Kevin Barral

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

MIAMI, FL — Maybe we have not seen the best of Max Meyer as a starting pitcher quite yet. Meyer's efficiency was excellent on Saturday, and for the first time in his career, he completed seven innings in a 4-0 Marlins win. Going into the game, Meyer had not even reached six innings in any start this season—the only starter in the Marlins rotation yet to do so. For Marlins manager Clayton McCullough, it was a no-brainer to stick with him considering the Philadelphia Phillies had not scored and his pitch count was only up to 71 through six. "The way he was throwing the ball, he was so economical," McCullough said after the game. "He just had been ahead of so many people and with him having such a diverse repertoire, he's got so many options to go to throughout a game. I think the way that he was throwing the ball, he really hadn't been stressed a whole lot to send him back out for the seventh up. It wasn't a tough call." Meyer finished his outing going seven shutout innings, allowing just one hit and two walks. The lone hit allowed came from Garrett Stubbs in the top of the third. He also struck out seven in the process. "It's fun to go seven and help the team out save the 'pen a little bit in a four-game series," Meyer said. "I felt good, but obviously, the only thing I care about was trying to keep the team in the game and get the win at the end of the day." Meyer's incorporation of the sweeper has been crucial to his success in 2026. Ahead of Saturday's game, Meyer was throwing it 26% of the time and it was his most-used pitch again in this start (27% usage). He generated five of his 10 whiffs and recorded four of his seven strikeouts on that pitch. "Sweeper is similar velocity [to the slider], a little slower, but it moves at a totally different plane," Meyer said. "If they are sitting on spin, you got to pick which spin you're going to sit on. That's helped a lot, but I love that pitch. It's one of my favorite pitches. I'm just so happy with all the other pitches being around the zone too and competitive. Feels good having like a real fastball now with some ride on it." Through seven starts this season, Meyer now has a 2.68 ERA, 2.98 FIP, 9.73 K/9 and 3.16 BB/9. These are all career-bests for the former number three pick in the 2020 MLB Draft. "I think Max is a different pitcher than he has been in the past," McCullough said. "He's got more weapons now than he's had. They're better and play off each other very well. Him having the ability to run his two-seam on righties, to continue to open up the spin lane on the outer half, and he can go down below versus left with the breaking balls. His changeup is a pitch that he can use as well." Relievers Anthony Bender and Andrew Nardi followed Meyer. They both threw shutout innings, not allowing a hit. It marked the Marlins' first one-hitter since May 18, 2019. It was also their first shutout of the Phillies since August 13, 2024. The Marlins are the only National League club to have four different starters go at least seven innings in a game this season (only the New York Yankees have done it in the AL). The Marlins offense wasted no time giving Meyer some run support, as in the bottom of the third inning, with the bases loaded, both Agustín Ramírez and Connor Norby worked walks, driving in a run each. In the bottom of the fifth, Xavier Edwards hit his second home run of the season, going 392 feet to right field, extending the lead, 3-0. In nine games batting in the cleanup spot this season, Edwards has a .367/.513/.567/1.080 slash line. Otto Lopez capped off the Marlins' four-run performance with an infield RBI single in the bottom of the sixth. With the win, the Marlins are 16-17, once again, a game under .500. Sunday will not be a rubber match as this is a wrap-around series (another game awaits on Monday night). Jesús Luzardo, a Florida native and former Marlins pitcher, will face Chris Paddack on Sunday at 1:40 pm. View full article

MIAMI, FL — Following the Miami Marlins' 6-5 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, the team optioned left-handed pitcher Cade Gibson to Triple-A Jacksonville. The corresponding move was selecting the contract of Fish On First's No. 20 prospect, Josh Ekness. A hard-throwing right-hander selected by the Marlins in the 12th round of the 2023 MLB Draft, Ekness told reporters that he received a call Friday night at around 11:45 pm. "They were telling me I needed to come sign some paperwork for my passport, because I had an appointment I needed to get for that. Had just been putting it off for years, and they had me sign a bunch of papers, and all of a sudden he's got one more and he slaps a sheet down, saying, 'Congrats, you're gonna be a big leaguer.' Caught me a bit off guard, but definitely excited to be here." This season with Jacksonville, Ekness has a 5.68 ERA, 2.79 FIP, 14.92 K/9 and 4.26 BB/9 in 12 ⅔ innings pitched. The timing of this call-up is unusual as he has allowed seven runs in his last 3 ⅔ innings pitched. Before