Kevin Barral

Prior to Wednesday's game, Marlins infielder Jake Burger reflected on his youth hockey days. Burger grew up with Matthew Tkachuk, whose Florida Panthers have advanced to the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. View full video

Swimming Upstream—Episode #61 Double-A Pensacola OF Jakob Marsee joins Kevin Barral and Ely Sussman for an exclusive interview! Fish On First's seventh-ranked prospect discusses the night he found out he was being traded to the Miami Marlins, taking pride in his plate approach and outfield defense, his friendship with fellow prospect Nathan Martorella and more. Find Swimming Upstream 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, Fish Unfiltered, Big Fish Small Pod and more. The Fish On First podcast is now being presented by MPT College Consulting! They pride themselves on helping clients navigate the college application process. This includes preparation for standardized testing, guidance through high school, assistance with essays and applications, and choosing the right college. Visit them today at mptcollegeconsulting.com to learn more about their services and schedule a free consultation. In 24 games since joining the Marlins organization, Marsee is slashing .214/.371/.381 with just as many walks as strikeouts (19 apiece) and eight stolen bases. All but one of his appearances have come in center field. A sixth-round draft pick out of Central Michigan in 2022, Marsee turns 23 on June 28. He'll be Rule 5 Draft-eligible following the 2025 season...if he isn't already a big leaguer by then. Follow Jakob (@marsee32), 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

Tuesday night marked arguably the worst start of Jesús Luzardo's career. MIAMI, FL—The Miami Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays kicked off the 2024 Citrus Series, first with a two-game set in Miami. The Marlins sent Jesús Luzardo to face Ryan Pepiot. Although the Marlins did early damage against Pepiot, Luzardo ultimately gave up a career-worst nine earned runs and took the loss as the Rays defeated the Marlins, 9-5. Luzardo returned from a brief injured list stint on May 11 and had been pitching well since then (1.75 ERA in four starts). This time around, he had more of the same success through the first three innings of work, but then everything went wrong. "I feel like I lost my command overall and just not being able to locate the fastball as well as I usually am," said Luzardo following the game. "The slider as well. I feel like when I was falling behind, just kind of put myself in bad situations." In the fourth inning, the Rays had runners on first and second with one out, Luzardo surrendered a three-run homer to Brandon Lowe to tie the game at three apiece. José Siri knocked in an RBI double to drive in one run, making it a 4-3 game. Tampa Bay kept adding on in the fifth. Isaac Paredes and Lowe would both double to drive in two runs each. Five straight Rays batters reached base safely against Luzardo to force him out of the game after 4 ⅓ innings pitched (his shortest start of 2024). "Couple walks, lead-off walk hurt him," said Marlins manager Skip Schumaker. "Didn't get the swing-and-miss with the changeup. I think that was probably the difference-maker today. He got beat on some middle-middle sliders that probably cost him as well. I just think that he didn't get the fastball at the top enough." Luzardo allowed 11 hard-hit balls on the night with the top exit velocity coming from Jonny DeLuca at 108.8 mph. This was the second straight outing that he was unable to generate any whiffs with his four-seam fastball. In 2023, former Dodger Ryan Pepiot dominated the Marlins. In his first start against the Fish, he went five innings, giving up one run off of three hits, one walk and struck out five. On September 7, Pepiot went eight shutout innings, giving up one hit and striking out three. He entered this game with a 3.88 ERA looking to continue that success. Instead, in the bottom of the first inning, Bryan De La Cruz took Pepiot deep for a solo shot, taking a 1-0 lead. That was De La Cruz's tenth homer of the season and also marked three straight seasons of double-digit home runs. He also became the first Marlin to reach double-digit homers this season. Josh Bell drove in the second Marlins run of the game on an RBI triple. That was his first triple as a Marlin, first since 2022 and the 18th of his career. Otto Lopez drove in the third run of the game on an RBI single. Pepiot worked up to 36 pitches in just the first inning and the Rays even had to get somebody warming up in their bullpen, but he settled in well after that. The Rays starter ended his night going six innings, giving up three runs off of five hits, no walks and eight strikeouts. Skip Schumaker spoke to the righty's four-seam fastball prior to the game, and a couple hours later, Pepiot generated 13 whiffs alone with that pitch. In total, he generated 17 whiffs. "I think that Pepiot was outstanding," said Schumaker. "For him to get in six innings was super impressive. Felt like one hitter away from maybe even getting into their bullpen and he ends up going six innings, so that was really impressive. He has really good stuff. He was at the top of the zone and we started chasing a little bit at the top and then getting away from what made us successful in the in the first inning." b8dabfc5-1db8a4ef-5a8390e8-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp4 The other Ray who made a huge impact was outfielder Randy Arozarena, who has noted multiple