good stuff as anybody, and he's still learning how to utilize it and best deploy it. The path to being a superstar is not always linear, and so I think that's what we're seeing." In eight starts, Pérez is sporting a 5.01 ERA, 4.90 FIP, 9.80 K/9 and 4.57 BB/9. In his most recent start, Pérez went five innings, allowing five runs on four hits (one home run), five walks and struck out six. At the moment, there is no plan to send Pérez down to Triple-A. How do you navigate that type of situation where you want Agustin Ramírez to develop up here, but you also don't want to take reps away from guys that are contributing? "I will sign up for the scenario in which we have three really good catchers. I think that very well could happen. If it does, then we'll deal with it. But that's the kind of problem we want to have." Since being sent down to Jacksonville, Ramírez is slashing .250/.333/.250/.583. The Marlins called up Joe Mack ahead of Monday's series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies, and since then, he is slashing .300/.300/.400/.700 with one RBI and a 92 wRC+. Liam Hicks is slashing .319/.372/.584/.956 with a team-leading nine home runs and MLB leading 34 RBI. "What Liam is doing is incredible. The fact that he set out this offseason to add power and improve his bat speed. He clearly did that and somehow also lowered his strikeout rate to be one of the best strikeout rates in all of baseball. He's hitting lefties, hitting guys who throw hard. He's hitting guys who throw breaking balls. He's hitting for power. He's hitting for average. Like, absolutely incredible." Why was Ramírez sent down? "He was called up after several other guys back here went down. He was called up relatively early in the year, and to his credit, he hit the ground running and took advantage of that, but didn't have the level of development, especially defensively in the minor leagues with us that we may have been planning for him. I think getting him down to Triple-A where he can really worry about getting better without all of the noise that comes with being at the major league level, I think is really going to do him a lot of things." Thoughts on Braxton Garrett and when we can see him back up at the big league level? "He's been great. I think the fact that Braxton is in Triple-A really speaks to the depth of pitching that we have. There will be an opportunity for him. I'm sure of it. He will be ready for it. I'm sure of that, too. The fact that he's healthy and throwing the ball well, that's what's important." View full article

MIAMI, FL - After the Marlins had trailed in the first inning of every game in the series against the Baltimore Orioles, the script was flipped, as the Marlins took the lead early, but after Baltimore tied it late in the game, it took a wild walk-off for the Marlins to defeat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-3, improving to 17-21 on the season. "You never know what might get some things going, and I think certainly enough to have a tight game and one tonight where we get out ahead and to claw back into it, hang in there, they tied up," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. "Good for us to hang in there and win a close game here at home and salvage this series. Hope this is something that kind of can get us going a little bit." In the top of the eighth inning, leading 3-2, McCullough turned to Fish On First No. 20 prospect Josh Ekness. It marked his first high-leverage moment in the big leagues, but failed to hold the lead, allowing an RBI single to none other than Pete Alonso, tying the game, 3-3. He kept the game tied, as Samuel Basallo grounded into a double play and Tyler O'Neil flew out to Heriberto Hernandez. "Everyone was available," McCullough said. "I think (Josh Ekness) is a really good pitcher. It's big time stuff and he's had a couple of outings under his belt to this point. You can see Josh get put into a lot of various situations and scenarios. I just think that the time is going to come for him where I'm going to continue to ask him to maybe be in some of those spots, and proud of him for being able to wiggle out of that, at least keep it tied." Although the Marlins had runners on second and third in the bottom of the eighth, the inning concluded after Hernandez popped out to Gunnar Henderson. The Marlins went with Kyle Stowers to lead off the bottom of the ninth, pinch-hitting for Esteury Ruiz, but popped up on the second pitch of the at-bat. After Jakob Marsee struck out, Joe Mack, who entered the game in the top of the eighth inning, mainly for his defense as McCullough later noted, smacked a double into the right field corner. It marked his first career double. With a runner on second and two outs, Javier