Kevin Barral

MIAMI, FL - Last season when the New York Mets were fighting for their playoff lives, the Miami Marlins took two out of three games, eliminating the Mets from the 2025 postseason. One year later, the Marlins, six games back of the final National League Wild Card, are swept by the Mets in one of the craziest games ever played at loanDepot park, a 15-14 Mets win. "Disappointing how this homestand has gone to this point," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. "You could say you saw some dejection in there. It's 8-0 early like that, not the the hand that we wanted, but it was the one that we were dealt. You saw how they they finished last night and again tonight. No one can question this group's willingness to hang in there and continue to go until it's done because they just continually show that. Unfortunately, we were down big early, tied it, got down again, and continued to go." According to FanGraphs, the Marlins postseason chances are at zero. They aren't officially eliminated, sitting 6.5 games out of the final National League Wild Card spot, but with games against the Los Angeles Dodgers (88-57), Arizona Diamondbacks (78-68), San Diego Padres (78-68) and the Atlanta Braves (85-61), it is highly unlikely that the Marlins make the playoffs in 2026. Janson Junk, who started for the Marlins, surrendered all eight runs on Wednesday night. The Mets scored six in the top of the second and former Marlin Christopher Morel hit his first home run of the season in the ensuing inning. "I didn't do a good job setting the tone today," Junk said. "I was competing out there, making good pitches and they just put balls where guys weren't at, and it was unfortunate, kind of frustrating on my end." The Marlins scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and five in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game. Back-to-back RBI singles from Graham Pauley and Joe Mack got Miami on the board in the fourth. Then in the sixth, Owen Caissie hit his 14th home run of the season along with RBI from Griffin Conine, Otto Lopez and Jakob Marsee to even things up. The Mets countered right away with a six-run top of the seventh inning. Francisco Lindor, who hit a home run in game two of the series, went deep in what ended up being a 14-8 lead for the Mets. Joe Mack hit his 13th home run of the season in the bottom of the frame and RBI from both Owen Caissie and Graham Pauley in the eighth made it a 15-11 game. Going into Wednesday's game, the Marlins bullpen had tossed 179 1/3 innings since the All-Star break, 18th most in baseball. After having one of the lowest bullpen ERAs in baseball during the first half of the season, it now sits at 4.62 since July 17. On Wednesday, the Marlins went with seven relievers who combined to throw 124 pitches. Of those seven pitchers, only three of them threw over 20 pitches and one threw under 10 pitches. The Marlins won't have the services of Sandy Alcantara and Eury Pérez during the upcoming series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but an off day on Thursday should somewhat help. In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Marlins tacked on three more runs, but it wouldn't be enough as the Fish fell by a final score of 15-14. Both teams combined for 35 hits and 29 runs. This marked the third time in team history the Marlins have lost when scoring 14 or more runs. Both other occasions happened in 2008. The Marlins have an off day on Thursday before welcoming the LA Dodgers. Ryan Gusto will take the mound opposite of Blake Snell on Friday at 7:10 pm. View full article

MIAMI, FL - Sandy Alcantara, known for being the stopper of the Miami Marlins rotation and resetting the bullpen, wasn't up for the task on Tuesday night against the New York Mets. On the strength of three home runs, Alcantara allowed the Mets to take a commanding 7-0 lead. The Marlins fought hard to dig themselves out of that hole, but ultimately fell by a final score of 7-5. Alcantara struggled from the very first pitch of the game, serving up a leadoff homer to Francisco Lindor. Juan Soto and Brett Baty later went deep as well. Alcantara went 4 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs on seven hits (three home runs), walked four and struck out one. "I feel very bad about the job that I did tonight," Alcantara said postgame. "Knowing the the position that we are right now, losing is devastating for us. Just gotta get hot and keep things together and just be out there and fight." On the other side, Mets starting pitcher Sean Manaea tossed five perfect innings. In the sixth inning, the Marlins finally broke through and scored four runs of Manaea. Jakob Marsee, who led the inning off, hit a double. Jared Serna recorded his second career RBI, bringing Marsee home from second and making it a 7-1 game. An unlikely source of offense in Brian Navarreto drove Serna home with a single. An Otto Lopez and Javier Sanoja RBI single made it 7-4. "Very proud of the group," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. "Not the start of the game that we were hoping for to get down, but climb out and make things really interesting and even those last couple innings to create some traffic and have a chance there. We hung in there and probably got behind the eight ball a little bit too much, not able to to overcome it." On the bright side, Jakob Marsee had a three-hit day, his fifth of that kind this season. He drove a run in the bottom of the ninth inning to make it 7-5. Jared Serna, who was recently called up, collected his first multi-hit game of his career. "Jared put together really aggressive swings tonight, and good for him," McCullough said. "He got an opportunity to go play and had a nice game." With the loss and another Arizona Diamondbacks win, the Marlins dropped to six games out of the final NL Wild Card spot with only 16 games left on their schedule. The Marlins will look to avoid the sweep on Wednesday with Janson Junk taking the mound. View full article

