Kevin Barral

Following his spring training debut on Tuesday, Marlins right-hander Chris Paddack speaks with the media about the specific pitches he's working on and adapting to the club's pitch-calling approach. View full video

JUPITER, FL—Especially when we are still in the early days of spring training, it's normal for two starting pitchers to get work for the same team in a single game. On Monday, Miami Marlins right-handers Eury Pérez and Max Meyer both took the mound. Here is a closer look at how they fared against the St. Louis Cardinals, plus more takeaways from the game and a couple injury updates. Eury Pérez and Max Meyer take the mound In Pérez's lone inning of work, he threw 19 pitches (nine for strikes), surrendering one run on one one hit, two walks and struck out one. His lone strikeout victim was Nolan Gorman who swung at a 99.0 mph fastball, which is what Pérez topped out at. He threw his new sweeper as well. "I think the sweeper looked good," Pérez said in Spanish. "It's something that I've been throwing and am going to continue working on. There was one swing-and-miss and some others that didn't land for strikes. Think the weather was not helping me much with the grip." Last season, Pérez occasionally suffered from pitch-clock violations and that was once again the issue on Monday. He said that the first violation was due to some miscommunication between the coaching staff and Agustín Ramírez—they were supposed to start with a sweeper, but that was not communicated with Ramírez. This start also was an opportunity for Pérez to work from the stretch even with the bases empty, something he admitted he is uncomfortable with. He worked on the delivery and holding runners. Meyer's debut was as good as you could've expected. He threw 11 pitches (seven for strikes) and struck out two, both with his slider. His fastball topped out at 96.7 mph. "Feels good getting back on top of that pitch," Meyer said about his slider following his outing. "It was tough getting on that in the past, but yeah, just getting on top of it, playing it in the zone, getting swings-and-misses in the zone. Obviously feels good, but it's spring training, so can't take too much out of it." This marked Meyer's first appearance back after undergoing season-ending hip surgery, but there weren't any nerves despite the long lay-off. "Just felt good to be back out there, competing and getting in an actual game," said Meyer. "Not many takeaways, it's spring, everyone's working on stuff. Threw strikes, not a lot of pitches, so had to finish up in the 'pen, but it was good." He estimates that he threw 15 additional pitches after leaving the game as he gradually builds up to a starter's workload. Jakob Marsee goes deep Leading off the bottom of the first inning, Marlins outfielder Jakob Marsee took Cardinals starter Michael McGreevy 401 feet deep to right field. It marked his first home run of the spring. He later drew a pair of walks. 0p28v3_1.mp4 Marsee was invited to big league camp last spring, but an oblique strain limited him to only one game. After having success with Triple-A Jacksonville, he was called up by Miami a day after the 2025 trade deadline, played in 55 games and slashed .292/.363/.478/.842 with five home runs, 33 RBI, 14 stolen bases and a 133 wRC+. "He looks great," McCullough said. "He's got himself ready to go take down a full season now in the major leagues. Great swing in that first at-bat, caught one elevated to pull side. He showed some power last season that maybe was a little surprising for as how he could impact the baseball." Marsee will make two more Grapefruit League starts before reporting to team Italy for the World Baseball Classic. Pair of relievers make strong impression Josh White and William Kempner were selected to the 40-man roster in November and they are both in their first big league camp. White, who has a better chance of making the team's Opening Day roster, is coming off a dominant Triple-A season, posting a 1.86 ERA in 67 ⅔ innings. On Monday, he topped out at 96.0 mph, striking out two without allowing any runs. "Unique arm slot and how he can generate a lot of top-to-bottom with his breaking balls," said McCullough. "Hitters have a tough time picking up the slider and where that ball is going to finish. Good first outing for him. Came as advertised." As for Kempner, he was acquired from the Giants for international pool money in January 2025, a move which has aged well for the Marlins. Kempner topped out at 96.7 mph and also struck out two, working around a walk and a hit-by-pitch. "The stuff we know is going to be great. Now, accessing the strike zone on a regular basis will probably dictate the success, but the stuff is no question," McCullough said. Quick notes - In addition to the pitchers mentioned above, the Marlins also used Michael Petersen, Garrett Acton, Josh White, William Kempner, Patrick Monteverde, Colby Martin and Peyton Fosher. Monteverde made the first multi-inning appearance of any Marlins pitcher this spring. Most of the position players who played were the ones we previously saw up in Port St. Lucie for the Grapefruit League opener on Saturday. - Matthew Etzel helped himself with a 109.7 mph double in the top of the ninth inning, but in the bottom of the ninth, he misjudged a ball in center field, leading to a double on what should have been the final out of the game. - Chris Paddack will start for the Marlins on Tuesday against the Philadelphia Phillies. Tyler Phillips will start a bullpen game on Wednesday against the Houston Astros, which will also include Pete Fairbanks' 2026 spring debut. - Graham Pauley is dealing with right forearm tightness and has been shut down from all baseball activities. He went for imaging and no results have come back as of Wednesday evening. - Andrew Nardi (right finger blister) threw a pitch design session of 15 pitches and is progressing well. "You can tell there's a whole different vibe and feel around him," McCullough said. "He's feeling great." - Anthony Bender (right tibial stress reaction) came out of his last pitch design "in a great spot," per McCullough. Next step is for him to dial up his fastball velo. - The plan for Janson Junk (Grade 1 right ankle sprain) is to get him on the mound either Wednesday or Thursday What's next? The Marlins will remain in Jupiter Tuesday afternoon as they welcome the Philadelphia Phillies at 1:10 pm. Chris Paddack, who was one of four free agents the team signed this offseason, will make his first start of the spring. It's expected to be one inning. The game will not be televised, but you can listen on the MLB app. View full article

