Kevin Barral

It's difficult to hide when you're 6'7" and have a fastball that touches 100 mph, but even the most obsessed Miami Marlins fans may have missed seeing Michael Petersen on the team in 2024. The rookie right-hander made only five appearances for the Marlins that season, all of them in September after they had been eliminated from playoff contention. Claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers, he posted a 4.76 ERA, 3.70 FIP, 4.76 K/9 and 4.76 BB/9. He was waived again at the beginning of the ensuing offseason.

In Petersen's second stint in Miami, he is quietly establishing himself as an important piece of the bullpen. Before we get to that, this is a good opportunity to dive into his unusual background.

Petersen was born in Middlesex, United Kingdom, located in a historic county in southeast England. He is the only British-born player on an active MLB roster, and the league's first since P.J. Conlon in 2018. Baseball is far down the list of popular sports in the UK, but Petersen's dad loved it and introduced it to the family. As a child, Petersen remembers playing with his twin brother, Thomas, and their friends in the house, creating balls out of wrapping paper and using a cardboard bat.

The Petersens moved to California and Michael played at St. Francis High School located in Mountain View, California. That's only about 40 miles south of Oracle Park, where the Marlins are currently playing against the San Francisco Giants. He was drafted four separate times, ultimately signing with the Milwaukee Brewers as a 17th-round pick in 2015.

Petersen remains proud of his British roots. He represented his homeland at the 2023 World Baseball Classic and was committed to do so again this year. However, the 31-year-old made the hard decision to sit out the tournament to prioritize making the Marlins Opening Day roster.

"I love Great Britain, and I love that team," Petersen told Fish On First. "I wanted to be a part of it, but I have this new pitch that needs to be worked on in front of my team, so I had to make that decision."

Team Great Britain went 1-3 and did not advance beyond pool play.

"I could've helped," Petersen said. "I was looking at it, and there were games that I wouldn't say they were a pitcher away, but I could have definitely helped. The guys there are still fantastic and I think they were dogs and it would have been nice about to go to battle with them, but making the team was my top priority, and I think being here really did help do that."

So far in 2026, Petersen has a 3.38 ERA, 3.43 FIP, 9.28 K/9, 3.38 BB/9 in nine appearances. His average fastball velocity of 96.9 mph leads all Marlins relievers. Opponents are hitting only .136 against his four-seamer with a 28.0% whiff rate. He ranks in the 85th percentile among MLB pitchers with a plus-three fastball run value, per Baseball Savant.

Petersen's "new pitch" is his changeup. After throwing only 11 changeups in the majors from 2024-25, he has already tripled that total this season. There's been only one hit off of it so far.

"Just something that goes the other way, so I can face both lefties and righties," Petersen said.

Petersen collected his first career save on April 8 against the Cincinnati Reds while Marlins closer Peter Fairbanks was on the paternity list. Petersen struck out two in a 7-4 win.

"It was awesome just to get that situation," Petersen said after that game. "A lot of trust from my team and my coaches to say 'hey, get out there and see what happens.'"

The all-time MLB saves record for a UK-born player is Tom Waddell with 15, so that is potentially within reach for Petersen a few down the road.

Petersen has thrown only one inning this week, so there's a high likelihood of him appearing during the remaining two games of the Giants series.

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Fish On First can report that outfielder Esteury Ruiz has completed his minor league rehab assignment and will meeting the Miami Marlins in San Francisco for their upcoming series against the San Francisco Giants. According to Marlins.TV's Craig Mish, outfielder Austin Slater is being designated for assignment in a corresponding roster move. The club has not made any move official as of Wednesday evening.

Less than a month ago, Slater signed a one-year free agent contract worth $1M. The Marlins valued the 33-year-old's track record against left-handed pitching. Nearly all of Slater's work came versus lefties (26 of 28 plate appearances), but he still struggled, slashing .174/.286/.174/.460 with a 40 wRC+ in 12 games played.

Slater is expected to clear waivers. Due to his MLB service time, he has the right to reject an outright assignment to the minors and elect free agency. Mish adds that there was an advance consent clause in his contract. Because the Marlins moved on from Slater within the first 45 days of the season, he will not receive the remainder of his $1M.

Ruiz was from the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired via trade in December. He is coming off a 2025 season where he spent most of the time in Triple-A, slashing .304/.412/.511/.923 with 16 home runs, 61 RBI, 63 stolen bases and a 137 wRC+. Those numbers should be taken with a grain of salt given he was repeating the level and played in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Ruiz owns a lifetime .241/.296/.343/.639 slash line across parts of four MLB seasons.

Ironically, the Marlins might not have signed Slater at all if not for Ruiz going down with a left oblique strain near the end of spring training. The injury was supposed to keep him sidelined for 6-8 weeks, but as manager Clayton McCullough said on the most recent Fish Unfiltered episode, "it's been a pretty miraculous recovery." The Marlins' next game on Friday marks five weeks to the day of the injury.

"It's been a pretty miraculous recovery."

On the rehab front, Esteury Ruiz is set to play a full 9 innings in Triple-A tonight. Christopher Morel will play 5 innings at first base.

From our upcoming @FishOnFirstPod episode, dropping tomorrow... pic.twitter.com/tD3RQ5oNfG

— Fish On First (@FishOnFirst) April 21, 2026

In five rehab games with Triple-A Jacksonville, Ruiz slashed .118/.211/.294/.505 with a home run, which he hit on Wednesday.

Esteury Ruiz leadoff bomb 💣 https://t.co/PT4j8tRnBA pic.twitter.com/vwzacbWp7F

— Fish On First (@FishOnFirst) April 22, 2026

Similar to Slater, Ruiz will face predominantly left-handed pitching. He is also a multi-dimensional player because of his elite speed and center field experience. He should make his first start as a Marlin on Saturday when veteran lefty Robbie Ray is scheduled to start for the Giants.

A Marlins 40-man spot is now open. The club could potentially go in many different directions with it, the most likely of them being promoting a non-40-man pitcher from Triple-A in the near future. Robby Snelling, who is Fish On First's No. 3 prospect, is off to a dominant start, posting a 1.89 ERA, 2.21 FIP, 14.68 K/9 and 4.26 BB/9 in 19 innings pitched. On the reliever side, Josh Ekness entered the day with a 1.00 ERA, 1.37 FIP, 15.00 K/9 and 4.00 BB/9 in five appearances before allowing three runs this afternoon. Other notable bullpen options include Jack Ralston, Zach Brzykcy and Zach McCambley.

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MIAMI, FL — Jakob Marsee entered Tuesday's game struggling at the plate. He came into the game slashing .149/.279/.207/.486 for the season, but has remained in the Miami Marlins everyday lineup. The team's patience with him paid off with a three-hit game despite their 5-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

There had been positive signs in Marsee's underlying stats. Despite the bad production, the center fielder was walking 14.4% of the time. He ranked in the 90th percentile among MLB hitters in chase rate and 96th percentile in whiff rate. He still has had a good approach, so eventually, the hits were going to fall for him.

"It's not like we were waiting on it, but we expect that," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "Marsee is going to string together a good run. He's just too talented offensively. He does too many things well with how he controls the strike zone and I think it was just a matter of time. Hope he can take a night like tonight, where you get three knocks, and be able to build a little steam and move forward. Really good sign again to see him get to some heaters tonight for base hits."

Marsee hit his first home run of the season in leadoff fashion. It was also an unorthodox home run trot because he had to start running the bases when the ball was originally ruled to have bounced off the right field wall and stayed in play. He was thrown out at third base by Jordan Walker...until the umpires discussed it and correctly signaled a home run.

"Thought it was a home run off the bat," Marsee said. "I saw it hit the wall, but they didn't say anything, so I just kept running. Might as well get a triple, I guess."

It's the first leadoff homer for a Marlin since Xavier Edwards on Aug. 13, 2025 at Cleveland. Marsee was previously 1-for-20 when leading off a game.

The 110.9 mph exit velocity was a new season-high for Marsee and very close to the best mark from his rookie season (111.1 mph).

Marsee had singles in both the bottom of the fifth and ninth, but he was never driven in as the Marlins were 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position (Heriberto Hernández was responsible for that only hit).

"We had our chances, we did," McCullough said. "We ran a couple trail runners, ran ourselves into some outs there that you never know what may transpire after that. You're looking to try to give yourselves as many chances you can and we didn't, and we had some guys out there, but we didn't quite cash in."

Paddack, who through his last three appearances posted a 2.35 ERA, struggled against the Cardinals, allowing five runs on eight hits, one walk and struck out a season-high seven. The positive from Paddack's start is that six of the seven strikeouts came on his changeup. He mentioned that it was "probably the best it's been all year." His changeup generated seven total whiffs and landed four times for a first-pitch strike.

However, things went wrong right away in the top of the first inning. Alec Burleson drove in JJ Wetherholt to take an early 1-0 lead. In the top of the third, Burleson reached on a fielder's choice because Connor Norby aggressively went for the play at home and was unsuccessful, giving St. Louis a 2-1 lead. In the top of the fourth inning, Nathan Church hit his second home run of the season. It was a two-run homer that went 370 feet to right field. A Nolan Gorman base hit drove in the fifth run.

"I tip my cap to that offense," Paddack said. "I feel like they put together some really good swings on some tough pitches. I was looking in between pitches with Rob (Marcello) and (Daniel Moskos) there just like, 'Man, that pitch is out of the zone,' or 'That pitch is exactly where we wanted it and they put a good swing on it,' especially Burleson and (Masyn) Winn. That was my game plan, and they were able to beat us to it."

Paddack surrendered nine hard-hit balls and the Cardinals combined for a 89.4 mph average exit velocity. Through five appearances (four starts), he has a 6.37 ERA, though his 4.63 FIP, 3.52 xFIP, 9.37 K/9 and 2.25 BB/9 suggest that he has been a little bit unlucky.

The Marlins fall to 11-13 on the season and now go into a rubber match with Janson Junk on the mound at 12:10 pm.

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For the 2026 season, Fish On First will provide weekly reports on the Miami Marlins farm system, covering all levels. Here's the third edition of our Fish On First Prospects Report, which includes several important injury updates near the bottom of the page.

This report covers the games played from April 14-19.

Triple-A Jacksonville

Although as a team the Jumbo Shrimp are struggling offensively, catcher Joe Mack has begun to heat up, slashing .235/.391/.451/.842 with three home runs and six RBI. He finishes the week as the Fish On First Prospect of the Week. In the series against Charlotte Knights, he hit two of his three jacks.

