Kevin Barral

MIAMI, FL - At this point last year, the Miami Marlins were 19-28, a few games worse than where they currently are, which is 22-28 after falling to the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night by a final score of 9-1. Manager Clayton McCullough couldn't pinpoint exactly what needs to change for this team to get back on track. "I think we just have to hang in the fight," McCullough said. "Our clubhouse believes in our staff, and we know that we are certainly capable of getting on a good run and stringing some wins together and winning some series'. Right now we're just not doing that. To do that, a lot of facets have to come together and I think where we're at right now is where we're at, and we have a long road ahead of us. We just keep taking a step forward and come out tomorrow." With Chris Sale on the mound, the Marlins had both Xavier Edwards and Otto Lopez as their top two hitters in the lineup, who combined for three of their four hits on Wednesday. From Lopez down, the only Marlin to knock in a base hit was third baseman Leo Jimenez, which came in the bottom of the fourth inning. That was the Marlins' final hit of the day. Sale went seven innings of one-run ball, striking out eight without issuing a walk. The only run he allowed came in the bottom of the first inning on a sacrifice fly from Heriberto Hernandez that scored Xavier Edwards. It marked the fifth time this season that the Marlins failed to draw a walk and the seventh time they were held without an extra-base hit. Miami went 0-for-1 with runners in scoring position. "It really felt like after that first inning, he got into a really good rhythm," McCullough said. "The slider really picked up. I think he started executing at a really high level with that pitch and settled in." The Marlins, who have said from the start that they are attacking this season with urgency, have been giving players opportunities, but with quick hooks. Some examples include optioning Agustin Ramirez and Graham Pauley along with designating Chris Paddack for assignment. After just two starts in his return to the big leagues, Braxton Garrett was optioned back down to Jacksonville as well. One example of someone who may be on borrowed time is first baseman Christopher Morel, who is now slashing .143/.192/.184/.376 with only two extra base hits. On Wednesday, he went 0-for-3. The power that he was once lauded for has evaporated, now averaging an exit velocity of 88.8 mph, just below the league average. He is also striking out 34.6% of the time, the second-highest rate of his career. The first base experiment also hasn't been great, as he currently has a negative Outs Above Average. The Marlins were the only Major League team interested in his services during the offseason, as teams overseas also expressed interest. He signed a one-year deal worth $2M, but is under club control until 2029. On Tuesday, after going 1-4 with three strikeouts and a costly play at first base which gave the Braves a 5-4 lead, Morel declined to speak to the media. Current first base options on the 26-man roster include Connor Norby and Liam Hicks. Norby, who is slashing .224/.327/.367/.694 with four home runs, 14 RBI and a 99 wRC+, also has four Outs Above Average at first base and has adapted well to the position. Although undersized for the position, Hicks has broken out, now tied for the MLB lead with 42 RBI. In a limited sample size at first base this season, he grades out as a league-average player there and last season had one OAA, which is considered above average. Kyle Stowers could also play the position in a pinch. More first base options include Griffin Conine, who is continuing to work back from an early season injury and in the minor leagues, Deyvison De Los Santos and Jacob Berry are having nice seasons and can play the position. If the Marlins were to move on from Morel, it would mean that two of the four free-agent signings the team made are already gone. Among position players, he would join Tim Anderson as the second hitter signed to an MLB deal by Peter Bendix to be designated for assignment. “It’s tough for me to weigh in too much on him,” McCullough said prior to the second game of the series. “He’s only had about 35-36 plate appearances up here so far, so it’s still a very small sample size. He hit some balls hard in the Tampa series, including a really hard lineout to left, so he’s getting some good swings off. “He also fouled off a number of pitches that he probably wishes he had done more with. With Chris, we’re going to continue to give him some at-bats and opportunities to get into a rhythm here, because with only 35 plate appearances, he’s basically four-for-four away from things looking completely different.” Janson Junk got his season started on a high-note, but through the last three starts, he has surrendered a total of 19 runs on 25 hits. In his most recent outing, Junk allowed eight runs to a high-powered Braves offense that took game three of the four-game set by a final score of 9-1. With Junk's struggles, it brings up the question if a change should be made. Problem is, Miami is currently lacking formidable options, especially following the demotion of Braxton Garret and top prospect Thomas White being placed on the IL. Additionally, Robby Snelling is currently on the MLB IL with a UCL sprain. After a clean bottom of the first inning, Austin Riley took Junk deep in the following frame. The three-run homer gave the Braves a 3-1 lead. Similar to the home run Junk allowed to Tampa Bay Rays designated hitter Yandy Díaz on Friday, he left a sweeper over the middle of the plate for Riley to take advantage of, sending it to straightaway center field. Junk allowed five runs in the top of the sixth inning without being able to record an out. He allowed back-to-back RBI singles to Matt Olson and Ozzie Albies. Dominic Smith provided the final blow, a three-run homer which made it 8-1, immediately making manager Clayton McCullough come out to make a call to the bullpen. The game was capped off by a Dominic Smith triple in which both Esteury Ruiz and Owen Caissie collided, causing the ball to pop out of Ruiz’s glove. On the relay throw, Ruiz missed both Otto Lopez and Javier Sanoja, sending the ball into an unreachable spot for any defender and allowing Smith to score. The official scoring was later changed to a triple followed by an E8. “It’s tough. Both guys are going forward in that direction,” McCullough said about the play. “Either guy could’ve made the catch. You’re trying your best to communicate, whether verbally or non-verbally, but when both guys are going full speed, those things unfortunately do happen.” With the loss, the Marlins drop to 22-28, a season-worst six games under .500. The Marlins have a chance to go for the split on Thursday night with Sandy Alcantara on the mound. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 pm. 