JUPITER, FL—On Sunday afternoon, Sandy Alcantara and the Miami Marlins took the field at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium for the first time in 2026. It would take three hours and 41 minutes for them to finally leave the field. In what should wind up being one of the longest and highest-scoring games of Marlins spring training, the Nationals defeated them by a final score of 16-8. Sandy Alcantara still working through new sweeper Alcantara cruised through the Grapefruit League in 2025, allowing zero earned runs through five starts. The process won't be as smooth this time around—in his lone inning of work against Washington, he threw 28 pitches, allowing three runs on two hits (one home run), walked one and struck out one. The right-hander called his first start "frustrating," saying he thought it would go much better. A big offseason development for him was adding a sweeper, but that pitch failed him on Sunday when Brady House took one deep for a three-run homer. "It was a two-strike count and I was trying to throw my best sweeper ever," Alcantara said following his start. "Just left it in the middle and when you miss, you pay." Although Alcantara has been throwing his sweeper for months in bullpen and pitch design sessions, that doesn't compare to a game environment. He admitted that he doesn't fully trust it. "I think it's about consistency, but I have to keep improving, throwing a couple more bullpens, but everything will be good." The Marlins used 10 pitchers in relief of Alcantara: Lake Bachar, Brayan Mendoza, Tyler Zuber, Evan McKendry, Liomar Martínez, Justin King, Samuel Vasquez, RJ Shunck, Dale Stanavich and Jake Walkinshaw. As a group, the pitching staff walked 13 hitters and threw eight wild pitches. New bats on the block The Marlins' starting outfield was comprised entirely of offseason acquisitions: Esteury Ruiz (acquired from Dodgers) in left, Dillon Lewis (Yankees) in center and Owen Caissie (Cubs) in right. In two plate appearances apiece, Caissie struck out twice and so did Lewis, while Ruiz worked two walks. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Brendan Jones (Yankees) hit the club's first home run of the spring. In that same inning, prospect Ethan O'Donnell (Reds) hit a grand slam. "I think that's the great part about spring training," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "There are so many players in our camp that have come through the system or that we've acquired recently earn an opportunity and to have them in camp, give them some opportunity to run and play a little bit. Certainly, there are a lot of players in here that in the near future we're counting on to be able to come up and help us in Miami." "Different" Deyvison De Los Santos The lone Marlin to have a multi-hit performance thus far has been Fish On First's No. 28 prospect, Deyvison De Los Santos. He finished the day with two singles, the second driving in Liam Hicks. De Los Santos is coming off a disappointing season in Triple-A, slashing .240/.313/.359/.672 with 12 home runs, 54 RBI and an 85 wRC+. This was after a 40-homer season in 2024. This past offseason, De Los Santos went to the Dominican Winter League with the Gigantes del Cibao. In 44 games, he slashed .309/.365/.475/.840 with five home runs and 28 RBI. When FOF asked De Los Santos what he worked on this offseason, it wasn't anything mechanical or even baseball-related—it was on the mental side. “I’d say what I need to improve is my mindset and my maturity," De Los Santos said in Spanish. "I focused on that, I matured, and that’s what I’m applying here.” McCullough after the game spoke on how De Los Santos has carried himself and described it as "seeing a different Deyvison," noting he's the first one at the Jupiter Academy every day and he's "putting his hard hat on and going to work." Quick notes - Sandy Alcantara is expected to make just one more spring training start before he joins the Dominican Republic for the World Baseball Classic. - Free agent signings Chris Paddack and John King are expected to make their spring debuts this week. - The expectation is that Janson Junk (Grade 1 right ankle sprain) will work off a mound at some point this upcoming week. - On MLB Network Radio, McCullough said Marlins pitchers have NOT been given permission to challenge pitches. Only the catcher. What's next? The Marlins remain in Jupiter Monday afternoon as they play visitor to the St. Louis Cardinals with Eury Pérez starting the game and Max Meyer will follow him. They will throw just one inning each. First pitch is at 1:10 pm and this game will be televised on Cardinals.TV and MLB Network. You can listen to it on MLB.com. View full article

