Kevin Barral

MIAMI, FL—For a second straight day, a Miami Marlin has homered in the World Baseball Classic. On Friday, it was from an unexpected source: Venezuela's Javier Sanoja. On Saturday, a more traditional power hitter did the honors. Canada's Owen Caissie hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the second inning off of Colombia pitcher Austin Bergner. "Give the boys a little push start. It never really hurts. And really just get on the board first in these tournaments really matters," Caissie said following the game. Caissie hit it 403 feet with an exit velocity of 99.7 mph. Otto Lopez started alongside Caissie, hitting fifth and playing shortstop. Lopez went 0-for-3 and worked a walk. In the bottom of the third inning, he was hit by a pitch in the right wrist area, but remained in for the rest of the game. Canada defeated Colombia by a final score of 8-2. Jakob Marsee and Italy played their first game of the tournament, defeating Brazil by a final score of 8-0. Marsee, who led off and played center field, went 0-for-4, working a walk and scoring a run. In Great Britain's second game, Ian Lewis Jr. went 0-for-2 with a walk in their 9-1 loss against the United States. Team USA starter Tarik Skubal struck Lewis out. The 23-year-old Bahamian continues to be used at shortstop. Entering Sunday's slate, the only Marlins on WBC rosters who have not appeared in games are Sandy Alcantara (Dominican Republic), Agustín Ramírez (Dominican Republic) and Liam Hicks (Canada).

More than two weeks into spring training, Miami Marlins outfielder Esteury Ruiz has recorded only two hits. Overall, though, he has still made a positive impression on his new organization. "One of the more important things for me is to get on base so that way I can show my talent with my speed and baserunning," Ruiz told Fish On First earlier this spring. From that standpoint, the 27-year-old journeyman is thriving. Through seven Grapefruit League games, he owns a .381 on-base percentage with a team-leading four stolen bases. "It's real game-changing, elite speed and that's something that can really be weaponized at various points in the game, whether he's starting or something within a game, to be able to have someone that has that type of game-changing ability on the bases," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said following Ruiz's spring debut on February 22. "He's been a performer in the major leagues in the past, and he's been a very good upper-level minor league player. Offensively, there's more in there. This guy can defend, and he can really run. There's some sneaky impact in his bat for someone his size. He really brings a nice dynamic, and a lot of ways that can impact a roster." The Marlins acquired Ruiz from the Los Angeles Dodgers in an offseason trade, sending pitching prospect Adriano Marrero the other way. He spent most of the 2025 season with Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he slashed .304/.412/.511/.923 with 16 home runs, 61 RBI, 63 stolen bases and a 137 wRC+. Ruiz mentioned how his batting stance was one of the big keys to his success at the minor league level, including standing more upright in the box. Ruiz is one of two right-handed-hitting outfielders on the Marlins 40-man roster, with Heriberto Hernández being the other. His handedness, speed and center field experience make him a potential contributor in the big leagues, but so far in his MLB career, he only has a .296 OBP. That's why it is encouraging to see such a disciplined approach from him this spring. He entered Saturday with an incredibly low 6.1% chase rate. It might take a red-hot finish to the spring or an outfield injury to fit Ruiz onto the Marlins Opening Day roster. Fortunately, he has one minor league option remaining for the club to use if needed.