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 third May 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 May 12-18. Triple-A Jacksonville Fish On First Prospect of the Week Matthew Etzel had gotten off to a rough start in 2026, but now through 35 games, his production is close to his career average. Etzel was incredible in the most recent series against the Memphis Redbirds, recording at least one RBI in five of the six games and hitting home runs in each of the first four games. He is currently riding a 10-game hitting streak. His overall season slash line is up to .227/.313/.391/.703 with five home runs, 21 RBI and an 88 wRC+. The Marlins acquired Etzel right before last year's trade deadline from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for longtime catcher Nick Fortes. The Rays are satisfied with their side of the deal as Fortes is contributing to a club with the best record in Major League Baseball, but Etzel could potentially be called up at some point this season to give the Marlins a left-handed bat off the bench. Fish On First Prospects (@fofprospects) • Instagram photos and videos WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM 40 likes, 1 comments - fofprospects on May 17, 2026: "Fear the beard! 🧔‍♂️data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== By way of a 9-25 series in which he hit homers in four straight games and in which he raised his OPS by over 100... Kemp Alderman continues to mash in Jacksonville, now slashing .303/.376/.526/.903 with nine home runs, 23 RBI and a 137 wRC+. The 2023 second-round pick has been playing some first base recently, increasing his defensive versatility. He currently leads the Marlins farm system in hits (46) and runs scored (29). The main concern with Alderman is the jump in his strikeout rate, going from 23.1% in 2025 to 31.2% this season. Although a much different type of hitter, Jacob Berry has been equally successful in Jacksonville, now slashing .317/.419/.455/.874 with two home runs, 16 RBI, 13 stolen bases and a 138 wRC+. He is walking (14.2 BB%) more often than he's striking out (12.2 K%). Berry has gotten reps at five different defensive positions this season, most recently second base. It's getting hard to justify keeping him down while the Marlins receive minimal contributions from the likes of Christopher Morel and Heriberto Hernández. It's been an up-and-down ride for top prospect Thomas White since coming off the IL and going to Triple-A. In seven starts, White has a 4.01 ERA, 4.93 FIP, 12.77 K/9 and 5.47 BB/9. In his most recent start against Memphis, White allowed four runs on seven hits (two home runs). White's fastball currently is averaging 94.9 mph and generating a 32.0% whiff rate, but is getting hit extremely hard (55.5% hard-hit rate). It's also below league average with a stuff plus grade of 91 (100 is league average). The breaking pitches have been a bit better, primarily the sweeper, generating 34% whiff and a 97 stuff plus. He is throwing that pitch 30.6% of the time, his second-most-used pitch. Still only 21 years old, there is no rush with White, but Chris Paddack's departure and Robby Snelling's injury have moved him up the depth chart. In the bullpen, Jack Ralston and Josh White continue to dominate. Ralston has a 1.11 ERA, 2.95 FIP, 12.21 K/9 and 4.81 BB/9 in 15 appearances. As for White, he has a 1.61 ERA, 4.95 FIP, 9.27 K/9 and 4.84 BB/9 in 14 appearances (one start). William Kempner made his MLB debut with the Marlins on May 5, then quickly returned to the Jumbo Shrimp. He has not allowed a hit since then in seven innings pitched. Double-A Pensacola The Wahoos put on a power display in their series in Chattanooga. The beneficiaries of 13 total home runs over the week, Pensacola slugged their way to four wins in six games. They will head back home to take on Columbus with the chance to get back over .500 in the tightly-contested Southern League South division. Once again leading the offensive charge was 22-year-old slugger Dillon Lewis, who went 5-for-21 with four of his hits visiting areas beyond fences. In the second game of the series, Lewis hit two home runs marking his first multi-homer game of the season and second of his career. On the season, he’s slugging .481, which ties him for 11th-best SLG in the Southern League. He’s on pace to be the first Marlins minor leaguer since Griffin Conine (2021) to reach 30 homers. Lewis has immense raw power. With a seemingly gentle flick of the bat, Lewis is generating average exit velocities in the mid-to-upper 90s all the way up to the 110s. He is a pure pull hitter, smashing the ball to left field and in the air 17.9% of the time, in the 80th percentile in the Southern League. He turns on almost everything he touches with amazing strength. On the flip side, working to Lewis’ disadvantage is his extremely low percentage of swings at pitches in the strike zone and his relatively high amount of swings outside the zone. With a 40-point difference between his Z-Swing and O-swing, this is a clear point of emphasis for Lewis to hone in on as he continues to progress. Because of his current gaps, the offensive floor is a bit volatile, but with improved plate vision and better swing decisions, there is a path to Lewis developing into a 40+ home run threat. He raises his overall floor a bit thanks to great athleticism and plus speed. Lewis is under the radar nationally, but that could change in short order later this year. Are you not entertained? At this point, every Karson Milbrandt start is a must-watch event. His latest movie from this past week: six shutout innings on three hits, no walks and 11 strikeouts. That earned him Southern League Pitcher of the Week honors. In his past three starts, Milbrandt has a 0.50 ERA with a 28/3 K/BB. Milbrandt’s player page on TJ Stats lights up like a Christmas tree. In every stat category except for swing% and zone%, he ranks on the upper echelon of his fellow competitors (75th percentile or better). This includes the 99th percentile in whiff rate and the 98th in ground ball rate. Dominating all areas of the zone, changing eye levels, changing speeds—Milbrandt is doing it all largely with upper-90s velo plus ride on the fastball and a nasty sweeper with late run. He also still has a good power curveball in his back pocket. With questions about third-pitch development and control and command becoming more distant by the start, Milbrandt's career path increasingly bears resemblance to Max Meyer's, only his improvements are happening at a younger age. If these results persist for Milbrandt, we will see him at the big league level sooner than originally expected. On Tuesday, the 22-year-old was deservedly added to Baseball America's Top 100 prospects list. The Marlins now have five players on the list, with Milbrandt joining Thomas White, Robby Snelling, Aiva Arquette and Joe Mack. High-A Beloit It was also a good week for the Sky Carp who shook off a series loss by taking four out of six from Peoria. The series was highlighted by an explosive 17-run performance on Saturday followed by a walk-off win on Sunday. Beloit’s offense scored a whopping 40 runs