On Thursday, the Miami Marlins announced that they have designated infielder Leo Jiménez for assignment. Deyvison De Los Santos is being recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville as the corresponding move. The Marlins acquired Jiménez from the Toronto Blue Jays at the beginning of the MLB regular season in exchange for minor leaguer Dub Gleed. In 66 games with the big league team, Jiménez slashed .199/.306/.259/.565 with two home runs, 14 RBI and posted a 65 wRC+. His playing time mainly came against left-handed pitching. Defensively, he posted minus-7 outs above average and minus-5 defensive runs saved at third base. His poor play on both sides of the ball was valued at -0.9 fWAR overall (worst among Marlins hitters). Jiménez will now go through the waiver process. If he clears, the Marlins can outright him to Triple-A. He would then be eligible for minor league free agency after the season if not selected back to the 40-man roster. Dub Gleed, a corner infielder drafted by the Marlins in 2024, has played at the High-A and Double-A levels with the Blue Jays organization. He's had a productive year, slashing .275/.358/.478/.838 with 18 home runs, 54 RBI and a 120 wRC+. This begins Deyvison De Los Santos' fourth MLB stint of the season. The 23-year-old will be platooned like Jiménez was, getting most of his plate appearances against lefties. He's expected to be with the team through their final 22 games. View full article

MIAMI, FL - Heavy recent usage of their bullpen forced the Miami Marlins to get creative on Wednesday night. The unlikely combination of Ryan Gusto, Victor Vodnik, Janson Junk and Dax Fulton held the Boston Red Sox scoreless to salvage the series finale. Gusto threw 5 ⅔ shutout innings, allowing four hits, three walks and struck out two. He lowered his ERA to 1.85 in the month of August, and on the season, he now has a 3.98 ERA. His 77.8% ground ball rate on the night was the highest of his season. During this August stretch, he's only had one outing where he's allowed more than three runs, which came in a win against the Philadelphia Phillies. Just over a year after the trade that sent him to Miami from the Houston Astros, Gusto describes himself as a "different pitcher than the one I was traded for originally." "I think that development isn't linear and it's a good time to look back on that and acknowledge that," Gusto said postgame. "The coaching staff believed in me the whole way and kept working with me on the things that we needed to work on, and I'm really happy with the trend that we've been seeing." One of Gusto's year-to-year improvements has been his fastball velocity. His fastball previously averaged 94.1 mph, but on Wednesday, he averaged 95.3 mph and topped out at 97.4 mph. He threw 12 pitches of 95 mph or more in his start. "Ryan deserves a lot of credit," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. "The velocity being where it's at so consistently certainly helped, but he's put a lot of work in the weight room as well. He comes over last year and is acclimating to new organization, we're asking a lot of him, and it's taken Ryan some time to really buy in, but I think Ryan has seen how a lot of these adjustments and the hard work he's putting in is paying off. Ryan has taken some real steps professionally, personally, that I think now we're seeing the fruits of." One of the few Marlins relievers who was available, Vodnik entered with two outs in the sixth inning. He struck out Anthony Seigler to complete the sixth. In the seventh, he induced three straight groundouts. Vodnik hasn't allowed an earned run in any of his last six appearances. Already scheduled to throw his pitch design on Wednesday, the Marlins asked Janson Junk the night before how he felt about pitching an inning out of the bullpen to fill in for his overworked teammates. After going through a pregame routine, Junk felt good enough to pitch. This marked the first time since June 14 of last season that he entered a game as a relief pitcher. In his lone inning of work, Wilyer Abreu flew out, Caleb Durbin grounded out and Mickey Gasper lined out. "The biggest thing for me was just the routine," Junk said. "It's been a while since I came out of the pen, so just figuring out what my role was for the day. Luckily enough, they were very clear on what that was, so that eased some of the nerves. They told me the little pocket that I was going to be in and from there, it was understood what it was when I was getting warmed up in the bullpen." With the Marlins leading 2-0, Dax Fulton, who was recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville one day before the game, was warming up to pitch in the ninth inning for what would be his first career save. For the Marlins, they tacked on two runs in the ninth inning, so Fulton entered the game with a 4-0 lead. After allowing a lead-off base hit, Fulton struck one out and induced two groundouts to end the game. The Marlins 4-0 win marked the 13th shutout win of the 2026 season, which is also the team's most since 2014, when they had 16 shutouts. The Marlins are now 68-66, which puts them four games out of the third National League Wild Card spot. The Marlins will spend an off day in Washington before kicking off a four-game wraparound series with Eury Pérez taking the mound in the first game on Friday. View full article

For the 2026 season, Fish On First will provide weekly reports on the Miami Marlins farm system, covering all levels. Multiple national outlets have six Marlins on their updated MLB Top 100 prospects lists, but as usual, we also shine the light on lesser-known players in the organization who could eventually have significant roles with the big league club. This report covers the games played from August 18-24. Triple-A Jacksonville It was a 4-2 week for the Jumbo Shrimp against the Memphis Red Birds (St. Louis Cardinals affiliate). In the series finale against the Red Birds, Jonathon Long hit his first home run since being acquired by the Marlins. The ball left the bat at 109.4 mph and went 447 feet to left field. It was his 13th home run of the season overall. He is now slashing .244/.452/.378/.830 as a member of the org. It has been a strong year for Kemp Alderman, who hit his 18th home run last week. However, his development is not quite finished as he continues to have issues making contact. In August, Alderman has been striking out nearly 40% of the time. He could still be a potential September call-up option, but the elevated K rate combined with the effects of the impending MLB lockout complicate the decision. Keeping him off the 40-man roster would keep the line of communication with Marlins coaches open during the lockout and ensure he is eligible to participate in a full spring training and minor league season in 2027. Brandan Bidois, acquired in the Lake Bachar trade, made his organizational debut this past week. Bidois couldn't get out of the seventh inning, though