Nate Karzmer

The Pirates possess some of the most exciting young talent in baseball. Adding Jazz Chisholm Jr. would go a long way toward keeping them in contention for the 2024 postseason. What could a potential deal look like between the Fish and Buccos? Jazz Chisholm Jr. is one of the biggest names who could potentially be dealt in advance of the July 30 MLB trade deadline. Chisholm's combination of tools, youth, club control and 2024 production make him a potential target for many teams and easily the most valuable trade chip on the Miami Marlins active roster. Should the Marlins be shopping Chisholm or building around him? You could make strong arguments both ways, but like it or not, the team's intentions are clear: they're focused on infusing more young talent into their farm system with the expectation of contending several years down the road. Investing in the current major league roster is not a priority. If the Fish receive a fair offer for their Bahamian star, he will be on the move. Leading up to the deadline, FOF staffers will be proposing hypothetical trades that the Marlins could make involving Chisholm. The series continues with the Pittsburgh Pirates. How Chisholm fits in Pittsburgh In 2024, Pirates manager Derek Shelton has platooned Jack Suwinski and Michael A. Taylor in center field, and received very poor production from both players. After an encouraging first couple of years in Pittsburgh, the former is slashing a woeful .187/.270/.332 with -9 DRS in center. Suwinski was sent down to Triple-A in late May. The latter has arguably been even worse with a lowly .198/.259/.271 slash line. Taylor has had zero extra-base hits with runners in scoring position this season. The 2019 World Series champion is still more than solid defensively—he owns a 7 DRS—but that does not make up for his issues at the plate. Chisholm could instantly rejuvenate the Pirates lineup with some much-needed pop and speed in center field that would couple very nicely with fellow exciting names such as Oneil Cruz, Bryan Reynolds and Ke’Bryan Hayes. Mentoring Chisholm in the Steel City would be none other than former NL MVP Andrew McCutchen. According to Jim Bowden of The Athletic, McCutchen’s positive influence would be the “most important” factor in making a Chisholm-Pirates trade succeed long term. Even for the low-payroll Pirates, Chisholm's current $2.625 million salary would be a bargain. If this young team runs out of steam and misses out on a playoff berth, he still has two additional years of club control remaining. Trade proposal Pirates receive CF/2B Jazz Chisholm Jr. Marlins receive RHP Thomas Harrington, SS Yordany De Los Santos, OF Tony Blanco Jr. and OF Lonnie White Jr. The Marlins would be going for a deep prospect package in this scenario, headlined by Thomas Harrington. He's had incredible results with a 2.44 ERA and 2.51 FIP in 12 appearances (11 starts) since being promoted to Double-A. His microscopic 3.5% walk rate this season is among the lowest in the minors. Sharp command and a nasty changeup help the righty overcome below-average fastball velocity. YmtYOHdfV0ZRVkV3dEdEUT09X0FBUUhWUUpXVkZjQURnTUdWZ0FBQ0E5ZUFGbFJWMWtBQjFFQVVRQUdVRlZkVVZSWA==.mp4 The rest of the package adds position player talent. After receiving Deyvison De Los Santos from Arizona in exchange for A.J. Puk, Miami adds another D.L.S. to their system, this time in the form of Pittsburgh’s #10 prospect, per FanGraphs. Yordany De Los Santos signed with the Pirates back in 2022 for $1.2 million, one of the largest bonuses in his class. Still just 19 years old, the shortstop crushed FCL pitching this past season, slashing .344/.407/.505 with 8 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR and 24 stolen bases. “De Los Santos' tools are exciting, but his maturity, baseball IQ and instincts are really through the roof,” notes MLB Pipeline. Defensively, Pipeline is unsure if De Los Santos will stick at shortstop as he progresses, saying “he has a good arm and those instincts help, but he’ll have to be a bit more twitchy to stay at the premium position. He’s seen time at third base throughout his brief pro career, and it’s possible he’ll end up at the hot corner permanently down the line.” Another one of De Los Santos’ FCL teammates would join him on the flight to Miami in Tony Blanco Jr. (FanGraphs #15). Blanco, the son of former big leaguer Tony Blanco, also enjoyed a stellar season against FCL competition in his first year in the United States. Standing at an imposing 6’7" with tons of projectability, Blanco slashed .305/.385/.505 with 12 2B, 4 HR and a 12/31 BB/K ratio. His season ended a couple weeks early due to injury. Signed as an outfielder, Blanco has also spent some time at first base and is likely to stick there long term. The final piece coming Miami’s way is Lonnie White Jr. (FanGraphs #32). Peter Bendix and Co. would be buying low on White, who was pegged as the tenth-best prospect in the Pirates system in spring training, per MLB Pipeline. A rough year thus far in High-A Greensboro has damaged the stock of the 64th overall pick from the 2021 draft. White owns a batting average of .184, an OPS of .699 and a not-pretty BB/K ratio of 22/77. What continues to make White so intriguing is his athletic ability and combination of power and speed. Coming out of high school, White was signed to play wide receiver at Penn State before the Pirates convinced him to forgo his college commitment. Pipeline grades White’s power tool a 50, and run a 70, and although the fourth-year player has struggled, he has still put up 12 homers and 9 stolen bases. Previous Chisholm trade proposals Building a Yankees trade package Building a Mariners trade package Which other teams do you want us to include in this Chisholm trade package series? Comment below to let us know. View full article