Sanoja was up for the Marlins. He hit a grounder to third baseman Coby Mayo, who bobbled it while Mack was on the move to third, and after not attempting to tag Mack, Mayo made the throw to first, which was off and allowed Mack to score the winning run. "I definitely have to work on my base running," Mack said postgame. "We're probably going to have some work on that tomorrow. Honestly, it was just kind of as soon as he swung the bat, I was going, and he kind bobbled it a little bit, so I ran past him and ducked in front of him. Just seeing that whole thing unfold, then running home, looking at Otto (Lopez) with this hands up and jaw open, it was really cool experience." Through his first four big league games, Mack is 3-10 with an RBI. Behind the plate, Mack has looked comfortable and as McCullough said, he will be playing almost everyday. "It's been awesome," Mack said. "The guys here have been so awesome in every single way. They've been just joyful to be around, very happy and just welcoming. It's a great group of guys, the staff's also phenomenal. It's just awesome to be around these guys. Truly a dream come true." After Connor Norby, who was hitting second, worked a walk in his first at-bat, the stage was set for Liam Hicks to hit his team-leading ninth home run of the season. Hicks now leads all Major League Baseball with 34 RBI on the season. Following the first inning, the Marlins led, 2-0. In the bottom of the third inning, Norby drove in the Marlins third run of the game. Meyer, who had the best start of his season against the Philadelphia Phillies in his last appearance, went five innings allowing two runs on six hits, two walks and struck out five. He threw 94 pitches, in which 55 landed for strikes. The righty mixed his pitches well, throwing his slider and sweeper 29% of the time. The slider, generated seven whiffs, but only struck one out with the pitch. The sweeper on the other hand generated only three whiffs, but three of his five strikeouts came on that pitch. "Just one of those outings that make it really tough on the pitcher," Meyer said. "Fell behind in some counts, lacked a little bit of my fastball location, that kind of made it hard. Other than that, yeah, just grind up and outing." Fish On First's No. 2 prospect Robby Snelling will make his MLB debut on Friday in the series opener against the Washington Nationals. Joe Mack, who caught him in Triple-A, will start at catcher. "I'm very excited," Mack said regarding Snelling. "He's been very dominant throughout the whole year in AAA, and last year as well. It's been really cool. He's a great guy as well, so, I'm really happy to see him get a shot and be the one to catch him. I think that's a good comfort for him as well. It's all coming together and I think he's earned it and deserves a shot." First pitch between the Marlins and Nationals is set for 7:10 pm. View full article

MIAMI, FL — Fish On First No. 2 prospect Robby Snelling will start on Friday night against the Washington Nationals. His selection to the Miami Marlins roster is not official yet, but he's already with the big league club, "trying to soak it in." "Take it all in and not let the moment get too big," Snelling said on Thursday. "Just enjoying today and then try not to change anything and go into tomorrow and replicate to as nearly and closely as I can what I was doing in Jacksonville." Snelling, 22, made six starts in Triple-A Jacksonville, posting a 1.86 ERA, 2.91 FIP, 13.66 K/9 and 4.66 BB/9, before being called up. It took a while for Snelling to be informed that he was going to be called up. The Marlins designated Chris Paddack for assignment on Tuesday morning, but even following Wednesday's Jacksonville win, manager David Carpenter did not announce who would be filling that open rotation spot. Later that afternoon, Snelling was called into Carpenter's office. "They sat me down and said, 'We know you've been stressed the last couple of days, but it's pretty awesome that you haven't let it affect your routine. It's very professional of you,'" Snelling said. "I was like, 'It's really hard to keep my sanity knowing that potentially I was an option for me to come up here, but I did the best that I could to keep doing the same thing I've been doing day in and day out.' He goes, 'hopefully this eases you a little bit, but they have their guy for Friday. They know who they want. So knowing that we just wanted to put your mind at ease.' He didn't tell me and I was like, alright, I'm still throwing on Friday. He's like, 'You're so good to go on Friday, right?' He goes, 'Well, you're gonna be throwing in Miami.'" In four spring training appearances (two starts), Snelling had a 7.56 ERA, but 3.53 FIP. The big issue he identified was his 