over the week (plus-10 run differential). It was refreshing to see from a squad who is still hitting just .220/.356/.375 as cold air and dreary weather start to finally dissipate in the region. A Marlins’ 2024 14th-rounder, Cam Clayton enjoyed a solid week at the plate, recording a bit in each game including two home runs. His second homer came Sunday and served as Beloit’s walk-off salvo. The 4-for-15 series came on the heels of a three-hit game on May 9. Overall, Clayton is 7 for his last 18 with six RBI. Clayton was drafted as a shortstop, but has since transitioned to corner infielder spots. This season with Beloit, he’s primarily played first base and slotted in as their DH. To reach an MLB ceiling, his bat will need to play consistently. It’s only showed up in spurts so far this season in High-A: before this current stretch, he was mired in an 0-for-21 spell before spending time on the development list. Clayton is walking at a tremendous rate and he is not swinging at bad pitches often, but he may be being a bit too timid at the plate: his zone swing percentage on the year is just 50.5%, one of the lowest in the High-A ranks. If Clayton, who sports a decent swing, can shake off some of his stoicism in the box without fully sacrificing his walk rate, he will improve his stock as a prospect. As the weather improves, so does Eliazar Dishmey's control and command. After tossing five shutty last time out, the 21-year-old turned in his first quality start of the year against Peoria, going six innings of one-run ball on just two hits and three walks while striking out six. His only charged run came on a solo home run. By way of one of the deeper arsenals in the Marlins’ organization, Dishmey continues to trend in the right direction. His 2.57 ERA this season is 11th-best in the Midwest League among pitchers with at least 20 IP. Transparently, Dishmey’s BABIP is an extremely low and unsustainable .189 and his 4.09 FIP is two runs higher than his ERA. As the BABIP normalizes over a larger sample of frames, Dishmey’s ERA will rise. Dishmey won’t overpower with fastball velo which usually sits 92-94, but he throws the fastball two different ways and keeps hitters off balance with both rise and sink. His best breaker is a hard slider in the mid-upper 80s and he also owns a slow loopy curveball in the low 80s. Lack of shape on his changeup has caused it to morph more so into a cutter recently—that pitch sits 88-90 plays as a better mix-in offering. Ryan Ignoffo (Pensacola) is expected to miss at least a week after injuring the popliteofibular ligament in his knee. Ignoffo has been the primary catcher for the Blue Wahoos, slashing .250/.308/.396 with seven stolen bases but only one home run. Cam Cannarella (Beloit) made his return to the diamond after missing the previous five weeks due to a wrist injury. The 2025 draft pick is slashing .364/.429/.545 in eight games played this season. Keyner Benitez (Jupiter), who made five appearances and posted a 2.79 ERA, is done for the season as he will undergo surgery on his left arm. This week's schedule Triple-A Jacksonville vs. Norfolk Double-A Pensacola vs. Columbus High-A Beloit at Quad Cities Low-A Jupiter vs. Daytona FCL Marlins vs. FCL Cardinals, FCL Nationals, FCL Astros and FCL Mets View full article

MIAMI, FL — The mighty Atlanta Braves weren't so mighty on Monday night against the Miami Marlins, slaughtered by a final score of 12-0. For the Marlins, it was their highest-scoring game of the 2026 season and they produced all of that offense within the first five innings. They accomplished this against a Braves team that holds a huge lead on top of the National League East and entered the game with Major League Baseball's highest winning percentage. "A lot of really good at-bats today," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. "It was nice to see us string a bunch of them together to create traffic, and then be able to cash in. (Javier) Sanoja's grand slam was probably the icing on that. Those couple innings I think as a group we really just put together high-quality at-bats." Javier Sanoja, who going into the previous series against the Tampa Bay Rays had only two hits during the month of May, came out of the Trop with a multi-hit game, both doubles, now followed by his first career grand slam. "You get off to a nice start during the year, then you hit a rough patch," McCullough said. "I think that's what Javi is getting back to, not try to swing yourself out of every plate appearance to make up for a previous plate appearance or a previous stretch of at-bats. The ability to like make contact is always there, and at times, it can be a detriment where you get yourself out." Sanoja became the ninth player in Marlins history and the first since Justin Bour (June 10, 2016 at Arizona) to hit a grand slam while batting ninth in the lineup. He also became the fourth non-pinch-hitter to hit a grand slam while batting ninth in the lineup, joining Enrique Hernández, Dontrelle Willis and Chris Hammond. Xavier Edwards followed Sanoja and hit his fifth home run of the season, marking back-to-back homers for the Marlins in the bottom of the fifth inning, making it a 12-0 game. His homer was off left-handed pitcher Aaron Bummer, marking his third home run off a left-handed pitcher. Sanoja and Edwards became the second pair of Marlins teammates in franchise history to hit back-to-back home runs with the first homer being a grand slam, joining Derrek Lee and Charles Johnson (April 7, 1998 at PHI). Rookie catcher Joe Mack enjoyed his best night at the plate since being recalled by the Marlins earlier this month. His RBI groundout opened the scoring in the second inning. Including a single and a bases-loaded walk later on, he drove in four total runs after entering Monday with only two through 12 career games. McCullough called it "his best collection of at-bats in a game." "Today was actually was pretty good," Mack said. "Having that good lead allowed me to slow it down, but the game really hasn't sped up on me all too much. Just being able to control it and kind of take a deep breath when you need to is definitely a big help." Mack is now slashing .225/.262/.300/.562 with six RBI and a 56 wRC+. It's been his defense that has certainly impressed, but the bat seems to be coming around as he has a hit in three straight games. Provided with plenty of run support, Max Meyer showed no mercy against the Braves. He tossed six innings of two-hit ball, striking out six. His season ERA is now down to 2.85 through 10 starts this season. Although he threw his fastball more than any other pitch (31%), it is his slider and sweeper that continues to be dominant. He had six whiffs on the slider and four of his six strikeouts came on the sweeper. Meyer through 10 starts now has a 2.85 ERA, 3.06 FIP, 10.06 K/9 and 3.19 BB/9. He is the only qualified starter in baseball who has yet to suffer a loss this season. He is also the sixth pitcher in Marlins history to not be charged with a loss through 10 starts to begin a season. The Marlins are now 7-3 when Meyer takes the mound for the Marlins. "He just continues to show the pitches and how his mix and everything has really come together," McCullough said. "He's such a better pitcher on the mound, but I think even the maturity was obscene from him, and he's just able to handle anything that comes his way during a game and just kind of put it behind him and keep going." Nearly six years removed from being selected with the third overall pick of the 2020 MLB Draft, Meyer is truly beginning to live up to the hype. This was the first time since 9/17/23 that the Marlins have defeated a team by 12 runs or more. It also marked the first 12-0 win in franchise history. With the win, the Marlins are now 22-26, four games under .500 and with a chance for a series split on Tuesday with Braxton Garrett taking the mound. For the Braves, it'll be Martin Pérez. First pitch is at 4:10 pm on Marlins.TV. View full article

