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Relive all of the ups and downs of the 2023 Miami Marlins with our Fish On First Season Review, containing detailed articles about a wide variety of players. The FOF staff analyzes the individual impact that each of them had and what it means for their future with the organization. This installment focuses on catcher Nick Fortes. Season Stats: 108 G, .204/.263/.299, 52 OPS+, 6 HR, 26 RBI, -0.1 WAR (age-26 season) Nick Fortes had a lot of Marlins fans excited heading into the 2023 season, clamoring for him to get more playing time. Fortes was seen as a likely upgrade over main starting catcher Jacob Stallings. However, he underperformed almost as much as Stallings this year, at least in terms of individual offense. During the early portion of his major league career, the perception was that Fortes had a serviceable bat that could cover up for defensive deficiencies. He has completely flipped that script. Fortes this season turned into one of the best blockers in MLB, ranking third among all catchers with 13 blocks above average, according to Baseball Savant. He improved from the 40th percentile in framing to the 66th percentile from year to year, moving up to the 80th percentile in total fielding run value. Fortes served as the personal catcher for both Jesús Luzardo and Braxton Garrett, calling every pitch they threw in 2023. His game-calling brought out the best in them. The only negative in Fortes' defense was his inability to throw out baserunners. He was near the bottom of the league in terms of pop time. He committed 12 errors, the third-most in MLB. Nine of those were throwing errors. Now the elephant in the room: Fortes had a huge dip in his offensive numbers this season. He got off to a very slow start to the season, batting .200 with only one extra-base hit in 19 March/April games. He then had a somewhat promising May, batting .279 with two home runs in those 18 games. But he never truly got hot at the plate. Fortes did a good job at putting the ball in play, especially against left-handed pitching (13.3 K% vs. LHP). The problem was a lot of weak contact, affecting his on-base and slugging numbers. Fortes frequently changed his batting stance during the season. He used to be a guy with a tall stance and high leg kick. He strayed far away from that this season, even experimenting with a Paul Goldschmidt-esque, no-stride swing. Overall, Fortes' .562 OPS was his worst single-season mark at any level since his freshman year at Ole Miss (.550 OPS in 2016). Future with the MarlinsFor Fortes, his best asset is the relationship he has been able to develop with the Marlins' young arms. The synergy between them is very visible and that brings added value, indirectly preventing runs from scoring. Maintaining his high-level defense should keep him on the roster in 2024. However, new president of baseball operations Peter Bendix will have to spend this offseason searching for a starting catcher with a more impactful bat. Catcher is probably the weakest position in the whole Marlins organization. There isn't a clear-cut starting solution at any level. Jacob Stallings is seemingly out the door as the non-tender deadline approaches next week. Will Banfield (FOF's #20 prospect) and Paul McIntosh (#25) are candidates to push their way to the big league roster, but they have incomplete skill sets at this stage of their careers. We will just have to wait and see what direction the Marlins go in. Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images

Relive all of the ups and downs of the 2023 Miami Marlins with our Fish On First Season Review, containing detailed articles about a wide variety of players. The FOF staff analyzes the individual impact that each of them had and what it means for their future with the organization. This installment focuses on right-hander George Soriano. 2023 Timeline March 15—optioned to Jacksonville Jumbo ShrimpApril 10—recalled from Jacksonville Jumbo ShrimpApril 24—optioned to Jacksonville Jumbo ShrimpJune 2—recalled from Jacksonville Jumbo ShrimpJune 6—optioned to Jacksonville Jumbo ShrimpJuly 1—recalled from Jacksonville Jumbo ShrimpJuly 2—optioned to Jacksonville Jumbo ShrimpJuly 4—recalled from Jacksonville Jumbo ShrimpAugust 25—placed on paternity listAugust 29—activated from paternity listSeason Stats: 52.0 IP, 26 G, 3.81 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 9.0 K/9, 4.0 BB/9 (age-24 season) Coming off a solid 2022 season between AA Pensacola and AAA Jacksonville, George Soriano made it up to the big league club for the first time in '23. He emerged as an important piece of the Marlins bullpen once he was given a shot to prove he