4.32 BB/9, something he said he needed to cut down on with the help of throwing more first-pitch strikes. Through his six regular season starts, Snelling has only walked three or more hitters twice; outside of that, it has been two walk or less. Snelling has a new sweeper in addition to a gyro slider that entered his arsenal in 2025. He's been focused on throwing the gyro at the bottom of the zone. His original breaking ball, the curveball, continues to be one of his best pitches. In that start against Durham, he generated six whiffs and four of his five strikeouts came on that pitch. Overall, the curveball is his second-most-used pitch and has a 32.4% whiff rate. The final start Snelling made for the Jumbo Shrimp came against the Durham Bulls, where he tossed five hitless innings, striking out nine and walking one. His fastball topped out at 96.1 mph and averaged 94.7 mph. Five of his nine strikeouts came on the fastball. Aside from his left-handedness, Snelling differs from the other Marlins starters in that he's very difficult to steal bases against. Since the beginning of last season, opponents have succeeded only eight times on 24 attempts. Partly due to that, he's the reigning Minor League Gold Glove Award winner. The Nationals enter the weekend series with an 18-20 record under first-year manager Blake Butera. Snelling has seen most of the players in the Nationals lineup before, whether that be in minor league or Grapefruit League competition. With left-handed pitcher Foster Griffin on the mound for Washington, all signs point to Liam Hicks catching Snelling on Friday. First pitch is set for 7:10 pm. View full article

Prior to making his major league debut on Friday, Marlins left-hander Robby Snelling speaks with the media about what he's been working on to become a more complete pitcher. View full video

MIAMI, FL — Left-handed pitcher Robby Snelling will be called up by the Miami Marlins on Friday, manager Clayton McCullough has confirmed. He'll start against the Washington Nationals on Friday in what will be his major league debut. Snelling, 22, was one of four players acquired from the San Diego Padres in the trade that sent relievers Tanner Scott and Bryan Hoeing the other way in 2024. At the time he was acquired, Snelling was struggling, posting a 6.01 ERA at the Double-A level with Padres. When he arrived with the Marlins, he finished his AA stint with a 4.00 ERA and 2.76 FIP, showing some signs of improvement. Snelling performed even better throughout the 2025 campaign, particularly following a promotion to Triple-A Jacksonville. He led all Marlins minor leaguers in both innings pitched (136) and strikeouts (166). Through six starts this season with Jacksonville, Snelling has a 1.86 ERA, 2.92 FIP, 13.66 K/9 and 4.66 BB/9. He currently leads AAA baseball in strikeouts, while being second in ERA, opponent batting average and WHIP. His final outing was on May 1, where he went five hitless innings with 9 Ks. Fish On First ranks Snelling as the second-best prospect in the Marlins organization behind only fellow southpaw Thomas White. By designating Chris Paddack for assignment on Tuesday, the Marlins created an opening for him to take. A corresponding 26-man active roster move still must be made, with the expectation being that the Marlins will send down one of their relievers. View full article

Prior to making his major league debut on Tuesday, right-hander William Kempner speaks with the media about his baseball journey and how he's continuing to sharpen his control. View full video

For the 2026 season, Fish On First will provide weekly reports on the Miami Marlins farm system, covering all levels. Here's the first May edition of our Fish On First Prospects Report. This report covers the games played from April 28-May 3. Triple-A Jacksonville Our Fish On First Prospect of the Week is Jacob Berry, who going into Sunday's series finale against the Durham Bulls was slashing .313/.427/.458/.885 with two home runs, 16 RBI and a 143 wRC+. In this series against the Bulls, Berry was 7-for-26 with one home run and five RBI. Through 24 games, Berry leads the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp in OPS, on-base percentage, slugging and is second in batting average. He is eighth in the International League in OBP. Unfortunately, a big league call-up is being held back because of his defense, where he continues to not have a definitive home. He has played third base—where he has committed six errors—and the corner outfield spots. If Graham Pauley continues to struggle at the plate, maybe the Marlins will be left with no choice but to call up the former first-round pick. Kemp Alderman through 28 games is slashing .287/.379/.455/.835 with four home runs, 13 RBI