MIAMI, FL—Earlier this year, Javier Sanoja wasn't even projected to be on Venezuela's World Baseball Classic roster. When he was ultimately selected, it was only with the idea of him being a versatile bench piece. However, an opportunity to start suddenly presented itself when Jackson Chourio was hit by a pitch in Wednesday's exhibition game against the Washington Nationals. The night before Venezuela's opening game against the Netherlands, manager Omar Lopez informed Sanoja that he would be starting in center field, hitting eighth in the lineup. The undersized utility player ended up taking one of the most important at-bats of Friday's game. On the first pitch he saw from Antwone Kelly (Pittsburgh Pirates No. 9 prospect per MLB Pipeline), Sanoja went deep 370 feet to left field, retaking the lead for Venezuela in the bottom of the second inning. According to MLB researcher Sarah Langs, Sanoja joined former Marlin Luis Arraez (2023) as the only two MLB players to homer in their current team's home ballpark during the WBC. Sanoja played the entire game, going 2-for-4 at the plate. Venezuela held that lead the rest of the way, winning 6-2. Javier Sanoja's Go-Ahead Homer Leads Venezuela To Victory Over The Netherlands - MLB - DiamondCentric DIAMONDCENTRIC.NET It was all about Venezuela's offense in the first pool play game against the Netherlands. It was also a day to remember for three other members of the Marlins organization. Representing Cuba in Pool A, Yiddi Cappe took on FIU alum Logan Allen and Panama. Cappe started at second base and hit ninth in the lineup. He finished the day going 1-for-2 with a walk. His lone hit of the game was off of Allen in the top of the third inning, a 103.9 mph double to left field, which set up a two-run homer by third baseman Yoan Moncada. z3fabg.mp4 Cuba would wind up winning by a final score of 3-1. Ian Lewis Jr., who is from the Bahamas, is able to participate for Great Britain because the Bahamas remains part of the Commonwealth of Nations. Even with the help of Bahamian talent, the team's roster is pretty thin compared to most others in the WBC, so despite being an unranked Marlins prospect, Lewis has a significant role. In his WBC debut against Mexico, Lewis went 2-for-4, both singles. His first base hit was off of Brennan Bernardino in the bottom of the fifth inning at 103.9 mph. In the bottom of the ninth, Lewis did the same thing against Seattle Mariners All-Star closer Andrés Muñoz. fnxnz6.mp4 Lewis was one of three players on Great Britain who had a multi-hit day. Unfortunately, they fell to Mexico by a final score of 8-2. Opposing the Brits, Jared Serna did not start the game for Mexico, but entered in the top of the ninth inning as a pinch-runner. He came around to score an insurance run in the game. The following Marlins players haven't seen any action yet, but are expected to make their tournament debut in the coming days: RHP Sandy Alcantara (Dominican Republic) OF Owen Caissie (Canada) C Liam Hicks (Canada) SS Otto Lopez (Canada) OF Jakob Marsee (Italy) C Agustin Ramirez (Dominican Republic)

Spring training seems to fly by faster than usual in World Baseball Classic years. The Miami Marlins have already completed 10 Grapefruit League games, sent off some of their key players to participate in the tournament and made their first round of cuts from major league camp. Although injuries have popped up as they always do, the Marlins fortunately haven't had serious issues rule out any of their veterans for Opening Day. That means trimming things down to construct their 26-man active roster could be difficult. With 23 days to go until real Marlins baseball, it's time to follow up on Ely Sussman's roster projection with a projection of my own for the 2026 season opener. Position players Starting nine: Agustín Ramírez (C), Christopher Morel (1B), Xavier Edwards (2B), Graham Pauley (3B), Otto Lopez (SS), Kyle Stowers (LF), Jakob Marsee (CF), Owen Caissie (RF) and Heriberto Hernández (DH) Bench: Griffin Conine (OF/1B), Javier Sanoja (INF/OF), Liam Hicks (C), Connor Norby (INF) Stowers (hamstring) and Pauley (forearm) are both expected to be fully recovered from their injuries and ready to go for Opening Day, per manager Clayton McCullough. To Norby's credit, he has been able to hold his own at third base this spring. The arm strength is still there and he has only committed one error, which was a throwing error in the first game against the New York Mets. Offensively, he has gotten off to a slow start, striking out six times in 13 at-bats. It's still relatively early and remember that in 2025, we saw a certain Marlins outfielder have a rough spring statistically, only to turn into an All-Star and emerge as the team's best player, so let's not jump to conclusions yet. If both make the club, Pauley and Norby will in all likelihood platoon at third base. Just missed: Esteury Ruiz (OF) and Deyvison De Los Santos (1B) Ruiz, who isn't hitting much either to this point and has one minor league option remaining, could be sent down to Triple-A Jacksonville. The Marlins already have a decent number of right-handed-hitting alternatives capable of contributing off the bench. Despite