Kevin Barral

Entering his first spring training with the club, Snelling has added another pitch to his arsenal. JUPITER, FL—Before deciding to pursue a baseball career, Robby Snelling was highly regarded as a football player and received 23 offers to play in college. As the 21-year-old left-hander prepares for his third season as a pro in a different spot, he still brings a "bulldog mentality" to the mound with him and believes that contributes to his success. "Some people say sometimes you kind of have to learn to tone it back a little bit, kind of become more of a pitcher with a little more feel and finesse on the mound," Snelling told Fish On First. "But there definitely still are some times where that side can come out. I think the mental stuff that (football) taught me playing is helping me a lot more than what I can imagine if I never played." Snelling was the main piece the Marlins received in the trade that sent Tanner Scott and Bryan Hoeing to the San Diego Padres, coming to Miami with fellow prospects Adam Mazur, Graham Pauley and Jay Beshears. Prior to the Scott/Hoeing trade, they also traded Luis Arraez to the Padres in exchange for Dillon Head, Jakob Marsee, Nathan Martorella and Woo-Suk Go, all names who Snelling was familiar with. "Makes it a lot easier for sure. That being my first time being traded and hopefully my only time being traded, I can't imagine how tough it would have been if it was just me and getting thrusted into an organization that I had no idea about, but being able to kind of sift through it with guys that I had prior knowledge of and prior relationships with makes it an easier battle." One pitcher that Snelling compares himself to is New York Yankees lefty Carlos Rodón. "Physical guy on the mound and he's been a pretty successful pitcher," said Snelling. Rodón's fastball averaged 95.4 miles per hour in 2024, while Snelling saw his velocity drop into the low 90s, which may have made the Padres more willing to trade him. However, in his first spring training appearance against the New York Mets in Port St. Lucie on Sunday, Snelling's fastball averaged 95.7 mph and topped out at 96.7, a velo that he never reached last season. "It's nice to be able to come in off of a fresh offseason," Snelling told Fish On First. "It was the start of a game, so you got pretty amped up, but as this offseason has been going on, my arm's been feeling pretty good. Hopefully that's velocity that I can maintain and keep going on with throughout the season." This offseason, Snelling incorporated a slider into his arsenal. He threw it once on Sunday at 86 mph, splitting the difference between his fastball velo and curveball velo. "They said that it's moving really well, matches up with my arsenal very well, plays off the fastball great," said Fish On First's number six prospect. "As long as they keep telling me that, I'm gonna keep throwing it so it can definitely get better than what it's at right now, but for just working on it and this being my first spring training throwing it, I'm pretty happy with it." Snelling's appearance against the Mets only lasted seven pitches. He retired the side in order, getting Luis Torrens to line out, Jared Young to pop out and Donovan Walton to line out. Assuming that Snelling will pitch again five days later, his next outing would be on Friday in Jupiter against the Atlanta Braves. View full article

Full media availability with Miami Marlins manager Clayton McCullough following his team's 2025 Grapefruit League opener. View full video

The Miami Marlins opened the spring with a 7-6 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. JUPITER, FL—Marlins baseball returned on Saturday afternoon under first-year manager Clayton McCullough. Trailing 6-0 through six innings, young prospects drove in seven runs against the Cardinals bullpen to win by a final score of 7-6, marking back-to-back years where Miami has won its Grapefruit League opener. Making the start for the Marlins was right-handed pitcher Valente Bellozo. His outing only lasted one inning, not allowing a hit and striking out two. After his fastball only averaged 89.2 miles per hour in 2024, his average fastball velocity ticked up to 92.3 miles per hour on Saturday. He topped out at 92.9 mph. "Last year when the season finished, they told me to get stronger so I can maintain the velo," Bellozo said. "That was my goal for the offseason. I think all my breaking pitches were good, I threw strikes...The only thing was the velocity. I think velocity was good today." Catcher Nick Fortes observed that Bellozo's fastball was "a little bit sharper, which showed that he was missing some barrels. Today, guys were swinging underneath, which is a good indication that he's spinning in the ball pretty well." "Was in and around the zone with everything," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough following the game. "Easy to mix and match and be able to alter speeds and get us going on the right foot." Following Bellozo was 23-year old Adam Mazur, who was one of four players acquired in the Tanner Scott and Bryan Hoeing trade. Mazur's biggest focus this offseason was fine-tuning his changeup and curveball. "Same [curveball] grip from last year," Mazur said. "Just getting more comfortable with it because really started using the curveball more last year, so just kind of getting a full offseason with it under my belt has been a lot of fun and has really paid off." Mazur also added a sweeper this week and threw it once on Saturday. "It's kind of funky, like the release height is higher than usual," Mazur said. "It's getting a little bit more depth, which is kind of nice because it's kind of a two-plane pitch and it's not just straight across or straight down." dnZCRzNfVlZjPV9Wd05SQVFZRFZnUUFYVnNGWHdBQUFGSlNBQU5VVlFNQUExeFVBZ0JUVlZaU0ExRUg=.mp4 Mazur debuted in the majors with the Padres in 2024, making eight starts, but struggled posting a 7.49 ERA through 33 ⅔ innings pitched. For the Minnesota native, having that experience provides some comfort. "I think to myself more and how I need to go out there and get out so it's definitely taking what I learned last year and apply it to this year and just try to get better every single day." Fish On First's number ten prospect finished the day going one inning, not allowing a hit or run. He didn't strike out or walk anyone. "Fell behind in some counts," said McCullough. "He was able to come back and pitch a clean inning. First one out of the way there, so it was good for him to have a clean 1-2-3 and I know he'll go back and say prioritizing strike one and staying ahead of people." The following pitchers also entered in relief: Anthony Veneziano, Lake Bachar, Connor Gillispie, Luarbert Arias, Zach McCambley, Christian Roa, John Rooney and Matt Pushard. Prospects were responsible for all seven Marlins runs. Brought over from minor league camp, outfielder Colby Shade drove in the first run of the spring in the bottom of the seventh inning. Non-roster invitee Heriberto Hernández hit a bases-clearing RBI double to make it a 6-4 game. Third baseman Jacob Berry grounded out to short, but still managed to drive in a run to make it a one-run game. In the bottom of the eighth inning, minor league Rule 5 selection Jack Winkler hit an RBI double to drive in the game-tying run. Fish On First number 11 prospect Joe Mack delivered the winning run. "It's credit to what's been going on here the last year-plus," said McCullough. "Acquiring and infusing talent into our system and they come over into a major league spring training game for the first time for a lot of them and just go out there and play. They looked comfortable, they looked like they were at ease and just went out there and played." The Marlins will drive about 40 minutes north on Sunday to take on the New York Mets in Port St. Lucie at 1:10 pm. Sandy Alcantara will take the mound for Miami. It will mark the first time he will pitch in an official game since September 2023. Expect a completely different group of position players from the ones who started the opener. Sunday's game will be televised on SNY. View full article