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Good role players are hard to find. They're the ones who provide defensive versatility, speed or clutch hits even when there isn't room for them in the starting lineup. Outfielder Esteury Ruiz so far is taking advantage of his limited opportunities with the Miami Marlins. "We'll try each day looking at how to best utilize the 13-man position player group in one way, and those guys that aren't starting to be ready for whether they come off the bench to play defense in a game, pinch-hit, pinch-run, whatever it may be," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. "Do something that day. Be ready for your moment that may come." The Marlins acquired Ruiz over the offseason from the Los Angeles Dodgers in a trade where Miami sent international pitching prospect Adriano Marrero the other way. He has been limited to 17 games since then because of a left oblique strain that he suffered late in spring training. Since coming off the injured list on April 23, Ruiz is slashing .222/.222/.519/.741 with two home runs, four RBI, seven stolen bases and a 99 wRC+. On Saturday against the Rays, Ruiz entered a tie game as a pinch-runner in the top of the 10th inning. He scored the go-ahead run, and later in the same inning, he helped seal a Marlins win by knocking in an RBI single. "He has swung the bat well," McCullough said. "He put together some good at-bats and handled himself well versus left thus far. It's a nice dynamic to have him on our team, and he's a great guy." Ruiz was already an accomplished base-stealer before joining the Marlins, most notably getting 67 steals as a rookie with the 2023 Oakland Athletics. The 27-year-old still has blazing speed, ranking in the 100th percentile of MLB players this season with a 30.1 feet per second Sprint Speed, according to Baseball Savant. He ranks second on the Marlins with seven stolen bases despite making only seven starts. He has yet to get caught on any of his attempts. Catching instructor and first base coach Craig Driver previously coached Ruiz with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2025. Driver described him as "easy to work with" and compared him to Billy Hamilton. Hamilton, who had a brief stint with the Marlins, stole 326 bases in 951 career games. "I think that they're both elite runners, where you kind of just like let them go," Driver said. "I feel like probably (Ruiz) is a little bit more refined in terms of how he studies and prepares than Billy was. Billy was just really fast, and so is Ruiz, but I think it helps. It helps make his life a little bit easier, because of the amount of homework that he's done. He knows exactly what he's looking for when he gets out there." Following Sunday's series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Marlins lead Major League Baseball with 57 stolen bases. They're on pace to set a franchise record in that department, though they have also been caught stealing 17 times (second only to the Rays). As much as the Marlins aim to find fast players, they need to get on base to fully utilize their speed. Ruiz still has work to do there with a .222 OBP and no walks drawn yet this season. View full article

Marlins first base coach and catching instructor Craig Driver speaks with the media about the preparation that goes into stealing bases and what he's seen from Joe Mack, Esteury Ruiz, Liam Hicks and other Marlins players this season. View full video

ST. PETERSBURG, FL - Although the Miami Marlins fell to the Tampa Bay Rays in the Citrus Series opener by a final score of 7-2, Joe Mack has been a bright spot defensively for the Marlins. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Mack threw out Chandler Simpson trying to steal second. Simpson, who entered Friday's game in the 98th percentile in sprint speed, had only been caught stealing four times, tied for second least in baseball. Thankfully for Mack, he had crossed paths with him in Triple-A last season and had some prior preparation. "I just know that he's going to be a guy that you have to look out for," Mack said postgame. "He's a very, very fast athlete. It's just something that you got to prepare for and be ready for at all times." Mack's pop time on the throw was 1.80 seconds, the fastest amongst any Marlins catcher this season and the seventh fastest this season in baseball. Mack also holds the three quickest pop times of the Marlins season, and he has only played in 10 games. The throw was clocked at 81.7 mph. "That throw tonight was impressive," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. "The exchange and the accuracy that he was able to get on it. Even though the one that Mullins stole, he did all he could. He made a good throw off the line and (Mullins) just beat it." Through 10 games in the majors, Mack already holds the 12th quickest average pop time in MLB. He is quickly climbing the Statcast leaderboards for Blocks Above Average and Catchers Caught Stealing Above Average as well. The Marlins may be struggling as a team, but ever since Mack joined the big league club, defense behind the plate has seen a massive improvement. The only downside has been the bat, slashing .200/.226/.300/.526 with two RBI. His biggest issue has been the strikeouts, with already eleven on the season and two more on Friday. "I know my bat can definitely wake up a little bit more," Mack said. "I definitely haven't shown much on that aspect. Maybe it's just trying to do too much, but other than that, defensively I feel pretty confident within my ability to receive, block and throw the ball, It's something they obviously brought me up for, and showing that off is a good thing. The bat I think just needs to wake up a little bit. When that starts to roll, then we just go." For Janson Junk, it is now back-to-back starts where he has struggled. On Friday night, Junk went 5 2/3 innings pitched allowing seven runs on 10 hits (two home runs) while walking three and striking out four. "I think everything that could have happened wrong, happened," Junk said. "It was very