Kevin Barral

The most talented Marlins players are not necessarily the most relevant for fantasy purposes. Here's how ESPN ranks them. If the Miami Marlins aren't going to compete for a real-life championship this season, maybe they could at least help you to a fantasy league championship. We've reached that time of year where fantasy leagues are getting organized. Our staff at Fish On First uses ESPN and we naturally pay close attention to what Marlins players are projected to do. Realistically, it will be hard to justify drafting many Marlins players in 2025 unless you are in a league with deep rosters or a lot of teams. This is a very inexperienced group with some key pitchers coming off injuries. Maybe they wind up making a fantasy impact as midseason waiver claims. If you're in a standard ESPN head-to-head points league, these are the Marlins with the top projections. Top Marlins position players Connor Norby (286) Xavier Edwards (282) Jesús Sánchez (238) Otto Lopez (223) Kyle Stowers (192) Connor Norby will plug into the second or third spot in the Marlins lineup. ESPN projects Norby to lead the team in home runs and doubles. He is also expected to lead the team with 161 strikeouts, which are worth negative points in most leagues. In fantasy baseball, he's listed as a second baseman and third baseman, giving anyone who picks him up some positional flexibility. Xavier Edwards should be the most consistent offensive player for the Marlins in 2025 thanks to his contact ability and speed. He is projected to lead the team in hits and stolen bases per ESPN. However, they believe his batting average will drop significantly from .328 last year to .273 this year. If you think Edwards has the skill set to avoid regressing that much, he's the Marlins position player who has the best case for being drafted. Jesús Sánchez has the longest MLB track record among Marlins position players and ESPN projects him to put up pretty much the same numbers across the board as he did in 2024. The key question is whether he gets another shot to be an everyday player or if he settles into a platoon and only faces righties. He isn't an everyday option in fantasy, but there is a case for rostering him so he could be used in favorable matchups. Otto Lopez is one player to keep an eye on. After getting off to a great start with the Marlins, he slowed down in the months of June and July before heating back up in August through the end of the season. Great defense should keep him in the lineup even during extended slumps. It's just hard to know what to expect on the offensive side of the ball for a player who was designated for assignment less than a year ago. You may be surprised that ESPN is so high on Kyle Stowers. After joining the Marlins, he struck out 35.4% of the time with only two home runs in 50 games. His strikeout issues are projected to continue, but that goes along with a team-leading 65 RBI. For fantasy purposes, you want to hold off on acquiring Stowers until it's clear that he is receiving regular playing time. Top Marlins pitchers Sandy Alcantara (253) Edward Cabrera (210) Valente Bellozo (162) Max Meyer (154) Anthony Bender (140) The last time that Sandy Alcantara was healthy entering a season (2023), he was among the first pitchers drafted. He was the reigning NL Cy Young award winner and was the safest bet to provide a high volume of innings. Coming off Tommy John surgery, ESPN is conservatively projecting him for only 127 innings. If Alcantara avoids the injured list, he will easily top that number and turn into a late-round steal. Edward Cabrera is coming off a nice second half where in 13 starts, he posted a 3.57 ERA. In fantasy baseball, though, the length of each start plus how many strikeouts a pitcher can garner are also very important. In 2024, Cabrera only completed the seventh inning of a ballgame twice. ESPN has Cabrera leading the Marlins with 123 strikeouts and surpassing the 100-inning marker for the first time in his career. Maybe with a new pitching director and pitching coach in place, he'll finally come closer to unlocking his full potential. Last season, Valente Bellozo posted a 3.67 ERA with a 5.73 FIP through 68 ⅔ innings pitched. Bellozo was lucky to say the least with a very low strikeout rate and tendency to allow homers. The uncertainty about whether he will make the Opening Day roster should take him out of draft consideration. Max Meyer got off to an exciting start in 2024, then really disappointed during the second half of the season. A primary reason for the former top prospect's struggles is his lack of quality pitches to complement his slider. Meyer could really take a leap forward if he shows a more consistent changeup, but there is also the risk that the Marlins begin turning him into a reliever if he doesn't make adjustments. Bender's projection is boosted by a team-leading combination of saves and holds. He generally did a good job limiting walks last season except for a rough patch in September. It's unclear at this point whether he'll be in the mix for the closer's role. The most puzzling projection is Ryan Weathers (126 points). He pitched well when healthy last season—3.63 ERA, 4.11 FIP, 8.3 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 through 86 ⅔ innings pitched—with an uptick in whiffs and has gotten into much better shape this winter. The ESPN projection seems to be based on his poor performance from 2021-2023. All of the other Weathers projections across the industry are more optimistic and he's worth thinking about picking toward the end of your draft. View full article