Following his spring training debut on Sunday, Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara speaks with the media about his frustrating results against the Washington Nationals and the process of developing better command of his sweeper. View full video

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL—Miami Marlins baseball returned on Saturday as they faced off against the New York Mets. The teams combined for four total hits in the 2-1 Marlins exhibition game win. We were able to see Robby Snelling make his first spring training start, Christopher Morel play first base and the automated ball-strike challenge system in play. Snelling makes first spring start Fish On First's number three prospect Robby Snelling took the mound for the first inning. He threw 10 pitches, setting the top of the Mets order down in 1-2-3 fashion. That included Marcus Semien, Juan Soto and Bo Bichette. Snelling went with a fastball/curveball combo, with his fastball topping out at 96.4 mph and generating one swing with the curveball. "It's always tough getting one inning, small sample sizes, only 10 pitches through the entire inning," said Snelling. "I go back and look that I didn't get to show the entire repertoire, but being able to go out and have a scoreless inning to start the spring, that is a big confidence builder. Even happier to be in the zone, like I was against a really good starting three." Snelling, who isn't on the 40-man roster, still enters spring with a real chance at cracking the Marlins Opening Day rotation. "If you don't go into spring with that mindset, I don't want to say you don't belong there, but you got to have a little competitive fire in you," said Snelling. Early on in camp, it's been the "nine pockets," which are meant to help you target certain spots in the strike zone. "This helped me big time last year," Snelling said. "I've been doing that throughout spring and I think if you fall 2-0 to a really, really good hitter, you can't leave anything middle-middle in the danger zone. Being able to know where your stuff's going to end up is throwing it into the nine pocket. I pictured a nine pocket back there, and (Agustin Ramirez) was my nine pocket." Marlins "bullpen" After Snelling, the following pitchers each threw one inning: Ryan Gusto, Tyler Phillips, Cade Gibson, Zach Brzykcy, Jack Ralston, Josh Ekness, Nigel Belgrave and Stephen Jones. Gusto recorded the first strikeout of the spring for the Marlins, getting MJ Melendez to swing on a 95.0 mph fastball. This offseason, Gusto tweaked his sweeper and added a completely new changeup. "We were really moving the pointer finger on the sweeper, just figuring out a way for me to get to the front of the ball a little bit better, make that spin a little bit tighter and more efficient, so it can help them move and be more consistent," Gusto said following his outing. He threw the sweeper twice, generating one whiff with it. After attempting many different changeup grips, Gusto has finally settled on one that "will be able to work with the way that I leverage the ball individually for me." Before using it in game action, he was able to throw is in his most recent live and hitters told him it was "moving a lot, just wasn't locating it well enough." On Saturday, he threw it three times, generating three whiffs. "He got a little bit everything too," McCullough said. "It was nice that first one, he had a deep at-bat, was able to finish that off. To get some working out of the stretch and probably most importantly, he felt healthy. He came into camp feeling good and then to have this first one go that way, it's a good start." Phillips struck out Marcus Semien swinging with his splitter. His fastball topped out at 97.8 mph, which was faster than any pitch of his MLB career. The Marlins expect to stretch Phillips out given his prior experience as a