that rough stretch, though, he had allowed only one earned run and struck out 15 in nine innings of work. Across 142 career innings in the Marlins MiLB system, Ekness owns a 3.30 ERA and 3.28 FIP. The 24-year-old reliever boasts a 70-grade fastball, which in his most recent outing on Thursday topped out at 97.4 mph and averaged 96.8 mph. Along with the fastball, he throws a sinker, slider and sweeper. While there is no questioning the quality of his stuff, Ekness has room to improve in the control department. "I think mainly putting an emphasis on the execution part and being more external has helped me kind of limit some of the bigger misses and uncompetitive misses helped me just get focused on getting ahead and staying ahead in counts," Ekness said. "Usually, I'm pretty good at putting guys away when I get to the counts, but I just needed to be efficient and get to those counts to have that opportunity." Ekness' role on the team will be interesting. He has been used in all sorts of situations during his rise through the minors. He is particularly effective against right-handed batters—none of them have recorded an extra-base hit against him since 2024. "He has been stretched out some and gone multiple innings," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. "I think right now that's how we'll look to use him. What maybe is best for that particular day and where the overall group is, but it is important that guys can come up here and do a variety of things." Health permitting, fellow 2023 draftees left-hander Thomas White and outfielder Kemp Alderman will contribute to the Marlins this season. However, Ekness is the first member of that draft class to reach the big leagues. The Marlins 40-man roster is now full. Game two between the Marlins and Phillies is at 4:10 pm on Saturday. View full article

Newly added to the Marlins roster, right-hander Josh Ekness speaks with the media about earning his first big league opportunity and his mindset on the mound. Ekness is ranked 20th on the Fish On First Top 30. View full video

MIAMI, FL — The Miami Marlins took a different approach to free agency last offseason compared to previous years of the Peter Bendix era. They signed four different veterans to major league deals (five if you also include Austin Slater at the end of spring training). Without question, left-hander John King has been the best of them all thus far, not to mention the top reliever on the entire team. Through his team-leading 15 appearances entering Saturday, King has a 0.66 ERA, 3.72 FIP, 8.56 K/9 and 3.29 BB/9. His ERA is tied for 10th-lowest among qualified MLB relievers. He has allowed only two hits. That is $1.5M very well spent. "He's shown he's been incredibly durable, and someone who always wants the ball no matter what," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said on Friday. "The situation is not always the greatest, but what John does and his ability to come in and collect outs helps us win games. It also helps keep guys fresh." So far this season, the Marlins have used King in all kinds of situations. He has been especially effective in what Baseball-Reference defines as high-leverage moments, retiring all seven batters faced. "I feel like as pitchers, you face those guys are kind of like are bigger than baseball itself," King said. "I just think that treating them like everyone else and just attacking, getting ahead—their numbers go down when you get ahead of one versus one. Obviously, they capitalize on mistakes. Even probably more so, they hit great pitches. I think putting yourself in the best opportunity for success is getting ahead. I just think that with experience, the game kind of has slowed down for me." In the past series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, King was utilized in all three games. He tossed 2 ⅔ total shutout innings in a Marlins series win. "I think going into it, it's something John had done in the past," McCullough said of using him three consecutive days. "Him coming into spring training, he can handle it. Generally, his workload, the amount of hitters asked him to face, is a little bit narrower than some other guys." Previously a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, King's 2025 season was one of the worst of his career, where in 48 ⅓ innings pitched, he posted a 4.66 ERA, 5.00 FIP, 5.21 K/9 and 2.61 BB/9. King's agent is friends with Bendix and was encouraged by what the Marlins organization had been doing with player development on the pitching side, leading to an agreement. "The hot run that the team went on last year and just being in Miami is sweet, too," King told Fish On First. "There's a lot of things that I was really excited talking to them about and seeing if we could work something out. I was fortunate enough they offered me a deal, and I took it right away." Unusual for a reliever, King has a six-pitch arsenal. He also did last season, but relied heavily on his sinker, using it 59.2% of the time. With the Marlins, that usage has been cut in half to 28.7%. Although his sinker's