Most national outlets are in agreement with their rankings of the 19-year-old shortstop, placing him inside their updated Top 100 lists and ahead of any other Marlins position player prospects. The biggest Miami Marlins acquisition this offseason was shortstop Starlyn Caba from the Philadelphia Phillies. Caba is still just a teenager who has yet to play above the Low-A level, so you would expect to see various opinions on him from the scouting community. Instead, most of the national outlets that have recently updated their MLB Top 100 prospects lists ranked him similarly entering the 2025 season. Caba is ranked 81st by MLB Pipeline, 71st by Baseball America, 66th by ESPN and 72nd by The Athletic. Only Baseball Prospectus excluded Caba from their latest list. Caba finished the 2024 season slashing .228/.385/.284/.669 with two home runs, 26 RBI and 50 stolen bases. At the plate, his strengths are contact ability and plate discipline, with Baseball America noting that Caba was "incredibly selective and rarely strayed from the strike zone." He only struck out in 14.4% of his plate appearances between both levels and led the Florida Complex League with 51 walks. However, Caba shows little to no power. He has posted some of the lowest exit velocities of any player on current Top 100 lists. "While there’s room within Caba’s modest frame for some more strength, he’ll likely be a below average power source," Aram Leighton wrote in ranking him 72nd on Just Baseball's final 2024 list update. It's possible that he will never surpass the ten-homer mark in a season during his career. MLB Pipeline is a bit more optimistic, projecting him to hit around 10-12 home runs per season once fully developed. If all goes well, Caba profiles as a leadoff hitter in the majors. If no more power develops, the backup plan would be using him as a nice spark in the nine hole. Caba's calling card is his defense. Baseball America considers him an 80-grade fielder, the best grade that a player can garner. The Athletic's Keith Law wrote that he "might be an 80 defender already, with a plus arm, incredible instincts, and quick actions at the position." In a recent MLB Pipeline poll, team executives voted him the second-best defender in Minor League Baseball behind Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Carson Williams. Pipeline's updated scouting report on Caba praises his consistency and says that he "looks like a lock to win Gold Gloves when he reaches the big leagues." ESPN is the outlet that's highest on Caba. While admitting that a lack of power "could torpedo Caba's whole profile and make him a utility guy," Kiley McDaniel points to Jose Iglesias, Luis Arraez or Steven Kwan as big leaguers who have overcome the same weakness. Fish On First currently has Caba as the number three Marlins prospect behind Thomas White and Andrew Salas. All of the outlets mentioned above have him second or third in the organization, with White unanimously ranking number one. Not yet ready to participate in big league spring training camp, Caba will be preparing for the upcoming season on the Jupiter backfields. He will likely be assigned to the Low-A Jupiter Hammerheads to begin 2025. View full article

The Marlins bolstered their center field depth with the signing of Almora, who's hoping to make it back to the major leagues for the first time since 2022. On Monday, the Miami Marlins announced their 24 non-roster invitees for spring training. Amongst them was Hialeah native Albert Almora Jr., who is joining his hometown team on a minor league deal. Almora has spent most of his professional career with the Chicago Cubs. He was their first-round draft pick in 2012 and reached the majors in 2016, contributing to their World Series title that year in a part-time role. He remained with the Cubs through 2020, mainly playing center field. He then had one-year stints with the New York Mets (2021) and Cincinnati Reds (2022). In 600 career MLB games, he has posted a .259/.300/.383/.683 slash line and 80 wRC+. Almora didn't spend the 2023 season with an MLB organization, but played winter ball with Puerto Rico's Cangrejeros de Santurce. In 2024, he was a spring training NRI with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He failed to make their roster and spent the entire season in Triple-A Reno. In Reno, Almora slashed .292/.349/.439/.787 with nine home runs and 69 RBI. He struck out only 14.1% of the time while also lowering his whiff rates, especially inside the strike zone. However, this should all be taken with a grain of salt given he was in the extremely hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He set a new single-season high with 20 stolen bases, but hasn't demonstrated that ability against major league competition with seven career steals in 13 attempts. krsbjx_1.mp4 Almora, 30, is a defense-first player. At his peak in 2018, defensive runs saved (12 DRS) and outs above average (14 OAA) agreed that he was elite in center field. During his most recent MLB action in 2022, he continued to rate very well (8 DRS and 6 OAA). Derek Hill is already on the 40-man roster and posted a 78 wRC+ while striking out 34.1% of the time in his 32-game stint with the 2024 Marlins. Almora will be in competition with him for the role of a defensive sub and platoon bat who faces left-handed pitching. Coming off a back injury, prospect Victor Mesa Jr. will hope to make the roster over both of them by showing that he's ready to debut. Almora will enter camp as the Marlins position player with the most experience (5 years and 110 days of MLB service time), surpassing Jesús Sánchez (3.118). He will have the second-most service time amongst all Marlins players, with only Sandy Alcantara above him (6.100). View full article