times he likes playing at loanDepot park. For the first time since May 20, 2022, Arozarena reached base safely five times in a game. He was hit by a pitch twice, walked twice and knocked a base hit. though he only came around to score once. Miami found themselves in a favorable situation in the bottom of the ninth. They loaded the bases on three straight singles and the Rays summoned closer Peter Fairbanks. Fairbanks stopped their momentum right away when he struck out both Bryan De La Cruz and Jake Burger swinging and Josh Bell grounded out to end the game. "It was good fight in the ninth," said Burger. "Get three guys on. Just couldn't capitalize. They're bringing in their closer, one of the best arms in the bullpen, and unfortunately we didn't get the job done." With the loss, the Marlins move to 21-40 on the season while the Rays are 30-31. Braxton Garrett will take the mound against Zach Eflin, who is expected to be reinstated from the injured list prior to the game. First pitch is at 6:40 pm. View full article

The Marlins cut their losses with one of the most expensive free agent signings in franchise history. When the Miami Marlins signed Avisaíl García to a four-year deal worth $53M, they were expecting him to be a productive bat in the middle of their lineup. Unfortunately, García performed far below his career averages in each of his three seasons in Miami. The Marlins have seen enough. The prized free agent signing was designated for assignment on Tuesday, as first reported by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. “Avisail has been a consummate professional during his time with the Marlins,” said Peter Bendix, Marlins president of baseball operations. “He was always working hard and was a great teammate along the way. We wish him and his family the best.” García was a Derek Jeter acquisition, the last and most expensive free agent signing of his tenure as Marlins CEO. In 2021, García was coming off a season with the Brewers where he slashed .262/.330/.490/.820 with 29 home runs, 86 RBIs and a 115 wRC+. Rightfully so, Miami was attracted to a veteran who could improve their low-scoring offense. However, many believed that a four-year guaranteed deal was an overpay given his inconsistent track record. Beginning in 2017, his odd-numbered seasons would be his strongest, producing a wRC+ over 100, but in even-numbered years, García struggled, posting below league-average numbers. Entering his first season, García was noticeably overweight and his first spring training as a Marlin was shortened by a lockout. He played 98 games and slashed .224/.266/.317/.582 with eight home runs, 35 RBIs and a 63 wRC+. The Venezuelan posted a strikeout percentage higher than his 2021 season, walked three percent less and posted the lowest on-base percentage of his career up to that point. There was hope that García could bounce back in 2023 to look like his 2021 self, but that just wasn't the case. He got into better shape. However, that did not improve his plate discipline or his durability. One of his "hottest" stretches with Miami happened during a road trip in late April when he homered twice and drove in seven runs during a seven-game span. Soon after that, he landed on the injured list with left back tightness and missed the next three months. Limited to only 37 total games, almost all of his numbers went down compared to the 2022 season and he made no impact on a team that reached the playoffs. This season, Garcia only played in 18 games before going down with a left hamstring strain. García slashed .240/.255/.380/.635 with two home runs, two RBIs and a 78 wRC+. He was hitting ground balls at the highest rate of his career, grounding into four double plays in that small sample. The only positive to take away from García was solid defense (0 DRS and 1 OAA). When García was placed on the IL, the Marlins recalled Dane Myers from Triple-A Jacksonville to take over his platoon role. Myers has had more success than García at the Major League level recently and has been the lead-off man against left-handed pitching. In total, García played 153 games for the Marlins, slashing .217/.260/.322/.582 with a 61 wRC+. He was worse than a replacement-level player (-1.3 fWAR). García is still entitled to the rest of his contract, including approximately $7.5M through the end of this season, $12M in 2025 and a $5M buyout of his 2026 club option. Upon clearing waivers, he is expected to be released and enter free agency. View full article

After a rough start to the season, Sánchez has suffered an injury to the same shoulder that kept him out for the last three seasons. MIAMI, FL—Sixto Sánchez's comeback attempt experienced another setback on Sunday when the Miami Marlins pitcher was placed on the 15-day IL due to right shoulder inflammation. The corresponding move was to recall Emmanuel Ramirez from Triple-A Jacksonville. Sánchez was rated as one of MLB's top prospects when he debuted for the Marlins in 2020 and contributed to their postseason run. He initially injured his right shoulder in 2021. Between 2021 and 2023, he did not pitch in a Major League game, limited to just one Double-A Pensacola rehab appearance. This season, Sánchez surprisingly made the Marlins Opening Day roster as a reliever, then moved into the starting rotation in late April. Overall, he is 0-3 with a 6.06 ERA, 4.72 FIP, 4.29 K/9 and 3.53 BB/9 through 35 ⅔ innings pitched and seven starts. In his last start against the Texas Rangers on Friday night, Sánchez went four innings, giving up two runs off