could contribute over an extended period. Soriano got his initial call-up when JT Chargois suffered an oblique injury. The Marlins took things slow with the rookie right-hander, using him as a long man who would eat innings when starters had to come out of a game early. He had only four MLB outings and a total of 10 innings pitched through the end of June, getting most of his reps in Jacksonville. Soriano's best individual performance came on July 1 in relief of Eury Pérez, who got hammered by the Atlanta Braves lineup and couldn't escape the first inning. Even though the game was out of reach, Soriano really turned heads in the organization by retiring 11 of the 12 batters he faced. After Soriano was recalled on July 4, he was not optioned down again. He contributed 38 ⅓ innings from that day onward, more than any other Marlin who wasn't a regular starter. July was his most effective month (1.56 ERA in 17.1 IP). Soriano went 10 days between appearances in late August, which included a stint on the paternity list. Coincidence or not, he finished the season in a bad slump after returning to the Marlins. He put up a 7.80 ERA in his final 10 regular season games and opponents hit .333 against him. He entered the winter on a high note by throwing a scoreless inning in his postseason debut. Soriano possesses an effective three-pitch repertoire with his best pitch being his slider. It's a plus slider that had a .162 batting average against with a 38% whiff rate. It was the key to his great success vs. righties. Soriano's fastball velocity topped out at 98 mph and averaged 94.6, while his changeup had a 33% whiff rate. Future with MarlinsOverall, Soriano had a great season in 2023 for the Fish. He came out of nowhere and showed he's capable of getting outs in a variety of game situations. He appeared in every inning from the first through the ninth, inherited runners and even pitched on back-to-back days when needed. Soriano should have the inside track to make the 2024 Opening Day roster. The key question is what role will the Marlins use him in. That could depend on how many healthy arms they have entering spring training and what adjustments he makes over the offseason. Relying on Soriano for a starting role might be asking too much, but he has the pitch mix and stuff to be considered. Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire

After a small rain delay, the Miami Marlins entered Game 2 of an important three-game set against the division rival Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday looking for a big series victory. The Phillies starter for Saturday's game was a familiar face. Aaron Nola entered the game with a career 5-10 record with a 3.43 ERA in 22 starts against the Fish. Despite keeping Miami silent for the first four innings of work with an early 5-0 lead, Nola ran out of gas in the fifth, giving up four earned runs and coming out with a line of 4.1 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, and 6 K's. Nola shared the rubber with Marlins starter Johnny Cueto, who has had a lackluster first season with Miami to this point. Miami was looking for someone to step up due to the recent injury to ace Sandy Alcantara. Cueto was not up to the task. Things suddenly spiraled out of control for Cueto with two outs in the second. He allowed runs on a two-run double from Nick Castellanos and a three-run bomb from Kyle Schwarber. He allowed six consecutive baserunners and needed 50 pitches overall to complete the inning, the most pitches thrown by any big leaguer in any inning this season. Cueto was able to stop the bleeding and came out in the fourth with a final line of 3.2 IP, 5 hits, 5 ER, 3BB, and 3 k's. Coming in relief for Cueto and making his Major League debut was Enmanuel De Jesus. De Jesus was called up on Friday to take up the spot of the recently DFA'd Devin Smeltzer. His numbers this year in the minors in 18 games were 5-5 with a 4.86 ERA, in 87 innings of work. The first batter De Jesus faced in his debut was Kyle Schwarber, getting him to roll over to first. In the top of the fifth, the Marlins made things interesting. They were finally able to get some good swings off against Nola, starting with a solo shot by Garrett Hampson and continuing with back-to-back doubles from Xavier Edwards and Jacob Stallings to make it a 5-2 game. Then a single from Luis Arraez set up Josh Bell for an RBI double to make it a 5-3 ballgame and kick Nola out of the game. Jake Burger was then able to bring in the fourth run of the inning due to a deep sac fly off reliever Jeff Hoffman. However, the Phillies answered quickly with three runs of their own against De Jesus. Trea Turner and Bryce Harper recorded