During Monday's joint press conference, Peter Bendix and Bruce Sherman were non-committal about the long-term status of their ace. JUPITER, FL—Monday marked the first full-squad workout of Miami Marlins spring training. As they have done in previous years, that meant Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix and chairman & principal owner Bruce Sherman spoke to the media about the upcoming season. The status of Opening Day starter Sandy Alcantara was the final topic discussed. Alcantara, 29, is entering the fourth year of a five-year, $56M deal. He is currently making $17.3M and will make that same amount in 2026. The contract also includes a $21M club option for 2027. If healthy, it's a very team-friendly deal for an ace, but with the Marlins in the middle of a rebuild and having recently traded many other veterans, rumors have already begun to swirl that their longest-tenured player could be gone soon. "We can't really comment on what might happen in the future," said Bendix. "Sandy is here right now. Sandy looks as good as I think he's ever looked in his career. He was sitting 98 miles an hour in a side session out on the field looking like he was just playing catch." "That's unusual," added Bendix, "but really the even more unusual thing is the degree to which Sandy is that leader. He is the leader that everyone else looks to and he is helping set the tone." Sherman was then asked about whether he would to make a commitment not to trade Alcantara. "Sandy is on a contract," Sherman said. "I was the one who extended him. He's one of the better deals that we did...I'm gonna rely on the front office for all those decisions, but Sandy is our franchise right now, we get it." During the presser, both Bendix and Sherman made sure to share their excitement about potentially having Alcantara and Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates face off on Opening Day (the Pirates have not formally announced Skenes as their starter yet). However, fans are left wondering how many more starts they'll get to see Alcantara make in a Marlins uniform after that. View full article

Miami Marlins chairman & principal owner Bruce Sherman and president of baseball operations Peter Bendix address the media prior to the club's first full-squad workout of spring training. View full video

Miami Marlins manager Clayton McCullough addresses the media prior to the club's first full-squad workout of spring training. View full video

As the Miami Marlins begin full-squad workouts, outfielder Dane Myers speaks to Fish On First about his 2024-25 offseason and getting familiar with the new Marlins coaching staff. View full video