starting pitcher and extensive pitch mix. "We talked last year on even the potential of him starting," McCullough said. "I think he has those capabilities and we'll see how that plays out. I think we'll just want to continuously increase him, whether that's giving us really good length out of the ‘pen and you can certainly pitch him in short bursts, and as crazy as things can get during the season, also the ability to even go through the lineup a couple of times." Plan at first base On Saturday, free agent signing Christopher Morel started at first base with Griffin Conine playing right field, both for five innings. That will be the plan until the Marlins feel comfortable with Conine playing first base in a game. Morel will move around the field as well, per McCullough. Morel looked comfortable in his first ever start at first base, making a couple of nice plays, specifically in the bottom of the first inning to get the final out. He finished the day hitless, but was able to drive in the Marlins’ second run of the game on a sac fly in the top of the sixth inning, scoring Jakob Marsee. "Probably in a lot of ways couldn't have been any better for Christopher (Morel)," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "Not only making the plays, but some of them were not just your garden variety, leaving the first, the high chopper that takes him kind of going into foul territory, get himself under control and make a nice read. He attacks some other ones very well and gave himself some good hops to play with. He's looked great on the backfields, and certainly knew that he was going to prepare himself as best he could coming into camp for this and I'm glad he got a lot of chances, and hope he just continues to get more of those in spring training." ABS challenge system strategy New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told his players to "be aggressive" with the ABS challenge system this spring—that way they can create a strategy for the regular season based on who’s getting calls overturned. McCullough plans on using it in a similar way, at least with the position players. "I've told our position players that they have the ability to challenge in spring training," McCullough said pregame. "You need to meet a percentage threshold that you feel pretty certain that this is. If you get it wrong, there'll be a tax you have to pay me and if you get it right, then you don't get anything from me, other than you get to build some equity and trust in myself and the staff. “If a guy goes 5-for-5 in spring training, what does that mean for the season? I think everyone will look at the samples in their own way. We're talking through actively some more team philosophy and some team things that we'll be thinking about rolling out for the season." On Saturday, each team challenged once and both were unsuccessful. Brian Navarreto, who entered the game in place of Agustín Ramírez, challenged for Miami. Mets catching prospect Kevin Parada challenged while batting in the bottom of the ninth inning. What's next? The Marlins begin a stretch of four straight games at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, located in Jupiter, Florida. Sandy Alcantara will take the mound for the Marlins on Sunday, as they welcome the Washington Nationals. First pitch is slated for 1:10 pm. The game will not be televised, but you can listen to it on MLB.com. View full article

Following his Marlins spring training debut on Saturday, first baseman Christopher Morel speaks with the media about his comfort level at his new position and where he can still improve before the regular season begins. View full video

Following Saturday's scoreless start against the New York Mets, Marlins left-hander Robby Snelling speaks with the media about his main takeaways from the outing and competing for a big league job. View full video