frustrating. I was trying to battle, and it just didn't go my way tonight." In the bottom of the first inning, Junk surrendered a first-pitch homer to Yandy Diaz, marking his sixth of the season to give Tampa an early 2-0 lead. For Diaz, it was his 105th homer as a member of the Rays, moving him past Carl Crawford on the Rays all-time home run list. Junk allowed the home run on a sweeper that he left middle-middle. The second home run that Junk allowed came in the bottom of the sixth inning, when free-agent signing Cedric Mullins hit his third of the season to right field. This time, Junk threw a slider which landed towards the top of the strike zone, but Mullins took advantage of it, extending the Rays lead, 7-2. "That one leaked a little," Junk said. "I think that was more out of frustration. I got to be better in that moment after the ball hits whatever that is up there. Just seeing that I kind of affected me a little bit." Rays manager Kevin Cash made the decision to have lefty Ian Seymour start the game as an opener. With the Marlins struggling against left-handed pitching (.666 OPS going into Friday), Tampa becomes the second team to use this strategy, with the Washington Nationals doing it during the weekend series at home. Unlike the first time when Washington did this, it did not work early on, as Connor Norby took Seymour deep for his fourth home run of the season, making it a 2-1 game. The ball left the bat at 105.1 mph and went 412 feet to left field. After struggling to start the season, Jakob Marsee finally seems to be turning a corner, as he notched his second three-hit game of the season, capped off by a solo homer in the top of the sixth inning. He is now slashing .190/.307/.294/.601 with three home runs, 14 RBI, 13 stolen bases and a 76 wRC+. With the loss, the Marlins drop to a season-worst five games under .500 at 20-25. Sandy Alcantara takes the mound tomorrow for Miami. Last time he pitched inside Tropicana Field, he tossed a complete game during the 2023 season. First pitch is at 4:10 pm. View full article

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Miami Marlins closer Pete Fairbanks is no stranger to the Citrus Series. The difference this weekend is he will be experiencing it as a Tampa Bay Rays opponent for the first time after spending the previous six and a half seasons with the organization. "It was nice to get back, go to the house, see the family and everybody," Fairbanks told traveling media ahead of Friday's game. "Different jersey, same building and still baseball. I'm still trying to go out there and do a whatever I can do to go win games." Originally a member of the Texas Rangers, the Rays acquired Fairbanks in a one-for-one trade in July 2019, sending infielder Nick Solak to the Rangers. From 2020-25, the tall right-hander enjoyed a run as one of the best relievers in baseball. In his time with the Rays, Fairbanks posted a 2.98 ERA in 256 ⅔ innings pitched. He ranks third in the franchise's history in saves (90), 24th in strikeouts (317) and fourth in appearances (267). Fairbanks also saw plenty of postseason action, making 12 total appearances (3.65 ERA), with three of those coming in the 2020 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Fairbanks was asked to summarize what makes the Rays such an effective franchise despite their well-known payroll limitations. "I don't think that I can sum it up in a couple sentences," Fairbanks said. "From instilling confidence from the pitching side of things, forging relationships and making sure that the personal always trumps the business. There's so many things I've taken that I will take with me for wherever my career goes." Another former member of the Rays organization who has moved to Miami is Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix. Fairbanks' one-year, $13M contract is the largest guarantee that Bendix has given to any free agent since taking the position in November 2023. The Marlins are trying to incorporate some of the Rays' best practices into their own operations, and Fairbanks is encouraged to see that. "Obviously when you have a POBO like Bendix come over, I think that people are influenced by where they came from," Fairbanks said. "You can look back for almost two decades now to really see how things have been built here in Tampa, and I don't think that there's a better comparison for the direction that he wants to take this." The 2026 Marlins have a couple of Fairbanks' former Tampa Bay teammates in Christopher Morel and Calvin Faucher. These teams have frequently done business with each other, making trades in six consecutive years, most recently a February exchange of Victor Mesa Jr. for minor league prospect Angel Brachi. "I think that if they're both very easy clubhouses to mesh with," Fairbanks said. "When you're able to make it easy for everybody to gel and to feel like they've always been there, that in itself is a conduct to success. Hopefully we continue to let that take shape here, and there's a good example over there." Fairbanks has had mixed results through 10 appearances with the Fish. He has converted five saves and posted a solid 3.33 FIP, but several ugly outings have bloated his ERA to 10.00. He was recently reinstated from the injured list on Wednesday. The Marlins and Rays kicked off a three-game set at Tropicana Field on Friday night. View full article

Miami Marlins starting pitcher Robby Snelling was placed on the injured list due to a left elbow UCL sprain, the team announced prior to Wednesday's game against the Minnesota Twins. The corresponding move was to activate closer Pete Fairbanks off the IL. Manager Clayton McCullough announced that Braxton Garrett, who was in Triple-A, will get the start for the series finale on Thursday in Snelling's place. Fish On First's No. 2 prospect, Snelling made just one start at the big league level, going five innings allowing three runs on five hits, four walks and one strikeout. All three runs came in the first inning, then proceeded to throw four shutout innings. Snelling threw his pitch design on Tuesday and reported discomfort, per McCullough. "You work your entire life for the opportunity to become a Major League player, you come up, make your Major League debut and then for something to pop up like this very shortly after, it's disappointing," McCullough told reporters in Minnesota. "Robby is a very hard and tough young man, and whichever way this goes, he'll come back for it." Someone who went through a similar sequence of events was Max Meyer in 2022. Meyer made his Major League debut against the Philadelphia Phillies and after facing just one hitter in his second start, landed on the injured due to a right elbow sprain, later resulting in undergoing Tommy John surgery and missing the 2023 season. Fairbanks, who landed on the injured list due to right nerve irritation, is activated as the corresponding move for Snelling. In 10 appearances this season, he has a 10.00 ERA, 3.34 FIP, 13.00 K/9, 4.00 BB/9 and five saves. He is just five saves