Last season, a long losing streak in March/April knocked the Marlins out of the playoff race immediately. They could be in danger of going through something similar again. The Miami Marlins lost their first nine games of the 2024 season, the longest losing streak they've ever had to begin a season in franchise history. They didn't improve much after that, ultimately posting a 62-100 record, which led to turnover across all departments of the organization. Expectations for the Marlins are lower entering 2025, but they don't want to get embarrassed like that again. Unfortunately, the early portion of their schedule is even tougher on the paper than it was last year. The Marlins will begin this season by taking on the Pittsburgh Pirates in a four-game set, followed by matchups against each of their National League East division rivals. During the second half of April, they will face the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Dodgers. These opponents combined for a .527 winning percentage in 2024. The Marlins suffered a four-game sweep against the Pirates to open up last season, and that was before the team called up pitching phenom Paul Skenes. He is expected to match up with Sandy Alcantara on Opening Day. Although Pittsburgh finished in last place in the NL Central, but they floated around the .500 mark for much of the season before collapsing after the trade deadline. The key question for the Pirates is whether their offense will improve after ranking 28th among MLB teams with a 86 wRC+ in 2024. Their lineup looks similar at the moment, featuring Oneil Cruz, Bryan Reynolds, Ke'Bryan Hayes and the legendary Andrew McCutchen. The biggest offseason addition so far has been Spencer Horwitz from the Blue Jays. Looking around the NL East, the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals have all made efforts to improve. The Marlins posted an 18-34 record within the division last season and things could get even uglier moving forward. The Phillies swung a trade with the Marlins last month to acquire Jesús Luzardo and Paul McIntosh to build the best rotation in the division and boost their catching depth. The signing of Max Kepler will give Philadelphia another outfielder and just have a deeper bench. Last season, the Marlins went 6-7 against the Phillies. The Mets won the Juan Soto sweepstakes by giving him a 15-year deal worth $765M. He is a Marlins killer through and through, slashing .304/.438/.541/.979 with 14 home runs and 60 RBI in 89 career games played. Along with Soto, the Mets brought in Sean Manaea, Clay Holmes and Frankie Montas to help the starting rotation. A.J. Minter is better than any of the left-handers they had in their 2024 bullpen. They could be even more dangerous by reuniting with Pete Alonso, who remains available in free agency. Last season, the Marlins went 6-7 against the Mets. 1pc3uv.mp4 Held back by serious injuries to stars Ronald Acuña Jr., Spencer Strider and Austin Riley, the Atlanta Braves fell short of their expectations last season, but still won nine of their 13 games over Miami. This had been a very quiet offseason for them until Thursday's signing of Jurickson Profar to a three-year deal. He will help fill Acuña's shoes early in 2025 while Acuña completes his rehab from a torn ACL. The Washington Nationals are going to be a fun team to watch. They have made a handful of veteran additions to complement their young core, trading for Nathaniel Lowe and bringing in free agents Michael Soroka, Josh Bell and Jorge López. After years of beating up on the Nationals, it was the other way around for the Marlins in 2024, going 2-11 against them. The Diamondbacks signed arguably the top free agent pitcher on the market, Corbin Burnes, joining a starting rotation that already had a proven ace in Zac Gallen. The bullpen, led by former Marlins reliever A.J. Puk, will be one of the best in the National League. Offensively, Corbin Carroll and Ketel Marte are an incredible duo atop the lineup. The Diamondbacks lost Christian Walker to the Houston Astros, but brought in former Marlins prospect Josh Naylor via trade to fill the void at first base. The biggest upgrade for the Reds entering a new season is having Terry Francona as their manager. The future Hall of Famer will look to compete in 2025 with a strong rotation and offense led by Elly De La Cruz, who destroyed Marlins pitchers last year (16-34, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 3 SB in 7 G). The Seattle Mariners will hope that Julio Rodriguez bounces back from what was a down year by his standards. The Mariners rotation is still a strong suit and their offensive production can't get any worse than it was last season. The biggest winners of the MLB offseason have been the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Marlins managed to win one game this past season against them and may not be so lucky in 2025. Injuries depleted the Dodgers starting rotation last year, but they have ridiculous depth moving forward after adding Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki to the mix. Shohei Ohtani should also spend the majority of the season in their rotation once he completes his Tommy John surgery rehab. The bullpen is in good shape as well with the signing of former Marlin Tanner Scott and a deal reportedly in the works with Kirby Yates. There are no soft spots in the Dodgers lineup, starting off with the superstar trio of Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. They brought back Teoscar Hernández via free agency and extended Tommy Edman. Newcomers Michael Conforto and Hyeseong Kim could be nice complementary players. In all likelihood, we won't see another 0-9 start for the Marlins, but it'd be a surprise if they find themselves even close to .500 through the first 31 games. The team's roster and coaching staff are very inexperienced. The National League should be just as deep as it was in 2024 with only Miami and the Colorado Rockies not trying to win. Even during the first month of the season, opponents will recognize that every game matters and play the Marlins with a sense of urgency. View full article