singles. De Jesus was then able to get his first major league strikeout against Alec Bohm, but he proceeded to hit Bryson Stott with a pitch to load up the bases for Brandon Marsh. Marsh won his battle with the lefty and hit a two-out, base-clearing double, making it a 8-4 Philadelphia lead. The Phillies bullpen was just too much for the Marlins hitters—four arms coming out of their 'pen combined for 4.2 IP, 3 H, and 6 K's. Miami ends up taking a 8-4 loss in Saturday's game. On a positive note, Hampson finished the night 3-for-4 and raised his season batting average to .290. Also, De Jesus stayed in the game after his initial struggles providing much-needed length out of the bullpen (4.1 IP, 2 H,3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K's) and saving all of the remaining arms to used during Sunday's series finale. Steven Okert will serve as the opener for that bullpen day. Miami's record now moves to 73-69. With the Diamondbacks beating the Cubs again today, Miami drops back down to 1.5 games behind Arizona. However, they are still in a good spot with the Reds losing another game to the Cardinals and having a chance on Sunday to take the season series from the reigning NL champs. Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images

On Friday, the Miami Marlins were looking to take Game 2 in a must-win 4-game set against the Washington Nationals. The Marlins started the scoring in the top of the first with a lead-off single by Luis Arraez, followed by a 2-out RBI single by Jazz Chisholm Jr. The bottom of the first was an up and down start to the game for rookie phenom Eury Pérez. Pérez gave up a lead-off solo shot to CJ Abrams to get the Nationals on the board. Pérez was then able to get out of the inning by striking out the side despite walking a couple in the 27-pitch first. In the top of the third, the Marlins managed to get the bases loaded with nobody out and were able to take a 3-1 lead on a Jake Burger sac fly and a Jazz RBI fielder's choice. Better than nothing, but struggles to hit with runners in scoring position continue to be a theme for the Miami lineup. In the bottom half of the third, the Nats hit two more solo shots off Eury Perez to tie the game up back at 3-3. The first homer was off the bat of Lane Thomas hitting his 21st long ball of the season. The second solo shot was from recently called up Travis Blankenhorn. In his Nats debut, Blankenhorn hits his first homer since 2021 and only his second round-tripper of his career. Most of the damage against Eury Pérez during his rookie season has come on homers, but it helps that 12 out of his 13 have come with nobody on base. That night ended in the fifth with a final line of 4.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K's. Steven Okert was able to finish off the inning with a strikeout to Carter Kieboom. Recently removed from the closer's role, David Robertson came into the sixth inning and had one his more promising innings of work in a Marlins uniform. After walking the second batter he faced, he then proceeded to strike out Jacob Young and CJ Abrams to finish the inning. The Marlins are hoping that Robertson can salvage his short but bad tenure with Miami in this new middle relief role. Neither Miami nor Washington were able to score again until the 10th inning. With one out and runners on second and third, Josh Bell hit a sharp grounder to a diving CJ Abrams. Abrams couldn't stop Xavier Edwards from coming home, but he saved another run by keeping it in the infield and getting Arraez out at third. In the bottom of the 10th, Tanner Scott came in trying to earn the save for the Fish, but gave up an RBI single to Lane Thomas to extend the game another inning. The Marlins were able to blow it open in the top of the 11th with back-to-back RBI singles from Bryan De La Cruz and Jon Berti followed by a two-run bomb from Garrett Hampson. Tanner Scott came back out to finish off the game for the Fish. Going two full innings, this was Scott's longest outing of the season. Marlins now move to 68-67, and 2.5 games back of the Giants for the third wildcard spot, keeping hope for a 2023 playoff run alive. Miami will try and win the series on Saturday in a 4:05 pm day game. They will face Trevor Williams for the second time in a week, whereas Miami's starter has yet to be announced. Game Notes-Bullpen did a phenomenal job with 6.1 innings with 0 earned runs (two unearned runs scored via automatically placed runners in extras). -George Soriano now has the lowest ERA by a Marlins reliever (min.35 IP) with a 2.50 ERA, according to FOF's Louis Addeo-Weiss. -Jazz Chisholm Jr. is batting .333 with 2 home runs and a double since changing his stance on 8/29.