Defensively, Mack continues to impress, throwing out seven base-stealers (30% caught stealing rate) and the Jacksonville pitching staff has a team ERA of 3.17 following Sunday's series finale. Mack has not only established himself as the best catcher in the Marlins organization, but in Minor League Baseball. He is making the case to receive the call-up soon.

Fish On First Prospects (@fofprospects) • Instagram photos and videos

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58 likes, 1 comments - fofprospects on April 20, 2026: "Mack attack! 🔥 With a standout week at the plate, including two home runs in three games, catcher Joe Mack is our Prospect of the...

On the mound, Robby Snelling continues to show why he shouldn't throw another pitch in Jacksonville. In his most recent start, he worked six shutout innings, allowing just two hits and one walk. He struck out nine and lowered his season ERA to 1.89. He is up to 31 strikeouts against just nine walk in 19 innings this season. Snelling's fastball topped out at 96.8 mph and generated six whiffs.

Although it has been an inconsistent season for former top pitching prospect Dax Fulton, in his most recent start, he looked like his vintage self, striking out 10 in six shutout innings. He generated five whiffs each on both his curveball and four-seam fastball (12 total between all his pitches). He topped out at 96.6 mph and averaged 94.4 mph with his fastball. 

Thomas White made his Triple-A season debut. In four innings of work, he allowed two runs on two hits (one home run), no walks and eight strikeouts. His fastball topped out at 96.3 mph, averaged 95.9 mph and he generated two whiffs on the pitch. After some early concerns about his command/control, he put those to rest, at least in this start against a solid Chicago White Sox AAA lineup.

Bradley Blalock has impressed with a 2.25 ERA, but also a 4.99 FIP (3.73 xFIP). He has posted a 7.65 K/9 and 2.25 BB/9 in 20 innings pitched. Opposing hitters are elevating the ball quite a bit against the former Colorado Rockies pitcher and there is some clear luck involved. Maybe within time things balance out a bit, but Blalock has shown that he is some solid depth.

The one Jumbo Shrimp reliever to highlight from this past week of games is No. 27 prospect Josh Ekness, who through five appearances, has a 1.00 ERA, 1.38 FIP, 15.00 K/9 and 4.00 BB/9. In his most recent appearance, his fastball topped out at 99.1 mph and averaged 97.9 mph. His sweeper also continues to be a good pitch, which generated one whiff in his lone inning of work.

Double-A Pensacola

Pensacola started to fully find their offensive stride in their series against Knoxville. They won the first game of the series before dropping three straight, including a very close game on Thursday night, then exploded for 20 total runs in the final two games to split the series. They bested Knoxville in run differential, 34-32.

After a sluggish 3-for-35 start, Fenwick Trimble’s bat came alive in a big way against the Smokies. In five games, he went 7-for-20 with two doubles, three walks and three strikeouts. Trimble had been struggling with whiffs, his second at the Double-A level after spending 54 games there last season, but that has begun to improve. He’s more of a gap-to-gap type bat, but he owns plus speed that has already allotted him six stolen bases. Historically, he has also been a very patient hitter, having walked at a 16% rate in 2025. If Trimble is starting to get back to those good habits, he profiles as a speedy outfielder capable of playing all three spots and being a catalytic table-setter, or at the very least, a fourth outfielder with value off the bench. A more extended look in the upper minors will tell us more.

It’s hard for Dillon Lewis not to make his presence felt when he enters a game, both figuratively and literally. The 6’3”, 205 pound specimen had another impressive series against the Smokies, going 4-for-17 with three extra base hits, including two home runs. He’s currently riding a nine-game on-base streak.

As with many power hitters, Lewis has been a bit susceptible to the strikeout, but the whiff rate isn’t egregious, currently sitting at 27%. What’s more is that Lewis has also shown a pretty good eye at the plate, having walked at a 12% clip. His approach entails working counts, forcing pitchers into the zone, and letting natural tools do the rest. When Lewis makes contact, the ball travels very far. Monitoring the consistency of those contact rates as he continues in the upper minors will be our M.O. as we determine how close to his very high ceiling he can get. My opinion? Bet the over.

High-A Beloit

After a tough start to their series against South Bend, the Sky Carp ended their series in exciting fashion, throwing a combined no-hitter, the team’s first since being affiliated with Miami and their first overall since 2017. They still lost the series four games to two, though, and head to Lake County still looking for their first series victory of the season. Pitching has struggled mightily as a whole for Beloit. Even after their no-no, the club owns a 5.81 ERA, third-highest in the Midwest League. Their 82 walks are second most on the circuit.

Aiden May started the Sky Carp’s no-no on Sunday and worked six complete frames on two walks, a hit batter and five strikeouts. This outing came after he worked into the sixth in his last start and came within one out of posting a quality start. This outing, the best of his career, had to feel good for May, who missed the entire first half last season due to an elbow procedure. He also did not throw after being drafted in 2024.

Behind schedule due to that missed time, May is starting to show what he is capable of when he has everything working. He isn’t going to light up scoresheets with strikeouts, but he pitches to contact well with a 93-95 mph sinker. His best pitch is a sweeper, which has divebombing action. His changeup, which is his work-in-progress pitch, also looked good in this start, flashing good fade in to same-side hitters. There’s reliever risk with May because he throws with effort and hasn't demonstrated that he can handle a substantial workload, but if he can build off his last two outings and continue to throw well, he still has the ceiling of a back-end rotational piece.

Another pitcher that stood out for Beloit in this series due to a plus raw stuff profile and due to starting to show better control was lefty reliever Justin Storm. He pitched a total of five scoreless innings in the series, including the final three of Sunday’s no-hitter. He put control woes in his first two outings of the season behind him and recorded five strikeouts to just one walk while allowing just one hit. At 6’7”, 232, Storm has a lot of moving parts and a large frame to control, but when he is doing so, these are the exports. His best pitch is a wipeout slider which he combines with a fastball that sits 94 and can touch 96. He experienced a velo bump last year, helping his cause en route to saving nine games in 12 chances for the Sky Carp.

No hitter?! That’s a no-brainer 🔥 For the first time since 2017, @atm_24_ and @justinrstorm secured a no-hitter against the South Bend Cubs 🔥 pic.twitter.com/NlOZiU5xZH

— Beloit Sky Carp (@beloitskycarp) April 19, 2026

If Storm can stay repeatable, he has the ceiling of a high-leverage reliever. He’s also proving that he’s capable of tossing multiple innings effectively. 

Low-A Jupiter

Carter Johnson hit his second home run of the season this weekend, improving his season slash line to .224/.361/.429/.790 with two home runs and eight RBI. The biggest concern remains his 35.1% strikeout rate that he had going into Sunday. Johnson may not amount to much, but his start to the season is encouraging given his struggles last season.

Jake McCutcheon, a 10th-round pick from Missouri State in the 2025 MLB Draft, wrapped up the week with a two-homer performance and is now slashing .231/.404/.436/.840. With High-A Beloit lacking outfield depth right now due to injuries, McCutcheon could be promoted soon if this hot streak continues.

On the mound, Keyner Benitez made his second start of the season against the Palm Beach Cardinals, going five innings, allowing two runs on one hit (home run) and struck out eight. His fastball topped out at 97.1 mph and averaged 94.8 mph. He generated six whiffs on his changeup and three of his eight K's came on that pitch.

Walin Castillo tossed five innings of shutout baseball, allowing three hits, no walks and struck out four. Castillo's fastball topped out at 96.4 mph, averaged 94.5 mph and generated four whiffs. Castillo's performance is worth taking with a grain of salt because he had 135 ⅔ innings of Low-A experience prior to this season.

Nate Payne, who the Marlins selected in the 18th round of the 2024 draft, is off to a great start. Through three appearances (two starts), Payne has a 1.50 ERA, 1.76 FIP, 18.75 K/9 and 5.25 BB/9 in 12 innings pitched. Most recently, Payne went four innings, allowing one run (unearned) on two hits, walked four and struck out a career-high 11 hitters. Payne's fastball continues to be a dominant pitch, generating 14 whiffs and accounting for 10 of his 11 strikeouts (all swinging).

Injuries/Rehab

Maximo Acosta (oblique strain) was reinstated from the injured list and optioned to Jacksonville on Monday after a three-game rehab assignment. Esteury Ruiz (oblique strain) will continue his own assignment for at least two more games, while Christopher Morel (yet another oblique strain) plays his first game with the Jumbo Shrimp on Tuesday.

Will Schomberg (Pensacola) was removed from his last start after just two innings. He will undergo Tommy John surgery, sources tell FOF, sidelining him for the rest of 2026 and part of 2027.

Dillon Head remains active for Beloit, but has not played since April 11 due to an unspecified issue.

For complete Marlins MiLB injury updates, bookmark this page.

This week's MiLB schedule

• Triple-A Jacksonville at Gwinnett
• Double-A Pensacola at Montgomery
• High-A Beloit vs. Great Lakes 
• Low-A Jupiter vs. Daytona

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On April 21, 2025, Agustín Ramírez began his major league career with high expectations. He was arguably the top position player prospect in the Miami Marlins organization, with an impactful bat that could be plugged into the middle of the order, plus the ability to play catcher on a part-time basis.

Tuesday marks one full year of the "Gus Bus" experience. It has been a mixed bag.

For starters, Ramírez has been durable. With few exceptions, the Marlins have started him as their designated hitter on days when he isn't catching, using him in 158 total games. That easily leads the team over the past calendar year (Otto Lopez ranks second with 145 games). Ramírez also has the most plate appearances (676) and runs scored (83) since debuting, trailing only All-Star Kyle Stowers in home runs (23).

However, the overall quality of his hitting has been below average. Ramírez's career slash line of .230/.288/.408/.696 with a 90 wRC+ (100 represents league average). The results are pretty much the same regardless of whether he's facing left-handed or right-handed pitching.

Ramírez offers an exciting combination of raw power and contact ability. He has one of MLB's fastest bat speeds and a career strikeout rate of 19.8%. His career hard-hit rate is 45.3%, similar to the likes of Marcell Ozuna and Teoscar Hernández.

Even with a full year body of work, it's fair to say that Ramírez has been the victim of bad luck. Hitters with his batted ball quality usually perform well on balls in play, but his career BABIP is only .255, which is 36 points below the league average during that span. He should see some improvement moving forward, especially if he reduces his ground balls.