velocity has dropped, its whiff rate has gone way up from 15.7% to 40.9%. "I had become super predictable throwing it that much," King said. "In spring training, I had a meeting with some of the front office and pitching staff, and they told me how they want me to mix and they want me to throw a sweeper. I can command the ball pretty well, and I'm still learning to command the breaking stuff as well as the sinker and changeup. I think putting it all together just makes me a little bit more unpredictable and a little bit more uncomfortable with that, especially with righties." King was terrible against right-handed batters last season, allowing a .374/.437/.542/.979 slash line. On the other hand, he's dominating them with the Fish (.050/.208/.200/.408 in 24 PA). King has yet to enter in any save situations, but that may change in the coming weeks. With Pete Fairbanks sidelined due to nerve irritation, the Marlins are using a closer-by-committee approach. If favorable matchups present themselves in the ninth inning, King should be trusted to get the job done. View full article

MIAMI, FL — On Friday, before the Miami Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies kicked off a four-game set, outfielder/first baseman Griffin Conine was spotted putting his injured left hamstring through various baseball activities. Conine, who is only three weeks removed from suffering a hamstring tear and undergoing surgery, finds himself ahead of schedule in his rehab and has a target date for his reinstatement from the IL. "The one thing I haven't done yet is defensive work outfield-wise, but I'm throwing and hitting again today," Conine told Fish On First. "I'm in a good spot. Just building up, stacking days like this—basically where every day running, we get a little bit faster, the strength just comes back a little bit more." Before landing on the IL, Conine played in 11 games, slashing .273/.360/.591/.951 with two home runs, four RBI and a 160 wRC+. He suffered the injury on April 9 while playing attempt a diving catch in left field. "It sucked, for sure," Conine told Fish On First. "I think the prognosis could have been worse, so I'm trying to look at the positive side. Compared to last year's rehab, this is super easy. It's very basic. I just don't want to get back quicker than the timeline says, which we're on pace to do that." As Conine referenced there, he suffered a dislocated shoulder last season that kept him out for most of 2025. It was originally announced as a season-ending procedure, but he sped through the rehab process and returned in late September. Fortunately, the hamstring tear won't cost him nearly as much time. Barring setbacks, Conine told Fish On First that his goal is to return during the month of May. "I haven't talked to (the Marlins) about that, but just in my head with the timeline that the doctor gave me, I think that's very doable. That means I'm back in a big league game before June, which would mean [begin the rehab assignment] 10-12 days before that. That's what I'm shooting for and I don't know if they're on board with that, but I think that's doable. We're gonna take it week to week and see how it goes." When asked about Conine, Marlins manager Clayton McCullough jokingly said that he "defies modern medicine," then acknowledged that the 28-year-old is "tracking to be back probably to the lower end of the timeline." View full article

After a ninth-inning implosion on Monday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Miami Marlins came back the next day and won by a final score of 2-1, primarily thanks to their pitching staff. They were without the services of Pete Fairbanks, and they will continue to be for at least 15 days. Fairbanks was placed on the injured list prior to Tuesday's game with nerve irritation. Tyler Phillips entered in relief of the struggling closer in the series opener, allowing the game-winning hit to outfielder Kyle Tucker with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Phillips again entered in the ninth again on Tuesday and this time got the job done to pick up the save. "I was fired up," Phillips told the Marlins Radio Network following the game. "I was thinking about the outing from last night. If you saw me down in the bullpen, you probably would've thought that there was something wrong...just very excited to get back out there." After inducing a fly ball to Teoscar Hernández, Phillips surrendered a base hit to outfielder Andy Pages. After that, Hyeseong Kim flew out and Alex Freeland grounded out to end the game. "Tyler can go to a different place when he is on the mound," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. "You couldn't find a nicer person, great dad. But when the gates open, Tyler has a switch that he has found and he is going to go out there and be incredibly aggressive and is a great competitor. For me, there was no hesitation to put him in that spot and we've seen him get so many big outs over the last couple of years, so he got right back out there tonight and did a great job." While Fairbanks