and a 126 wRC+. The big downside thus far has been the increased strikeout rate, now at 34.5% going into Sunday's game, but he is walking at a career-high 10.3% rate. This past week, Alderman started a game at first base, the only time he has ever done that throughout his Marlins minor league career. With the current first base situation and so much depth in the outfield, it gives Alderman an easier path to making it to the big leagues. The only unfortunate part is that you would be limiting his arm, that grades out as above average. On the mound, Robby Snelling continues to dominate. He is now tied with New York Mets' Jonah Tong for the most strikeouts in Triple-A this season. For the season, he now has a 1.86 ERA, 2.90 FIP, 13.66 K/9 and 4.66 BB/9 in 29 innings pitched. In this most recent start, Snelling tossed five no-hit innings, striking out nine in the process. His fastball topped out at 96.1 mph and averaged 94.7 mph. His curveball continues to be his best pitch, generating six of his 11 total whiffs and four of his five strikeouts came on that pitch. At this point, there is nothing left for Snelling to prove in the minor leagues. He is more than ready for a Marlins call-up, which could come as soon as Friday against the Washington Nationals. Bradley Blalock, who the Marlins acquired from the Colorado Rockies, tossed six innings against Durham, striking out a season-high 12. Despite the high strikeout number, he has a 3.09 ERA and 4.96 FIP on the season. The main reasoning for his high FIP is the amount of elevated contact that he has allowed. In his start against Durham, his fastball topped out at 96.0 mph and averaged 94.2 mph. With the fastball, he generated 10 whiffs and collected seven of his 12 strikeouts on that pitch. His splitter was also a good pitch, generating six whiffs and struck out three. The Marlins likely will not need to call-up Blalock any time soon with the pitching depth that they do have on their hands, but it is worth noting that they will have to make a choice on if they want him on the big league team or not in 2027 with his final minor league option being burnt. Relievers William Kempner and Jack Ralston continue to be workhorses out of the Jumbo Shrimp bullpen. Kempner was called up to Miami on Tuesday. Ralston has been the more effective one with a 1.10 ERA, 2.45 FIP and 13.78 K/9. The only downside is the 6.06 BB/9. Like Kempner just did. Ralston should make his big league debut at some point this season. Pensacola Blue Wahoos The Wahoos enjoyed success this week as well at home against Biloxi. After dropping the first game of the series, Pensacola charged back to win out the rest of the week, improving to one game under .500 on the season. Gage Miller had a great series for Pensacola, starting four games and going 5-for-13 including home runs in each of his first two appearances. He finished his week with a 2-for-4, two-double effort. Altogether, he drove in seven runs. Miller came out of college as a third-round pick in 2024 highly heralded for his offensive skills, namely his bat speed and intelligence in controlling the strike zone. He was also lauded for good raw strength as scouts saw within him the possibility for 20+ homers. Miller’s patience and ability to limit strikeouts followed him to the pro level in his first full season last year, as he walked nearly as much as he struck out (65/55 K/BB), but he had trouble finding the barrel as he hit just .211 with a .313 slug. So far at Double-A this season, Miller has solved what ailed him last year and appears to be adjusting well to pro stuff as he is currently slashing .278/.355/.500. Defensively, Miller has split time between third base and second base. Because of his limited arm strength, he's probably a better fit for the latter. Miller is not a name talked about a lot, but if he keeps hitting and sticks at a premium position, that could and should soon change. It was another great week for Marlins’ trade return piece Brendan Jones, who continues to surge on both sides of the ball. This series, Jones went 8-for-22 including a triple and two doubles. Jones lit it up in the running game, stealing six bases. Currently slashing .241/.359/.483 with 10 steals, early returns from Jones in his tenure as a Marlin could not be much better. One area in which Jones could improve is with strikeouts as he’s striking out a career high 28% of the time, but he’s also still walking at a solid 14% clip. One of the most encouraging parts of Jones’ game is his ability to spray the ball to all fields—he’s gone pull 38% of the time and to center and left 31% each. Mostly entrusted with left field, Jones has covered all necessary ground and then some, putting his 70-grade speed to even better use. If