Ramírez has been worse than replacement level according to both Baseball-Reference (-0.6 bWAR) and FanGraphs (-0.1 fWAR), and that is mainly because of his defense.

Used exclusively as a catcher, Ramírez has totaled minus-16 defensive runs saved and minus-14 fielding run value. He leads MLB catchers with 13 errors and 22 passed balls since the start of 2025. There have been 100 stolen bases with him behind the plate compared to only 10 runners caught stealing, as his pop time is inconsistent and he frequently mishandles the ball when transferring it from his glove.

While some of these weaknesses are physical, Ramírez told Fish On First earlier this month that "the mental side has been the biggest thing for me" regarding the transition from the minors to the majors.

Marlins manager Clayton McCullough insists that there have been "real strides" made by the 24-year-old since his rookie season. "I think all the work he put in this offseason has continued to put, it's showing." Ramírez has also added a bit of value with his usage of the new ABS challenge system, overturning 14 balls into called strikes on 21 challenges (a 66.7% success rate).

Unfortunately, big mistakes overshadow his small improvements. On this homestand alone, Ramírez effectively lost the Marlins a game on Friday when he was unable to make a catch in the 10th inning, and his poor blocking allowed the St. Louis Cardinals to manufacture runs on two separate occasions during's Monday game (which Miami won).

With terrific catching prospect Joe Mack on track to reach the majors this summer, Ramírez is certain to see a more limited workload defensively. The question will be whether his bat heats up enough to still keep him in the lineup on a daily basis.

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Following his strong start on Monday, Marlins right-hander Max Meyer speaks with the media about his comfort level with his sweeper and how he'd evaluate his 2026 season thus far.

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MIAMI, FL — Max Meyer has been perhaps the most consistent Miami Marlins starting pitcher this season. On Monday night against a St. Louis Cardinals team that is off to a hot start, he turned in his best start so far in a 5-3 win for the Marlins. Meyer struck out a season-high eight in 5 ⅓ innings of work. He allowed two runs on three hits and walked two.

"It was really his whole mix," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "Certainly the slider goes into games, and even though the sweeper, the velocity at which he's able to throw those pitches kind of gets different movement on it. Some get a harder, more straight down; the sweeper has a little more horizontal. I thought his changeup was really good, especially in the middle innings, to be able to go to that pitch as well, even right-on-right to give him a different look. He used his fastball well today."

In addition to the strikeouts, Meyer also fielded three grounders, singlehandedly recording 11 outs on a night when he faced 23 total batters. His 63.6% ground ball rate was another season-high and the fifth-highest of his career.

Meyer is most known for his slider, but his sweeper had the higher usage against St. Louis (32%) and was responsible for eight of his 17 whiffs. It's a weapon he has been developing since 2025.

"One of my biggest pitches now. Grades out the best, I'm pretty sure," Meyer said regarding the sweeper. "I'm glad I can locate it with two strikes and get strikes with it, go back door with it, throw it in 3-2 counts and 0-0 counts. I'm just comfortable with the grip and the movement on it, and it's going to be a big pitch for me the whole season."

Now through five starts, Meyer has a 3.96 ERA, 3.49 FIP, 10.08 K/9 and 3.96 BB/9. Prior to this season, his career averages were a 5.29 ERA, 5.20 FIP, 8.46 K/9 and 2.89 BB/9.

"I've made some good starts every time, giving the team a chance to win," Meyer said regarding his season as a whole. "Every time I go out there, obviously, I think it's just a couple things every game that make me mad personally, but I can never be mad when I leave the game with the team in a good spot, so that always keeps me going in the next day.."

Agustín Ramírez's defensive woes continued with Meyer on the mound. In the top of the fourth inning, after Jordan Walker extended his hit streak to 15 games, he stole second base uncontested because Ramírez dropped the ball on the transfer. Walker then advanced to third on a blockable wild pitch. That allowed Masyn Winn to hit a sac fly and give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.

The second run charged to Meyer was also aided by Ramírez. In the top of the sixth inning, Calvin Faucher inherited a runner on first base, who moved to third following a Masyn Winn single. Once again, a ball deflected off of Ramírez's glove for what was ruled a wild pitch, allowing the runner to score and tie the game.

Miami's offense didn't get things going until the bottom of the fourth when unconventional cleanup hitter Xavier Edwards hit his fifth double of the season. 

Although Ramírez may have struggled behind the plate, he did make it up by hitting his second home run of the season off of Cardinals starter Michael McGreevy. The ball left the bat at 111.8 mph and went 411 feet to left-center field. The launch angle on Ramirez's home run was 17 degrees, the lowest for any MLB home run this season.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Marlins retook the lead for good. Otto Lopez had an RBI double and Liam Hicks collected an RBI single.

Hicks provided some insurance for Miami with another RBI single in the eighth. Not only is he tied for the MLB lead with 21 RBI this season, but his 6.3% strikeout rate is the second-lowest mark behind former Marlin Luis Arraez.

The Marlins are well-represented in the National League batting title race. Edwards (.341 BA), Hicks (.338 BA) and Lopez (.337 BA) trail only Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages (.370 BA).

Pete Fairbanks, who notched his fourth save of the season, allowed one run, a sac fly from Ramón Urías. He struck out Thomas Saggese and José Fermín to end the game.

Unable to win any of their previous five series, the Marlins have an opportunity to end that streak on Tuesday night with Chris Paddack on the mound at 6:40 pm.

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MIAMI, FL — Between his last three starts, Marlins starter Eury Pérez had a 6.23 ERA, 6.05 FIP and walked 10 opposing hitters. On Sunday afternoon, Pérez came out with the high socks look in the Florida Marlins teal jersey and delivered a much-needed quality start in what wound up being a 5-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Pérez, who just turned 23 years old earlier this week, tossed six innings, allowing one run (unearned) on three hits, one walk and struck out seven.

Pérez relied on his four-seam fastball even more than usual, throwing it 67% of the time. He generated nine whiffs, landed it nine times for a first-pitch strike and six of his seven strikeouts came on that pitch.

"He had a really good fastball today," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said following the game. " It was his ability to get ahead of people and throw his secondaries appropriately. We saw the the firmness and velocity on some of the secondary pitches, which I think leads a lot to the conviction behind those. It was nice to see upper 80s, 90 on some of the sliders. I just really felt like he was in a really good rhythm."

This may not be a recipe for long-term success, but it certainly worked in this situation. Pérez improved his career ERA at loanDepot park to 2.45 (compared to 5.09 on the road).

The Marlins manager wasn't able to watch the majority of Pérez's start in person because in the top of the second inning, he was ejected for the first time in 2026. Marlins first baseman Connor Norby received a pickoff attempt while standing several feet away from the bag, something that the team has done for the majority of the season, but never been penalized for. First base umpire Cory Blaser called a balk and McCullough came out of the dugout for a lengthy discussion before Blaser kicked him out.

"It's a gray area where nowhere it says how far an individual has to be off the base," McCullough said. "We have encouraged our first baseman to get further off the base to get those throws to the inside there. It's a closer and shorter throw and with replay now, a lot of the outs occur tagging guys on the body before the hand gets there. He's been in that spot the entire season. It hasn't been called. I think it's such a gray area where it's subjective to who the individual [umpire] is."

The Marlins have been generous with providing run support when Pérez is on the mound. Even with the equally talented Jacob Misiorowski pitching for the Brewers, that was not an issue on Sunday.

A wild pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the first inning allowed Jakob Marsee to score. Agustin Ramirez grounded into a double play, but Xavier Edwards was able to score on that. Liam Hicks collected another RBI, driving in Otto Lopez, taking an early 3-0 lead.

With Misiorowski out of the game, Javier Sanoja drove in two more in the bottom of the sixth, singling through a drawn-in infield. That put the Marlins up 5-1.

The Brewers made a late push in the top of the eighth inning with lefty Andrew Nardi on the mound. With the bases loaded, catcher Gary Sanchez singled to drive in two runs, making it a 5-3 game. The Marlins turned to Calvin Faucher, who on one pitch, got William Contreras to fly out to end the inning.

Kyle Stowers started in left field and hit cleanup in his season debut. The Marlins 2025 All-Star was welcomed back with a 101.5 mph fastball that struck the fingers of his right hand, but he remained in the game.

"Took it off the hand, so certainly worried in the moment, but all the bones in the hand seemed okay and then I think after the inning, he was fine," McCullough said. "For him to go out there and collect a couple hits was huge. I'm sure, great for him to come right in and contribute and get off to a nice start. The swings look very aggressive, looked balanced, so great to have Kyle back."

In the bottom of the fifth, Stowers hit a double (101.4 mph exit velocity) and in the seventh, he hit a single to the pull side. It should be noted, he was not running the bases at full speed, which is understandable coming off a hamstring injury.

Pete Fairbanks notched his third save of the season (his first since March 28), striking out the first two batters and then Blake Perkins grounded out to second base to end the game.

The Marlins improve to 10-12, remaining second in the National League East. They will welcome the St. Louis Cardinals for a three-game home series beginning on Monday.

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MIAMI, FL — Sandy Alcantara thought Saturday was going to be a bounce-back start after a tough go in Detroit. He took the mound at loanDepot park having thrown "the best bullpen ever" prior to the game, but that did not translate to the game itself. Alcantara's command was completely off and the Marlins fell to the Milwaukee Brewers by a final score of 5-2. It's the club's third straight series loss.

In five innings of work, Alcantara walked six, matching a career-high. Of the 24 batters he faced, he only landed 13 first-pitch strikes. His efficiency was not displayed, as he allowed multiple baserunners in every inning with the exception of the top of the first.

"Just uncharacteristically struggling with the strike zone today," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "He really battled and grinded."

Sandy Alcantara told us that he felt like he threw one of his bullpens ever, but it wasn’t able to translate to the actual game.

“It wasn’t good today.”#Marlins @FishOnFirst pic.twitter.com/6ESJXVOjtx

— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) April 18, 2026

After a nine-pitch top of the first, Alcantara struggled in the second inning, throwing 24 pitches. In the top of the third inning, Alcantara walked the bases loaded, but was bailed out by Gary Sanchez's inning-ending double play. He threw 20 pitches in the third.