of four hits and one walk. Sánchez didn't record a single strikeout nor whiff. His fastball was averaging 90.0 mph, a significant dip from his season average of 93.8 mph. All of his pitches were down in velocity as well. "We gotta figure out honestly what's going on with the velo," said manager Skip Schumaker following Friday's game. "It just doesn't look like it's coming out like it should." In spring training, Sánchez topped out at 99 mph while being used in one-to-two inning appearances. That did not translate to the regular season as he recorded less swing-and-miss than any other Marlins pitcher, even when working as a reliever. The biggest struggle for Sánchez has been the first inning. Even including his Rangers start where he escaped without allowing any runs, his first-inning ERA is 16.71. Meanwhile, his ERA is under two in the second and third innings before climbing again as he gets deeper into the game. Sánchez completed five innings only once and his highest pitch count was 85. At this point in his career, Sixto Sánchez is not a major league starting pitcher. It seems as if the organization could give Sánchez a chance to come back in a bullpen role later this season, but if he doesn't show improvement while rehabbing, it's possible they could just cut ties and DFA the final piece of the J.T. Realmuto trade. In all likelihood, Sánchez will clear waivers and can be outrighted to AAA-Jacksonville where they can have him as an organizational filler. Once Sánchez's turn in the rotation comes up next, right-hander Roddery Muñoz will probably be recalled, Craig Mish of SportsGrid reports. View full article

Ryan Weathers set another career high with 11 strikeouts on Saturday, yet he allowed four earned runs. Meanwhile, the Marlins offense was held scoreless. MIAMI, FL—On a day that their batters struck out 11 times against Ryan Weathers and 16 times against Miami Marlins pitchers overall, the Texas Rangers won by a final score of 7-0. Michael Lorenzen and three relievers combined to shut out the Marlins and even the series. The sweeper has been Weathers' best swing-and-miss pitch during his strong start to the 2024 season. This time around, he leaned more on his changeup. He generated 21 whiffs against the deep Rangers lineup, with the changeup accounting for 13 of them (the sweeper only generated three whiffs). "We kind of used (the changeup) a lot the first time through the order," said Weathers. "The second time through, they didn't change their approach, and then the third time, they still weren't changing their approach. It was working out there, so we just kind of used it." Overall, Weathers threw his changeup 37 times, matching a season high. The lefty has shown that he can switch up his pitch usage from one start to the next depending on the opponent. a8712714-7e7433ff-b62320a7-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 Although Weathers set a career-high in strikeouts, he surrendered four runs off of nine hits. In the top of the third inning, he gave up an RBI double and a sacrifice fly to drive in two runs. In the top of the fourth inning, he gave up two more runs the same way he did in the top of the third. The last time a Marlins starting pitcher gave up four runs, but struck out ten was José Fernández in April 2016. The last Marlins starter to surrender four runs, strike out ten or more and not give up a walk was Ryan Dempster on July 7, 2000. "I'll take that version of Ryan every day of the week," said Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker following the game. "A lot of the hits were on the ground. Seven singles...I'll bet on that all day and give us a chance to win." Lorenzen's last start against the Marlins came in August 2023 when he was making his Philadelphia Phillies debut right after the MLB trade deadline. He went eight innings, giving up two runs off of six hits and struck out five. On Saturday, the Rangers starter was effective again, going 6 ⅓ innings of shutout ball, only surrendering five hits and two walks. He also struck out seven which matches a season high. "It's a fastball, slider, cutter and changeup combination that just kept us off balance," said Schumaker. "There was not much hard contact. When we did have guys on base, we hit into double plays. I think we had first three or four innings we had some traffic and then hit into a couple of double plays. That was really the only time we had any threat, so there just wasn't much offense today." The Marlins were held hitless from the fourth inning through the eighth inning, a drought that finally ended when Josh Bell led off the ninth with a double. This marked the fourth shutout win of the season for the Rangers. After a six-hit night on Friday, the Rangers offense went for 13 hits. Both Marcus Semien and Corey Seager had three-hit games. Rookie Wyatt Langford and veteran Robbie Grossman tacked on two RBIs each and catcher Andrew Knizner had himself an RBI as well. The Marlins and Rangers will go into a rubber match on Sunday afternoon. Trevor Rogers vs. Andrew Heaney will be the pitching matchup. First pitch will be at 1:40 pm and there is a Eury Pérez bobblehead giveaway at the ballpark as well. View full article