Jones continues hitting at this clip and gets the strikeouts further in check, he may not be far away from contributing to the big league team either late this year or out of camp in 2027. Beloit Sky Carp Despite struggling mightily for pitching depth, the Sky Carp’s series in Lake County was a success as they won it four games to two. The series was highlighted by an explosive offensive performance on Sunday in which Beloit plated 16 runs. Driving the Sky Carp’s 16-run barrage in the final game of their series was Colby Shade, Miami’s ninth-round pick from 2023. Coming into the game after having hit just one home run across two levels in 2025, Shade laid the hammer down on the Captains, homering three times and driving in a whopping eight runs. Shade now has four homers in his past five games. The performance was extremely eye-popping for the 6’, 205-pound outfielder, but Shade is 24 playing at the High-A level for a third straight season. He does own remarkable speed which has alotted him 104 stolen bases in 223 career games and he also owns good patience, which has earned him a career .370 OBP, including .382 this season. However, Shade hasn’t done enough with the bat in term of contact rates and hard-hit rates to warrant consideration in what has become a crowded outfield situation at the higher levels of the minors. If this game was the start of that changing, Shade, who will be Rule 5-eligible this winter, could garner a longer look at Double-A. Aiva Arquette, the Marlins’ first-round pick from this past year, made his long-awaited season debut with the Sky Carp after he underwent core muscle surgery during spring training. Arquette played the first two games of the series and showed well, going 3-for-8 with all three of his hits being doubles. He drove in five runs. Also, Arquette performed well in the field, showing smooth actions and a strong arm at shortstop, proving that, despite unusual size for the position, he can hold it down well. That in conjunction with his whippy line-drive bat with moderate uppercut and quiet mechanics behind it give Aiva a high floor and a pretty high ceiling as a plus offensive threat that can play premium positions. At 22, he could be challenged rather quickly to the upper minors. With continued success in Beloit, a second-half promotion is likely. The only bad news for Arquette: he got injured again. After the third game of the series, he did not play again the rest of the week. The update on Aiva was encouraging though: Fish On First has learned that Arquette’s ailment is simple wrist soreness and he plans to play again in Beloit’s next series this week. Low-A Jupiter Emilio Barreras was drafted by the Marlins in the eighth round of the most recent draft. After a slow start, he has picked it up and is slashing .271/.435/.458/.894 with two home runs, nine RBI and a 153 wRC+. He hit home runs in back-to-back games. 21-year-old catcher Carlos Sánchez is off to a hot start this season, slashing .225/.340/.525/.865 with four home runs, 10 RBI and a 132 wRC+. Sánchez, who was an international signing in 2022, was successful in 2025 in his first taste of the Low-A level, but repeated the level going into this season. He is also working great at-bats, striking out only 14.9% of the time and walking 12.8% of the time. A promotion to Beloit could be in the cards soon. This week's MiLB schedule Triple-A Jacksonville vs. Charlotte Double-A Pensacola vs. Rocket City High-A Beloit at Fort Wayne Low-A Jupiter vs. Palm Beach FCL Marlins vs. FCL Mets, FCL Astros and FCL Nationals View full article

MIAMI, FL - Despite the visiting Baltimore Orioles taking an early 3-0 in the top of the first, the Miami Marlins continued to fight back, but fell by a final score of 9-7, dropping to 16-20 on the season. Sandy Alcantara, who made his eighth start of the season, struggled on Tuesday night, going 4 1/3 innings, allowing a season-high seven runs on eight hits, three walks and five strikeouts. Tuesday's start raised Alcantara's overall numbers to a 4.01 ERA, 3.86 FIP, 6.27 K/9 and 3.14 BB/9 in eight starts this season. Not known for allowing a lot of hard-hit balls, Alcantara allowed nine of them, with three of them coming off both of his fastballs (sinker/four-seam). The 47.1% ground ball rate, which for Alcantara, who has a career 49.6% GB rate, was low. In the top of the first inning, the Orioles wasted no time ambushing the Marlins ace, knocking in three runs. The first came on a Pete Alonso two-run RBI double (moved to third on an error). Catcher Samuel Basallo drove Alonso in, capping off a 34-pitch inning for Alcantara. Basallo knocked in two more runs on an RBI single in the top of the third. In the fifth, Basallo hit an RBI triple, making it 6-4. Basallo