away from reaching 100 in his career. Starting on Thursday will be Braxton Garrett, who was supposed to start for Triple-A Jacksonville on Wednesday, but was scratched. No corresponding move has been made and the move to call-up Garrett has not been made official yet. Garrett, who's 2024 season was cut short due to left elbow UCL surgery, competed for a spot in the Marlins rotation during spring training, but lost out on the final spot to Janson Junk. In six Triple-A starts this season, Garrett has a 2.30 ERA, 4.86 FIP, 9.19 K/9 and 4.31 BB/9. He also threw a no-hitter in his fourth start of the season. In his most recent start, he allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits, three walks and six strikeouts. Five of his six strikeouts were swinging. "Just kept his head down, continued to throw and get built up after a lengthy absence of his own," McCullough said. "Was throwing the ball well in Jacksonville and he certainly is no stranger to performing at the Major League level. While disappointed for Robby, Brax has certainly pitched well here in the past and earned the chance to come back up here and be part of our our rotation. Expect Brax to fill it up, compete very well. He knows how to pitch. He knows how to change speeds, move the ball around, so he'll get to start tomorrow." Overall, his fastball is averaging 91.7 mph, generating a 10.5% whiff rate. His breaking pitches on the other hand, have been great. The slider, which he is throwing 22.8% of the time, is generating 41.9% whiff and has the highest psStuff+ amongst his pitches, per Prospect Savant. For Garrett, this will mark his first start in the big leagues since June of 2024. Expect a Marlins reliever to be optioned on Thursday morning to make room for him on the active roster. View full article

For the fourth time this season, the Miami Marlins have been shutout, this time by a final score of 3-0 to the Minnesota Twins. Starting pitcher Bailey Ober tossed a "Maddux", tossing a complete game shutout on just 89 pitches. It was Ober's first scoreless outing of the season. He allowed only two hits on the night, with the second coming in the top of the fourth inning. The Marlins fell to four games under .500 at 19-23. Pérez, who took a no-hitter into the bottom of the fifth, ended his outing after allowing three runs on three hits (including one home run), three walks and eight strikeouts, matching a season-high. His fastball, which he threw 61% of the time, topped out at 99.5 mph and averaged 97.9 mph. All three runs Pérez surrendered came in the bottom of the fifth. He walked the hot-hitting Byron Buxton, and with two outs, Trevor Larnach singled to right to break up the no-hit bid, advancing Buxton to third. In an attempt to steal a run, Larnach took off for second base, prompting catcher Joe Mack to throw down. After initially holding at third, Buxton broke for home, and Xavier Edwards’ throw arrived just late, allowing Minnesota to score its first run. It appeared infield coach Blake Butler, who communicates with video coordinator Austin Lamkey, advised Marlins manager Clayton McCullough not to challenge the play, but the second-year skipper still took the risk. “If they’re gonna run that, we’ve got a chance there just to play catch, and we did,” McCullough said. “Joe [Mack] made a good throw, Xavier [Edwards] handled it and checked Buxton initially, then worked back the other way. It was really bang-bang. Buxton might’ve just gotten in there. He’s fast, man. Our guys executed it well, and it just came down to a really close play.” On the third pitch of the next at-bat, catcher Ryan Jeffers hit his sixth home run of the season, taking advantage of a sweeper that landed middle-middle, extending the Twins lead, 3-0. "Outside of the one spin ball that probably just caught too much of the plate to Jeffers, I thought Eury threw well," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. "He went out the next inning after that and really just filled it up again. He should take away a lot of really positive things from this outing again. He stayed composed throughout the evening, he continued, just keep competing and had good stuff. Unfortunately, we just weren't able to do a whole lot tonight to back him up." Although the final line ended up looking serviceable, Pérez continues to be a frustrating watch. The sequencing of his pitches continue to feature massively heavy fastball usage that makes his breaking balls, like the one he threw to Jeffers, predictable. Pérez also surrendered a total of six hard-hit balls, half of them coming on the fastball. "The beautiful thing about Eury is that he's so far from being a finished product," McCullough said. "The stuff is tantalizing. He's very eager to learn and get better. He's still such a young pitcher in this league and hopefully nights like tonight for him are things that he can build on." Pérez's second-most used pitches were the sweeper and changeup, each thrown 11% of the time. Although that would seem like a very low number of breaking pitches to throw compared to a 61% fastball usage, McCullough thought differently. “I loved how he was using all of his secondary pitches and navigating around some traffic in a couple of innings,” McCullough said. “He was able to threaten hitters much more tonight with his secondary stuff, whether it was the breaking ball or the changeup, which allowed him to not have to rely solely on the heater.” No stint in the minor leagues is needed, and the fact that he’s just 23 years old allows him to make these kinds of mistakes. But if the Marlins are truly in win-now mode, these issues — primarily his pitch usage — need to be addressed. In that fifth inning, Joe Mack, who has shied away from using ABS challenges, missed a crucial opportunity in the Buxton at-bat. A fastball to the top of the zone that seems to have just clipped the strike zone ended up being ball four and Mack did not challenge. If that was challenged and overturned, Pérez would've been out of the inning scot-free. The ABS challenge system has been in the minor leagues for a couple of years now, which means Mack has the most experience with that system, which you'd think would mean he should feel confident enough to challenge calls, but that just has not been the case. ek13MDlfWGw0TUFRPT1fQWxRRFZsd0hWd2NBQVFOVVZnQUhVRlJUQUFNQldsWUFVMUVDVlZJTlZGQUhCUWRS.mp4 Bailey Ober became the first pitcher since Max Fried in 2024, and seventh overall pitcher to throw a Maddux against the Marlins. He also tied Greg Maddux himself for the fewest pitches in a Maddux against the Fish with 89. Ober averaged about nine pitches per inning and struck out seven Marlins, with five of them swinging. "You have to give Bailey a lot of credit," McCullough said. "He filled up the strike zone at a really high rate and he had us off-balance all night. It was a heck of a game that he pitched and we just weren't able to figure out a way to try to flip the script on him as that game went along." The Marlins will look to even the series with Minnesota-native Max Meyer taking the mound against the struggling Simeon Woods Richardson at 7:40 pm. 