is out, the plan is for the Marlins to go closer by committee, which we saw plenty of in 2025. However, Phillips has gotten off to an amazing start this season and now has a 1.47 ERA with two saves in 18 ⅓ innings pitched, suggesting he should be the leading candidate to pitch the ninth in these situations. It all started with Janson Junk, who had never faced the Dodgers in his career. On Tuesday, he turned in another strong start, going six shutout innings, striking out four in the process. Through six starts this season, the Marlins' fifth starter has a 3.00 ERA (best mark in Miami's rotation), 3.46 FIP, 5.73 K/9 and 2.18 BB/9. It was Junk's fastball that made a difference on Tuesday night. Three of his four strikeouts came on that pitch and he landed it for six first pitch strikes. His fastball topped out at 96.3 mph and averaged 94.7 mph. He also generated two whiffs with that pitch. Just like his last start, Junk was extremely efficient, averaging about 12 pitches per inning. "He set the tone on the mound," McCullough said. "They came out aggressive, and he really mixed things up. Moved the ball around, executed and was able to get through six innings very efficiently. After the first, he was able to settle in and threw well." The Marlins bullpen followed Junk and for the most part, kept things at bay. As a group, they allowed one run on four hits. They did not walk anyone, but also did not strike anybody out either. The Dodgers grounded out and flew out three times each after the Marlins turned to their bullpen. Thankfully, Junk and the pitching staff had just enough run support to win it. In the top of the second inning, facing Shohei Ohtani the pitcher, Owen Caissie drove in the games first run on a sacrifice fly. Agustin Ramirez, who was hit by a pitch in his at-bat, scored the run. In the top of the fifth inning, outfielder Kyle Stowers drove in what ended up being the winning run, an RBI single that scored Christopher Morel from second base. It gave the Marlins a 2-1 lead. Morel was making his Marlins debut, hitting eighth and playing first base. He went 0-for-3 with a walk and run scored. He was activated off the injured list on Monday before the first game of the series and Heriberto Hernández was optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville. Ohtani, who only participated in this game as a pitcher, went six innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits, three walks and a season-high nine strikeouts. Before the start of the game, the Marlins made a lineup change, scratching Liam Hicks, who was set to catch Junk due to an illness, moving Agustin Ramirez behind the plate and Connor Norby into the designated hitter spot in the lineup. "He's feeling better," McCullough said. "It was right as he was getting ready for the game. His stomach was bothering him wasn't going to be able to go." Tuesday's win snapped the Marlins' nine-game losing streak at Dodger Stadium, which dated back to 2023. They improve to 14-16 on the season and are in search of the series win on Wednesday with Sandy Alcantara taking the mound. For LA, it'll be Tyler Glasnow. First pitch is at 3:10 pm ET. View full article

For the 2026 season, Fish On First will provide weekly reports on the Miami Marlins farm system, covering all levels. Here's the final April edition of our Fish On First Prospects Report, which as always includes several important injury updates near the bottom of the page. This report covers the games played from April 21-26. Triple-A Jacksonville Recently ranked as Fish On First's No. 8 prospect, Kemp Alderman finished the week with nine hits, capping off the week with a grand slam on Sunday, marking his fourth home run of the season. After a slow start to the season, Alderman is now slashing .253/.354/.458/.812 with four home runs and 10 RBI. The only downside for Alderman has been his 35.2% strikeout rate, which is the highest of his minor league career thus far. Jared Serna finished the week with five hits and drove in five runs. He is now slashing .243/.312/.314/.626 with one home run and seven RBI. He has also stolen five bases, which is second-most on the team. Serna was one of three players acquired in the Jazz Chisholm Jr. trade back in 2024, and after a strong start to his organizational tenure, he has struggled, particularly in the slugging department. An under-the-radar name on the pitching side has been Zach Brzykcy. The 26-year-old reliever was claimed off waivers from the Washington Nationals. No longer occupying a 40-man roster spot, he has a 0.84 ERA with 11 strikeouts in eight appearances. On Sunday, his fastball averaged 94.5 mph and he closed out a Jumbo Shrimp win with a strikeout on his curveball. Brzykcy has MLB experience in each of the past two seasons and he's setting himself up for a return soon. Another righty, Jack Ralston, impressed during spring training, and he continues to succeed with the Jumbo Shrimp. In nine games, he has a 1.46 ERA, 1.68 FIP, 15.32 K/9 and 5.11 BB/9. He possesses similar mid-90 fastball velocity, but his splitter