The Marlins wrapped up the month of May on a high note, taking game one of a three-game set against the defending World Series champion Texas Rangers. They finished May with a 14-13 record. MIAMI, FL—After a putrid 7-24 start to the season, the Miami Marlins went 14-13 in May, capping it off with a win over the Texas Rangers. Highlighted by a 3-for-3 night for Jesús Sánchez, the Marlins offense defeated the defending champs by a final score of 8-2. Entering Friday's game, Sánchez had been slashing .230/.285/.309/.594. In the final game of the Marlins road trip against the San Diego Padres, he went 2-for-5 with a home run. Although he's had a rough season compared to 2023, he may be turning the corner after back-to-back strong performances. "I think that's something that we look for," said Jesús Sánchez following the game. "Offensive players just having that pitching there, backing us up and then we can feel comfortable to get those results. I think we're a team that can hit. We're gonna get offensive results and you're seeing that and I think we also have the capability of winning a lot of games if that's what happens." Sánchez owned the the exit velocity leaderboard on Friday. His first double of the night left the bat at 111.0 mph and he followed it with a 114.5 mph double. His three-run homer was the "softest" hit ball of the night at 109.8 mph, but that's still harder than some of his teammates have hit a ball all season. Each one of his hits came off of different pitchers "Some guys are getting hits and then some guys are getting loud hits and his are loud right now," said Marlins manager Skip Schumaker. "The west coast, it felt like it's something that starting to click in Arizona. Those are some loud outs and then some really loud hits. The San Diego series, he was taking the ball really well. Today it was it was loud. The guy can hit the ball as hard as anybody in the big leagues." José Ureña made his first start at loanDepot park since being non-tendered by the Marlins following the 2020 season. Entering Friday night's game, the former Marlin was posting the lowest ERA of his career. He joined the Texas starting rotation after multiple pitchers went down with injuries. The Marlins got to the Rangers starter early in what proved to be his worst start of the season. After a 1-2-3 bottom of the first for Ureña, he ran into trouble in the second inning, surrendering a 111.0 mph double to Sánchez followed by an Emmanuel Rivera grounder that moved Sánchez to third and Nick Gordon hit a two-run homer to take an early 2-0 lead. The ball left the bat at 101.1 mph and went 396 ft. That was Gordon's sixth home run of the season, three away from his 2022 total. The Marlins would tack on two more runs off of Ureña in the third inning. Josh Bell drove in Jazz Chisholm Jr. on a sac fly and a Gordon groundout with the bases loaded drove in Jake Burger. That gave the Marlins a commanding 4-0 lead through three innings of play. In his first start as the opposing pitcher in loanDepot park, Ureña went 2 ⅓ innings, giving up four runs (two earned), two walks and one strikeout. He was credited for the loss. One of the biggest issues for Marlins starting pitcher Sixto Sánchez has been the first inning of work. Although Sánchez's velocity was lower than usual, he got out of the first inning without allowing any damage thanks to a Corey Seager double play and a flyout. Sánchez ended the night going four innings, giving up two runs off of four hits, one walk, but did not record a strikeout. Sánchez relied heavily on his cutter and changeup. His four-seam fastball averaged 91.0 mph, which is down 3.2 mph compared to his season average of 94.2 mph. "I think he was fortunate," said Schumaker. "I think there's a lot of hard contact. There wasn't much swing-and-miss, got some double play balls which is good, but I think we got to figure out what's going on with the velo and just doesn't feel like it's coming out. And I know he went four innings or whatever it was and two runs, but it doesn't look like it's coming out like it should. He grinded through it." The Marlins starter didn't generate a single whiff and surrendered five hard-hit balls. He also induced two double plays. One got him out of the first inning as well. His next scheduled start is projected to be next Friday against the Cleveland Guardians. View full article

Once upon a time, José Ureña was the Opening Day starter for the Miami Marlins. In 2024, he's pitching for the Texas Rangers as they look to defend their World Series title. After facing his former team on Friday, Ureña spoke to Fish On First about where his career has taken him. MIAMI, FL—On Friday, José Ureña made his first start as the opposing pitcher in the ballpark he used to call home. Ureña signed with the Florida Marlins for $52k out of the Dominican Republic in 2008. In parts of six MLB seasons as a Marlin (2015-2020), he posted a 4.60 ERA, 4.74 FIP, 6.1 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 through 597.0 IP. Safe to say that Ureña's tenure with the Marlins had its ups and downs, but he contributed to the team long enough to rank 12th in franchise history in innings pitched and 15th in strikeouts. "It's something that feels great," said Ureña in Spanish a day after his start. "Those emotions are ones that you need to learn to control. I knew that I didn't get as far into my outing as I would've wished for. The goal of any starter is to go five innings." Ureña only lasted 2 ⅓ innings and took the loss against the Fish. Ureña had the rare honor of being Miami's Opening Day starter in back-to-back seasons (2018 and 2019) and he did not take that lightly. "That's something that you note as an accomplishment," said Ureña. "You give thanks to God that you're able to stay healthy in those moments and you give credit to them to have the confidence that you can do that job...You wanna go