he struck out three of the five batters he faced. Bidois' fastball averaged 95.5 mph and topped out at 96.5 mph. He also threw his slider and changeup. A pleasant surprise during the first half of the season, infielder Gage Miller is coming back down to earth. He has only two hits in his last 28 at-bats. Even so, he's been performing nicely overall with a .272/.391/.465/.856 slash line and 131 wRC+ through 69 games. Double-A Pensacola The Wahoos put a throw-away game at the start of their series against Knoxville behind them, responding with four straight victories. With contributions from all over their lineup, the team looks primed for the Southern League playoffs. They are currently five and a half games ahead of the Columbus Clingstones for the second-half division SOU South title. What more can we say about Brandon Compton? The guy just hits. In this series, the lefty went 7-for-19 with two more home runs. He is the first Marlins prospect to hit 30+ home runs in a minor league season since 2021. Compton is riding a 14-game hit streak and putting together one of the more impressive MiLB seasons we’ve been privileged to witness in quite some time. If there’s been one downside at all to Compton’s season, it has been the fact that virtually all of his damage has been done against opposite-handed pitching. During an exclusive Fish Unfiltered interview, Compton explained how he is working to solve for that behind the scenes, including hitting BP off Mason Sherrill, a former left-handed pitching prospect. Compton made his pro debut as a first baseman on Sunday. He stated in our interview that he is open to becoming more versatile despite not having played the position since his days in wood bat summer leagues. If things go well for Compton at first base, MLB opportunities could come in pretty short order, with that being a position where they've lacked stability. At the very least, Compton has already earned himself an MLB camp invite in 2027. Fish On First has learned that right-hander Holt Jones is being promoted from Pensacola to Jacksonville. A 27-year-old reliever, Jones' season was not noteworthy until about a month ago. He's been nearly flawless since then, particularly dominant against right-handed batters. Drafted by the Fish way back in 2021 out of the University of Kentucky, Jones' arsenal is comprised of a four-seam fastball, slider and cutter. He uses his extra-large 6'7" frame to get good extension down the mound. His mid-90s heater plays up as a result. Expect Jones to continue to be used in a multi-inning relief role with the Shrimp. High-A Beloit Beloit inched closer to a playoff spot this week, winning five very meaningful games against the Cedar Rapids Kernals. Pitching was the star of the show: the Carp staff limited their opponents to just 16 runs total over 54 innings. Beloit now sits in a tie with Quad Cities atop the Midwest League West division in the second half. To say Cody Schrier has had an up-and-down season would be putting it lightly. After struggling with offensive consistency in the first half, the 23-year-old first baseman was placed on the development list. Since returning, Schrier has found a new side and improved version of himself. In the first half, he slashed just .198/.338/.371. In the second half, .318/.370/.618. That includes a 9-for-23 performance in this week’s series. Schrier was one of the most advanced high school bats in his class, ranking as the second-best prep shortstop in California. He played in parts of three collegiate seasons at UCLA and showed flashes, but missed most of 2023 due to injury and his production cratered in 2024. The Marlins challenged him quickly in his pro career, sending Schrier to Beloit last year despite spending just 47 games at Low-A in which he slashed .237/.295/.335. Underlying stats overall this year for Schrier are solid; he’s right around league average in terms of walks and just above league average in limiting strikeouts. The swing isn’t bad at all, either. With a good pedigree and solid tools, it could be that Schrier just needed proper time to develop while under less stress. Schrier could turn into a steal as a 13th-round pick who has defensive versatility at multiple positions, though we will need to see a bit more of a sample size to make that determination. Nate Payne had been on a good trajectory in each of his previous two outings, limiting damage and showing swing-and-miss stuff. The only thing not there for Payne was the innings as he lasted just a combined 8 ⅔ frames. Payne solved for that by being more economical with his pitches and limiting walks as he completed six innings for the first time since June 26. He allowed one run and struck out eight. Payne’s overall numbers are above average on the year. He has a 3.58 ERA in 100.2 IP. His recent limitation had been in working too deep into counts and elevating his pitch count early in games. Having to come further into the zone in longer at-bats had also allowed opposing hitters to get the better of him. His BAA in July was .265. In these last three starts, though, Payne has been able to work ahead earlier in at-bats and mix more to his liking, leading to a much more efficient .224 BAA in his last 14.2 IP. Payne doesn’t have blow-it-by-you velocity; when he's at his best, he’s a strike-thrower who is able to limit contact early in counts, induce ground balls and utilize two very good breakers to get whiffs. The command is still the biggest question mark for Payne, but when it is on, he has the potential of a mid-rotation starter. At the very least, he could be a viable multiple-inning reliever at the next level. Low-A Jupiter It was a 2-3 week for the Hammerheads against the Bradenton Marauders. Eric Guevera recently made his pro debut and in eight games, he has slashed .292/.414/.542/.955 with two home runs, six RBI and a 151 wRC+. The Marlins selected Guevera in the seventh round of the 2026 MLB Draft. Struggles for PJ Morlando continue. In 82 games, he is slashing .199/.325/.318/.643 with eight home runs, 33 RBI and a 79 wRC+. After a month of July where he had a .779 OPS, the best mark for him in the minors, August has seen his numbers dip back down to the season norm, a .660 OPS. It's tough to deny at this point that the Marlins regret making him a first-round pick. After struggling in July, Luis Arana is back to looking like himself. In 15 games this month, he is slashing .283/.377/.415/.792 with one home run and three RBI. On the season, he also has 37 stolen bases with a 109 wRC+ between the FCL and Low-A levels. Jacob Lombard is slashing .241/.382/.407/.790 with three home runs, 12 RBI and a 116 wRC+. The only concern is the 36.8% strikeout rate, but is walking 14.7% of the time. Lombard continues to look comfortable at the plate and defensively, he looks like a serious candidate to stick at shortstop. This week's schedule Triple-A Jacksonville vs. Nashville Double-A Pensacola at Montgomery High-A Beloit at Quad Cities Low-A Jupiter vs. Tampa View full article