Beginning with the 2026 season, the Miami Marlins are making a major change by leaving the regional sports network model behind and partnering with Major League Baseball to produce their television game broadcasts. A source told Fish On First that all of the team's on-air talent will remain employed for the upcoming year, but with changes to some of their roles. While we await a formal announcement from the Marlins, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald broke down many of the specifics Friday morning in this column. Marlins.TV Kyle Sielaff will be back as the Marlins play-by-play announcer. Sielaff called the vast majority of games on FanDuel Sports Network Florida in 2025 and his workload will increase even more moving forward, slated to do 154 of the 157 Marlins.TV games, according to Jackson. Craig Minervini will fill in for the other three. Former pitcher Jeff Nelson previously served as an analyst for both the Marlins and New York Yankees. Focused fully on the Fish in 2026, there are 69 games on his schedule (most among Marlins.TV analysts). Longtime analyst Tommy Hutton is doing 60 games, all of them at loanDepot park. The other 28 games will go to former Marlin Gaby Sanchez. Rod Allen, who was part of the game analyst rotation for the past four seasons, will no longer be in the booth. He'll work the pregame and postgame shows, alternating with Nelson and former Marlins closer AJ Ramos. However, the length of those shows is being reduced as part of this transition. There was previously 30 minutes of coverage before and after games, but that's going down to 15 minutes for home games, and on the road, there will be no pregame show and only a five-minute postgame show. Minervini and Marlins insider Craig Mish are each hosting half of the home games, and sometimes, Mish will be paired with Minervini and function as the analyst. Kelly Saco and Jeremy Taché will still serve as in-game reporters, but Mish and Minervini are in the fold for that as well. Saco will get the most amount of games, followed by Taché, then Minervini and finally Mish. Marlins Radio Network The Marlins are "close to finalizing an agreement" that would move their radio broadcasts from WINZ (940 AM) to WQAM (560 AM and 104.3 FM), per Jackson. WQAM was home to the inaugural Marlins season, but this would be the club's first time back with them since 2007. Due to those ongoing negotiations, fans trying to access the Marlins Radio Network during spring training should use MLB.com or the MLB app. Rod Allen and AJ Ramos will be the primary analysts alongside second-year play-by-play man Jack McMullen. Nelson, Saco and Marlins Radio pregame host Stephen Strom will handle the leftover games. Combining his assignments across both mediums, Ramos will have a much bigger role than he did last season. View full article

Miami Marlins spring training has been underway for more than a week at this point. With every player now reported to Jupiter and Grapefruit League competition approaching on Saturday, we're beginning to get a clearer idea of what the 2026 team will look like. Here are the most important updates from the past couple days of Marlins camp activities. Injuries Right-handed pitcher Janson Junk rolled his ankle during dynamic warmups on Tuesday, per MLB.com's Christina De Nicola. The setback has already forced him to miss a pitch design session that was previously scheduled for Wednesday and he will undergo imaging in Miami. Junk, who made 21 appearances (16 starts) last season, posting a 4.17 ERA and 3.14 FIP in 110 innings pitched, is currently fighting for a starting rotation spot. Based on his 2025 performance and the fact that he's out of minor league options, he'll make the Opening Day roster as long as he's healthy in time. Even if tests do not reveal a significant injury, this break in his throwing program will slow down the process of getting him built up as a starter. Right-hander Anthony Bender is a bit behind as his shin had a flare-up, but he threw a bullpen on Tuesday and was fine. He isn't facing hitters yet, but the expectation is that he will get into games soon. Bender posted a 2.16 ERA in 51 appearances (50.0 IP) in 2025. Left-hander Andrew Nardi, who missed all of 2025 with a back injury, is dealing with a blood blister. Like Bender, he threw on Tuesday, but is a few days behind the other Marlins pitchers. The last time Nardi appeared in a game was in August 2024. He finished that season posting a 5.07 ERA in 49 ⅔ innings pitched. Snelling starts against Mets Marlins manager Clayton McCullough announced that left-handed pitcher and Fish On First number three prospect Robby Snelling will make the club's first start of the spring against the New York Mets in Port St. Lucie. The Mets will counter with fellow lefty Brandon Waddell. Last spring, Snelling made just two appearances (1.2 IP) before getting reassigned to the minors. From there, he was excellent, posting a 2.51 ERA, 2.77 FIP, 10.99 K/9 and 2.58 BB/9 in 136 innings pitched at the Double-A and Triple-A levels. He should be a significant piece of the Marlins major league staff as the 2026 season progresses. Expect the 22-year-old to work only one inning in this outing, then get built up from there in one-inning increments, similar to what we saw last spring. Fairbanks on MLBPA shake-up New Marlins reliever Pete Fairbanks happens to be part of the Major League Baseball Players Association's eight-player executive subcommittee. In the aftermath of MLBPA executive director Tony Clark resigning, Fairbanks had this to say on Wednesday (via Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald): "The players remain focused on their ongoing preparations for collective bargaining this year. The strength of this union is—and will always be—the solidarity of our membership. We have a long history of fighting for the rights of every player, and we’re committed to making sure we can continue that fight successfully.” View full article