Fish Unfiltered—Episode #67 Jonah Bride emerged as a great hitter for the Miami Marlins during the second half of the 2024 season. How does he plan to build upon that? A few weeks in advance of spring training, Bride joins Kevin Barral and Isaac Azout on Unfiltered to reflect on the pros and cons of his first year in Miami, all of the organizational changes that the Marlins have made this offseason, Ichiro Suzuki's election into the Baseball Hall of Fame and more. Find Fish Unfiltered on the Fish On First YouTube channel, our new-look Apple Podcasts channel and wherever else you get your pods. FOF's audio programming also includes The Offishial Show, Swimming Upstream, Big Fish Small Pod and more. Bride snuck onto the 2024 Opening Day roster in the aftermath of the Jon Berti trade, but spent most of the season's first half with Triple-A Jacksonville. He had a permanent roster spot from July 4 onward and his production really took off following the July 30 trade deadline. The right-handed-hitting infielder slashed .284/.372/.497 with a 136 wRC+ and 11 home runs over his final 56 games. The vast majority of Bride's defensive reps came at first base, but he wasn't satisfied with his performance there (-1 DRS/-2 OAA). "When you're in the big leagues, everything speeds up much more," Bride tells Fish On First. "I'm just trying to be more comfortable over there, increasing the speed side to side and the explosiveness, the diet. All those things will help...I'm definitely focusing on defense." Bride was previously unaware of the extreme splits he had when facing starting pitchers compared to relief pitchers. "That really made me think about how I need to have a much better preparation going in and facing these relievers...Those are definitely eye-opening to me." In 2025, Bride will be working with a completely different Marlins coaching staff led by Clayton McCullough. "I have gotten to talk with a lot of them," Bride says. "Definitely bringing an exciting vibe and a lot of energy...Individually, just gonna work with them. We're gonna have an idea as a team how to approach pitchers and stuff, but it was good to hear that, 'we're not gonna teach one move.' Not everybody can do the exact same thing and look the same way." On the heels of his second-half success and in the absence of accomplished veterans competing for playing time at the corner infield spots, the 29-year-old looks like a lock to crack the Opening Day roster again this season. Follow Jonah (@JBride11), Kevin (@kevin_barral), Isaac (@IsaacAzout) and Fish On First (@FishOnFirst) on Twitter. Join the Marlins Discord server! Complete Miami Marlins coverage here at FishOnFirst.com. View full article

Despite being only 16 years old, right-handed pitcher Kevin Defrank could climb up the ranks quickly. Andrew Salas is the top prospect in this year's Miami Marlins international signing class and understandably commanded the largest bonus, but there's some depth to this class as well. The second-largest bonus went to right-handed pitcher Kevin Defrank, who the organization believes has the potential to develop into a great MLB pitcher. Signing for $560k out of the Dominican Republic, Defrank enters pro ball listed at 6'5", 202 pounds. He just turned 16 years old on August 11, which makes him the youngest member of the 2025 Marlins IFA class. MLB Pipeline ranked him 40th among all international amateurs who were eligible to sign. Defrank's arsenal consists of a fastball, sweeper and changeup. His fastball has already reached 95 mph and he has the physical projection to increase his velocity significantly down the road. fukx71_1.mp4 "We're very excited about Kevin Defrank," said Marlins director of international scouting David Hernandez Beayne. "He's one of the most advanced pitchers I've ever seen in my short career of doing international baseball. We're equally as excited with understanding how good our development system is with pitchers, especially Dominican pitchers, and how he's going to further develop an already advanced skill set to begin with." Defrank's changeup is "unusually advanced for his age thanks to its sink and fade," said Baseball America in their signing day report. Pipeline is similarly impressed, considering it a 60-grade pitch (out of 80). The development of his sweeper and possible addition of a fourth pitch will go a long toward determining whether he ultimately sticks as a starter, but his fastball/changeup combo will serve him well in any role. "He's got a really good foundation to begin with," said Hernandez Beayne. "He's been involved in our process, coaches are fully aware of what he brings to the table. I'm equally as excited to begin working with him and getting that process going. I think because he is so advanced in certain areas, he should put himself in a really good position for his talent to show up on the field." In all likelihood, Defrank will begin his minor league career in the Dominican Summer League, but he could come stateside as soon as 2026 and consistently face older competition from there. View full article