MIAMI, FL — Through the first 22 games of the season, Heriberto Hernandez was slashing .159/.284/.190/.474 with zero home runs and nine RBI. He was sent down to Triple-A Jacksonville on April 27 before being recalled on May 7. Since then, the switch has flipped. On Tuesday night against the Boston Red Sox, Hernandez hit his 20th home run of the season, doubling his total from last year. The Marlins fell to the Red Sox in extra innings by a final score of 7-3. Since being recalled from Triple-A, Hernandez entered Tuesday's game slashing .249/.320/.517/.837 with 19 home runs and 44 RBI. In August, he is now slashing .219/.329/.411/.740 with four home runs and 11 RBI. "The first couple of weeks to start this season, I think circumstances were different," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. "It's his first time making an Opening Day roster, somewhat wanting to pick up where he left off and just didn't seem as convicted in his at-bats, didn't seem as aggressive like we've seen him, and since he's come back has been a much different story." In the bottom of the sixth inning, he took Red Sox starting pitcher Payton Tolle deep, tying the game at two apiece. Hernandez became the tenth Marlin since 2018 to have a 20-homer season, most recently done by Kyle Stowers last year. Hernandez becomes just the third outfielder in that group over that span. With 10 home runs in 128 plate appearances against left-handed pitching this season, OF Heriberto Hernández owns the third-highest HR/PA rate (.078) among hitters with at least 100 plate appearances against lefties, trailing only Baltimore's Coby Mayo (.108 HR/PA) and Cleveland's Joe Adell (.080 HR/PA). "I think that he certainly has a real presence in the box," McCullough said. "He gets off really good swings. He can hit fastballs, mistakes and spin in the zone. Hits verse right and left, so his ability to supply some power for us is really important." After not making his previous scheduled start in favor of a bullpen game, Tyler Phillips took the mound on Tuesday against the Red Sox. Despite surrendering a solo homer to Mickey Gasper, Phillips struck out seven in 4 1/3 innings of work. Victor Vodnik entered the game in the fifth inning to close things out. Gasper would notch his first career multi-homer game in the top of the sixth inning, hitting his fifth home run of the season off Marlins reliever Tyler Zuber. That gave the Red Sox a 2-1 lead. When the Marlins added Brian Navarreto to the active roster, he wasn't supposed to play a lot. When Navarreto does play, he is a spark plug in terms of the energy he provides and just another solid defensive catcher behind the plate. On Tuesday, he battled with Tolle in the bottom of the fifth inning. With the bases loaded and one out, Navarreto hit a sac fly to center field, allowing all runners to advance, tying the game, 1-1. In the seventh inning, he had a sac bunt, moving Jakob Marsee from first to second. Navarreto had his sixth caught stealing of the season, throwing out Eli White in the top of the ninth inning. "He's just a gamer," McCullough said regarding his backstop. "He had some opportunities, nice situations to do some things and he came through. The at-bats now certainly in his last three starts or so have really improved. In an at-bat where you see a lot of pitches, it's still a productive at-bat for the group." In extra innings, both teams scored a run in the 10th inning. With the bases loaded in the top of the 11th inning, Jarren Duran hit a grand slam off lefty Cade Gibson, giving the Red Sox a 7-3 lead that they wouldn't lose. With the loss, the Marlins drop to 67-66 on the season. Ryan Gusto will go opposite of Sonny Gray as the Fish look to avoid the sweep on Wednesday. View full article

MIAMI, FL — On Sunday morning, the Miami Marlins designated left-handed reliever John King for assignment, making room for right-hander Jack Ralston in their bullpen. King was one of five offseason major league free agent signings that the Marlins made. Throughout the first half of the season, he was easily the best of the bunch, posting a 2.48 ERA and 3.93 FIP in 40 innings of work (40 appearances). He also stranded 23 of 25 inherited baserunners during that span. However, King never returned to form after missing time in July with an ankle injury. He's made 10 appearances since then, posting a 10.24 ERA and 8.67 FIP. In the month of August alone, he has a 13.50 ERA and only had one clean inning, which was his first outing of the month. "I got John probably on a Mount Rushmore of teammates. What a pro," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said pregame. "John pitched a lot and I asked him to pitch even some times when it probably wasn't the most advantageous. It was about the team, and John always just took the ball and had no ego. This decision for me just came down to looking at our where we are now in this season and the group we have down in the 'pen." Previously the Marlins' top option against left-handed batters, McCullough admitted that King had fallen down the depth chart, pitching exclusively in "down games" that had gotten out of hand. "That's not a great spot for him, and I think for us, it just didn't make a lot of sense, either." The Marlins could have controlled King for the 2027 season via arbitration, but he would've required a raise from this year's $1.5 million salary. They decided he wasn't worth it. Pete Fairbanks is now the lone free agent signing who remains from the offseason, while Cade Gibson is the only left-hander on Miami's active roster. On the flip side, the Marlins calling up Ralston is the perfect move for a bullpen group that has struggled recently. In 39 appearances this season at the Triple-A level, he has posted a 1.66 ERA, 3.82 FIP, 11.31 K/9 and 4.37 BB/9. Ralston was recently added to the Marlins 40-man roster on August 3. President of baseball operations Peter Bendix previously highlighted Ralston as a prime example of somebody who his front office targeted in minor league free agency based on exciting underlying skills and approached with specific tweaks. "They got on phone calls with Jack, explained to him why we were interested, what we wanted to do and got Jack's buy-in, and then they executed," Bendix said. "Jack was the one who actually made those changes, executed on it and continued to get better." The Marlins and Nationals will face off to wrap up this three-game set on Sunday at 1:40 pm with Janson Junk taking the mound. View full article