Brewers left fielder Brandon Lockridge knocked in an RBI single in the top of the fourth inning, tying the game, 1-1. In the ensuing inning, second baseman Brice Turang hit his fourth home run of the season, extending Milwaukee's lead, 3-1. Alcantara served Turang a cutter that landed middle-middle, and the second baseman took it 402 feet to right-center field.

Alcantara's best pitch, his changeup, just was not there, but as the Marlins ace described it, "I wasn't controlling anything today." His changeup generated four whiffs, did not land for a first pitch strike and hitters had an average exit velo of 98.4 mph.

Miami's bullpen has also continued to struggle, with Anthony Bender coming into the game for Alcantara, he surrendered two runs on one hit and was not able to get out of the inning, only getting two outs. Bender now has an 8.22 ERA in 7 ⅔ innings pitched.

"He's such an important part of our bullpen and our team," McCullough said. "We've seen that on so many occasions, and right now, he's struggling to find the strike zone with the type of consistency that he needs to be successful, which is no secret. He knows that he's better than that right now. He's overthrown a little bit, and maybe trying to do a little bit too much."

Connor Norby continues to ride the hot bat, now with a hit in nine of this last ten games. In the bottom of the second inning, Norby put the Marlins on the board with his seventh RBI of the season. That was the only damage they were able to do against Brandon Woodruff in his seven strong innings of work.

The Marlins made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth. Three straight singles loaded the bases for Heriberto Hernández, who grounded into a force out that scored Jakob Marsee. Javier Sanoja grounded out to end the game. Miami finished the game going 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

The Marlins dropped to 9-12 on the season and will look to avoid the sweep on Sunday. In a piece of positive news, Kyle Stowers will be reinstated from the 10-day injured list prior to the series finale.

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MIAMI, FL — On Saturday, before the Miami Marlins and the Milwaukee Brewers played the second of their three-game series, manager Clayton McCullough announced that Kyle Stowers (Grade 1 right hamstring strain) will be reinstated from the injured list on Sunday. The corresponding roster move has not been shared yet.

Stowers, who only played in six spring training games, required a longer than usual rehab assignment, playing in five games with Triple-A Jacksonville, going 3-for-17. In his final rehab game, Stowers made his first professional start at first base, playing the entire game at the position.

"Everything from the rehab checked out," McCullough said. "He continued to check the necessary boxes. Certainly, there was a physical component with how he felt, how the hamstring was. He got back-to-back nine inning games and he came out of that feeling like he's in a really good spot physically. I think mentally now he feels like, okay, 'I'm over this,' so Kyle is here today, and we'll have Kyle ready to go tomorrow."

Last season, Stowers was the Marlins All-Star representative and slashed .288/.368/.544/.912 with 25 home runs, 73 RBI and a 149 wRC+. He finished the season on the injured list, suffering a left oblique strain. The last time Stowers played in a major league game was on August 15, 2025, against the Boston Red Sox.

"He's certainly a huge part offensively of what we can do," McCullough said. "It helps really lengthen out the lineup. The type of season that he had last year, the power, on base that he displayed...Getting Kyle will really be a nice, a nice boost. Kyle is a really steady teammate. A lot of guys lean on him. He's not usually too up or down. I think he handles things in stride very well. A lot of that probably is due to his path of getting here, and he's been knocked down a lot, but he keeps getting up. Kyle brings a lot on both fronts, on the field and behind the scenes."

Expect Stowers to be in the everyday lineup—it's just a matter of how his playing time will be split between the corner outfield spots and first base. The Marlins are big on versatility and will be using it with as many players as they can.

The Marlins enter Saturday with an 9-11 record, having lost six of their last seven games. Brandon Woodruff and Sandy Alcantara are the starting pitchers for the 4:10 pm contest.

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The last time Pete Fairbanks took the mound for the Miami Marlins was on April 5. He was then placed on the paternity list, activated on April 9, and he watched all the action from the bullpen during the series finale against the Cincinnati Reds, the weekend series against the Detroit Tigers and the first game against the Atlanta Braves.

Marlins manager Clayton McCullough determined in advance that Fairbanks needed to pitch on Tuesday, nine days removed from his most recent appearance. A high-leverage situation arose in the eighth inning, with the Marlins leading 5-3 and the heart of Atlanta's lineup due up. In his lone inning of work, the veteran closer was unsuccessful, surrendering three runs on three hits and taking the loss.

"He was going to pitch in that game, and when it got to that point in the eighth, I thought, 'let's go ahead and ensure that he gets his inning of work in today,' and we'd be fine in the ninth," McCullough said postgame. "It just didn't work out."

Dominic Smith, who was up at the plate with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, hit a bases-clearing double to give the Braves a 6-5 lead, their first of the game. Fairbanks threw a slider that landed right down the middle.

"I wanted that pitch," Fairbanks said. "Things didn't work out, wasn't executed properly, double in the gap. Lose a game, part of the process. That's obviously the real tough part of it, but it is what it is. I'm not going to go out there and second guess what I wanted to throw or what we wanted to throw."

This marked Fairbanks' first blown save as a member of the Marlins. For the Tampa Bay Rays last season, he converted 27 of 32 save opportunities.

Fairbanks rarely pitched in the eighth inning last season, but the Marlins made it clear that they would be utilizing him earlier in games when appropriate. This was one of those times considering that Atlanta's two most productive bats of 2026, Drake Baldwin and Matt Olson, were due to come to the plate.

The bigger issue here is that the Marlins threw Fairbanks into this important spot coming off such an extended stretch of inactivity. He was not in a position to perform up to his usual standards.

Fairbanks' fastball topped out at 98.3 mph, averaged 96.7 mph and generated four whiffs. Of his 26 pitches, 19 of them landed for strikes. Fairbanks believed that his release points weren't exactly where they were supposed to be, resulting in pitches up in the zone, but he was pleased with the overall shapes.

"Go to bed, try not to take it with you," Fairbanks said regarding his mentality following a blown save. "You get mad for a little bit, then you let it go and you show up and do your job the next day."

On a positive note, the Marlins offense picked up right where they left off on Monday, combining for nine total hits. In the top of the first inning, the Fish attacked Reynaldo Lopez right away with a sacrifice fly from Agustín Ramírez.

In the following inning, Connor Norby laced an RBI single, extending his hitting streak to seven games. Atlanta native Graham Pauley smacked his fifth double of the season, driving in Norby. Jakob Marsee secured a multi-hit game on an RBI single, giving Miami a commanding 4-0 lead through just two innings.

Max Meyer for a second straight start gave the Marlins five innings of work, allowing three runs on five hits, one walk and struck out five. He averaged 16.4 pitches per inning, topping out at 21 in the second and 20 in the fifth. In the bottom of the third inning, he surrendered back-to-back RBI doubles to Baldwin and Olson.

Surprisingly, Meyer's sweeper was his most-used pitch on Tuesday instead of his slider. Throwing the sweeper 26% of the time, he generated six whiffs, including a swinging strikeout of Mauricio Dubón in the bottom of the fifth.

Meyer remains the only Marlins starting pitcher who has not surpassed five innings pitched this season.

In the eighth, Otto Lopez added an RBI single to give Fairbanks some breathing room, but it wasn't enough as things turned out.

The Marlins drop to 9-9 on the season, now looking for the series win on Wednesday at 7:15 pm with Chris Paddack on the mound.

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For the 2026 season, Fish On First will provide weekly reports on the Miami Marlins farm system, covering all levels. Here's the second edition of our Fish On First Prospect Report, which includes several important injury updates near the bottom of the page.

This report covers the games played from April 7-12.

Triple-A Jacksonville

The big story this past week was left-handed pitcher Robby Snelling (Fish On First No. 2 prospect), who struck out 12 over five innings of work in his last start against the Norfolk Tides. For his performance, he was named Fish On First Prospect Minor League Player of the Week.

Snelling's best weapon that night was his fastball, which generated half of his strikeouts. The pitch topped out at 96.4 mph and averaged 94.0 mph. He landed his four-seam all three times for first-pitch strikes. The only concern is that the velocity of the pitch went down as the game progressed, averaging as low as 92.8 mph in the fourth inning.

Four of Snelling's strikeouts came on his curveball and the other two on his changeup. His changeup generated six whiffs, more than any other pitch that night.

Robby Snelling fired up after strikeout #12 🤩

Scoreless start for him tonight with Jacksonville. pic.twitter.com/MPZJsXFJ04

— Fish On First (@FishOnFirst) April 11, 2026

Although many years removed from being a prospect, Braxton Garrett dazzled in his last start, going six shutout innings, not allowing a hit and striking out six. Garrett was named the International League Pitcher of the Week for April 6-12. Through his first three starts this season, he has a 0.59 ERA, 2.75 FIP, 9.98 K/9 and 2.93 BB/9 through 15 ⅓ innings pitched.

Fastball velocity continues to not be very impressive, topping out at 92.8 mph and averaging 90.7 mph. His secondary offerings have been great. All three whiffs on his slider came on strikeout pitches and was helped out by a high percentage of ground balls. Through his first three starts this season, he has a 64.5% ground ball rate, which is the highest of his career at any level. The high ground ball rate has allowed him to be efficient, averaging 11 pitches per inning in his last start.

Garrett isn't blowing anyone away, but he has been efficient, getting ground balls and mixing his pitches well. A call-up back to the big leagues shouldn't be far off.

On the offensive side, Jacob Berry has gotten off to a strong start, slashing .300/.370/.425/.795 with one home run, seven RBI and a 121 wRC+. After being known for slow starts, this is certainly a change of pace for the 24-year-old. Early results have shown him striking out only 17.4% of the time, which is less than his 2025 campaign (18.6 K%). For a second straight season, he is walking 10.9% of the time.

The downside continues to be his defense, committing five errors at third base. There is still no home defensively for Berry and that may hold him back from reaching the majors until there is a clear spot for him. He has played a little bit of right field and first base, but is below league average at those positions.

Double-A Pensacola

The Wahoos took to the road for the first time, trekking to Biloxi to take on the Shuckers. Overall, pitching struggled in the series paving the way for a Biloxi series win. The Wahoos had a minus-22 run differential.

Dillon Lewis, Fish on First’s fifth-ranked prospect, started to showcase his extremely loud tools in this series. He hit his first home run as a member of the Marlins organization on Wednesday and added three more hits over the course of the week, ending the series at 4-for-20. The 22-year-old also stole two bases.