making an offseason trade to acquire Ruiz, the need for him on the Opening Day roster just isn't there right now. Still only 22 years old, De Los Santos has looked good so far, but the Marlins signed Morel to play first base and will also use that position to keep Griffin Conine's bat in the lineup. De Los Santos will go to Jacksonville and if the Morel/Conine experiment at first base does not work, he should be the first player called up, since he is the only natural first baseman on the 40-man roster. Pitchers Starting rotation: RHP Sandy Alcantara, RHP Eury Pérez, RHP Max Meyer, RHP Chris Paddack and LHP Braxton Garrett No surprises in the starting rotation as Alcantara and Pérez will be right at the top, followed by a trio of Meyer, the free agent signing Paddack and the lefty Garrett. McCullough told reporters that he wants the best five pitchers taking the mound. After a shaky first start for Garrett, he came back out against Israel and threw two shutout innings, striking out one in the process. It would still be nice to see him generate more whiffs as he continues building up. Just missed: LHP Robby Snelling Snelling missing out on the rotation will be motivated in part by the Marlins' desire to gain another year of club control. The only concern with that is if he is called early enough to earn rookie of the year votes and wins the award, he will be given a full year of service time, which is what happened with Paul Skenes two years ago. Bullpen: RHP Pete Fairbanks, RHP Calvin Faucher, RHP Anthony Bender, RHP Tyler Phillips, RHP Lake Bachar, RHP Janson Junk, LHP John King and LHP Cade Gibson Just missed: LHP Andrew Nardi, RHP Michael Petersen, RHP Josh White and RHP Jack Ralston Nardi (blood blister) has yet to pitch in a spring training game, and with an option remaining, he may just begin the season in Jacksonville to get back to full strength and then rejoin the team once he is ready. A southpaw combo of Gibson and King isn't bad at all to begin the season. Michael Petersen, who Ely had making the roster over Bachar, is something I disagreed with. Although Petersen's fastball is one of the best in the Marlins bullpen, averaging 97.5 mph with a plus-three run value, his other pitches just haven't been very effective. Bachar has more of a major league track record and his stuff is intriguing, too. With that being said, Petersen is 31 and you may as well see what you've got with the player. White was on my last roster projection, and you can potentially add him over Bachar, but it has been a while since the Marlins chose to let any pitcher with zero MLB experience make the team's Opening Day roster. Of all the minor league signings, Ralston seems to be the best thus far. In four spring appearances, he has yet to surrender a run and has struck out seven hitters. Health permitting, he will be called up at some point in 2026.

The World Baseball Classic has grown into a marquee event for the sport. As players are ramping up for the regular season, fans can spend two weeks rooting for their fellow countrymen in an electric environment. This tournament takes place in Fish On First's backyard, with loanDepot park in Miami hosting games during all rounds of the tournament, including the championship. Whether you are a South Florida native or planning to visit/tune in from thousands of miles away, we're here to help you prepare for the return of the World Baseball Classic in 2026. Tournament history Player eligibility 2026 viewing guide Tickets Tournament history The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament organized by Major League Baseball, Major League Baseball Players Association and the World Baseball Softball Confederation. It is considered the premier global tournament for national baseball teams. Unlike the Summer Olympics, games take place in March, allowing players from the best professional leagues to participate without conflicting with their regular season schedules. The inaugural WBC was held in 2006. The tournament has generally returned every 3-4 years since then (the COVID pandemic caused the 2021 edition to be postponed). 2006 Number of teams: 16 Champion: Japan MVP: Daisuke Matsuzaka 2009 Number of teams: 16 Champion: Japan MVP: Daisuke Matsuzaka 2013 Number of teams: 16 Champion: Dominican Republic MVP: Robinson Canó 2017 Number of teams: 16 Champion: United States MVP: Marcus Stroman 2023 Number of teams: 20 Champion: Japan MVP: Shohei Ohtani 2026 Number of teams: 20 Champion: TBD MVP: TBD Every edition of the WBC has featured multiple players from the Miami Marlins organization. That streak will be extended at the upcoming tournament with the help of former National League Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara, shortstop Otto Lopez, center fielder Jakob Marsee and top outfield prospect Owen Caissie, among others. Player eligibility You can play for a World Baseball Classic team if you meet any one of several eligibility conditions. A player may represent a country if they are a citizen, are eligible to obtain citizenship under that country’s laws, were born there, or have at least one parent born there. In some cases, grandparent heritage or being from a territory of that nation can also qualify a player. Because the rules are intentionally broad, teams are able to include players with strong cultural, familial, or legal ties to a nation, which is why WBC rosters are so diverse and help grow the game globally. Here are some examples of how it works: A U.S.