MIAMI, FL — The Miami Marlins continued their dominance over the Washington Nationals on Saturday afternoon. A 4-2 victory was their seventh in eight head-to-head matchups this season between the division rivals. The Marlins wasted no time getting to Nationals starter Jake Irvin. In the bottom of the first inning, following back-to-back hits from Griffin Conine and Owen Caissie, Otto Lopez knocked in a two-run single, giving the Fish an early 2-0 lead. López has slumped for the most part since the All-Star break, going into Saturday's game sporting a .530 OPS during that span. With hits in three straight games, he may finally be snapping out of it. In the ensuing inning, Heriberto Hernández hit his 19th home run of the season, extending the Marlins' lead to 3-0. Since being recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville back on May 7, he has an .815 OPS. Jakob Marsee plated Miami's final run with his eighth home run of the season in the bottom of the fourth inning. Marsee finished the afternoon with his fourth multi-hit game in the month of August. He is slashing .286/.385/.482/.867 with two home runs since the month began. "I feel like this past month and a half, I haven't really been stressed at all," Marsee said. "I've been really confident, having good at-bats and the results are starting to come, which is great. It sucks when you're not performing, and especially when I feel like I was having good at-bats or hitting the ball hard at times, and just things not going away, but that's baseball and I know I can make an impact in a lot of ways." For a second straight start, Eury Pérez struggled with his command. Against the Reds in his last start, he walked five, and on Saturday, he walked three in five innings of work. He also allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and struck out four. The bottomline results have been great anyway as he owns a 1.99 ERA in the month of August. "There were a lot of armside misses today with Eury more consistently than we've seen and didn't really have a terrific rhythm," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "Lots of deep counts, but we're talking about it differently now on those kind of days where it's a little bit more scattered. He's tough to hit and keeping the ball in the ballpark now at a much different rate than he ever has in his career." Pérez has now gone 60 straight innings, spanning nearly 10 full starts without allowing a home run. He also has a 1.67 ERA over his last 13 starts. José Fernández and Dontrelle Willis are the only Marlins pitchers ages 23 and younger to post a lower ERA in any 13-start span. In 23 starts for Pérez, he has a 3.17 ERA, 3.67 FIP, 9.66 K/9 and 3.67 BB/9. Now in uncharted territory when it comes to workload (127.2 IP), McCullough told Craig Mish on Marlins.TV that Pérez will not have any specific innings limit. McCullough said they will be mindful of his workload, but there are no plans to stop him from pitching. The Marlins bullpen was perfect. The combination of Michael Petersen, Josh Ekness, Tyler Zuber and Calvin Faucher combined to retire every batter they faced in four total innings of work. Ekness specifically hasn't allowed a run in his last five appearances. He has a 0.93 ERA in the month of August. Overall on the season, the rookie right-hander has a 1.20 ERA, 4.02 FIP, 6.00 K/9 and 4.20 BB/9 in 14 appearances. "We knew coming in that Josh would play a factor in this season at some point," McCullough said. "I think it's probably as good a fastball as there is in the bullpen in the big leagues. When you take into account the low release, velocity and vert on his heater, it's a real pitch. Right now, it's a really tough at-bat versus right, and I think we'll start to see as Josh continues to pitch here that the walks go down and the strikeouts go up." With the win, the Marlins improve to 66-64 on the season. That includes a 40-25 record at home, which is fourth-best in MLB—only the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers (45-23), Tampa Bay Rays (43-23) and Atlanta Braves (42-23) have been better. The Marlins go for the sweep on Sunday at 1:40 pm with Janson Junk starting. It will also be "Thank you Tommy Day," with a special pregame ceremony honoring longtime color analyst Tommy Hutton, who'll be retiring after this season. View full article

In advance of Saturday’s contest against the Washington Nationals, the Miami Marlins will recall Deyvison De Los Santos from Triple-A Jacksonville, Fish On First has learned. The team has yet to make the roster move official. De Los Santos has had two brief stints with the Marlins this season, from March 28-29 and April 10-18. In three games at the big league level, he went 2-for-7 with three strikeouts. De Los Santos has spent most of the season with Triple-A Jacksonville, where he is slashing .281/.345/.486/.831 with 18 home runs, 65 RBI, 17 stolen bases and a 117 wRC+ in 96 games. These are his best numbers since his breakout 2024 campaign, when he hit 40 home runs, including 12 with the Marlins organization. On top of that, De Los Santos is having a dominant month of August, posting an OPS of 1.079 with six home runs and 13 RBI. This marks his best month of the Minor League season. The biggest adjustment for De Los Santos has been his strikeout rate. In 2024, it stood at 24.7%, and it is now at 19.7%, the lowest of his MiLB career. On top of just striking out less, the Dominican Republic native is pulling the ball less and using the entire field a bit more, especially the opposite way. In 2025 at AAA, De Los Santos posted a 47.2% pull rate, which he has lowered to 42.0% this season. The major league average for opposite field rate is 24.1%; De Los Santos is currently at 33.1%, a 4.1% increase from 2025. All of these changes are positive ones that have clearly made De Los Santos a better overall hitter, but the elite power that he once showed has taken a step back. It will be interesting to see how the Marlins use De Los Santos once he is called up. In 2026, he has reverse splits, posting an .855 OPS against right-handed pitching compared to a .767 OPS against left-handed pitching. Having converted to first base this season, Kyle Stowers is progressing in his rehab from a hamstring strain, though he's projected to need a few more weeks to return to game action. In the meantime, De Los Santos will mainly split reps with Griffin Conine. The Marlins currently are carrying four catchers on their roster. With Joe Mack looking fully healthy following a recent battle with right shoulder soreness, it's likely that one of his backups will get sent down to make room for De Los Santos. View full article