Lewis is an optimal mix of size, strength and speed. He also showcases the ability not to get too overzealous and try to force power at the plate, keeping his actions fluid. For a hitter of his caliber, he has a fairly quiet approach and comes by extra bases easily due to both his ability to drive the ball and his foot speed which is well above average for an athlete of his stature. Long story short, this is a ball player in every sense of the word. As long as he continues to improve pitch recognition and keep his K rate within reason at the upper levels of the minors, there’s a very high ceiling for this player and potential to reach it in pretty short order.

Ian Lewis Jr., one of few Bahamians still in the Marlins organization (no relation to Dillon), made some noise over the weekend, particularly on Friday when he stole four bases. His primary offensive strength, Lewis accomplished the feat without the benefit of a hit. The marker set a Blue Wahoos single-game franchise record.

One of the longer tenured minor leaguers in the system, Lewis is pending minor league free agent participating at the Double-A level for the first time. While strikeouts have never been a huge problem for him, he also hasn’t earned an ordinate amount of walks. With the bat, he makes contact but does not drive the ball well and has struggled to keep it off the ground. Last season, he posted a 55% ground ball rate. Lewis doesn’t have to and likely will never hit for power, but he will need to at least start improving his bat speed and exit velocities if he is going to have a significant MLB impact. At the very least, Lewis is a plus defender and plus-plus pinch-runner off the bench.

High-A Beloit

It took another doubleheader, but the Sky Carp were able to get all of their games of a six game series in this week after being limited to just two games to open their season. Home at ABC Supply Stadium for the first time this year, they split the slate with Cedar Rapids. After dropping their Opening Day game, Beloit plated a whopping 35 runs the rest of the week, including 15 in the final game of the series.

Juan Matheus, who was part of the trade return for Ryan Weathers this offseason, hit three home runs in 2025. In the final game of this series, he hit two long balls, part of a 3-for-6, 10-total-base game. Along with the two homers marking his first career multi-homer game, his five RBI were also a career-high. The performance was the cherry on top of a great series for Matheus in which he went 8-for-23 with five extra base hits.

You wouldn’t know it by looking at the 5’11”, 155-pounder, but Matheus hits the ball hard at a consistent rate. He’s also put the ball in the air at a staunch pace, limiting his ground ball rate to around 40% yearly since joining the full-season ranks. Matheus is also a patient hitter who had limited strikeouts and held down solid walk rates including 12% at the highest level of pro ball he’s played at in 2025. One thing limiting Matheus’ ceiling is the fact that his batted ball profile is very pull heavy: he favored the pull side over 50% of the time last season, including 61% at High-A. With likely reaching his raw power ceiling, that pull-heavy propensity will be exploited at the next level. He will need to develop at least some ability to go the other way to reach a starter’s ceiling. That said, Matheus, who is a good fielder capable of playing multiple positions and who has good speed, has a solid floor as a future bench player. It’s nice to see him hitting consistently early in his Marlins tenure. Through eight games, he has a 179 wRC+.

It’s been quite a year already for Canadians in the Marlins organization. Catcher Connor Caskenette is no exception. The native of Duncan, British Columbia, owns one of the hottest starts to the season system wide, having gone 7 for his first 15 with two home runs and six RBI. He’s also recognizing High-A pitching very well, having walked eight times and struck out three times. Finally, he’s showing surprisingly good wheels especially for a backstop, having already stolen four bases.

The Marlins’ 12th-rounder in 2024, Caskenette is repeating High-A after being limited to 62 games between Beloit and Pensacola last season. Caskenette came out of the draft being scouted as a high-value pick for Miami, capable of plus average exit velocities and a high power production ceiling. The walks he’s put up against High-A stuff are also of little surprise to evaluators who lauded his low whiff rates and recognition of both velocity and offspeed pitches. Caskenette is definitely a bat-over-glove prospect, having committed 10 errors and allowed a whopping 130 steals on 144 attempts last season. It is highly likely he will move off the backstop position, possibly to first base or a corner outfield spot. The bat should carry him to a decent floor though especially if he continues to find fences and limit Ks.

Liomar Martinez struggled with control in his first outing of the season but he wiped the slate and rebounded nicely against the Kernels. Much more in and around the zone, the 6’2”, 165-pound righty worked five innings on three hits and two earned runs. He struck out nine and, most refreshing of all, did not walk a batter. Liomar averaged 95 mph with his fastball and reached as high as 98. He particularly impressed with his changeup that showed nice arm-side fade and sole vertical drop.

The first two starts of Liomar’s season sum him up pretty well: everything hinges on control consistency. A lanky arm who throws with high effort through a delivery that consists of a lot of moving parts, there’s reliever risk here, but good raw stuff gives him a solid floor.

With control consistency via quieter mechanics, Martinez has the ceiling of a back-end starter. The upper minors will be a crucial test for him. That step could be taken late this year or to start next year.

Low-A Jupiter

Both Luis Ramirez and Samuel Carpio are off to strong starts this season, yet to allow an earned run through their first three appearances. Ramirez, who the Marlins signed back in 2022, has recorded six strikeouts and zero walks through four inning of work. Carpio, who was signed just a year later, has three strikeouts in three innings pitched.

Walin Castillo, who is repeating Low-A, has posted a 1.29 ERA, 4.41 FIP, 9.00 K/9 and 6.43 BB/9 through seven innings pitched this season.

Offensively, Carter Johnson is slashing .192/.382/.346/.729 with one home run, three RBI and a 130 wRC+. Although you'll see a low batting average, he is getting on base by walking 20.6% of the time.

Abrahan Ramirez, who was acquired in the Jazz Chisholm Jr. trade in 2024, is repeating Low-A. Through the first eight games of the season, Ramirez is slashing .364/.462/.409/.871 with three RBI and a 166 wRC+. At 21 years old, he's still got plenty of time to develop, and as the season progresses, you should see a promotion to High-A.

Injuries/rehab

Fish On First has learned that right-hander Grant Shepardson will be undergoing Tommy John surgery in the near future. Shepardson, 20, was last seen pitching in last month's Spring Breakout game. He would've been assigned to Jupiter if healthy entering the regular season. Instead, he isn't expected to return to game action until mid-2027.

Outfielder Cam Cannarella is the latest early-round pick from the 2025 draft class to be sidelined. He fractured his left wrist during Saturday's Sky Cap game.

Kyle Stowers (Grade 1 right hamstring strain) participated in two rehab games with Jacksonville last week, going 1-for-6 with three strikeouts. His lone hit had an exit velo of 108.2 mph. As of this writing, Stowers is playing in his third rehab game and serving as the designated hitter.

In two rehab starts with Jupiter, Thomas White (oblique strain) tossed a combined six innings, allowing two runs (one home run) on three hits, 10 strikeouts and six walks. Control/command continues to be an issue for White, but sources tell FOF that he's been cleared to rejoin the Jumbo Shrimp. He will make his first AAA start of the season on Thursday.

This week's MiLB schedule

• Triple-A Jacksonville vs. Charlotte
• Double-A Pensacola vs. Knoxville
• High-A Beloit at South Bend
• Low-A Jupiter at Palm Beach

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After a series in Detroit where the Miami Marlins were swept and scored only three runs on 14 hits, they immediately bounced back to begin their first series against a National League East opponent. The Marlins scored 10 runs against the mighty Atlanta Braves in Monday's win, thanks to a season-high 16 hits.

"One through nine, really a terrific effort," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough after the game. "We moved the ball around the field. There were a lot of hits the other way. Early on, we took what we were given and stayed through the middle."

It all started in the top of the fourth inning, when Liam Hicks knocked in his 14th RBI of the season on a sac fly. Otto Lopez drove in a second run on an RBI single. Connor Norby capped off the inning with an RBI single, extending it to a 3-0 lead.

Tied at three in the top of the fifth inning, Agustín Ramírez unloaded for his first home run of the season, a three-run shot, retaking the lead, 6-3. The ball left the bat at 105.2 mph and went 418 feet to left field.

In the following inning, Norby hit his second home run of the season on the first pitch of his at-bat against Braves reliever Rolddy Muñoz. He took Muñoz 380 feet deep to left field to make it 7-4. Ramírez and Hicks then knocked in back-to-back RBI singles. Hicks also drove in the 10th Marlins run in the top of the eighth.

All nine guys in the Marlins lineup connected for base hits, with five of them having multi-hit days. Ramírez and Hicks combined to go 6-for-8 with seven RBI. This marked the first time since September 17, 2023 that Miami has scored 10 runs against the Braves.

Eury Pérez, who's coming off an up-and-down start against the Cincinnati Reds at home, saw similar results after the first inning of work on Monday. Pérez tossed four innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits. He walked two and struck out two.

Both of Pérez's strikeouts came in the bottom of the first inning, getting Ronald Acuña Jr. swinging with his sweeper and overpowering Matt Olson with a fastball to finish the inning. Pérez's fastball topped out at 100.3 mph and generated four whiffs. He located the fastball well early in counts, landing it for first-pitch strikes eight times on 10 attempts.

However, Pérez failed to record a strikeout from that point forward. His secondary offerings just weren't all that impressive (seven total whiffs). The Braves began sitting on his fastball, which he used 51% of the time, and crushing it.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Braves tacked on three runs. Back-to-back RBI singles for Austin Riley and Mike Yastrzemski made it a 3-2 game. A Dominic Smith sac fly tied it up.

Pérez finished the game averaging 19 pitches per inning. In that bottom of the fourth, he threw 30 pitches, which prevented him from going deeper into this start.

"He really came strong out of the gates, looked fantastic, but just lost a little feel in the latter part of his outing," McCullough said.

Still only 22 years old (turning 23 on Wednesday), Pérez has already shown a great fastball and a deep enough arsenal to be a complete starter. Clearly, though, there is a lot of room for improvement. He needs to mix his pitches better, and even on the mental side, he seems frustrated when things don't go well and that bleeds into his performance. Through four appearances this season, Pérez has a 5.40 ERA and the highest FIP on the entire Marlins pitching staff at 5.69, which shouldn't be the case given his talent.

Thankfully for Pérez, the Marlins bullpen had his back, allowing two hits through the remainder of the game. As a group, they struck out eight Bravos. Lake Bachar setting a season-high for himself with four of those.

With the win, the Marlins improve to 9-8 on the season. They will try to do the same again on Tuesday and take their first series against Atlanta since September 15-17, 2023. Max Meyer, who is coming off a fine start against the Reds, will take the mound for Miami.