It's tough when a traded player joins a clubhouse of strangers. Marlins first baseman Matt Mervis is grateful to be surrounded by familiar faces from his college days. JUPITER, FL—Marlins first baseman Matt Mervis is the newest member of the Miami Blue Devils. Acquired from the Chicago Cubs this past offseason in exchange for utility man Vidal Bruján, Mervis is an alum of Duke University, just like outfielder Griffin Conine and infielder Graham Pauley. Deeper down in the Marlins organization, prospects Adam Laskey and Jay Beshears played their college ball at Duke as well. "Having some of that familiarity when you are going into a new organization just helps ease some of the angst when you're making that transition," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "We do have a lot of players, whether they have a college experience together or they've seen each other playing in the minor leagues or have a chance to compete against each other at the major league level." "It's been a lot of fun so far in spring training," said Mervis. "We got a rental house, Griffin and I did with the third Duke guy, Adam Laskey, who was actually my college roommate. Jay Beshears was in the trade from San Diego, came over with Pauley, so there's five of us now. It'll be good to get a couple Duke dinners down here and just hang out." Mervis, Conine and Laskey were teammates throughout the 2017 and 2018 seasons. "We won a lot," Mervis said. In 2017, the Blue Devils posted a 30-28 record, falling to Florida State in the ACC tournament championship game. Conine received Second-Team All-ACC honors while Mervis was named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll. The 2018 season would be much better as Duke went 45-18, reaching the NCAA Super Regional. "I think it came out of nowhere," Conine said about his reaction to the Mervis trade. "No one was expecting that. (Mervis) had joked about it earlier, of just wanting that to be a possibility, but didn't think it would actually come true." Conine joined the Marlins back in 2020 when there were COVID restrictions, no minor league season and no other Duke alumni. "I was traded here and didn't have that luxury," said Conine. "I was like the first dude here. It's tough getting traded in general, whole new teammates, whole new everything. I'm happy to be able to kind of make the transition easier. Getting to know people he's already known. It's definitely made it easier for him to have so many Duke guys." For Mervis, 26, it's been a struggle at the highest level of baseball. In 2023, he debuted for the Cubs after posting a 132 wRC+ in Triple-A, but in 27 games, he slashed .167/.242/.289/.531 with three home runs and 11 RBI. In 2024, Mervis only played in nine games for the Cubs and even his AAA numbers suffered, though that was partly due to a broken hand. Mervis and Conine find themselves competing for Opening Day roster spots this spring. There is potentially room for both to make it as power threats against right-handed pitching, with Mervis getting most of his playing time at first base and Conine in the outfield corners. The Marlins' first full-squad workout will be on Monday. View full article

Miami Marlins catching prospect Agustín Ramírez speaks to Fish On First (in Spanish) about his offseason work and the opportunity to reach the majors with the Fish in 2025. View full video

Fish Unfiltered—Episode #69 As he prepares to pack up his life and drive down to South Florida, new Miami Marlins radio play-by-play announcer Jack McMullen sits down with Kevin Barral and Isaac Azout to discuss his new position and all of the experiences that led up to it. "Lot of people say, 'a dream come true' about things that they really wanted, but may not have been an actual dream," McMullen says. "For this dream opportunity to come true with the Miami Marlins at this stage is actually a dream come true, so I couldn't be more excited." 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. McMullen will have a wide variety of broadcast partners in 2025, including Rod Allen, Craig Minervini, Jeff Nelson, AJ Ramos, Kelly Saco and Gaby Sanchez. As announced by the Marlins on Thursday, FOX Sports 940 AM Miami will broadcast audio from 15 of their 30 spring training games, while an additional 12 games, including Spring Breakout, can be found exclusively on the MLB app. McMullen tells Fish On First that he expects to arrive in Jupiter on Monday. Follow Jack (@jack_mcmullen11), 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

During Thursday's spring training press briefing, Miami Marlins manager Clayton McCullough made it official: Sandy Alcantara will be his Opening Day starter. It's the fifth time in Alcantara's career that he has been on the mound for the club's season opener, which is an all-time Marlins record. View full video

As expected, the Miami Marlins will have their ace take the mound on March 27 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. JUPITER, FL—After missing all of 2024 while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, Sandy Alcantara is back in a familiar role. The Miami Marlins named him their Opening Day starter on Thursday. It will be the fifth time that Alcantara has started a Marlins season opener, which extends his franchise record. "Sandy was excited," said manager Clayton McCullough after sharing the news with the media. "Its been a long journey after coming back last year. He was really excited with a smile on his face and to get that news. Organizationally, we are very excited and the fanbase of Miami will be excited to see Sandy take the hill for us Opening Day." One of McCullough's first managerial decisions could be the easiest one he will ever have to make. Alcantara was unanimously voted the 2022 National League Cy Young Award winner. Despite an inconsistent 2023 season, he was still on pace to surpass 200 innings for the third straight year. The veteran right-hander previously made four consecutive Opening Day starts from 2020-2023 (the Marlins had a 1-3 record in those games). With Eury Pérez continuing to rehab from his own Tommy John, Jesús Luzardo traded to the Philadelphia Phillies during the offseason and newly signed starter Cal Quantrill still needing to re-establish himself as a reliable arm, there weren't other strong alternatives. "It wasn't that tough," said McCullough. "I think Sandy was an easy one for us. Very happy for him for all the hard work he's put in and now be able to get himself back in position for that." The Marlins will host the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday, March 27 at 4:10 p.m. Although the Pirates have yet to announce their Opening Day starter, the decision for manager Derek Shelton should be obvious: reigning National League Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes. "That's a nice potential Opening Day matchup," McCullough said. "We'll bet on our guy, but for baseball, you would like to have your better players, your star players back out there, which is good for the game and certainly good for our fans." View full article

The day after signing with the Miami Marlins, right-hander Cal Quantrill addresses the media about how the deal came together and what he's looking to accomplish in 2025. View full video