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 second May edition of our Fish On First Prospects Report and the first with a section dedicated to the Florida Complex League. This report covers the games played from May 5-11. Triple-A Jacksonville Robby Snelling and Joe Mack were just promoted from the Jumbo Shrimp. The top-ranked prospect remaining on their roster is Kemp Alderman, who continues to play first base on a part-time basis. He had another strong week of play against the Charlotte Knights, with a hit in five of the six games he played in, hitting a home run in the last game. Overall, Alderman is slashing .287/.370/.473/.843 with six home runs, 17 RBI and a 125 wRC+. It is unclear how long of a leash the Marlins will give Christopher Morel at first base, but with Alderman getting first base reps everyday, it does bring up the possibility that the Marlins could call him up soon if Morel struggles continue. Jacob Berry struggled this series against Charlotte, only knocking in two hits during the season, but overall he is slashing .280/.403/.410/.813 with two home runs, 16 RBI, 11 stolen bases and a 125 wRC+. Defensively, he has recently been splitting time between third base and right field. Although Deyvison De Los Santos is repeating Triple-A, he is showing improvements from struggles we saw in 2025. Going into the final game of the Charlotte series, De Los Santos was riding a six-game hit streak, which was snapped after an 0-for-3 day in the series finale. He is now slashing .260/.339/.450/.789 with four home runs, 19 RBI and a 109 wRC+. He is only striking out a career-low 17.4% of the time. On the pitching side, Bradley Blalock struggled for the first time this season, allowing seven runs on seven hits (one home run), walking five and striking out four in 4 ⅔ innings pitched. Overall, Blalock now has a 4.42 ERA, 5.45 FIP, 8.59 K/9 and 2.70 BB/9 in 36 ⅔ innings pitched. Blalock, who's FIP was a lot higher than his ERA going into this start against Charlotte, showed that he was getting a bit lucky. Zach Bryzkcy continues to absolutely dominate, posting a 0.66 ERA, 3.11 FIP, 9.88 K/9 and 4.61 BB/9 in 13 ⅔ innings pitched. Although the walks are an issue, he keeps inducing ground balls and striking out guys. The Marlins have already given other under-the-radar guys an opportunity this season. Bryzkcy is doing everything in his power to give himself a chance. Double-A Pensacola It was a good week for Wahoos starting pitching, but their offense lagged behind, paving the way to a 4-2 series loss at the hands of Rocket City. Pensacola scored just 17 runs over the six game slate. As a team, the Wahoos are now hitting .220, last in the Southern League. Brandon White, the Marlins’ 2021 12th-round pick, is a name that has not often been talked about over the years. It’s not hard to imagine why; shortly after being drafted, White underwent Tommy John surgery and didn’t return until 2023. Well behind schedule to start his pro career, White was finally able to pitch close to a full season’s sample of innings in 2024. Amidst the jump to High-A last season, he posted solid results including a 3.64 FIP and 6.7% walk rate. This season with Pensacola, White is pitching himself further into relevance by showcasing swing-and-miss stuff. That was especially on display this week when White struck out a career high 11 Trash Pandas and allowed just one hit in 6 ⅔ innings. His solid control and command has not only persisted but improved against Double-A batters as he’s walked a minuscule four batters in 26 innings. At 6’8”, 230, White is a massive physical specimen, though he’s always thrown from a pretty graceful windup and release and kept his long levers well under control. Working to his advantage is his ability to shorten the distance to the plate and throw from a high downhill arm slot, keeping opposing hitters well off balance. As a collegiate arm, White was clocked as high as 97 mph with his fastball. He hit that on a few occasions in his start this week and sat 95-96 showcasing a velo bump from last season when he sat 93-94. White's main breaking ball has morphed into a gyro slider, continuing a trend that we've observed with multiple Marlins pitchers in recent years. It features sharp downward break and plays well on both sides of the plate. He is also adding a sweeper to his arsenal and making strides with his changeup as a weapon he can run in to same-side hitters for front-door strikes and weak contact. Altogether, White is a repeatable arm from a huge frame that is beginning to look dominant as the velo ticks up and his third pitch becomes more usable. Despite being behind schedule, he’s a candidate to move to Triple-A this season and maybe even an option to get a look at the MLB level if the Marlins fall out of contention. White will once again be Rule 5-eligible this winter. Karson Milbrandt just keeps mowing down Double-A batters. This week, he threw a third straight quality start and came within two of tying his career high in strikeouts. Stuff was always present for the 22-year-old righty; his crux was figuring out his spotty command and control. Armed with mid-90s stuff that can tick up into the upper 90s and which he is garnering the comfort to elevate and a best-pitch slider, Milbrandt’s stuff and development mimics that of Max Meyer who, after some growing pains, has arguably grown into the Marlins’ most effective starter this year. Scrapping the changeup as his third pitch in place of a cutter has proved advantageous. Milbrandt also tosses from a funky, deceptive windup. If Milbrandt’s control and command persists, a promotion to Triple-A should happen once organizational pitching depth allows. High-A Beloit Low-scoring affairs were the theme for the Carp and Tin Caps this week, with Beloit coming up on the wrong side of the equation more often than not. With just 36 total runs scored over the course of the week, Beloit salvaged two games, including the only contest where more than six tallies were plated on Sunday night. Beloit fell to 14-18 on the season. Starlyn Caba continues his power surge at the plate, proving his early season success was no fluke and that it can be sustained. This is all happening while Caba is playing in significantly cool climates in the Midwest League. During this series, the infielder went 5-for-20 with a double, his third homer of the season and a 6/4 K/BB. The long ball came in extra innings and propelled Beloit to a victory. He’s now already amassed his career high in homers. While still showing off good discipline and vision that has led to a 16% walk rate, Caba is showing an enhanced ability to shorten his swing on pitches inside and over the plate. He’s also swinging with noticeably more aggression and effort behind his pull-side, which is leading to more strikeouts but at 21%, the K rate is still manageable. His always quick bat speed is still present. These traits are leading to