With another rotation spot now open, the Marlins should be looking at free agents who have track records of pitching full seasons at the major league level. The Miami Marlins will be without starting pitcher Braxton Garrett during the 2025 season as he recovers from UCL revision surgery. In his absence, the Marlins still have Sandy Alcantara, Ryan Weathers and Edward Cabrera in their projected Opening Day rotation, but there are a lot of question marks beyond that. Max Meyer and Adam Mazur have had mediocre results against MLB competition, Valente Bellozo's rookie season was encouraging though likely unsustainable, Eury Pérez is still rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, and their other internal options have even less experience. Only Alcantara has ever gone through a full-length MLB season as a starter before. With pitchers and catchers scheduled to report to Jupiter in one week, "the Marlins are considering adding a veteran starter or two" to address their lack of rotation depth, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. They should be focused on veterans attainable on short-term deals who can be trusted to eat innings. As of February 5, these are the available starters who threw the most innings in 2024 while still being in Miami's price range. LHP Patrick Corbin 2024 workload: 174.2 IP After a great 2018 season, the Nationals signed Corbin to a six-year, $140 million contract. It's safe to say that it didn't pan out. Corbin allowed the most earned runs in Major League Baseball in 2021, 2022 and 2024, allowed the most hits in 2020, 2022 and 2024, and led the majors in losses for three straight seasons (2021-23). Even including his initial success with Washington, Corbin had a 5.11 ERA overall with the franchise. With that being said, if there was one thing Corbin provided, it was innings. In every single "normal" season of that contract (excluding 2020), he surpassed 150 innings pitched. He never missed time due to injury. Corbin's fastball has maintained the same velocity deep into his 30s, averaging 91-92 mph. Last season, his slider was his most-used and most effective pitch—hitters had a .216 batting average against it and whiffed 35.4% of the time. LHP José Quintana 2024 workload: 184.2 IP (regular season and postseason combined) Quintana would be a best-case scenario for the Marlins. He's coming off a two-year, $26 million deal with the New York Mets where he lived up to expectations. In 2023, a left rib fracture limited him to 75 ⅔ innings pitched, but when healthy, he posted a 3.57 ERA and 3.52 FIP. This past season, Quintana pitched to a 3.75 ERA, 4.56 FIP, 7.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 through 170 ⅓ innings pitched. He also played a huge role in getting the Mets to the National League Championship Series. At this stage of his career, Quintana is known for pitching to contact. His sinker, which had a plus-12 run value in 2024, is the key to that. His 47.4% groundball rate at age 35 was a new personal best. Quintana already knows what it's like to be moved at the trade deadline (2017 and 2022), so he'll be prepared for that possibility if the Marlins go in that direction once they feel their younger arms are ready to be tested in the majors. RHP Kyle Gibson 2024 workload: 169.2 IP After Gibson posted a 4.24 ERA, 4.42 FIP, 8.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 30 starts, the St. Louis Cardinals declined his club option for 2025. He could still be a valuable addition for the Marlins. The 37-year-old pitches to contact, doesn't walk many batters and has only ever been a negative fWAR player once in his career (as a rookie in 2013). Gibson was an All-Star in 2021 and led the majors in 2023 with 33 starts. The tall right-hander has reached the postseason three times in his career (2019, 2022 and 2023). He uses a very deep pitch mix, leaning most of all on his sweeper for strikeouts (41.2% whiff rate). c97a2f74-59d81dd1-b1c4b241-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 A young clubhouse would benefit from Gibson's experience. RHP Chris Flexen 2024 workload: 160.0 IP As mentioned by Christina De Nicola in her recent newsletter, Flexen would make sense for Miami. In 2024, he posted a 4.95 ERA, 4.80 FIP, 6.9 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9. At 30 years old, he's by far the youngest of the free agents on this list, but also the least successful historically. Flexen's best season as a starter came in 2021 with the Seattle Mariners where he posted a 3.61 ERA through 179 ⅔ innings pitched. He continued to outperform his FIP in 2022, but over the course of his career, that hasn't been repeatable (4.95 ERA vs. 4.93 FIP). This past season, Flexen used a five-pitch mix. He tries to keep hitters off balance with a slow, loopy curveball. In terms of price, Flexen should be much cheaper than Quintana and Gibson, but likely more expensive than Corbin. View full article