MIAMI, FL - Through the first seven innings of Friday's game against the Washington Nationals, the Miami Marlins had one single hit. Fortunately, their opponent has had a habit of blowing leads this season, and the Nationals did that yet again. The Marlins tied and took the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning. After their own closer, Pete Fairbanks, blew a save himself, hot-hitting Javier Sanoja delivered the walk-off blow as the Fish took down the Nats by a final score of 3-2. Sanoja was not even in the starting lineup. In the bottom of the sixth, Marlins manager Clayton McCullough had him pinch-hit for Owen Caissie. Although Sanoja struck out in that first at-bat, with a runner on third in the eighth, he knocked in the game-tying RBI single and scored the go-ahead run on an Otto Lopez RBI double. "It's tough to come off the bench when the pitcher is already hot and already having everything working and going through his plan," Sanoja said postgame through an interpreter. "But at the end of the day, we are here for a reason, so I need to accept my role and give it my best, take good at-bats and that's what I tried to do in that situation." Fairbanks, who had not allowed a run in his last eight appearances, blew his fourth save opportunity of the season. He walked Jacob Young, who then stole second and Daylen Lile drove him in on an RBI double, tying the game. In the bottom of the ninth, Agustín Ramírez worked his second walk of the game and Esteury Ruiz used his speed to his advantage and got on base via a bunt single, advancing to second on a throwing error. Ramírez went from first to third. Jakob Marsee was intentionally walked so that Nationals reliever Clayton Beeter could match up with Sanoja. On the sixth pitch of the at-bat, Sanoja was able to get a base hit up the middle through the drawn-in infield, allowing Ramírez to score. Sanoja is now having the best month of his career, slashing .362/.393/.603/.996 with three home runs and 15 RBI. Friday marked his sixth multi-hit performance of the season. Sanoja is not showing any respect to Jayden Daniels by riding a five-game hitting streak. "The at-bat quality that he's showing is certainly an improvement," McCullough said. "That's an area where as good as he is, continuing to refine his approach is a big part of him continuing to take steps as a player. He's just so valuable with what he can do, and he gets the ball to all fields. Just seen him time and time again when things are the hottest, he just has a real ability to stay in that moment and come through." Starting the game for the Marlins was Ryan Gusto. In four innings of work, he shut out the Nationals, allowing five hits, one walk and striking out two. He has a 2.41 ERA in the month of August. On the season, he has a 4.37 ERA, 4.01 FIP, 7.96 K/9 and 2.34 BB/9 in 17 appearances (12 starts). One slight improvement has been his average fastball velocity. In his limited sample size last season, Gusto was just averaging 94.1 mph. It is now at 94.4 mph in 2026, and on Friday, he was averaging 95.3 mph and topped out at 98.1 mph. "A lot of work in the weight room with the strength coaches," Gusto said regarding the uptick in velocity. "We've had like literal meetings about the best ways for me and my body to go about training and the things we can do, like locking in those exercises on certain days in between starts and getting that routine down to a science almost. Mechanically speaking on the pitching side, just making sure that I'm moving efficiently, everything feels good and just going with it." With the win, the Marlins are now 65-64 on the season, four games out of the third National League Wild Card Spot. Their head-to-head success against Washington has been critical to keeping them in the race. They've won six of their seven matchups so far. Eury Pérez takes the mound opposite of Jake Irvin on Saturday at 4:10 pm. View full article

For the 2026 season, Fish On First will provide weekly reports on the Miami Marlins farm system, covering all levels. This is the first check-in since the Dominican Summer League season concluded, leaving only full-season affiliates participating in official games moving forward. This report covers the games played from August 11-18. Triple-A Jacksonville The Jumbo Shrimp posted a 2-4 week against the Syracuse Mets. Karson Milbrandt started the Saturday game, where in five innings of work, he allowed three runs on five hits, two walks and struck out seven. That was actually among his "best" starts since being promoted to the Jumbo Shrimp. The right-hander now owns a 7.65 ERA, 6.86 FIP, 8.50 K/9 and 7.65 BB/9 in 42 ⅓ innings pitched. After a dominant start at the Double-A level, Milbrandt is experience failure and hopefully learning from it. Jack Ralston recently had his contract selected, but has been optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville, yet to make his Marlins debut. The month of August has been the worst of his 2026 season up to this point, posting a 6.23 ERA in four appearances. Overall, he has a 1.70 ERA, 3.86 FIP, 11.26 K/9 and 4.32 BB/9 in 58 ⅓ innings pitched. In his first appearance for the Jumbo Shrimp, waiver claim Wikelman González surrendered two runs on no hits, but walked three. He tossed just one inning. It took until Tuesday, in his 10th game with the Shrimp, for trade deadline acquisition Brayden Taylor to record a hit. He was one of three players acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays in the Liam Hicks trade. His slash line with his new organization is .040/.368/.120/.488. As shown below courtesy of TJStats, Taylor is being way too patient, swinging at barely one-third of all pitches. His contact ability is there, but the quality of that contact