-born player with Puerto Rican parents can play for Puerto Rico. A player born in Canada but raised in the U.S. can play for Canada. A player without citizenship but with parents from Italy can represent Italy. Regarding specific Major League Baseball players: Lars Nootbaar's mother is Japanese, so he can play for Japan. Randy Arozarena is from Cuba, but can play for Mexico because he is a naturalized Mexican citizen. The "Law of Return" allows American Jews such as Joc Pederson and Harrison Bader to play for Team Israel. Jazz Chisholm Jr., who is Bahamian, can play for Great Britain because the Bahamas is part of the Commonwealth and has strong historical ties to Britain. Insurance It is more common than ever for MLB's biggest stars to participate in the WBC, but some of them are denied the opportunity due to the inability to insure their major league contract. National Financial Partners, an official partner of MLB, brokers the insurance policy, according to Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of The Athletic. The insurance policy pays back the major league club for a player’s salary if the player gets hurt during the WBC. Players are not at risk of losing their salaries. Trips to the 60-day injured list during the previous season are typically disqualifying, but the insurer reviews each player’s injury history case by case. The insurance does not cover players once they are 37 years old. A player denied insurance coverage can still participate in the WBC only if his MLB team is willing to assume the financial risk in case of injury. A player does not need to be covered by insurance if they are not on an MLB or MiLB roster. 2026 viewing guide Pool play schedule Date / Time (ET) Matchup Pool Location March 4 / 10:00 PM Chinese Taipei @ Australia Pool C Tokyo March 5 / 5:00 AM Czechia @ Korea Pool C Tokyo March 5 / 10:00 PM Australia @ Czechia Pool C Tokyo March 6 / 5:00 AM Japan @ Chinese Taipei Pool C Tokyo March 6 / 11:00 AM Cuba @ Panama Pool A San Juan March 6 / 12:00 PM Netherlands @ Venezuela Pool D Miami March 6 / 1:00 PM Mexico @ Great Britain Pool B Houston March 6 / 6:00 PM Puerto Rico @ Colombia Pool A San Juan March 6 / 7:00 PM Nicaragua @ Dominican Republic Pool D Miami March 6 / 8:00 PM United States @ Brazil Pool B Houston March 6 / 10:00 PM Chinese Taipei @ Czechia Pool C Tokyo March 7 / 5:00 AM Korea @ Japan Pool C Tokyo March 7 / 11:00 AM Colombia @ Canada Pool A San Juan March 7 / 12:00 PM Nicaragua @ Netherlands Pool D Miami March 7 / 1:00 PM Brazil @ Italy Pool B Houston March 7 / 6:00 PM Panama @ Puerto Rico Pool A San Juan March 7 / 7:00 PM Israel @ Venezuela Pool D Miami March 7 / 8:00 PM Great Britain @ United States Pool B Houston March 7 / 10:00 PM Chinese Taipei @ Korea Pool C Tokyo March 8 / 6:00 AM Australia @ Japan Pool C Tokyo March 8 / 12:00 PM Colombia @ Cuba Pool A San Juan March 8 / 12:00 PM Netherlands @ Dominican Republic Pool D Miami March 8 / 1:00 PM Great Britain @ Italy Pool B Houston March 8 / 7:00 PM Panama @ Canada Pool A San Juan March 8 / 7:00 PM Nicaragua @ Israel Pool D Miami March 8 / 8:00 PM Brazil @ Mexico Pool B Houston March 9 / 6:00 AM Korea @ Australia Pool C Tokyo March 9 / 12:00 PM Colombia @ Panama Pool A San Juan March 9 / 12:00 PM Dominican Republic @ Israel Pool D Miami March 9 / 1:00 PM Brazil @ Great Britain Pool B Houston March 9 / 7:00 PM Cuba @ Puerto Rico Pool A San Juan March 9 / 7:00 PM Venezuela @ Nicaragua Pool D Miami March 9 / 8:00 PM Mexico @ United States Pool B Houston March 10 / 6:00 AM Czechia @ Japan Pool C Tokyo March 10 / 7:00 PM Canada @ Puerto Rico Pool A San Juan March 10 / 7:00 PM Israel @ Netherlands Pool D Miami March 10 / 9:00 PM Italy @ United States Pool B Houston March 11 / 3:00 PM Canada @ Cuba Pool A San Juan March 11 / 7:00 PM Italy @ Mexico Pool B Houston March 11 / 8:00 PM Dominican Republic @ Venezuela Pool D Miami Quarterfinals: March 13-14 (Houston & Miami) Semifinals: March 16 (Miami) Championship: March 17 (Miami) For those who live in the United States, FOX will broadcast seven games, including Pool B games featuring the United States, two quarterfinals and the championship game. FS1, FS2 and Tubi will show all of the other games throughout the tournament. If you do not already have access to FOX content, there are several FOX One subscription plans available. A seven-day free trial is included for new subscribers. For those who live outside of the United States: Dominican Republic: VTV 32, Tele Antillas and Coral 39 Japan: Netflix Mexico: Televisa, TUDN and VIX Puerto Rico: WAPA Deportes South Korea: TVING, tvN Sports, KBS, SBS and MBC Taiwan: ELTA TV and EBC Venezuela: Venevision Tickets Given the limited inventory and high stakes, WBC tickets are expensive. Search for tickets here. If attending any of the games at loanDepot park, please consult Fish On First's ballpark guide.