is his biggest weapon—18 of his 21 total strikeouts have come on that pitch. Ralston has yet to make his big league debut. This past week, Josh Ekness, who is now Fish On First's No. 20 prospect, surrendered three runs in one outing, then he allowed two more on the day of this article's publication. His season ERA has ballooned to 4.38. Double-A Pensacola It was a busy week for the Wahoos, who played seven games in six days against the Biscuits, including one game that was made up from a previous rain out. Pensacola got the better of Montgomery during the week, taking foir of the contests despite losing the run differential battle by one. Despite being thin in the pitching department, After a bit of a slow start with the stick, Ryan Ignoffo found it during this series. In four games against Montgomery, he went 7-for-16 with a home run, two doubles, and two RBI. In the first game of the seven-inning doubleheader on Thursday, he came within a triple of the cycle. A 20th-rounder from 2023 who only converted to catcher after turning pro, Ignoffo spent most of the offseason and spring training honing in on his defense, particularly with blocking and framing. Those exports have shown up well for Ignoffo so far as he’s allowed just one passed ball in 110 innings. He also owns a strong arm, contributing to his 32% caught-stealing rate last year. He is off to a 25 CS% start this season. Drafted as a two-way player, Ignoffo came out of the draft with catcher being one of few positions he had never played. The Marlins challenged him with it and he continues to improve with age. Offensively, Ignoffo has a good feel for the barrel, keeping CSW%s in check year over year, including 24.6% so far on the young campaign. His ability to at least fight strikes off limits his strikeout rates and he’s got some good gap-to-gap pop which allotted him 20-plus doubles in both 2024 and 2025. Ignoffo has seen his walk rates shrink a bit as he’s matriculated to the upper minors, but overall, he’s been an above average hitter at the Double-A level; he has a 106 wRC+ on the young season. A good athlete with a sneaky-good bat, Ignoffo should take over as the primary catcher once Joe Mack is called up. On current track, he should be able to stick as an at least serviceable backstop with potential positional flexibility to fill in at the corner infield or corner outfield spots. Karson Milbrandt keeps rolling. His latest exports this week were six innings worth of one run ball on six two hits and six strikeouts. His only run came on a home run. In his first four starts, Milbrandt owns a minimal 1.96 ERA, which ranks third-best in the Southern League. His 23 strikeouts are fourth-most on the circuit. Maintaining control and command particularly deeper in starts will continue to be Milbrandt’s MO as he rounds out his development and attempts to realize a mid-rotation ceiling. Because of the command dipping later in his outings and due to his just-average size, there is some reliever risk, but with great raw stuff and improving fastball velocity, he should have no problem finding the middle ground of that equation. High-A Beloit It was a very rough week for the Sky Carp who dropped four of six games in their series against Great Lakes, only taking the first and last games. Run scoring wasn’t an issue for Beloit who plated over six runs a game and 40 total including at least nine in three of the contests, but their pitching continued to struggle. The team now owns a 6.57 ERA, third-highest in the Midwest League. They now lead the circuit in walks with 136. It was a solid series at the plate for Cam Clayton who went 3-for-12 with a home run, seven RBI, and six walks while striking out three times. A 14th-round pick from 2024, Clayton spent 2025 mostly at Low-A where he slashed .242/.356/.390 with a 48/36 K/BB. The solid on-base numbers have followed him to Beloit this year where he is currently slashing .188/.480/.344. Clayton was drafted as a shortstop, but he quickly made the move off of the position as a pro. He’s spent time as a third baseman, but just-average arm strength befits him best for first base where he has played 88 ⅓ innings. Clayton, 6’1”, 205, isn’t built for much power, but as long as he is seeing pitching as well as he historically has as he continues to rise through the minor league ranks, he provides intrigue. He’s also a crafty baserunner, having stolen nine bases already this season. If Clayton can improve contact rates, he will be a pesky bat off the bench at the next level. Another offensive catalyst this series was the 2025 second-round pick, who was hitting everything in sight. On the series, Brandon Compton went 8-for-14 with two homers and five RBI. Arguably most impressive of all is the rate at which Compton walked. In these six games, he took a whopping 11 free passes while striking out just six times. Like Clayton, the ability to see pitching extremely well will give him a decent floor, but his defensive inflexibility could limit his ceiling. What will drive Compton’s future will depend on how much