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MIAMI, FL — When the Miami Marlins selected Max Meyer with the third pick of the 2020 MLB Draft, they envisioned a frontline starter who would be up with some of the best pitchers in franchise history. Fast-forward to 2026 and he's fallen short of that due to a variety of reasons, including injuries and a flawed pitch arsenal surrounding his signature slider.

On Thursday, in the Marlins' 8-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds, Meyer took the mound. In five innings of work, he allowed one run on four hits, three walks and four strikeouts. The lone run he surrendered was a solo homer from Sal Stewart in the top of the fifth inning.

“We saw some fastballs today in the mid-90s with really good carry," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. "I think he’s throwing it better than he has in the past. You pair that with the breaking stuff, the slider around 90 and the sweeper, and it makes him tough. I thought he did a really good job navigating some traffic early and was able to get out of it...As he settled in through the second, third, and fourth innings, he was able to get ahead more consistently, which allowed him to expand the zone and get some swings-and-misses down.”

Against the Reds, Meyer's slider was his most-used pitch at 32%, generating seven whiffs and two of his four strikeouts. The four-seam fastball, his second-most-used pitch of the afternoon, landed four out of five times for a first-pitch strike. His lone strikeout victim on that pitch was Elly De La Cruz.

In 2025, the sweeper was thrown 11.5% of the time and the sinker 13.7% of the time, his two least-used pitches. Early on, the sweeper has been thrown 20.6% of the time, his third most thrown pitch, but his sinker (8.8%), is his least thrown pitch.

High pitch counts for Meyer have limited how deep he can go into his starts. He has entered the seventh inning of a game three times in his career, but never completed the inning. On Thursday, he was averaging 17.4 pitches per inning.

"I just have to execute some of my two strike pitches a little bit better," Meyer said. "That leads to three more balls, and that's where I'm getting my walks because I'm not able to have a competitive 0-2 pitch. I have to clean that up, and I think those walks will go down and I'll be able to go a little bit deeper into the games."

In two-strike counts, Meyer struck out four, hitters went 2-for-10, but that includes the Stewart home run. For his career, hitters have a .643 OPS against him in two-strike counts. 

This was not a bad version of Meyer by no means, but it continues a trend of him being relatively inefficient. He has yet to complete six innings this season. Even when he's limiting the damage, the inability to work deep into games limits his overall value to the Marlins.

The Marlins wasted no time getting things going. In the bottom of the first inning, Xavier Edwards hit a triple, followed by a fielders choice from Agustín Ramírez, allowing Edwards to score.

Owen Caissie, who the Marlins are primarily using against right-handed pitching, smacked a 102.6 mph two-run RBI double, making it a 3-0 game. Javier Sanoja drove in the team's fourth and fifth runs. For both, this marked their second three-hit game of the season.

In the top of the sixth inning, with Spencer Steer up, Griffin Conine tried to dive for what ended up being a double, but wasn't able to make the catch and on top of that, hurt his left knee, being taken out of the game. Following the game, McCullough informed the media that Conine suffered left hamstring discomfort.

A source tells Fish On First that the Marlins are calling up Deyvison De Los Santos. This will mark his second stint in the big leagues. In his lone start in MLB, De Los Santos went 1-for-2 with a double. In Triple-A Jacksonville, he was slashing .259/.355/.630/.985 with three home runs and eight RBI. Expect a longer stay at the big league level this time around for Fish On First's No. 28 prospect.

With the win, the Marlins improve to 8-5 as they now hit the road for a weekend three-game series against the Detroit Tigers and then a three-game series against the division rival Atlanta Braves. First pitch on Friday is at 6:40 pm with Chris Paddack taking the mound.

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MIAMI, FL — It's been a strange start to the 2026 season for Connor Norby. Manning first base due to the absence of free agent signing Christopher Morel (oblique strain), Norby has taken nearly all of his defensive reps at a foreign position. Offensively, Norby has put up strong at-bats, but not gotten the results to match. Going into Wednesday night, Norby was slashing .167/.342/.233/.575 with one RBI. In the Miami Marlins' 7-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds, he had his first multi-hit game since Opening Day, including his first home run.

"This guy's always been a good hitter," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough pregame. "I think we're seeing better at-bat quality, and then the results, I believe, are going to follow that."

"I learned a lot from last year. This would've been one of those instances, like, this whole stretch, the at-bats are good...I can't ride that roller coaster of emotion like I did last year."

In the bottom of the seventh inning, with the Marlins leading 6-4, Norby took Reds reliever Connor Phillips deep. The ball left his bat at 100.5 mph and went 372 feet into the Marlins bullpen. That marked only the second home run by a Marlins right-handed hitter this season. Otto Lopez had the first (4/1/26 vs. Chicago White Sox).

"He got something down in the zone, and he’s good down there,” McCullough said. “It’s a good spot for him to hunt. He got something down and put a really nice trajectory on it out to left. Good swing."

Norby is also drawing walks at a 11.9% rate, which is nearly doubled his average from 2024-25.

“The kinds of counts he’s working and his calmness at the plate show a more patient version of him," McCullough added. "I think we started to see that toward the back half of spring training."

The Marlins scored just three total runs in their first two games against the Cincinnati Reds,. On Wednesday—facing a right-handed pitcher—their bats woke up, knocking out Brady Singer after 2 ⅔ innings pitched. They scored seven runs to win their seventh game of the young campaign.

Agustín Ramírez got the scoring started in the bottom of the first inning, driving in Xavier Edwards on a 110.6 mph RBI double. Liam Hicks' 13th RBI of the season tied the game at two apiece.

Jakob Marsee's 100.3 mph RBI single gave the Marlins a 3-2 lead in the second. Marsee entered Wednesday with an identical 41.6% hard-hit rate as his rookie season, but poor results to show for it. His luck is gradually beginning to even out. He was driven in by Edwards on an RBI single, which made it 4-2.

In the third, Griffin Conine hit his second home run of the season, a two-run shot. The ball left the bat at 109.8 mph and went 403 feet into right field. Conine, who has only 23 plate appearances so far, is now slashing .300/.391/.650/1.041 with two home runs and four RBI. 

“Griff has impact potential,” McCullough said. “He really smoked that ball to right-center as well...When he squares it up, he has the ability to do some damage.”

After Leo Jiménez notched his third hit as a Marlin, Singer was taken out.

Eury Pérez, looking to bounce back after a rough outing against the New York Yankees, looked better command-wise, but still allowed four runs (two earned) in five innings of work. He also struck out six.

His sweeper, which is the newest pitch to his arsenal, was his second-most-used pitch on Wednesday night. He generated four whiffs with it, three of which resulted in strikeouts.

It took 35 pitches for Pérez to make it through the top of the first inning partly due to some rough defense. With a runner on second, Sal Stewart hit what should've been an inning-ending groundout, but 3B Graham Pauley committed a rare fielding error, which allowed the runner to score and give the Reds an early 1-0 lead. An RBI double from World Baseball Classic legend Eugenio Suárez followed, extending the lead to 2-0.

In the top of the fifth, Pérez surrendered a two-run shot to Stewart, his third home run of the season. The Miami native launched a changeup 381 feet deep to left field, trimming Miami's lead to 6-4.

“Only five innings and 95 pitches—it was a strange one,” McCullough said. “There weren’t many hard-hit balls outside of Stewart’s home run. It seemed like they were just able to move a few balls forward and extend some innings, which drove the pitch count up early.”

With the win, the Marlins improved to 7–5 on the season. On getaway day, Max Meyer will take the mound for an early 12:10 p.m. first pitch.

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MIAMI, FL — The final stage of Kyle Stowers' recovery from a right hamstring strain begins Friday night when he is scheduled to play his first minor league rehab game with Triple-A Jacksonville. Stowers left Miami on Thursday afternoon to meet up with the Jumbo Shrimp in Norfolk, Virginia, where they're in the middle of a series against the Baltimore Orioles' AAA affiliate.

Even with their All-Star-caliber hitters like Stowers, the Marlins value positional flexibility. The 28-year-old outfielder was seen earlier this week participating in defensive drills at first base, an experiment which has been in the works since November, according to Marlins manager Clayton McCullough.

"Kyle potentially had a skill set to maybe do that," McCullough said regarding the idea to develop Stowers at the position. "It wasn't about this being a full-time first base and we're looking to transition. I think over the course of the year, it's something that you can pull off, and it's a day to get you off your feet a little bit. A different type of workload over there within a game."

Stowers has never played first base in the minor or major leagues, though he totaled 23 games of experience as a college player during the summers of 2017 and 2018. The Marlins mainly used him in left field last season, where he had two defensive runs saved and five outfield assists. He was named a National League Gold Glove finalist at the position.

First base has generally been a weakness for the Marlins throughout the past few seasons. They signed free agent Christopher Morel to be their main option there entering 2026, but on Opening Day as Morel was taking batting practice, he suffered a left oblique strain, knocking him out for 4-6 weeks. He is currently in Jupiter progressing and taking part in baseball activities.

In the absences of Stowers and Morel, Connor Norby has received most of the playing time at first. Through 11 games, Norby is slashing .206/.357/.353/.710 with one home run and two RBI. Liam Hicks is off to an incredibly hot start, but his primary position is catcher.

The Marlins have gotten good offensive contributions from outfielders Griffin Conine, Jakob Marsee and Owen Caissie against right-handed pitching. Stowers being able to handle first would open the possibility for him to share a lineup with Hicks, Conine, Marsee and Caissie later this season.

"I want to keep Kyle in games," McCullough said. "We have some really good outfielders that I think would help us. It's a way that it can maybe keep him in games as well."

This rehab assignment is expected to be longer than usual. Stowers originally injured his hamstring very early in spring training, then re-aggravated it on March 20 in West Palm Beach against the Houston Astros. Although it was diagnosed as a minor (Grade 1) strain, he needs time to get his timing right and his physical conditioning up to major league standards. Barring setbacks, he should be reinstated from the IL during the week of April 20.

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MIAMI, FL — Sandy Alcantara took the mound in the top of the ninth inning with a 2–0 lead, aiming to become the fourth pitcher in Marlins franchise history to record back-to-back complete-game shutouts. After surrendering a double and a walk, manager Clayton McCullough made his most controversial move of the young season, removing his ace in favor of Anthony Bender.

Overall, Alcantara finished the night going 8 ⅓ innings pitched, allowing two runs on three hits, two walks and struck out six. His fastball topped out at 99.5 mph, which he hit in the top of the first inning.