JUPITER, FL—Tuesday's slate of spring training exhibition games looked much different than usual. Most matchups featured a major league team facing a World Baseball Classic team, with the international tournament kicking off later this week. At Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, the Miami Marlins hosted Team Israel. Israel won, 1-0. "I think it's great for baseball," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "It shines a real light on our sport on a global stage...It will be different, a little nice change of pace in spring training, from seeing the Cardinals, Mets, Astros and Nationals like we do—it seems like every day—to seeing someone else, but I hope we've provided them a welcoming environment as they get ready for the tournament to begin." Neither of the starting lineups on Tuesday were at full strength. Israel did not include major leaguers Matt Mervis, Harrison Bader and Spencer Horwitz, who will be crucial for them to advance past the pool play stage. Their starters against the Marlins included WBC veteran Garrett Stubbs and prospects C.J. Stubbs, Zach Levenson, RJ Schreck. "We'll want to get some at-bats and innings on the mound," said Israel's manager Brad Ausmus. "It also gives us the opportunity to see some of these guys that we have not seen as a coaching staff. As a manager, we're aware of what they've done, but we haven't necessarily put eyes on them. It's an opportunity for them and it's opportunity for us." Marlins trotted out Braxton Garrett to make his second start of the spring, going two shutout innings, walking one and striking out one. His fastball topped out at 92.6 mph and of the 26 pitches he threw, 16 were for strikes. "A lot more strikes than last time, especially to start," Garrett said following his start. "Obviously the one walk, but really pounded the zone with everything, minus the changeup. But we'll work on the on the changeup here this week." Daniel Moskos is entering his second season as Marlins pitching coach, but because Garrett spent all of 2025 rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, that has been "a little bit of an adjustment" for him. "I'm not used to having such a big area to look at in the zone," Garrett said. "They're really encouraging me, telling me how good my stuff is and how good it is in the zone, and to not be so picky about where it is. We're not trying to throw everything right down the middle, but we're not trying to throw everything right on the black, either." Quick notes - In addition to Garrett, the following Marlins pitchers threw against Israel: Pete Fairbanks, Calvin Faucher, Dax Fulton, Bradley Blalock, Cade Gibson and Zach Brzykcy. - Garrett Stubbs drove in the game's only run in the top of the fourth inning with an RBI triple off of Faucher. - The first round of cuts from Marlins big league camp included Thomas White, Stephen Jones, Evan McKendry, Patrick Monteverde, Dale Stanavich, Samy Vásquez and Sam Praytor. There are 64 players remaining in camp. - Michael Petersen, who was expected to pitch for Great Britain in the WBC, will be staying back in camp instead to try to win one of the bullpen spots. What's next? The Marlins are off on Wednesday after 11 consecutive days of exhibition games, but they will be back in action on Thursday in Jupiter as they welcome the Houston Astros. In his final tune-up for the WBC, Sandy Alcantara is scheduled to go three innings against Tatsuya Imai. First pitch is at 1:10 pm. Clayton McCullough told reporters that Alcantara will have a limit of about 65 pitches in his March 11 start against Venezuela. It is undecided if he will make another WBC start after that should the Dominican Republic make a deep tournament run. "We will cross that bridge when we get there," said McCullough. Robby Snelling is expected to make a multi-inning relief appearance on Thursday. Eury Pérez will also throw that day, but on the backfields.