he can tap into solid raw strength while not straying too far from his patient roots. If he can become a consistent power threat while continuing to walk, he has a starter’s ceiling. Keep a close eye on his power numbers as he continues to develop and climb through the levels. Upper minors pitching will be a good measuring stick for the lefty Compton. That promotion could happen later this season, especially if he continues to build on his 170 wRC+. Low-A Jupiter A 21-year-old left-handed pitcher, Julio Mendez was named our FOF Minor League Player of the Week after striking out 11 through five innings of work in his most recent start. His fastball topped out at 95.2 mph and averaged 93.1 mph. Mendez's performance has been phenomenal dating back to the 2025 All-Star break, allowing a total of nine earned runs over those 11 starts. Andrés Valor had been ice cold at the plate until this past series. The athletic outfielder slashed .250/.464/.400 with three steals, including three batted balls with an exit velocity of at least 105 mph. Maintaining that throughout the month of May could earn Valor a ticket to Beloit considering he already has a full year of Low-A experience under his belt. Injuries/Rehab Following Christopher Morel's return to the Marlins active roster, there are no longer any injured big leaguers currently on rehab assignments. It looked as though Jacksonville's Jacob Berry had suffered a significant injury when he exited Friday's game early. Fortunately, he returned to the lineup on the day of this report. Aiva Arquette (core muscle surgery) is scheduled to make his 2026 season debut during this upcoming week. For complete Marlins MiLB injury updates, bookmark this page. This week's MiLB schedule Triple-A Jacksonville at Durham Double-A Pensacola vs. Biloxi High-A Beloit at Lake County Low-A Jupiter at Dunedin View full article

Just like in game one at Chavez Ravine last season, the Miami Marlins were walked off by the Los Angeles Dodgers, this time by a final score of 5-4. In the ninth inning, the Marlins led 4-2 and went to their $13M man, Pete Fairbanks. The veteran closer walked both Andy Pages and Dalton Rushing to begin the inning. Shohei Ohtani knocked in a ground-rule double that drove Pages in. With runners on second and third with one out, Fairbanks fell behind 3-0 to Freddie Freeman before intentionally walking him. Manager Clayton McCullough and pitching coach Daniel Moskos made a mound visit together along with head athletic trainer L.J. Petra. After a couple seconds of examination and no throws from Fairbanks, he came out of the game. Miami went to Tyler Phillips, who was given as much time as he needed to warm up. With the bases loaded, he struck out Will Smith swinging. The Dodgers' final hope was their big ticket free agent signing, Kyle Tucker. Tucker shook off his tough start to this season by smacking a base hit to center field on the second pitch of the at-bat, walking it off for the Dodgers. Fairbanks landed only nine of his 23 pitches for strikes. Following the game, Marlins manager Clayton McCullough told reporters in LA that he exited the game with an "unusual sensation" in his right thumb. "He was shaking his hand a little bit and somebody mentioned it's worth to go out there and just take a look and see if there was anything to it," McCullough said. "He did mention something about his thumb, and so at that point definitely you lean on the side of caution and just come in and get him evaluated and see what comes." Going into Monday night's series opener, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto had five consecutive quality starts, but the Marlins offense broke that streak, and the aforementioned Yamamoto turned in his worst start of the season. "We took some really, really close pitches and tough pitches," McCullough said. "(Yamamoto) is going to get some strikeouts, and it's high caliber stuff. For us to get four walks, really make him work, and get his pitch count up and on top of that, to come through with a big hit by Liam, you want to be able to create traffic and stress pitchers, but to be able to come through when guys are on there is what it's all about. As a whole, against one of the best starting pitchers in this league, our guys just grinded out at-bats and gave ourselves some chances. We knew that we got a big hit from Liam, and so they did a nice job against him." Yamamoto, in five innings of work, surrendered four runs (three earned) on five hits and four walks (season-high). In the top of the fourth inning with the bases loaded, Javier Sanoja reached first base on an E6 from Dodgers shortstop Hyeseong Kim, allowing the runner on third, Otto Lopez, to score. In the ensuing inning, Marlins catcher Liam Hicks, who was going into his third at-bat against Yamamoto, took him deep for his team-leading sixth home run of the season. Hicks was able to time up Yamamoto's splitter just right, taking him 348 feet deep to right field at 101.1 mph. Hicks, the former Rule 5 draft pick, is now slashing .311/.350/.544/.894 with six home runs, 27 RBI and a 143 wRC+. Hicks is now second amongst MLB players in RBI and ranked 10th in the National League in slugging percentage. A Dodgers bullpen that entered the series opener with a 4.26 ERA, which is towards the middle of the pack in MLB this season, allowed one hit, which came off former Fish Jake Eder in the top of the ninth inning. Overall, the Marlins went 2-8 with runners in scoring position and left seven on base. Chris Paddack, who made his sixth start of the season, allowed two runs on four hits, one walk and struck out one. Both runs came in the bottom of the first inning. Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman knocked in back-to-back hits, and Teoscar Hernández drove both in on an RBI single. From that point on, he allowed just one more hit in three innings of shutout baseball. In the first, Paddack threw 19 pitches, but overall, averaged about 17 pitches per inning. His fastball was his best pitch on the night, topping out at 95.5 mph and averaged 93.4 mph. He also generated three whiffs with the pitch. The lone strikeout for Paddack came in the bottom of the third inning, when he got Shohei Ohtani to swing on his curveball. "Some tough luck runs in the first, but to hang in there and looking at the way it went, for him to go four innings tonight and to leave with us leading the game, I thought he threw the ball very well again," McCullough said. " He filled it up, mixed speeds very well. That's what I asked of him tonight and he did his part." Paddack, who was set to face the Dodgers lineup for a third time through, was taken out before he had the chance to do so. The Marlins had to use six relievers, with two of them throwing on back-to-back days in Andrew Nardi and Calvin Faucher. With Paddack having only thrown 67 pitches, this is the third recent example of McCullough taking out his starter with a low pitch count despite solid results. He did it with Janson Junk on Wednesday against the St. Louis Cardinals and again on Sunday against the San Francisco Giants with Max Meyer throwing a season-low 77 pitches through five innings of work. "The third time through certainly factored in," McCullough said regarding the quick hook with Paddack. "Chris is a real pro and competitor. He wanted to go back out there and just explained my rationale for why I felt our best path tonight was to turn it over and pass it along...I think each day, I look at what's the best way to win that game." The Marlins are now 13-16 on the season and are tasked with facing Shohei Ohtani the pitcher on Tuesday night at 10:10 pm ET. Janson Junk will take the mound for the Marlins for his sixth start of the season. View full article

As reported on Monday by Fish On First's own Alex Carver and Isaac Azout, first baseman Christopher Morel has completed his rehab assignment with Triple-A Jacksonville and is meeting the team in Los Angeles ahead of their three-game series against the Dodgers. In a corresponding roster move, the Marlins are optioning outfielder Heriberto Hernández to AAA. The club has not yet made the move official. Morel, 26, signed a one-year, $2M deal this offseason. With the 2025 Tampa Bay Rays, he slashed .219/.289/.396/.684 with 11 home runs, 33 RBI and a 90 wRC+. He was designated for assignment at the end of the season and elected free agency. In 16 spring training games, Morel slashed .150/.239/.200/.439 with five RBI. The club's plan was to have him break camp as their primary first baseman, but during batting practice on Opening Day, he suffered a left oblique strain and was scratched from the lineup. He was placed on the 10-day IL a day later. On April 21, the Marlins sent Morel on a rehab assignment with Jacksonville. In four games (including three starts at first base), he went 3-for-14 at the plate. During Morel's absence, Connor Norby has gotten most of the reps at first base. He has a solid 105 wRC+ with mixed results defensively (like Morel, he's brand new to the position). Norby's playing time will likely be reduced moving forward. Heriberto Hernández was the best right-handed hitter on the 2025 Marlins. Splitting time between left field and designated hitter, he was pretty much an everyday player during the second half of his rookie season. However, it has been a completely different story this year. In 22 games before the demotion, he slashed .159/.284/.190/.474 with no home runs, nine RBI and a 44 wRC+. Hernández has improved both his strikeout rate (18.9%) and walk rate (13.5%), but he's been putting more balls on the ground and making weaker contact overall. His production has been equally poor against right-handers (.480 OPS) and left-handers (.467 OPS). The Marlins will be facing three right-handed starting pitchers during the Dodgers series: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow. Game one is on Monday at 10:15 pm. View full article

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. View full article

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. 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. View full article