After being limited by arm injuries for most of the 2024 season, Garrett will be out for another year while rehabbing from a left elbow procedure. Starting rotation depth continues to be a concern for the 2025 Miami Marlins. On Wednesday, SportsGrid's Craig Mish broke the news that left-handed pitcher Braxton Garrett has undergone left elbow UCL revision surgery with an internal brace and will miss the entire season. The surgery was performed on December 16 by Dr. Keith Meister, adds MLB.com's Christina De Nicola. Garrett, 27, is coming off a 2024 season where he only made seven starts, posting a 5.35 ERA, 3.82 FIP, 8.27 K/9 and 0.97 BB/9 through 37 innings pitched. The start of his season was delayed until May 12 as he had suffered a left shoulder impingement. In June, he went down with a left forearm flexor strain. After completing several rehab starts to try to make a late-season comeback, he suffered a setback and remained on the IL. In early December prior to the Winter Meetings, president of baseball operations Peter Bendix told Fish On First that he was "hopeful and optimistic" about Garrett being healthy entering 2025. He had the surgery less than two weeks later. A former first-round draft pick of the Marlins, Garrett has dealt with frequent injuries during his career, including Tommy John surgery in 2017. His best season came in 2023 when he provided 159 ⅔ innings and made a postseason start; in his four other MLB seasons combined, he has totaled only 166 ⅔ innings. Meister is the same surgeon who operated on the injured elbows of fellow Marlins Sandy Alcantara (October 2023) and Eury Pérez (April 2024). With the start of spring training barely a month away, the only clear-cut starters for the Marlins are Sandy Alcantara, Ryan Weathers and Edward Cabrera. Candidates for the two other spots who are already on the 40-man roster include Max Meyer, Valente Bellozo, Adam Mazur and Dax Fulton. Among non-roster invitees, Bendix previously mentioned Robby Snelling as a name the organization is high on. Another NRI, Freddy Tarnok, will also reportedly get a chance to prove himself as a starter. The Marlins have not yet signed anybody to a fully guaranteed major league deal this offseason. Per Mish, they are evaluating the remaining options on the free agent market. Jack Flaherty is the top starting pitcher still unsigned, though it is far more likely that the Marlins go with a lesser name who's willing to settle for a one-year deal. View full article

Under Peter Bendix in 2024, the Marlins acquired several quality relievers cheaply. Tarnok could continue that trend in 2025. Earlier this week, the Miami Marlins officially inked right-hander Freddy Tarnok to a minor league deal. Aram Leighton of Just Baseball reports that it includes an invitation to spring training and that Tarnok will "get a shot to start." Tarnok's prospect history and pitch mix make him more interesting than a normal NRI. Tarnok was selected in the third round of the 2017 MLB Draft by the Atlanta Braves. He ranked as high as 11th on Baseball America's Braves prospect list during his minor league career. In 2022, he was one of five players traded to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for catcher Sean Murphy. Tarnok reached the major league level in his final season with the Braves, but only for one relief appearance. He got a longer look with the Athletics in 2023, going 14 ⅔ innings through five appearances and even earning his first career win. In 2024, Tarnok began the season in the Athletics organization, but was claimed off waivers by the Philadelphia Phillies on June 1. He spent the rest of the season in the minors and elected free agency before signing with Miami. The 26-year-old will now have a fresh start with his fourth MLB organization. The Marlins had success last season turning little-known pitchers into solid relievers at the major league level. Examples include Calvin Faucher and Declan Cronin. Could Tarnok be next? Tarnok's arsenal consists of a four-seam fastball, changeup, slider and curveball. The slider was his primary secondary pitch during previous stints in the majors, but he's been going with the changeup more since then. His best pitch by far is the changeup, which generated a 48.0% whiff rate at the Triple-A level in 2024. Nobody's changeup on the Marlins major league staff came close to that, per Baseball Savant. tarnok ch.mp4 Tarnok's fastball averages 94.8 mph. Six of his seven home runs allowed were off that pitch. His slider generated a 45.2% whiff rate and a lot of soft contact. The biggest issues for Tarnok are control and command. He had a 5.68 BB/9 in 2024 and threw only 58.1% strikes in AAA. Too often, his strikes finish middle-middle, leading to high HR/FB rate. Injuries have also held Tarnok back from reaching his potential. He's been placed on the injured list six separate times since being drafted, including twice in 2024. However, he has had a "fully healthy offseason," according to KineticPro Performance lead throwing strategist Cam Lanzilli. Tarnok will enter spring training with an opportunity to make the Marlins Opening Day roster. He profiles best as a reliever, a role that would allow him to lean heavily on his quality changeup and slider, but if he doesn't make the cut, there should be plenty of innings available on the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp for him to work as a starter until there's an opening in Miami. View full article