The changeup was once again his most dominant pitch, generating six whiffs and striking out four with it. His four-seam fastball, which he threw 17.1% of the time in 2025, was his most used pitch on Tuesday, and has been his second-most-used pitch overall. He struck out two with the four-seam and landed it nine out of ten times for a first pitch strike.

"I've been doing a great job," Alcantara said. "Doing my work in the 'pen, trying to locate my four-seam, and today was great. Threw a lot of four-seam today for strikes from both sides."

Because of McCullough's move, Dontrelle Willis remains the only Marlins pitcher to throw nine-inning shutouts in consecutive starts, which he did on April 8 and April 13, 2005.

On the offensive side, the Marlins did provide early run support for Alcantara, as both Otto Lopez and Heriberto Hernandez had RBI groundouts, taking a 2-0 lead. The next time Miami scored a run came in the bottom of the tenth inning, when Graham Pauley grounded into a fielders choice, scoring Jakob Marsee, the runner at third. Miami's offense was 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position, unable to provide a bigger cushion for their ace.

Marsee, who had gotten off to a slow start in 2026, finished with his first multi-hit performance of the season, highlighted by a 109.0 mph base hit, his hardest hit ball of the season. On the base paths, he also had four stolen bases, which tied a franchise record.

The Marlins dropped to 6-5 on the season, now searching for a series split against the Reds. Eury Pérez, who struggled in his last start against the New York Yankees, will take the mound for Miami on Wednesday at 6:40 pm.

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For the 2026 season, Fish On First will provide weekly reports on the Miami Marlins farm system, covering all levels. Here's the season debut of our Fish On First Prospect Report.

Triple-A Jacksonville

It has generally been a terrible start to the Jumbo Shrimp season, especially offensively. Their .557 OPS as a team is 75 points lower than any other Triple-A affiliate.  

Jacksonville's best hitter so far is Deyvison De Los Santos. He has played in five AAA games, slashing .278/.381/.611/.992 with two home runs, six RBI and a 157 wRC+. After a spring training that saw much better plate discipline from the 22-year-old, the Marlins had to call up De Los Santos when Christopher Morel went down, but he was sent back down following the opening series when the team acquired infielder Leo Jiménez. With the Shrimp, he's only struck out 19.0% of the time. If these spring training and early-season approach improvements sustain, De Los Santos can see some time at the major league level by season's end.

The other first baseman on the Jumbo Shrimp, Nathan Martorella, who is slashing .208/.394/.375/.769 with one home run, seven RBI and a 116 wRC+. He has just as many walks as strikeouts. Martorella, 25, was one of the four players acquired in the trade that sent Luis Arraez to the San Diego Padres. 

Outfielder Andrew Pintar may have gotten off to a slow start in terms of production, but his overall plate appearances have been strong, with a .382 on-base percentage, walking 17.6% of the time. One of this organization's fastest runners, reaching first base on a consistent basis is huge for him. Pintar, who plays all three outfield spots, could play a role on the big league team if we see any injuries come up.

Braxton Garrett did not make the Marlins rotation coming out of spring despite 63 starts of MLB experience. In his second start of the Triple-A season on Sunday, he allowed two hits and two walks in 4 ⅔ shutout innings. He also struck out eight. Six of his eight strikeouts were swinging strikeouts. Overall, Garrett generated 14 whiffs, with six of them coming on his slider. On the other hand, his four-seam fastball only averaged 90.7 mph and the sinker was averaging 90 mph. He topped out at 92.9 mph.

William Kempner leads all pitchers with four appearances, posting a 4.50 ERA, but does have a 2.02 FIP with a 24.75 K/9 (11 strikeouts) and 2.25 BB/9 in four innings of work. Kempner has been a bit unlucky, so the ERA should at some point go down.

Jack Ralston was the most impressive of the Marlins minor league free agent signings throughout spring training. In three regular season appearances, he already has a 2.25 ERA, 2.27 FIP, 15.75 K/9 and 6.75 BB/9 in four innings pitched. Ralston's walk issues have continued, as control/command has been an ongoing issue throughout his career.

Dax Fulton unfortunately continues to struggle, as in two appearances (one start), he's allowed nine runs and four walks. He just hasn't been able to look like the Dax Fulton we saw in 2022 who had the potential to be a future piece of the Marlins rotation. At this point, it may be time to see what they can get out of him in the bullpen.

Double-A Pensacola

The Wahoos got their season started at home with a three-game set against the Montgomery Biscuits. A low-scoring affair and pitchers’ duel in their first game gave way to a shutout at the hands of a familiar face. Their third game was postponed due to rain. Pensacola will head out on the road this week still searching for their first win.

After participating in MLB spring training and starting the Spring Breakout showcase for Miami, Karson Milbrandt got the Opening Day nod for Pensacola. He showed off his new sweeper early and often, earning his first strikeout on one with great vertical break that dove out of the hitter’s sight. Refined during the Arizona Fall League this past season, Milbrandt already has supreme confidence in the pitch. Lauded for the work he did physically over the winter, Milbrandt topped at 97 mph and sat 95 with his fastball. The benefactor of some great defense early including on a robbed home run by Fenwick Trimble and a great play in the hole at short by newcomer Cristian Hernández, Milbrandt got better as the start got older. Ultimately, he allowed just one earned run on four hits and two walks while working into the fifth inning. Some minor command lapses aside, this was a great 2026 debut for Milbrandt to build upon.

One of the newest Marlins in the upper minors, Brendan Jones is making a solid first impression. After posting four hits including a home run and four walks in 10 spring training games with the Marlins, Jones went three for his first eight in his first two games with the Blue Wahoos. He also notched his first two stolen bases of the campaign. Fresh off a .245/.359/.395 52 stolen bases season at High-A and Double-A, the 5’9”, 180-pound line-drive hitter who is a threat for extra bases whenever a ball drops, Jones is the most well-rounded piece that came back to the Marlins in the Ryan Weathers trade. A lefty hitter that limits strikeouts and who will be able to stick in center field, Jones has a high floor and if he can add more power, has the capability of raising his ceiling. In an advantageous developmental situation with an organization that has done very well with lefty-hitting outfielders, Jones is a name on the rise.

High-A Beloit

After being postponed twice, the Sky Carp finally got their season kicked off against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Saturday in rare fashion: their first slate of the year was a doubleheader. Beloit fell behind early in both games, but fought back valiantly on both occasions. They wound up splitting the twin bill. The third game of the series was canceled.

Starlyn Caba, our Prospect of the Week, was the star of the series. After an impressive Arizona Fall League campaign and spring training, the 20-year-old began the year with Beloit, despite being two years younger than the league average competitor. Caba burst out of the gates by going a combined 4-for-7 in his first two High-A contests. In the second game, he knocked in four of five Sky Carp runs. Caba showcased great bat control all day long, getting good wood on pitches both in and out of the strike zone. Probably his most impressive hit on the day was a single on a ball he got to up and out of the strike zone.

Known for great defense and speed, it’s the bat the Marlins have been working diligently on and hoping to see show up more often for Caba. If early returns this season are any indication, he made the most of Miami’s hitting development tutelage this spring. If this type of production continues on a regular basis, Caba will be a solid on-base threat. If he can improve his bat speed, there’s some hidden power to tap into as well.

Early returns on recent draft picks have been few and far between for the Marlins for the past couple of years, but Cam Cannarella, Miami’s competitive balance round pick from 2025, continued to be one positive outlier in his High-A debut. After slashing .284/.337/.375 for Jupiter post draft last season, the 22-year-old lefty hitter went 4-for-6 on Saturday. He also walked three times and stole a base. His standout moment was his final at-bat of the night in which he worked a full count and plated two with a single to keep the Sky Carp alive.

Another glove-over-bat prospect coming out of one draft due to standout skills in center field, the Marlins have to be pleased with what Cannarella has shown early in his career at the dish. While he likely won’t ever develop enough physicality to be a power threat, he has shown a good eye and the ability to make informed swing decisions. He’s also showing a quieter and looser setup and approach this season and has taken a bit of loopiness out of his swing.

Low-A Jupiter

The Hammerheads are off to a 2-1 start this season, falling on Opening Day, but then rebounding to win back-to-back games against the Daytona Tortugas.

On the position player side, it has been 2025 fifth-round pick Chris Arroyo, who is slashing .375/.375/.1.000/1.375 with one home run, two RBI and a 292 wRC+. Arroyo was one of many Marlins who participated in winter ball, playing in Puerto Rico. In 16 games with Leones de Ponce, he slashed .216/.341/.297/.638 with one home run and six RBI. Arroyo will see time at first base and the outfield. 

Shortstop prospect Carter Johnson went deep for his first hit of the season, a homer to straightaway center. Johnson struggled last season, slashing .177/.275/.261/.536 with three home runs and 43 RBI in 106 games played. His professional career has been nothing short of a disappointment thus far, but he is only 20 years old, and after a full season in Low-A, maybe he can adjust to the league and show some results.

Esmil Valencia, acquired in the Jesus Sánchez trade with the Houston Astros, is slashing .300/.417/.500/.917 with two RBI. Last season in Jupiter, the right-handed hitter showed high exit velocities and slashed .327/.367/.510/.877 with three home runs, 21 RBI, 14 stolen bases and a 141 wRC+. The early concern has been Valencia's 25.0% strikeout rate and ability to catch up to major league-caliber velocity.

Thomas White (Grade 1 right oblique strain) made a rehab start on April 2. He tossed 2 ⅓ innings, where he allowed two runs on two hits (one home run), walked one and struck out four. Three of White's four strikeouts were swinging strikeouts. He'll continue to stretch out as a starter with another rehab start on Wednesday.

In his first appearance of the season on Opening Day, Nate Payne, an 18th-round pick from the 2024 draft, was used in a long relief role after White exited. Payne struck out eight in four innings. Last season, the 20-year-old left-handed pitcher made 17 starts between the Florida Complex League and Low-A, where he posted a 3.20 ERA, 3.72 FIP, 11.66 K/9 and 5.91 BB/9 in 56 ⅓ innings of work.

This week's MiLB schedule

• Triple-A Jacksonville at Norfolk
• Double-A Pensacola at Biloxi
• High-A Beloit vs. Cedar Rapids
• Low-A Jupiter vs. Fort Myers

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The Miami Marlins arrived at Yankee Stadium early Sunday morning, but didn't leave the field until long after sunset. Despite a rain delay of three and a half hours and a complication to their original pitching plan, they defeated the New York Yankees by a final score of 7-6, taking one out of three in the weekend series.