usual gap power turning into over the fence power in the previously mentioned hard to hit in environments. Adding more pop without sacrificing his great approach is the cherry on top of what is becoming an all-around potentially elite skill set for Caba and he’s still just 20 years old. Along with great defense and plus speed that allotted him 50 steals in 2024, we are looking at a potential five-tool talent. If the power sticks, he will be an unquestioned Top 100 prospect in baseball. Because Aiva Arquette is older and may quickly prove to be ready for the challenge to Double-A, Caba is also playing himself into that conversation. With continued success, it is plausible we will see him at Pensacola sooner than we thought. Speaking of promotions to Pensacola, Justin Storm is begging for one. With inning coverage in high demand across the entirety of the Marlins’ system, the 24-year-old has been lights out in High-A. He’s currently riding a scoreless innings streak of 6 ⅓ across his last five games. During that span he has a 10/2 K/BB. After a bit of a rocky start in the frigid Midwest League, Storm has adjusted well. His size-and-stuff profile including a sitting 93-94 mph fastball that can ramp to 96, a staple slider that moves on both planes and now also mixing in a high-70s curveball, Storm boasts potential high leverage inning coverage with the capacity to work multiple innings if needed. He’s a bit old for High-A and needs the challenge to Double-A to see if his stuff can stand up against upper minors competition. That would advantageously come as soon as Beloit is able to spare some arms. Eliazar Dishmey had been on a positive upswing, having gone at least five frames in each of his last two starts, the latter of which was a nine strikeout performance. He parlayed that into five shutout frames against the Tincaps. Perhaps most encouraging for Dishmey was that for a second straight outing, he limited walks to two while allowing just two hits. Both historically and currently, it’s always been all about control for Dishmey. When the 6’1”, 175-pounder has it, his solid stuff including mid-90s velo and a standout changeup on top of a sharp power curveball plays. He mixes his pitches well and shows good velo separation. When controlling, he has th swing-and-miss potential to rack up whiffs. When not controlling though, Dishmey drives his pitch counts up early, becomes reliant on the fastball and can become a bit one-dimensional for opposing hitters to wait out and riddle out. On Dishmey’s side is his age: he is still just 21, so there is plenty of time for him to fully iron out his control consistency. Limited size, a high-effort release and mechanics that can look stiff at times are working against him. Dishmey’s plus velo that he could ramp up more if asked to go shorter stints and plus secondaries give him a pretty high floor but there is reliever risk attached to him. Low-A Jupiter Emilio Barreras continues to hit, now slashing .300/.488/.467/.954 with two home runs, 13 RBI and a 173 wRC+. After a slow start to the season, Barreras had a hit in three of the four games in their most recent series against the Palm Beach Cardinals. A 2025 draftee who told Fish On First that he models his game after Luis Arraez, Barreras is now walking 23.2% of the time while striking out 14.6% of the time and slapping the ball to all parts of the field. Catcher Carlos Sánchez continues to succeed in his second stint at the Low-A level, slashing .235/.371/.529/.900 with five home runs, 12 RBI and a 143 wRC+. After posting high strikeout numbers in previous seasons, Sanchez is striking out at a career-low 14.5% rate compared to a 16.1 BB%. A promotion to High-A Beloit should be coming soon. After a bad first run in Low-A, first baseman Julio Henriquez is slashing .286/.368/.408/.777 with seven RBI and a 118 wRC+. At 21 years old, Henriquez repeating the level isn't the worst thing to happen. Esmil Valencia, who missed a good chunk of the season already due to a finger injury, is slashing .261/.333/.391/.725 with five RBI and a 100 wRC+. The only downside has been his 29.6% strikeout rate, which at the moment is a career-high. Although a high FIP continues to be a concern for righty Walin Castillo, he has a 1.37 ERA and 54.9% ground ball rate. That's up more than 10% from last year's performance with the Hammerheads. FCL Marlins It has been a rollercoaster of a week for the FCL Marlins, who had three off days, a rainout, and a doubleheader. Three players in particular who impressed in the Dominican Summer League last season are already beginning to make names for themselves in the FCL. Eiver Mosquera spent the entirety of his 2025 campaign in the DSL, where he posted a 2.45 ERA across 29 ⅓ innings pitched while striking out 33 batters compared to just eight walks. His ability to consistently throw strikes and limit damage made him one of the more intriguing young arms in the lower levels of the system. The right-hander made his first stateside appearance on May 5 and looked comfortable immediately. Across four innings, Mosquera allowed four hits and one earned run while walking none and striking out two. Luis Arana was one of the more productive hitters in the DSL last season after hitting .297 with five homers, 35 RBIs, and 30 walks compared to only 18 strikeouts. Along with his advanced approach at the plate, he also added 28 stolen bases and consistently found ways to impact games offensively. So far, he's done well with the transition to the FCL. Through his first 20 at-bats, Arana is hitting .400 with six stolen bases and has yet to strike out. His contact ability and discipline at the plate have immediately translated, while his speed has continued to be a major factor on the bases. Luis Cova also entered the season with plenty of attention after a strong DSL campaign last year. Ranked as Fish On First’s No. 12 prospect entering 2026, Cova has been viewed as one of the more talented young bats in the system. While the start to his season has been slower offensively, there are signs that things may be starting to turn around. On Monday afternoon, he went 2-for-3 with three walks in one of his best games of the season so far. After a disastrous season in the FCL last year, Luis Leon is off to the kind of start he needed in 2026. Through his first 16 at-bats, Leon is hitting .313 with three doubles after recording just four doubles during the entirety of the 2025 season. Strikeouts are still an issue, but the early extra-base production has been encouraging. The raw talent has always been there, and the improved offensive start is a positive sign for the young outfielder. He has also made four starts at second base early on. This week's MiLB schedule Triple-A Jacksonville at Memphis Double-A Pensacola at Chattanooga High-A Beloit vs. Peoria Low-A Jupiter at St. Lucie FCL Marlins vs. FCL Nationals, FCL Mets and FCL Astros View full article

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

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