JUPITER, FL—On Tuesday, the Miami Marlins welcomed the Philadelphia Phillies all the way from Clearwater, Florida. Two of the Marlins four major league free agent signings took the mound in what ended up being a 6-1 win for the Fish. Chris Paddack, John King make spring training debut Chris Paddack, who signed with the Marlins on February 12, made his first start of the spring. In his lone inning of work, he threw 21 pitches (13 for strikes), allowing one run on one hit, one hit by pitch and one strikeout. Johan Rojas struck out swinging on Paddack's 94.5 mph four-seam fastball, which was his top velocity of the outing. On top of the fastball, he threw his curveball, changeup, slider and sinker. In total, he generated two whiffs on nine swings. "I felt like we got a lot of good work, especially with runners on first and second right away," Paddack said ."A lot of good, stressful pitches out of the wind or out of the stretch, early and often. I felt like with the pitch-calling, that was something that we're going to use spring to get used to, but I made a joke to (assistant pitching coach) Rob (Marcello Jr.) that he gets to play MLB The Show every day, just a live version, so we have fun with it. Thought me and (catcher Joe) Mack back there worked really well today." Paddack's top priority was working on his sinker (he refers to it as his two-seamer). He threw it twice. One of those hit Trea Turner, which the veteran right-hander apologized to Turner about. The other one to Johan Rojas was fouled off. The slider was thrown five times (24% of the time) on Tuesday. His usage of it was only 5.9% last season. He landed it twice for a strike, but didn't generate any whiffs on that pitch. "Got some good feedback from Mack and our pitching coaches in the dugout that they liked what they saw," Paddack said. In relief, John King also made his first appearance of the spring, throwing 18 pitches, working a 1-2-3 inning where he struck out two in the process. His fastball topped out at 91.9 mph and both of his strikeouts came with the slider. The first one was originally called a ball, but got overturned after a successful ABS challenge. "The sinker is a terrific pitch, and just continuing to use this time to put into place some of the work you're doing on the arsenal side of things that are going to pay big dividends for him versus left and right this year," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. Joe Mack makes his first start Fish On First No. 2 prospect Joe Mack made his first start of the spring, catching Paddack and King among others, but his most notable moment was the grand slam he hit in the bottom of the fifth inning off of Andrew Walling. The ball left the bat at 97.3 mph and went 336 feet to left field. "I think coming into camp this year, just the comfortability around everyone and knowing that Joe's very close, and he's incredibly talented on both sides of the ball," said McCullough. "I think coming to this camp off a really solid year in Triple-A gave him a lot of confidence coming in. I think a lot of it also stems in the offseason. He stayed here in Jupiter most of the offseason and really committed himself to trying to prepare his body and mind as well as he could for for this upcoming season." Fish On First Prospects (@fofprospects) • Instagram photos and videos WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM 125 likes, 1 comments - fofprospects on February 24, 2026: "Alexa, show me a top five catching prospect in all of baseball. ✨ #Marlins". Last season in Triple-A Jacksonville, Mack slashed .257/.338/.475/.813 with 21 home runs, 58 RBI and a 120 wRC+, cementing himself as one of the best catching prospects in the entire sport. He also won the Minor League Gold Glove at his position in 2024. Uncharacteristically, the only Phillies run of the game scored on a wild pickoff attempt by Mack (he was charged with an error and the run was unearned). "It's probably still the most demanding position on the field," McCullough said regarding catchers. "In some ways, any type of offense you get from that position, you look at as a real bonus. We believe the chance to impact on both sides of the ball. He's a terrific thrower, there's a lot of athleticism and creativity with how he can throw. The confidence he has back there to do that as well as layering on the type of receiver that that he is." Quick Notes - In addition to Paddack and King, the following pitched on Tuesday: Nigel Belgrave, Zach Brzykcy, Josh Ekness, Dax Fulton, Cade Gibson, Adam Mazur and Jack Ralston. - Liam Hicks made his first start of the spring at first base, going 2-for-2 at the plate. - Hicks and Kyle Stowers were hit by pitches, but both of them felt fine after exiting the game. - Graham Pauley (right forearm) received "good news" after undergoing imaging and he hopes to play in games at some point this week. - Braxton Garrett will make the trip to Dunedin and start Thursday's game. He will go just one inning. Fish On First No. 1 prospect Thomas White will also make the trip to and make his Grapefruit League debut in relief. - Robby Snelling (FOF #3) is expected to pitch on Friday in Clearwater. - On the World Baseball Classic front, Dominican Republic manager Albert Pujols announced that Sandy Alcantara will face Venezuela in pool play. That game will take place on Wednesday, March 11 at 8:00 pm in loanDepot park. What's next? The Marlins play another game in Jupiter, welcoming the Houston Astros for a 1:10 pm first pitch on Wednesday. Tyler Phillips will start the game for the Marlins and Pete Fairbanks will be making his spring debut. Hunter Brown starts for the Astros. The game will not be televised, but you can listen on MLB.TV.

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

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

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