scored on a fielders choice from Colton Cowser, making it 7-4. In Alcantara's defense, there was some luck involved, as he had a 2.91 FIP in his start. One positive is that his changeup was as dominant as always, generating eight whiffs and four of his five strikeouts came on that pitch. "I think that first inning, the (Dylan) Beavers at-bat just got really elongated," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. "Pitch count ran up, Pete (Alonso) hooks the ball down the line for a couple of runs and we have a little trouble handling down there. Get another guy to third base and just some times today where he had some counts in his favor, he just didn't execute well enough with 2k." The Marlins offense was highlighted by Liam Hicks, who finished with a four-hit performance, capped off by a solo homer in the bottom of the seventh inning, making it a 7-5. His 431-foot shot to the second deck in right field marked his longest home run of the season. Otto Lopez made it back-to-back home runs, cutting the Orioles lead, 7-6. It was his fourth of the season. Joe Mack, who made his major league debut on Monday night against the Philadelphia Phillies, caught Alcantara, but the story was his bat, notching his first major league hit, which was an RBI single in the bottom of the third inning. In the bottom of the eighth inning, he had his second hit of the game. "He's a young catcher with good talent," Alcantara said. "Everybody he been waiting for him for a long time. Now, he's finally here, so you gotta keep working the same way that he was working in Triple-A. Just gotta be out there, enjoy time with us and take advantage of all the opportunities." After Mack got on base, McCullough sent out speedster Esteury Ruiz to pinch-run for Mack. The former stole second, then stole third, but a bad throw from Basallo allowed Ruiz to score and tie the game. So far, Ruiz is slashing .267/.267/.733/1.000 with two home runs and three stolen bases. "I hope this guy leads the league in pinch-running stolen base attempts," McCullough said. "Whoever we had up that inning, first guy to get on base like, we had Ruiz going there. We're down, and certainly felt like his ability to do that and go take a chance to go steal a base there and then he caused them to rush a little bit and was able to tie it up with some aggressive base running. We'll continue to try to find as many ways we can use Ruiz to impact games even when he's not starting." Right-handed reliever Willian Kempner was called-up ahead of Tuesday's game to replace the roster spot that Chris Paddack once held before being designated for assignment. In his major league debut, Kempner tossed a 1-2-3 inning, striking out Colton Cowser. "I think it went well," Kempner said. "I think the best part is that I felt really good out there. I felt like I was just being myself, and that's all I can ask for at this point in my career. I have this promise to myself that I need to be that guy out there that just doesn't care what people think. I did that today and I'm very happy for myself." The Marlins will look to bounce back on Wednesday night with Eury Pérez taking the mound. First pitch is at 6:40 pm. View full article

MIAMI, FL — For Miami Marlins starting pitcher Chris Paddack, his struggles on Sunday weren't subject to bad luck or being BABIP'd—he just wasn't good. Paddack allowed six runs to the Philadelphia Phillies in the first inning and was removed in the top of the third. The Marlins remain winless in games that Paddack has started this season, and in this case, they were forced to use much of their bullpen during a stretch of 10 straight games with no days off. Trea Turner led off the game with a double. Paddack proceeded to walk both Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper. Alec Bohm grounded into what would've been a fielder's choice, but the Marlins were not able to get any outs out of it, allowing Turner to score and give the Phillies a 1-0 lead. Paddack then walked Brandon Marsh with the bases loaded to allow another run. J.T. Realmuto sac fly got the first out of the game, but the Phillies added their third run of the game. The big blow came from Bryson Stott when he took Paddack deep for his second home run of the season. Both of Stott's home runs have come in this series. It gave the Phillies a 6-0 lead. In the top of the third inning, Justin Crawford knocked in his club's seventh run. "I just sat on the bench and kind of reviewed the game on the iPad," Paddack said. "A lot of uncompetitive pitches with two strikes is what I saw the trend was. What I mean by that, is just some pitches that were just completely out of the zone led into those 3-2 counts, the three walks there I felt like I never could get into