is not good enough right now. It was a nice week for Kemp Alderman, who continues to make his case as a potential September call-up. Against Syracuse, he had two home runs, his 16th and 17th respectively. He is now slashing .265/.345/.471/.816 with 17 home runs, 51 RBI and a 113 wRC+. Along with Alderman is Deyvison De Los Santos, notching three home runs during the week and another on Tuesday. Unlike Alderman, De Los Santos is on the team's 40-man roster, sporting an 1.167 OPS in the month of August. He is slashing .279/.342/.489/.831 with 18 home runs and 63 RBI. Since joining the Jumbo Shrimp, Jonathon Long is slashing .321/.513/.393/.906 with three RBI. In the series against Syracuse, Long had four hits and drove in one run. He continues to split time between left field and first base with the Marlins organization. In seven games at the Triple-A level, Brendan Jones is slashing .267/.421/.400/.821 with one RBI and four stolen bases. Jones, one of four players acquired in the Ryan Weathers trade, Jones could factor into the Marlins' outfield plans next season. Double-A Pensacola The Wahoos kept their winning ways rolling in grand fashion in their series against the Biloxi Shuckers, sweeping them in a six-game set. It was the first six-game sweep since 2023 for Pensacola, which has now won 16 of their last 19 games. The bats were out in abundance for the Wahoos as they won the run differential battle, 58-24. They have their sights set firmly on the playoffs as they now lead the Southern League South by 3.5 games during the second half of the season. Brandon Compton just continues to do Brandon Compton things, being not-so-arguably the best hitter in Minor League Baseball. Over the course of the six-game series, Compton went 9-for-28 with two home runs. He upped his wRC+ to 159, which is 12th in all of MiLB. There really are only two caveats to consider regarding Compton's success: he’s done virtually all of his damage against righties and he is defensively inflexible, limited to only corner outfield in a system chock full of lefty-hitting outfielders. Regarding the latter, Fish On First has recently learned that during the series against Biloxi, Compton began doing infield work including taking grounders and rehearsing plays at first base, which has been a position of weakness for the Marlins in the majors. The plan is for Compton to start receiving in-game reps at first base as early as this coming week. Now up to 29 home runs on the season with the ability to spray the ball to all fields via great strength and quick hands, Compton is proving this isn’t just a hot stretch—it is something he is capable of on a regular basis. In an organization that has recently become known for developing lefty bats and getting the most out of them, Compton is in an advantageous situation. If things work out well at first base, he could make that his primary home next season in Miami, with Kyle Stowers reacquainting himself with the outfield. Not to be lost in all of the offensive production from the Wahoos was another solid start from Joey Volini. Rebounding from a short outing his last time out, the Marlins’ 2025 sixth-rounder worked a career-high seven innings on six hits and three earned runs, two of which came on homers. He struck out five and walked one. Volini pitched to batters in the eighth inning, making him the first Pensacola starter to reach that mark in a game since Luis Palacios in 2023. After a slow introduction to pro ball, Volini is now clearly stretched out. In previous outings, he was able to limit walks but lapses in command caused him to run into trouble on the scoreboard. In this start, Volini looked spectacular, limiting damage by finding his spots consistently. He induced eight groundouts, mainly with his changeup. Still young to starting having only been made a featured arm his final year of college at FSU, Volini is still honing his craft and feeling things out, but he has started to show good strike zone knowledge and the ability to mix well with four pitches. Because none of his pitches truly stand out as plus offerings just yet, Volini's future is still pretty volatile, but if he can continue to make positive strides as he’s being challenged pretty quickly, he could reach the ceiling of a back-end starter. This week’s past start was a good look at that potential ceiling against the most advanced competition he’s faced in his career. At the very least, Volini has an MLB future as a bulk reliever. High-A Beloit Powered by a four-run 10th inning in their first game and a season-best 16-run performance in their penultimate game, the Carp took four of six from the Peoria Chiefs for their first series win since late July. Their outburst on Sunday was powered by seven home runs, the most Beloit has hit in a single game during their affiliation with the Marlins. With the win, the Sky Carp climbed to 29-19 in the second half and are in a deadlock for their division lead with Quad Cities, whom they will match up against in two weeks. It’s been an up-and-down season for Starlyn Caba. A fantastic first half in which he slashed .265/.404/.442 has given way to a disappointing second half. Since June, Caba is hitting just .202/.373/.326. In this series against Peoria, though, Caba showed signs of breaking the cycle. In five games, he went 4-for-16 including a three-hit performance in the final game which included a homer and four RBI. During his dry spell at the plate, Caba’s patience and ability to work his way on via a walk have sustained. His 19% walk rate ranks in the 95th percentile league-wide. However, his K rate has also leapt from 21% to 27%. Caba is forcing pitchers to come into the zone and is seeing tons of strikes, proven by the fact that has a whiff rate in the 77th percentile as well as a O-swing percentage in the 83rd percentile. The issue is Caba is just simply not swinging the bat. With a swing percentage of just 38.7%, Caba’s passivity has reached new heights. Opposing pitchers are exposing this trait by locating well, allowing them to work ahead early and finish ABs well, leading to his heightened K rate which is in the 35th percentile. What worked in the first half for Caba in terms of his approach will need to be slightly altered in order for him to get back on track. Teaching a young, light-hitting infielder to alter his approach and adjust back to a higher level of competition can be a tall task, but if the Marlins can persuade Caba to become a bit more aggressive