Chris Paddack was supposed to make his second start of the season, but because of the rain delay, manager Clayton McCullough made the decision to have Pete Fairbanks start the game as an opener. With Fairbanks' wife set to give birth to their third child, the Marlins had Fairbanks start the game so he can get back to his family sooner. Had the game started on time, Paddack would've started the game and Fairbanks would've been available out of the bullpen.

Ben Rice became the first hitter to drive in runs off of Fairbanks in 2026. He took advantage of a fastball ball down for his third home run of the season, driving it 410 feet deep to right field, giving the Bronx Bombers an early 3-1 lead. In his lone inning of work, Fairbanks allowed three runs on three hits, one walk and one strikeout before turning things over to Andrew Nardi.

Paddack didn't take the mound until 6:04 p.m, still trailing 3-1. His Marlins debut, which took place earlier in the week against the Chicago White Sox, was disappointing, allowing eight runs on eight hits. On Sunday night against a veteran Yankees lineup, Paddack gave the Marlins 4 ⅔ innings where the lone run allowed was unearned. He struck out four in the process.

 

On the other hand, he did allow four walks and surrendered a total of eight hard-hit balls, with five of them coming on the changeup. His overall xFIP of 5.54 indicates that luck was on his side after the opposite was true in his previous appearance.

"Chris was terrific," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. "It was a little bit unique today with how things started and him coming out of the bullpen. The third inning was a big inning, where he made an error, trying to limit it to one run. From there to hold it down, and navigate himself really well through a really good offensive team. Elevated the fastball really well, used the changeup appropriately."

The Marlins came back from their deficit gradually. Down 4-1 in the top of the fourth inning, Xavier Edwards—the hottest hitter in baseball—knocked in an RBI double, scoring Connor Norby from first to cut the Yankees lead in half. Edwards now has a hit in all nine games this season, and is currently tied with Andy Pages of the Los Angeles Dodgers with a .471 batting average. In the top of the sixth, a throwing error from shortstop Jose Caballero allowed Heriberto Hernández to reach first base safely, allowing Jakob Marsee to score, making it a 4-3 game.

In the top of eighth inning, with one out, Yankees reliever Fernando Cruz walked Marsee and that is when manager Aaron Boone went with righty Jake Bird out of the bullpen to face Otto Lopez. Bird walked Lopez, hit Griffin Conine, who pinch hit for Hernández.

McCullough made a second swap, opting to pinch-hit Graham Pauley in Norby's spot in the lineup. With a 1-2 count, on the fifth pitch of the at-bat, Bird's sweeper hung right in the middle of the zone and Pauley smacked a 104.3 mph RBI double, giving the Marlins a 5-4 lead. For Pauley, that marked his pinch-hit of his MLB career. Xavier Edwards plated two more runs with a single, padding the lead to 7-4.

"Not an easy thing to come off the bench and do," McCullough said regarding Pauley. "He got some really good swings off...Massive hit for us, and for him."

John King, Calvin Faucher and Anthony Bender followed Paddack, who shut down the Yankees lineup, allowing only one hit within that span. With Fairbanks already on a plane out of town, McCullough turned to Bender in a save situation for the first time this season. He began the bottom of the ninth inning by getting Aaron Judge to ground out, but then surrendered back-to-back walks. With runners on first and second with one out, Bender struck out former Fish Giancarlo Stanton swinging. Another former Marlin in Jazz Chisholm Jr. drove two runs in on a double, making it a one-run game. 

The Marlins opted to intentionally walk Austin Wells, in favor of potentially facing Caballero, but Boone used Miami native J.C. Escarra as a pinch-hitter. Escarra struck out on three pitches, ending the game.

Standing atop the National League East with a 6-3 record, the Marlins return home to begin a four-game series against the Cincinnati Reds. Janson Junk will take the mound on Monday at 6:40 p.m.

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MIAMI, FL — Every time that the Miami Marlins have held a late-inning lead so far this season, they have secured the win. That was the case again Tuesday night in what turned out to be their most lopsided game yet, a 9-2 defeat of the Chicago White Sox. Janson Junk turned in a solid start, but the Marlins bullpen handled the majority of the workload. That unit has now combined for a 0.51 ERA—the lowest in the majors—while striking out hitters 38.1% of the time.

"They've come out of the gate and really thrown the ball extremely well," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "I think each guy that's been called upon in whatever capacity role that is thus far, they have just answered the bell, and they really filled the strike zone up. When you have good stuff and you throw a ton of strikes, limit the free pass late in games, you have a chance to go on some runs like this."

Andrew Nardi, Anthony Bender, Calvin Faucher and Pete Fairbanks were the relievers used on Tuesday night, combining for a final line of 4 ⅔ innings pitched, zero hits, zero runs, one walk and eight strikeouts. Fairbanks led the way, striking out the side in the top of the ninth inning.

Nardi, the first reliever deployed after Junk was taken out of the game with one out in the top of the fifth inning, struck out both Munetaka Murakami and Andrew Benintendi swinging with his slider to end the inning. Through 1 ⅔ innings of work in 2026, Nardi has struck out four and only allowed one hit.

Once the lane of left-handed batters ended with one out in the sixth, Bender entered the game. Bender, who doesn't often go multiple innings, had to on Tuesday because Tyler Phillips and Lake Bachar were not available. He tossed 1 ⅔ innings of hitless baseball, only allowing a walk, but also struck out one. Faucher, who followed Bender, struck out two in his clean inning of work.

Fairbanks entered to close things out despite it being nowhere close to a save situation. He had last thrown on Saturday, the second game of the season. It only took the former Tampa Bay Ray 15 pitches to finish the game, the most he's thrown as a member of the Marlins.

"We had stretched some guys the last few days, and we had a few guys that were on back-to-backs that we wanted to stay away from today," explained McCullough. "Having Pete throw today and staying away from Phillips, he comes back tomorrow, we are hit with much more length and just gives us some more options tomorrow by doing that."

Although veteran Chris Paddack struggled on Monday night in his organizational debut, he saw enough from the White Sox offense to where he was able to help out Janson Junk. Making his first start of the 2026 season the day after, Junk tossed 4 ⅓ innings, allowing two runs (both in the third inning) on five hits, walking one and striking out one.

"He selflessly came up to me and just broke down what he thought he saw, and I really appreciate that from him, just about his mentality and what went on in that one inning," Junk said. "That moment when two guys get on, base hit and you can feel it go in the other direction, I reflected back on what (Paddack) told me: 'just keep pitching with conviction and don't let up.' (Pitching coach Daniel Moskos) coming out, that was good mound visit, and then I was able to refocus and then get out of there with limited damage."

Junk's fastball, which averaged around 93.6 mph in 2025, saw an increase in velocity, topping out at 96.5 mph, averaging a career-high 95.4 mph. His secondary stuff—specifically the slider and changeup—looked good, generating four whiffs each. He also induced a 53.8% ground ball rate, which was the third-highest of his Marlins tenure.

"Overall, Junk was great," McCullough said. "The velo he had on the fastball and his ability to hold that velo from pitch one to roughly when he got to in the high 70s, it was nice. With that type of velo, throwing some two-seamers running in just keeps things open away for his breaking stuff. There's some good changeups and the crispness with some of his sliders that he threw with the type of velocity he had. Big spot there in the third and he got a few ground ball hits and they get a couple runs. But for him to leave some guys out there, keep the game where it was, a big part in the game."

The Marlins offense was hitless through the first three innings. It wasn't until the fourth inning that they not only notched their first hit of the game, but took control of the game by rallying for four runs. Xavier Edwards got things going with a base hit, followed by a 105.4 mph double from Agustín Ramírez, moving Edwards to third. Liam Hicks, who has gotten off to a hot start this season, drove both of them with a double, tying the game, 2-2.

Owen Caissie, another Marlins who has gotten off to a great start, drove Hicks in on an RBI single (and moved to second on the throw), taking a 3-2 lead. Heriberto Hernández extended the lead with an RBI single. 

In the bottom of the seventh, a Graham Pauley fielder's choice drove in Hernández and then Jakob Marsee drove Griffin Conine in on a sac fly, extending the lead to 6-2.

In the bottom of the eighth, Conine hit his first home run of the season off of Jedixson Paez, a two-run homer. The ball left the bat at 107.3 mph and went 405 feet to right field.

Griffin Conine with the dagger.

9 unanswered runs for the Marlins! pic.twitter.com/QLHA02E52C

— Fish On First (@FishOnFirst) April 1, 2026

With the win, the Marlins are now 4-1 on the season and will look to take their second straight series on Wednesday with Sandy Alcantara taking the mound for a 1:10 pm first pitch.

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Hours after the Miami Marlins completed a series sweep of the Colorado Rockies, president of baseball operations Peter Bendix went right to work adding to his roster. The club announced on Sunday night that they've acquired infielder Leo Jiménez from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for infield prospect Dub Gleed and $250k in international bonus pool money. Francys Romero was first to report the full transaction.

Jiménez, 24, played a total of 26 games during the 2025 minor league season where across three levels, he slashed .296/.404/.370/.774 with seven RBI and a 122 wRC+. He also saw 18 games at the big league level, but struggled, posting a -19 wRC+.

Jiménez had a longer run in the majors in 2024, where in 63 games he slashed .229/.329/.358/.686 with four home runs, 19 RBI and a 101 wRC+.

The 24-year-old right-handed hitter is a glove-first player. He spent most of his minor league career at shortstop, but also has played second base. The Blue Jays designated Jiménez for assignment prior to Opening Day because he is out of minor league options.

As for Gleed, the Marlins selected him in the ninth round of the 2024 MLB Draft. In his first full professional season, he slashed .252/.391/.347/.737 with two home runs, 26 RBI and a 124 wRC+ with nearly as many walks (43) as strikeouts (48). Recently highlighted on an episode of Fish Unfiltered, he was set to begin this season with Double-A Pensacola.

To clear a 40-man roster spot for Jiménez, the Marlins DFA'd right-handed reliever Garrett Acton. He made his organizational debut on Friday, working a scoreless inning for Triple-A Jacksonville.

The Marlins will still need to make a corresponding 26-man move prior to Monday's game.

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Marlins catcher Liam Hicks speaks with the media following Saturday's game about catching Eury Pérez's quality start and mashing his first home run of the season.

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