a groove. I noticed I was pulling some fastballs early. Never drove any fastballs to the bottom of the zone. They were able to lay off some changeups below. Being a guy that commands the baseball, throws the ball where I want to, I just felt off tonight." As Paddack was coming off the field, fans let him know their feeling, booing him. This was not only a sign of frustration amongst the fanbase boiling over, but likely what could be a sign that the decision to continue having Paddack in the rotation may not be the right one. Right now, it wouldn't make sense to move on from Paddack altogether. A move to the bullpen could potentially benefit him. He has struggled to go deep into game, so using him in shorter bursts could be the best fit, as he seems to have found some success in that type of role. Through seven appearances this season (six starts), Paddack has a 7.63 ERA, 5.01 FIP, 7.92 K/9 and 2.93 BB/9. Paddack has described his season as a "roller coaster." "I've been here before. It definitely sucks," Paddack said. "I feel like this year I haven't been able to allow things to continue over. Right when we think we're getting in a good place, I get hit in the mouth again. There's no excuse for it. I'm a competitor. I work my butt off. Trying to be the best teammate that I can and a role model for some of our younger guys in the clubhouse. I got to look at myself in the mirror, and I have to clean some things up, and that starts with myself." In Triple-A right now, Braxton Garrett has a 1.71 ERA in 26 ⅓ innings pitched. Garrett was originally sent down to build back up as he underwent Tommy John surgery, missing the entire 2025 season, but at this point, he has shaken off all of the rust. Along with Garrett, Fish On First's No. 2 prospect Robby Snelling leads Triple-A with 44 strikeouts. He also has a 1.86 ERA, 290 FIP, 13.66 K/9 and 4.66 BB/9 in six starts this season. Just like Garrett, Snelling has nothing left to prove in the minors. His call-up may take a bit longer given he is not on the 40-man roster and Garrett has a half-decade of major league experience. McCullough shut down any potential speculation regarding Paddack's future in the rotation, saying that he will be making his next scheduled start, which is on Friday in the series opener against the Washington Nationals. "Outside of today, Chris is throwing the ball well," McCullough said. "He has probably ran against some tough luck in some outings, but he has thrown the ball and kept us in the games that he's pitched. Today it was a tough one from pitch one till it was over." After Paddack, a group comprised of John King, Tyler Phillips, Josh Ekness and Calvin Faucher shutout the Phillies lineup, allowing five hits and striking out five. Phillips, who had received most of the high-leverage situations after closer Pete Fairbanks was placed on the injured list, threw three innings, 47 pitches, essentially knocking him out for the next two days. "He's been built out and he's done that on a number of occasions for us," McCullough said. "That's the best way for us to try to navigate through today, try to preserve as many options as we have for the next couple of days going forward. We have a really good bullpen, and we have guys that can throw in a lot of different places and can do things. Tyler has done that on a lot of occasions, as have a lot of other guys. His ability to also provide that type of length either way, but in a game like today, does a lot to just save everyone down there from getting taxed." The Marlins offense didn't get much going until the bottom of the seventh inning. Leo Jiménez, who got the start at third base, was hit by a pitch and Esteury Ruiz took Phillies starting pitcher Jesús Luzardo deep for his second home run of the season. It also marked Ruiz's second home run this week, with his first coming on Wednesday in the series finale against the LA Dodgers. Ruiz is now slashing .286/.286/.786/1.072 with two home runs, three RBI and a 189 wRC+. It has only been seven games for Ruiz this season, but early on he is making a strong impact when he's been on the field. "He's been a performer in Triple-A," McCullough said. "He is someone that our group targeted this offseason. Certainly, the speed and ability to play all three outfield spots, but felt like offensively, there was some potential there for something to translate to the major league level if given the opportunity." Fish On First's No. 20 prospect Josh Ekness made his MLB debut, tossing a 1-2-3 inning. His fastball topped out at 98.4 mph, averaging 97.9 mph. With the loss, the Marlins drop back down to two games under .500, 16-18. With Janson Junk on the mound, Miami will go for a series split. First pitch is at 6:40 pm. View full article