One of many names that the Marlins acquired at last year's trade deadline, Ramírez is close to beginning what could be a long career in the big leagues. When the Miami Marlins traded away fan favorite Jazz Chisholm Jr. to the New York Yankees, many were left questioning the return of catcher Agustín Ramírez along with infielders Jared Serna and Abrahan Ramírez. Agustín was seen as the main piece in this deal despite entering the 2024 season ranked in the bottom half of Baseball America's and MLB Pipeline's Yankees Top 30 prospects lists. However, when you look deeper into his breakout season, there's plenty of reason to be excited about his offensive profile. Ramírez finished last season slashing .267/.358/.487/.845 with 25 home runs, 93 RBI and a 130 wRC+. That includes a .262/.358/.447/.805 slash line with five home runs and 24 RBI during his Triple-A Jacksonville stint. He was very consistent with an OPS of at least .750 in every month. He played most of the season as a 22-year-old, facing older competition in 95% of his plate appearances. You would think that trying to hit for so much power would comes with some swing-and-miss issues, but Ramírez struck out only 18.6% of the time. He was also a patient hitter, walking 11.1% of the time. His decision-making stands out. He was above the league average at connecting on pitches both inside and outside the zone, often resulting in hard contact. In a limited sample size against left-handed pitching (119 PA), Ramírez posted an amazing 1.067 OPS. That was the eighth-best mark in Minor League Baseball among players with at least 100 plate appearances vs. lefties. Compared to other Triple-A hitters, he ranked in the 89th percentile of 90th% exit velocity and 88th percentile of max exit velo. The main thing limiting his offensive production is a high groundball rate. Regularly trying to pull the ball leads to a lot of routine grounders to the left side of the infield. That aspect of his approach should be fixable. Ramírez would likely be the top position player prospect in the Marlins organization if he could be trusted to stick at catcher. His performance last season shows there's a lot of work to be done—in his 72 games as a catcher, he had 10 errors, 11 passed balls and surrendered 110 stolen bases while only throwing out 12 baserunners. He uses the one knee down receiving technique that has become increasingly popular across baseball, but he's lacking the athleticism and reaction time to make it work right now. 1dIGvwITCGn6O2Oj.mp4 In a perfect world, Ramírez would be part of the Marlins' catching tandem, splitting time with Nick Fortes during the 2025 season, with Joe Mack taking over for Fortes in the near future. The organization will give him every opportunity to make that happen, but the likely outcome for Ramírez is he will be a first baseman/designated hitter. Here at Fish On First, we are a little lower than other outlets on his potential for a defensive turnaround, though with enough reps and the right instruction, he could prove us wrong. Ramírez, just like every prospect, will have to overcome obstacles in the major leagues, but he has talent to be a long-term fixture in the Marlins lineup. View full article

Fish Unfiltered—Episode #66 Kevin Barral and Ely Sussman bring on Philadelphia Phillies expert Alex Carr to better understand the timing of last week's Jesús Luzardo deal and the pair of prospects that the Miami Marlins received in return. Don't forget about Paul McIntosh's inclusion, either! Find Fish Unfiltered on the Fish On First YouTube channel, our new-look Apple Podcasts channel and wherever else you get your pods. FOF's audio programming also includes The Offishial Show, Swimming Upstream, Big Fish Small Pod and more. Thanks very much to everybody who watched/listened to Fish On First content in 2024. Follow Alex (@AlexCarrMLB), Kevin (@kevin_barral), Ely (@RealEly) and Fish On First (@FishOnFirst) on Twitter. Join the Marlins Discord server! Complete Miami Marlins coverage here at FishOnFirst.com. View full article

One of the most exciting elements of spring training is getting a look at recent acquisitions and emerging prospects who participate in their first Marlins big league camp. The Miami Marlins are going to bring an entirely different group of players to Jupiter in 2025 than they did last spring training. That includes the new additions to their 40-man roster, but don't forget about non-roster invitees. Every year, there are NRIs who make a name for themselves or even come out of nowhere to earn an Opening Day job. There are two types of NRIs: players within the organization who haven't made it onto the 40-man yet and free agents who sign one-year minor league contracts. So far this offseason, the Marlins have signed INF Ronny Simon, RHP Robinson Piña, OF Heriberto Hernández and LHP John Rooney in free agency. Expect a few more of those deals in the coming weeks. This article focuses on the top candidates for the other NRI category, starting off with players who have been to big league camp before (either with the Marlins or another team), then going into younger prospects hoping for a taste of the action. Previous NRI experience LHP Robby Snelling The San Diego Padres made the aggressive move to invite Snelling to camp entering his age-20 season. After struggling in the first half of the year, the lefty was traded to the Marlins and pitched much closer to expectations with a 4.00 ERA, 2.76 FIP, 10.25 K/9 and 2.75 BB/9 through seven starts in Double-A Pensacola. Snelling did reach the Triple-A level where he made one start, striking out seven and allowing one earned run. President of baseball operations Peter Bendix recently singled out Snelling as someone who can shape out the starting rotation at some point in 2025. LHP Josh Simpson Drafted and developed by the Marlins, Simpson was a part of the 40-man roster for a while and made a good impression last spring, but he missed half of 2024 while recovering from left elbow ulnar neuritis. He didn't look sharp during minor league rehab appearances