JUPITER, FL—Kyle Stowers drew attention during his first spring training in the Miami Marlins organization, but for the wrong reasons. In Grapefruit League games, he went 7-for-40 with a .540 OPS and looked like a candidate to be optioned to the minor leagues. It was a continuation of the 2024 season in terms of being unable to unlock the raw power that the Marlins desperately needed to add to their lineup. One year later, as Marlins position players reported to camp for Monday's first full-squad workout, Stowers was surrounded by reporters at his clubhouse locker and by fans once the workout began. That's what happens when you slash .288/.368/.544/.912 with 25 home runs, 73 RBI and a 149 wRC+ in what was an All-Star-worthy 2025 season. "I think the good news is, if I played poorly in spring, everyone would be like, 'Oh, he's right on pace with last year,'" Stowers said jokingly. "Kyle just went out there and continually made adjustments," said manager Clayton McCullough. "And he's gonna have to make adjustments again this year...If you don't adjust in the major leagues, you won't last long." Stowers and the Marlins were engaged in contract extension talks this offseason. The Athletic reported that the sides were far apart, with Stowers' camp asking for about $100M and the Marlins valuing him closer to $50M. The 28-year-old outfielder confirmed that no formal offer was made and disputed the $100M figure. "I'm just so focused on this year," said Stowers. "I got four years of control left. I understand it and you have every right to play my control out. I'm just so excited to be here, so grateful to be in this organization. Was bummed we didn't get something figured out. Would love to someday, but at the same time, let's take care of this year and we'll go from there." Stowers missed the final quarter of the season due to an oblique strain, but comes into camp 100% healthy. He will not let himself "lose the competitive side of things" just because his roster spot is more secure entering 2026. Marlins principal owner Bruce Sherman applied some extra pressure during his Monday morning press conference, saying that "our expectations are really high for him." Becoming a father for the first time earlier this month gives him even more motivation to avoid complacency. "I've gone into every single spring training my entire career to compete for a job...It's not a passive process. I don't want to lose that edge." Stowers expects his teammates to adopt a similar mentality despite the Marlins' 17-win improvement from the year before. "The reality of it is all 30 teams are trying to get better. From the Dodgers to the last-place team, every single team at the end of the season looks to improve," said Stowers. "The notion that because we won however many games one year, then that many the next, there's not going to be that same guarantee of increase, and we know that. You got to have hunger to go earn it and continue to get as much as we can out of each day." Quick Notes - Miami Marlins chairman and principle owner Bruce Sherman and president of baseball operations Peter Bendix addressed the media. - All 72 players who were invited to Marlins camp have reported on time, per Clayton McCullough. - The following pitchers threw on Monday: Braxton Garrett, Eury Pérez, Pete Fairbanks, Garrett Acton, Michael Petersen, Bradley Blalock, Patrick Monteverde, Thomas White, Josh White, Dale Stanavich and Karson Milbrandt. - Monday was also our first opportunity to see Griffin Conine and Christopher Morel participating in defensive drills as first basemen. Neither of them have any prior professional experience at the position. View full article

Marlins manager Clayton McCullough speaks to the media about his philosophy of living in the moment and how he could improve from his rookie season in Miami. View full video

Marlins principal owner Bruce Sherman and president of baseball operations Peter Bendix speak to the media about the franchise's spending, player development infrastructure and goals for 2026. View full video

Marlins outfielder Kyle Stowers speaks to the media on the morning of the club's first full-squad workout, analyzing his 2025 breakout, reacting to rumors of a potential contract extension and more. View full video