particularly in longer counts when its strength versus strength, these are gaps that can be filled. Hopefully for the slick-fielding shortstop, the start of that turnaround has already begun. Julio Mendez is not a name you’ll see on top prospects lists, but he has been a consistently solid and reliable left-handed pitcher since arriving in the Marlins organization in 2022. After holding down a 3.83 ERA with a 95/43 K/BB in 91.2 IP at Low-A last season and restarting there to begin this season, Mendez matriculated up to High-A this past month. He’s had to adjust a bit to his new level of competition was recently able to do so advantageously. His latest outing this past week was a five inning shutout performance in which he walked four and struck out five. A 5’11”, 180-pound southpaw, Mendez isn’t an imposing physical specimen nor will he wow with velo, but he is a true strike-thrower who has garnered an enhanced ability to collect whiffs inside the zone. At 49.5%, Mendez’s zone percentage ranks in the 80gj percentile in the Midwest League. He also has a CSW% of 30.7, which ranks him in the 76th percentile league-wide. Mendez lives by a fastball that sits 93 mph and tops at 95. From there, Mendez owns a wide arsenal. His best secondary is a slider with outstanding spin rates in the 2600s, giving it wipeout action. Mendez also throws two different changeups, a traditional variety and a faster cutter, giving him the ability to inside-out hitters. Mendez just keeps producing. With a strong pitcher’s IQ, this under-the-radar arm is a potential MLB contributor someday. Low-A Jupiter FOF prospect of the week Echedry Vargas has been putting on a special power display at the Low-A level. In the week against the St. Lucie Mets, where the Hammerheads went 5-1, Vargas had nine hits, 10 RBI and hit five home runs. Vargas became the first Hammerheads player to have a 20-homer season since Marcell Ozuna back in 2012. He also leads the Florida State League in home runs (21). Vargas is now slashing .310/.365/.580/.945 with 72 RBI and a 141 wRC+. Along with Vargas, Andrés Valor has nothing left to prove in Jupiter. After a rough start to the season, he is slashing .220/.341/.395/.737 with 13 home runs, 44 RBI, 51 stolen bases and posting a 99 wRC+. Marlins first-round draft pick Jacob Lombard is now slashing .244/.396/.463/.859 with three home runs, 12 RBI, six stolen bases and a 130 wRC+. He has also committed five errors in that small sample. Yohanfer Santana made his Low-A debut as a reliever, topping out at 100.4 mph and averaging 99.4 mph. The 6'7" right-hander tossed one inning, allowing one hit and striking out two. Santana spent most of the 2026 season at the complex level. He posted an 8.49 ERA, 6.12 FIP, 15.78 K/9 and 9.40 BB/9 in 16 appearances (12 starts). DSL Marlins & DSL Miami The Dominican Summer League regular season concluded on Tuesday. DSL Marlins and DSL Miami had final records of 32-23 and 12-43, respectively. Gregori Arias had a tough year at the plate, homered in two of his last three games. He has also drove in five runs over those three games. In August, Arias hit .286 with a .429 OBP and a .643 SLG. On the year, Arias finished at .189 with four home runs, 15 RBI’s and 13 stolen bases. Ronny Muñoz hit his fourth home run of the year on Saturday. August was the best month of the year for Muñoz. The strikeout rate is a serious issue moving forward, ending at 36% over the summer, but the power is certainly there. Santiago Solarte placed 19th among DSL qualifiers in batting average (.339) and seventh in SLG (.598). According to Ely Sussman, he became the first player in modern minor league history to have a 10 HR/40 SB season in rookie ball. Left-hander Keyner Cedeño, even in a slugfest, remains untouchable. On Saturday, in a 14-13 win over DSL Rangers Blue, Cedeño pitched the final 2 ⅔ innings and struck out four, notching his fifth win of the year in the process. From June 15 onward, he went 33 consecutive innings without giving up an earned run. This week's schedule Triple-A Jacksonville at Memphis Double-A Pensacola vs. Knoxville High-A Beloit vs. Cedar Rapids Low-A Jupiter at Bradenton View full article

The Miami Marlins decided to roll with a bullpen game on Tuesday night in hopes of evening up the series against their division rival, the Philadelphia Phillies. Everything was going according to plan as Miami led 3-1, but in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Phillies scored four runs to take a lead that they never looked back on. The Phillies defeated the Marlins by a final score of 6-4, clinching the season-series against the Marlins. Between Cade Gibson, Tyler Zuber and Josh Ekness, they limited the Phillies to one run on three hits. On top of that, Griffin Conine hit his 14th home run of the season, tying the game at 1-1. Xavier Edwards gave the Marlins a 2-1 lead with an RBI single and Heriberto Hernandez grounded into a force out that scored Otto Lopez, extending the Marlins lead, 3-1. Conine went into the game sporting a .955 OPS since the All-Star break. In the month of August, he has a 1.027 OPS. The only other player in baseball with an OPS over 1.000 in August is Houston Astros star Yordan Alvarez. Overall, Conine is slashing .278/.371/.562/.933 with 14 home runs, 31 RBI and a 154 wRC+. Marlins manager Clayton McCullough went with Michael Petersen to get the final two outs in the bottom of the fifth and let him begin the sixth. Petersen started that inning by hitting Trea Turner. After Bryce Harper flew out for the first out of the inning, the Phillies went on to knock four-straight hits. Luis Arraez single, Alec Bohm RBI double, Bryson Stott RBI single and a Brandon Marsh single. Petersen was taken out of the game after that, with Philadelphia now leading, 4-3. Tyler Phillips entered the game with inherited runners and after striking out J.T. Realmuto, he allowed an RBI single to Justin Crawford to make it 5-3, Philadelphia. When the dust settled, it was a four-run bottom of the sixth. For Petersen, this marks his worst outing of the season, allowing four runs on four hits. He takes the loss and blown save in this ballgame. The Marlins tried to mount a comeback in the top of the eighth as Heriberto Hernandez knocked in an RBI single, making it 5-4, but Calvin Faucher surrendered an RBI single to Kyle Schwarber, icing the game, 6-4. With the loss, the Marlins are now 64-63 on the season, 3.5 games out of the third National League Wild Card spot. View full article