Agreed on leaving Sanchy in there against lefties, the season has been lost for quite some time, so at this point, there's nothing to lose. Let guys get their reps. I am with Skip though on the removal of Cabrera. I'm all for seeing how pitchers work out of intense situations, but he walked his last batter on four pitches and his pitch count was creeping up.

Seven of the nine starters in Miami's lineup reached base en route to their most impressive series victory of 2024. MIAMI, FL—There was an upbeat buzz at loanDepot park on Wednesday starting in the early afternoon, when Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcántara threw his first bullpen since undergoing Tommy John surgery around 4:00 p.m. The vibes remained high into the early hours of the evening on the diamond, as the Marlins lineup pushed across three runs early with a Josh Bell homer and timely hitting from Xavier Edwards and Nick Gordon against Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Chayce McDermott, who was making his big league debut. Marlins starter Edward Cabrera showed some improvement against the AL East-leading Orioles for most of the night, but after he loaded the bases in the sixth, he was relieved by Huascar Brazobán, who proceeded to allow a game-tying bases-clearing double to Colton Cowser. In the bottom of the frame, though, Miami re-took the lead after Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Bryan De La Cruz got all three runs back with clutch swings. Also clutch was the back end of the Marlins' bullpen, which shut down the Orioles in the final three innings, securing a 6-3 win and an outstanding series win. While the majority of the Marlins bats enjoyed good nights, the two standouts were, without a doubt, Chisholm and Edwards. Chisholm entered the contest slashing a fine .300/.391/.500 since the All-Star break. He continued his impressive run with the eventual game-winning hit in the sixth that just got over third baseman Ramón Urías' head. The speedster was able to turn into a hustle double, his second in as many nights, Marlins manager Skip Schumaker praised his star's improved ability to hit left-handed pitching postgame, saying the two-bagger was a "huge hit against a lefty once again. You know, (he's) having really good at bats against left-handers." Other than a gap in slugging, Chisholm entered Wednesday's game slashing almost identical lines regardless of pitcher handedness: .252/.324/.351 against southpaws as opposed to .251/.325/.444 against righties. As for Edwards, it was just another run of the mill multi-hit night, as the 24-year-old recorded his eighth such game in the month of July alone. With his third hit in the eighth inning, he notched his second career three-hit game of his career. Schumaker also raved about his shortstop. "He's taking really good at-bats. He's taking his walks, he's not really punching out and stealing bases. We knew that he was going to get on base and hit, but I honestly I didn't know he was gonna hit this good. He's a good hitter, but he's impressing me more and more from the right and left side." As a player who's big on sticking to his brand of baseball, when asked about how nice it is to see his game translate so well to the big league level, Edwards said it "definitely feels good. Just helping the team win because that's what I feel like I can do. Come in every day, do my best and try to do the little things, something that I can to help us win the game. And we've got off to a good start this series." After taking yet another walk in the second inning, Edwards extended his on-base streak to 11 games. As for Cabrera on the mound, it was an interesting night. The flamethrower sat down four O's and only allowed four hits, but also, unfortunately, walked four, which ended up being the reason he was relieved so early and got a no-decision for his efforts after Cowser's aforementioned double to plate the runners he left on for Brazobán. The last Marlins starter to earn a win was Jesús Luzardo way back on June 11. Aside from the free passes in the latter half of his start, Cabrera's stuff looked as good as ever, in particular his off-speed. Cabrera relied on his changeup and curveball the most, throwing both at a combined 63% clip. The power-changeup generated four whiffs, while the breaking ball missed six bats. When asked about how he felt in the first four innings, Cabrera said via interpreter, "Good. Under control. Thank God I can say that. I was feeling really, really good." After Brazobán, Miami enjoyed three hitless innings out of the 'pen from Andrew Nardi, Calvin Faucher and, of course, Tanner Scott. After allowing a leadoff walk to start the ninth, Scott made quick work of his former team to earn his 18th save of the season. The Fish look to break out the brooms Thursday at 12:10 ET, and it will certainly not be an easy task as 2021 NL Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes takes the mound for Brandon Hyde's club. Burnes has dazzled in his first season as an Oriole, owning a 10-4 record and 2.38 ERA. On the mound for Miami is Roddery Muñoz, who is set to make his 11th start of the season. Muñoz will be looking to lower his season ERA of 5.14 against a very deep lineup in the first base dugout. View full article