out there and be the number one and get the best out of yourself for the team." Ureña was a veteran when the Marlins acquired St. Louis Cardinals prospect Sandy Alcantara in the Marcell Ozuna trade. Now a Cy Young Award winner, Alcantara speaks highly of how his former teammate treated him as a rookie. "He was the first guy who opened his arms when I came here in 2018 for the first time," said Alcantara. "He was a tremendous teammate to me. Great person and great friend." Alcantara noted how Ureña was a lead-by-example type of person. "He doesn't talk too much. I was learning from him because there was a quiet guy who liked to work hard and that's what I saw from him. That's what I learned from him. Everywhere he goes, I was with him. I was watching everything he was doing and I think I got really good memories with him when we were working out in the weight room. The way that he worked, the way that he pitched in the game, he was a great guy." Ureña shared his perspective on being a mentor to Alcantara. "That's something that comes for every player. They have the time and try to help out the new players that come—how they should behave themselves, what they should do to not run into trouble and get the best out of them." Both players remain in touch and in fact, still play video games together. Since Ureña was non-tendered by the Marlins following the 2020 season, he has signed with six different teams. Through 15 games (five starts) with the Rangers, he's posted a 3.74 ERA, 4.60 FIP, 6.1 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 through 45 ⅔ innings pitched. With the Marlins, Ureña was a sinker-heavy pitcher. That pitch is still averaging 95.5 mph in 2024, but the slider has become his most-used pitch. "That just changes over time," said Ureña in regard to his pitch usage. "You have your reports and you begin to realize that you can be more efficient attacking with a different approach that isn't exactly your strong suit. Not leaving your strong suit because you are going to use it at any moment, but you use it to build up your arsenal. I do think that helps out a lot as well." View full article

Any team trying to contend in 2024 could use Luzardo in their rotation. We'll focus on several potential landing spots that make the most sense for the Marlins left-hander. As has been widely reported, including by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Jesús Luzardo is going to be available at this year's trade deadline. There's no question that the 26-year-old Miami Marlins left-handed pitcher has widespread appeal—working full time as a starter, Luzardo has a 3.79 ERA since the start of the 2022 season and isn't a free agent until 2027. Last season, he ended up pitching a career high 178 ⅔ innings. Luzardo's current salary of $5.5M could fit with any team's payroll. Here is a brief overview of five possible Luzardo trade partners, including why they would be motivated to make a deal and notable prospects that the Marlins might target in return. San Diego Padres These teams already linked up on a trade this season involving Luis Arraez, which showed how serious the Padres are about winning now. Their pitching staff ranks 11th in fWAR and 14th in ERA, but those numbers should go down as they lean more heavily on organizational depth pieces. Veteran starters Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish recently landed on the 15-day IL. When trading both Arraez and Jon Berti, the Marlins went with very young players as the centerpiece of those packages. During Sunday's State of the Fish, Sports Grid's Craig Mish said that trend will likely continue. With top-rated catching prospect Ethan Salas highly unlikely to be available, Miami should be focused on 17-year-old switch-hitting outfielder Leodalis De Vries. He would immediately be the best hitting prospect in the Marlins organization. Other names to keep an eye out for: catcher J.D. Gonzalez, outfielder Homer Bush Jr. and utility man Graham Pauley. Baltimore Orioles Even while suffering key injuries, the Orioles still rank fourth in starting pitcher fWAR. The Marlins and Orioles reportedly were in conversations during the offseason, but after the Marlins' asking price was too high, the Orioles pivoted and acquired Corbin Burnes from the Milwaukee Brewers. Although Burnes has performed exactly as hoped, he's an impending free agent. Baltimore's rotation depth has taken a hit since then with John Means and Tyler Wells both going down with season-ending injuries, so adding Luzardo makes a lot of sense. Baltimore has a surplus of exciting prospects at Triple-A, led by outfielder Heston Kjerstad. With AAA-Norfolk, he's slashing .325/.406/.663/1.069 with 14 home runs and 50 RBIs, struggling during the very brief call-up to the Major Leagues he received earlier this season. The Orioles just don't have enough space for Kjerstad at the MLB level, though the Marlins obviously do. Catcher Samuel Basallo would be the ideal target. This season in AA, Basallo is slashing .284/.333/.454/.787 with nine home runs, 29 RBIs and a 121 wRC+. Ordinarily, a prospect as special as him would not be on the table, though the Orioles are a unique case because they already have Adley Rutschman in place as their catcher of the future. The Marlins would have to add another piece on top of Luzardo to get Basallo. More potential names that could be discussed include Coby Mayo, Connor Norby, Enrique Bradfield Jr. and 18-year-old Thomas Sosa. Houston Astros The Astros may not look like regular buyers at six games below the .500 mark, but they aren't going to let their streak of seven straight deep postseason runs end without putting up a fight. Their need for rotation help is obvious with both Cristian Javier and José Urquidy having season-ending surgeries this week. However, with one of the worst farm systems in baseball, it will be hard for them to outbid the other teams mentioned in here. Joey Loperfido can play all three outfield spots. When called up by the Astros, he's been productive, slashing .333/.381/.436/817 with one home run, five RBIs and a 138 wRC+. At AAA, the Astros prospect is slashing .267/.365/.593/.957 with 13 home runs, 29 RBIs and a 125 wRC+. The Marlins can also look lower into the lower levels of their system such as a 18-year-old shortstop Camilo Díaz who signed for $2.25M. In 2023, Díaz slashed .209/.374/.353/.727 with four home runs, 15 RBIs and a 103 wRC+ in the Dominican Summer League. This season in the FCL, his strikeout rate has made a concerning jump to 46.8%. Although he's currently listed as a shortstop, it seems as if third base will be his more likely long-term home. Jacob Melton is the Astros number one prospect, according to MLB Pipeline (#71 on their Top 100 list). This season at AA, he's slashing .268/.328/.455/.784 with five home runs, 24 RBIs and a 114 wRC+. Minnesota Twins The Twins have been arguably the streakiest team in baseball this season. A 33-30 record would be enough to lead the American League Central in some years, but little by little, that division is becoming more competitive and they currently trail the Guardians and Royals. They may need help from outside the organization to repeat as AL Central champs. Last time these teams struck a deal, they sent the 2022 American League batting champion Luis Arraez to the Marlins in exchange for Pablo López and two prospects. It would be fascinating to see them strike a deal for Luzardo, but not out of the realm of possibility. In 2022, the Marlins missed out on their opportunity to draft shortstop Brooks Lee, who stands as the number two prospect in the Twins organization, according to MLB Pipeline. Two years later, he is almost major league ready after rehabbing from a back injury and would be the ideal everyday shortstop for the Marlins if traded. Emmanuel Rodriguez still has some flaws, but has shown the potential to be a nice major leaguer. Strikeout percentages have been high, topping out at 36.6%, but he has lowered it to 27.5% in 2024 along with a slash line of .298/.479/.621/.1.100 with eight home runs, 20 RBIs and a 198 wRC+ in 167 plate appearances in AA. Recently sent down to AAA, Edouard Julien would also make sense. The Marlins don't have a clear successor to Arraez as their long-term second baseman. Julien had a breakout rookie campaign slashing .263/.381/.459/.839 with 16 home runs, 37 RBIs and a 136 wRC+. Cleveland Guardians This season, the Guardians surprisingly find themselves at the top of the AL Central with first year manager Stephen Vogt. Early on, Cleveland lost Shane Bieber for the season, plus Logan Allen and Carlos Carrasco have both struggled, so the need for a starting pitcher is there. Adding Luzardo would be a win-now move. The top prospect in the Guardians system is Chase DeLauter who tore it up in the Arizona Fall League, but has gotten off to rough start at AA, slashing .194/.301/.290/592 with one home run and three RBIs. He's coming back from an injury, so he's only played 17 games. One of the best prospects in Minor League Baseball before being promoted to the majors, first baseman Kyle Manzardo slashed .303/.375/.642/1.017 with nine home runs, 20 RBIs and a 148 wRC+ in AAA. It's unlikely they move Manzardo, but it would be worth a shot to ask from the Marlins' perspective. The Guardians also have the young tandem of Jaison Chourio and Ralphy Velazquez progressing well at Low-A. Chourio is a Top 100 prospect according to MLB Pipeline and at 19 years old, there's a lot of projection and upside. Jaison is the brother of Jackson Chourio, so the bloodline is strong. View full article

This season, Tim Anderson has graded out as a solid defensive shortstop, but a pair of errors he committed in the seventh inning on Monday ended up being the difference for the Marlins in their loss to the Padres. The Miami Marlins signed Tim Anderson in free agency counting on him to bounce back from a horrid 2023 season. While it has continued to be a struggle for him offensively, Anderson has been a league-average shortstop in terms of both defensive runs saved and outs above average. Unfortunately, he was not at his best during the bottom of the seventh inning of Monday's game against the San Diego Padres. Anderson committed two errors to load the bases and extend the inning, setting up Jake Cronenworth's RBI walk that gave the Padres a win by a final score of 2-1. "It's not like he's trying to make errors," said manager Skip Schumaker following the game. "Those are gonna happen, so I feel bad for TA. We feel for the guy. No one feels worse than him. It's a tough way to lose, but we scored one run also, so it's not all on him, and when you only score one run, sometimes stuff like that happens behind you and we just couldn't get the big hit either." Last season, these mistakes were more common from Anderson when he had a -16 DRS and -2 OAA. Marlins fans will remember an example from when the Fish played the Chicago White Sox on June 10. Trailing 1-0 with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth inning, Bryan De La Cruz hit a routine roller to short that was fumbled