and was eventually removed from the 40-man altogether. He will likely be an NRI given Miami's lack of left-handed relievers at the moment. RHP Woo-Suk Go Go was acquired in the Luis Arraez trade early on in the season. The Korean veteran stayed in the upper minors, posting a 6.54 ERA, 1.72 WHIP, 8.9 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 through 52 ⅓ innings pitched. The Marlins are stuck paying Go's $2.25 million salary no matter what, so it couldn't hurt to invite him to camp before giving up on him completely. INF Troy Johnston The former Marlins Minor League Player of the Year, Johnston took a step back in 2024 and slashed .276/.339/.424/.763 with 11 home runs, 63 RBI and a 99 wRC+. This would be his third straight spring as an NRI. OF/INF Jacob Berry In 2024 with AA-Pensacola, Berry slashed .238/.306/.360/.666 with nine home runs, 45 RBI and a 100 wRC+. It was Berry's second half of the season that earned him a promotion to AAA. He continues to be a liability on defense, most recently transitioning to right field. OF Jakob Marsee Marsee slashed .188/.342/.303/.645 with seven home runs, 37 RBI and a 103 wRC+ as a member of the Blue Wahoos. What stands out is Marsee's speed and high walk percentage. In AA, he posted a 15.2 walk% and overall stole 51 bases. He is a nice fourth outfield option who is experienced in center field. INF Nathan Martorella Martorella came over with Marsee in the Arraez trade after also spending spring in Padres camp. Following a horrid start with Pensacola, he finished the season off strong, especially in the power department. He's seen action at first base and in the outfield. C/INF Bennett Hostetler Hostetler is coming off his most disappointing season as a pro, slashing .236/.275/.339/.614 with two home runs and 19 RBI between AA and AAA. His versatility to play catcher has earned him an invite in the past and should one more time. Potential first-time NRIs LHP Thomas White It can go either way for White, who isn't close to reaching the majors, but has established himself as Miami's No. 1 prospect and could benefit from the experience. He was excellent as a 19-year-old in Low-A/High-A with a 2.81 ERA, 11.3 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 through 96 innings pitched. Even if invited, he'd be reassigned to minor league camp pretty quickly. RHP Christian Roa Roa was placed on waivers by the Cincinnati Reds after the 2024 season ended and claimed by the Marlins, then outrighted to the minor leagues. He posted a 5.55 ERA, 6.08 FIP, 8.69 K/9 and 5.55 BB/9 through 48 ⅔ innings pitched, finishing the year on the injured list. The 25-year old reliever has a slider, four-seam, sinker, changeup and curveball. The slider is his plus pitch with a 107 tjStuff+ and 42.3 whiff%. LHP Adam Laskey The Marlins took Laskey in the minor league phase of the 2023 Rule 5 Draft and it's safe to say that he impressed in his first season. He pitched to a 3.10 ERA, 3.04 FIP, 8.41 K/9 and 2.21 BB/9 through 81 ⅓ innings pitched. With a lack of lefties in the Marlins bullpen, he will likely receive an invite. Even assuming he does not make the initial roster, Laskey has earned a promotion to AAA-Jacksonville. RHP Josh Ekness A lights-out reliever this past season at three different minor league levels with a high-90s fastball and wipeout secondary stuff, Ekness has come a long way since the 2023 draft. He will begin the season in AA Pensacola most likely. RHP Jacob Miller Miller broke out in 2024, posting a 3.85 ERA, 7.3 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 through 114 ⅔ innings pitched. Although his velocity is below average, his control has proven to be great and when he reached AA, he succeeded there. A potential call-up in 2025 isn't out of the picture if he continues to pitch the way he is. RHP Matt Pushard Pushard thrived in AA with a 2.36 ERA, 3.48 FIP, 11.14 K/9 and 3.04 BB/9 through 53 ⅓ innings. He also reached the AAA level and succeeded in his two innings of work. At 27 years old, he is the oldest player in this group of NRI candidates. RHP Austin Roberts Roberts had similarly impressive numbers to Pushard: a 2.28 ERA, 11.4 K/9, 3.9 BB/9 and 17 saves through 67 innings pitched. His three pitch-mix of a fastball, curveball and changeup stand out. He will have an opportunity to compete for a spot on the Opening Day roster. C Joe Mack Mack had a breakout 2024 season, earning him AA Player of the Year in the Marlins organization. Between two levels, he slashed .252/.338/.468/.807 with 24 home runs and 78 RBI. Although he didn't catch every day, he was fine defensively and should start the season at AAA. OF Kemp Alderman Alderman was slowed down by an injury and only slashed .240/.312/.344/.656 with two home runs, 11 RBI and a 92 wRC+. However, he finished the year on a good note in the Arizona Fall League and shows incredible power potential. INF Jack Winkler These final names were selected in the minor league phase of the latest Rule 5 Draft. Winkler slashed .223/.310/.345/.655 with eight home runs, 57 RBI and an 88 wRC+. Defensively, the former Athletics prospect will stick at shortstop. RHP Orlando Ortiz-Mayr A former Dodgers farmhand, Mayr made 27 appearances (25 starts) in AA posting a 4.71 ERA, 5.07 FIP, 7.16 K/9 and 3.98 BB/9. RHP Ricky DeVito DeVito is somewhat similar to former Marlins prospect Jefry Yan, a talented reliever who doesn't really know where the ball is going. In 2024, he posted a 4.00 ERA, 4.48 FIP, 12.33 K/9 and 8.83 BB/9 through 54 innings pitched. Cutting down on the walks will be his main focus. View full article