Former Marlins manager Fredi González, who's now bench coach of the Baltimore Orioles, discusses his return to Miami, notable players from his Fish tenure and his goals for the rest of the 2024 season. View full video

Jeff McNeil and Francisco Lindor combined to clobber three home runs, which was just enough to fend off Miami's late rally on Monday night. MIAMI, FL—Entering Monday night's series finale against the Miami Marlins, New York Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil had Yonny Chirinos' number, to say the least. In five at-bats against Chirinos, the former batting champion recorded four hits and an RBI, and when McNeil came to the plate in the second inning, he continued to flex his dominance over the 30-year-old Marlins starter with a two-run home run into the second deck. The fourth inning featured a McNeil sacrifice fly to drive in another run, along with Francisco Lindor's first of two blasts of the night. Miami chipped away in the fifth and seventh with solo homers from Josh Bell and Bryan De La Cruz. In the ninth, they loaded the bases against two-time All-Star Edwin Díaz, but couldn't finish the job with the potential tying run on second base, falling 6-4 and splitting their first series of the second half. In his first few starts, Chirinos ran into problems with hard-hit balls and getting into intense situations with runners on base. In his past two starts though, free-passes have plagued Chirinos the most, along with too many hittable pitches. Chirinos allowed nine hits, six hard-hit balls, five walks and one hit batter, that being José Iglesias in the fifth with the bases loaded. Iglesias' RBI HBP was the lone run not driven in by Lindor or McNeil. Chirinos relied on his slider more than any other pitch on Monday night, throwing the breaking ball 46% of the time. Additionally, the slider generated four of Chirinos' seven whiffs. Marlins manager Skip Schumaker—who was ejected from the contest in the eighth inning following a slew of poor calls from home plate umpire Rob Drake—said of his starter, "He's gonna give up hits, you know, especially to a lineup like that. But when you give the free passes plus the hit by pitches, you know that's what it makes it tough on him." Chirinos said via translator, "You never want to give a walks when you're out there. And I think it's something, you know, I haven't pinpointed exactly, but it's just about making those adjustments start to start and I think I'll be able to do that." In regards to Miami's lineup, they answered McNeil's homer in the second with an RBI double from Vidal Bruján, who would've made it to third standing up if he was running full speed out of the box. In addition to De La Cruz's blast, he had two other hits on the night to salvage a tough series, as he recorded just one hit in the first three games of the set. He previously contributed only one extra-base hit during the entire month of July. Schumaker displayed confidence in his outfielder, saying he's "a good hitter. He has unfortunately some peaks and valleys this year. When he's had some of those valleys, it's been extended...The good news is when he gets hot, he gets really hot and so, you know, really good swings." Huascar Brazobán, Anthony Bender and JT Chargois followed Chirinos out of Miami's bullpen. Brazoban and Bender threw up zeroes, but in the top of the ninth, Chargois—who possessed the lowest ERA in Miami's 'pen going into the contest, albeit with the help of some luck—gave up his first earned run since July 2 in the form of Lindor's second homer of the night, this one going to the opposite field, spawning an eruption from Mets fans in attendance. Trailing 6-3, Miami sent out the bottom of their order against Díaz and put the pressure on in a hurry. A Nick Gordon single, Chisholm walk and De La Cruz ground ball that Díaz misplayed loaded the bases for the Fish with one out for Bell, who was able to plate Gordon from third with a fielder's choice, bringing up Jake Burger with the tying run 180 feet from home plate. Unfortunately for Burger and Marlins faithful, he popped out to McNeil to lock up a series split. Schumaker praised his players for the rally they put together in the ninth. "You get the tying run at the plate, it's all you can hope for with a closer like Díaz on the mound". Miami is back in action on Tuesday night as they welcome the second-best team in baseball, the Baltimore Orioles, to town. Albert Suárez takes the ball for Brandon Hyde's club, sporting a 2.82 ERA on the season. The Marlins have yet to announce a starter. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40. View full article