by Anderson, tying the game. It wasn't an identical play, but certainly had a similar impact in a game his team lost. bkdvQThfVjBZQUhRPT1fVlZBRVhBVlNBd1lBWFZzRlZnQUFBQTVUQUZsUVVBTUFCRk5XVTFFQ0JWSUVBQUZY.mp4 "Overall, I just gotta make those plays," said Anderson following Monday's game. "That's really it. I just gotta make those plays in that situation... It's not like I am trying to mess it up. All I can do is to continue to keep working and keep trying to be better and put this one to rest." Schumaker also spoke about the season Anderson has had. "I think he still has some work to do. No doubt. He's frustrated, you can tell he was frustrated today. Frustrated defensively. He took a good at-bat and a big walk at the time. But I think he's overall kinda frustrated honestly and he knows he's a better player and he's a winning player. I think that's what hurts him the most." This season, the former All-Star and AL batting champ is slashing .203/.240/.224/.464 with six RBIs. His -0.5 fWAR is tied for the lowest among MLB shortstops. "I'm not where I need to be," said Anderson. "The work is there, the work ethic is there, but it's only a matter of time that hopefully things can swing my way. All I can do is to continue to keep trusting and keep believing in it." The only run for the Marlins came in the top of the third inning thanks to Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s eighth home run of the season off of Padres starter Michael King. The ball left the bar at 107.7 mph and went 416 feet into the air. That tied the game at one apiece for the Marlins. The offense ended the game with four hits. King, who has inconsistent this season, struck out seven and walked one. Including the home run, King surrendered three hits. All seven of his strikeouts were swinging and the majority of his 16 whiffs came from his changeup. "Initially, we couldn't pick up the changeup," said Schumaker. "We were swinging right through that thing. His sinker/slider combo to the righties was effective as well. Lot of weak contact. Just really could not get anything going. Jazz had a big swing, but other than that, Josh Bell doubled and Jazz another double, but other than that, not too much offense." Marlins starting pitcher Trevor Rogers kept the Marlins in it, going 5 ⅓ innings pitched, giving up one run off of six hits, two walks and three strikeouts. Rogers went with a sinker/slider combo, which are his two least-used pitches this season. His sinker averaged 91.1 mph and the four-seam fastball was averaging 92.2 mph. Despite less usage on the four-seam, it generated three out of the four whiffs he had on the evening. His only other whiff came on the slider. "He was behind quite a bit," said Schumaker. "I also thought he made pitches when he had to. Jon Jay did a great job positioning with a couple of guys in the outfield. Jazz running down balls in the gap. (Jackson) Merrill squared one up right to him as well. His velo was better and got into the sixth inning. Last couple of starts have looked a lot better, no doubt about it and definitely gave us a chance to win. I thought he was good against a pretty good lineup, so I'll take that version of Trevor every five days, no problem." The only run Rogers gave up was a solo homer to former Marlin Donovan Solano in the bottom of the second inning. That was Solano's first home run of the season. It had an exit velocity of 97.6 mph and went 376 feet into the air. It gave the Padres an early 1-0 lead prior to Chisholm's home run. Rogers next scheduled start is set to come in the series finale against the Texas Rangers on Sunday. With the loss, the Marlins are now 19-36 on the season. Game two of the three-game set will be on Tuesday at 9:40 pm. Jesús Luzardo will take the mound for Miami. Knuckleball pitcher Matt Waldron gets the start for the Padres. View full article

Once again on Sunday, Ryan Weathers worked deep into the game to give the Marlins a chance to win. Miami's bats finally woke up in the seventh inning to support him and take the series from the Diamondbacks. Led by excellent pitching and Jake Burger's bat, the Miami Marlins clinched their fourth straight series win on Sunday, defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks by a final score of 3-1. "It always starts with pitching," said Marlins manager Skip Schumaker following the game. In the month of May, starting pitcher Ryan Weathers has completed six innings or more in all of his outings. He continued that streak in Arizona with six innings of shutout baseball, allowing four hits and one walk. He also struck out seven, which is the second-most for him this month. "Five walks all of May," noted Schumaker, "which just shows you his growth and the confidence he has in our pitching coach, but to watch his secondary pitches work so well in any count; we knew he had his fastball—he throws 97, we knew that—but all the work that he's put in to be able to spin it and to command his changeup at any given moment, it all starts there." Weathers heavily attacked the strike zone (65.9% of his pitches were strikes), primarily going with his four-seam/changeup combo. Although the sweeper was Weathers' least-used pitch, he generated four out of 12 whiffs and five of his seven strikeouts with it. The Diamondbacks have been a very good offensive team against left-handed pitching, slashing .281/.334/.443/.777 with 18 home runs and 83 RBIs. They couldn't get anything going against Weathers and a big reason for that was his ability to limit hard contact and generate ground balls. Weathers' groundball percentage was 66.7% in this start, raising his season average to 50.8% (the MLB average is 42.6%). Rookie lefty Blake Walston was very effective as well (4.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K) and the game remained scoreless until the top of the seventh inning. With runners on first and second, Bryan De La Cruz looked like he may have grounded into an inning-ending double play, but a throwing error on Diamondbacks shortstop Kevin Newman allowed Nick Fortes to score from second and give Miami a 1-0 lead. S3d2ZXZfVjBZQUhRPT1fVXdoWlZsMEhCd1FBV1FZRFVBQUFBRkJSQUZrRVZGa0FVd2NDQWxVTkJBZGRCZ29F.mp4 After struggling since his return from the IL, Jake Burger capped off his strong series against the Diamondbacks by driving in two insurance runs to extend the lead to 3-0. Burger ended the series with six hits, including a home run in the first game of the series. Burger jokingly mentioned that his trip to a local water park during Thursday off-day was the key to his recent hot streak. "All ripping tubes," said Burger. "That had a big impact on it, but I think (hitting coach John) Mabry and I got some stuff figured out in the cage and I probably give that 90% and ripping tubes the other 10%...I think just calming everything down in the box. Skip and I had a really good conversation a couple of days ago: 'let's just get back to having fun,' and I do think ripping tubes was a part of that, but I think it's just getting in there and knowing who I am as a hitter and it's me versus that guy. It's no other thought. Just get in there and compete." With the win, the Marlins improve to 19-35, having taken two out of three from the Detroit Tigers, New York Mets, Milwaukee Brewers and now the D-backs. This marks the first time since April 2023 that the Marlins have won four straight series. Next, the Fish will travel to San Diego for a three-game set which begins on Monday at 6:40 pm. They'll be reunited with star infielder Luis Arraez less than one month after trading him to the Padres. Since the Arraez trade, the Marlins have a .500 winning percentage, so they will put that to the test against one of the hottest hitters in baseball, who has a .391/.418/.471/.889 slash line with his new squad. View full article

After establishing a new professional career high with 11 strikeouts on Saturday, Marlins pitching prospect Noble Meyer speaks to Fish On First about the keys to his recent success. View full video

Making the trip to Jupiter on Saturday was well worth it as Marlins RHP Noble Meyer set a new career high with 11 strikeouts and continues to deliver strong starts. Here's what the young prospect told Fish On First after his latest outing. JUPITER, FL—Fish On First number two prospect Noble Meyer has been improving rapidly. After struggling with his control early in the 2024 season, the 19-year-old righty has begun to dominate at the Low-A level. Facing the Tampa Tarpons on Saturday, Meyer pitched five innings, giving up two runs off of two hits, three walks and struck out a career-high 11 batters. "Everything felt like it was like sharp today," said Meyer after his start. "Slider was really coming in nice. Throwing hard too—had a couple of high 80s, accidental cutter at 90—and the fastball velo is coming back. It's there. I know it's been down, but it's really coming back." Mainly going with his four-seam fastball and slider, Meyer was able to generate 14 whiffs on the night. His four-seamer velocity was averaging 95.0 mph and topped out at 97.5 mph (tracked as his hardest-thrown pitch this season). Five of his 11 strikeouts were swinging and at one point in his outing, he had six straight strikeouts. Some of the notable bats he faced and struck out were New York Yankees number four prospect Roderick Arias and number six prospect George Lombard Jr. He struck out Lombard three times and Arias once. The only mistake of the night for Meyer came in the top of the first, surrendering a two-run shot to Dylan Jasso. "He was staying off the plate, so I can tell he was diving back onto the plate trying to get to an away pitch, trying to bait that out. I throw one in, trying to make sure, 'Hey, you're not gonna be able to do that.' On the chalk, pulls his hands through, makes an amazing swing, 105 off the bat. Just gotta tip the cap. It's a great swing." Meyer had posted an 8.00 ERA in his first three starts of the season with more walks than strikeouts. However, he has allowed only three earned runs over his last five starts combined (1.08 ERA) while generating a lot more swing-and-miss. "I just changed my mentality and told myself, I'm not gonna have a battle with myself. I gotta throw a strike here, but I'm gonna execute and I'm gonna give you my best stuff," said Meyer. "Good luck hitting it." Assistant general manager Gabe Kapler helped Meyer arrive at his current mindset by reminding him to "make it a battle against them, not yourself." Meyer has also received advice from director of player development Rachel Balkovec. Kapler and president of baseball operations Peter Bendix were both spotted at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on Saturday. "I've talked to Kapler a lot," said Meyer. "I've talked to Rachel a lot and I don't think I've had a full conversation with Bendix, but I am looking forward to it." Through eight starts this season, Meyer's ERA is now at 2.91 with a 1.21 WHIP and 43 strikeouts. His next scheduled start is a week from Saturday against the Daytona Tortugas, the Cincinnati Reds Low-A affiliate. View full article