After failing to meet expectations as a starter, the hard-throwing lefty has turned himself into a legitimate trade chip as a back-end bullpen arm. Entering the 2024 regular season, it’s reasonable to say nobody on the Miami Marlins had more momentum and hype than left-handed pitcher A.J. Puk. Puk dazzled in spring training, where he was called upon to start games for the first time since 2019 due to injuries in Miami’s rotation. The former first-round pick and top prospect started four games (13.2 IP) and allowed just two earned runs, pitching to the tune of a 1.31 ERA with a BB/K ratio of 4/23. After his stellar showing in the spring, Puk earned the number two spot in the rotation and had Fish fans and the front office alike buzzing. What ensured, however, was very on-brand for the 2024 Marlins. Puk’s first start against the Pirates was a complete 180 from the version of him that flashed just weeks before, as he was only able to complete two innings after walking six Buccos, amounting to four earned runs. Poor location and inability to go deep into games were two themes that continued to haunt Puk in his next three outings, as the 6'7" lefty combined for eleven walks against the Angels, Yankees and Cubs, while not being able to get through five innings one time. After a seven-earned-run blowup outing in Chicago where he was only able to top 93 mph on his four-seam fastball, Puk was placed on the 15-day IL with shoulder fatigue. In mid-May, Puk re-joined the big league club, although this time around, he was back in the bullpen. From his first outing back in the 'pen through June 17, he was still below-average, sporting a 4.61 ERA and 4.54 FIP across 11 appearances, highlighted by a three-run homer off the bat of Tyler Freeman in a 2-2 ballgame on June 9. Positively, though, Puk demonstrated much better control across all his pitches as evidenced by only three walks allowed in that span. To rub salt in the wound of Puk's middling performance, JJ Bleday, who was sent to Oakland in exchange for Puk back in February 2023, enjoyed one of the best stretches of his young big-league career, slashing .260/.345/.488 with 16 extra-base hits in the same month-plus span. While Puk was allowing less free passes, things still needed to change if the one-time closer wanted to get high-leverage innings like he did a season ago. The change was a simple tweak of a pitch grip. On June 23 against the Mariners, instead of throwing his patented sweeper that saw so much success a season ago, Puk threw a harder slider with the same grip he used back in college. Ever since, Puk has been nothing short of dominant. Entering Tuesday, Puk has not allowed an earned run since going back to his old breaking pitch. In 12 appearances, he has allowed three hits and three walks, while striking out 19. What has changed about the slider specifically? Following his 1-2-3 outing against the meat of the White Sox order on July 6, his manager, Skip Schumaker, noted the increase in velo and "much different break." "And then, you saw how the frontdoor two-seam at 97 to (Luis) Robert to strike him out," Schumaker added. "That's real stuff. That's not easy to hit." On the same day, when asked about the thought process to revert to the old pitch, Puk said he "went back to the harder slider, (I) kind of got away from the sweeper. I don't know if it was a little more bigger this year, or a little slower than what it was last year. So I just needed to make an adjustment and come back to the harder one." h2tp9m_1.mp4 With the up-and-down first half behind him, Puk stated before Sunday's game that he's "real confident" at this stage of the season. "I'm feeling good. I'm just looking out there, just trying to win some ballgames here and just keep helping the team." Puk also detailed that "getting comfortable back in the bullpen" was one of the reasons he was able to push through his rough start. Now in the middle of July, Puk has cemented himself as a legitimate trade candidate as we inch closer and closer to the MLB trade deadline on July 30. With his club control carrying through the 2026 season, Puk could net a solid return of prospects for Peter Bendix and Co. or be packaged with somebody like Jazz Chisholm Jr. to entice a contender to part with true impact talent. View full article

More than half the hits that the Marlins allowed on Saturday afternoon ended up in the seats. Since his debut in 2021, the main concern when looking at Miami Marlins starting pitcher Edward Cabrera has been the 26-year-old's ability to find the strike zone. Entering Saturday afternoon's game against the Cincinnati Reds, Cabrera had walked 13.9% of all batters faced during his career, nearly double the MLB average for starters. Interestingly enough, that number did not go up after his most recent lackluster outing. Instead of missing the zone, Cabrera couldn't miss barrels, as although the Reds lineup recorded six hits, four of them left the yard. This theme continued following Cabrera's departure just 3 ⅓ innings into the game. Just as they did two games ago in Houston, the Marlins out-hit Cincinnati, 15-10, but also displayed some poor clutch hitting yet again, going 3-for-20 with runners in scoring position. Standout performances from Jake Burger and Josh Bell kept the Fish in the game, but the two JB's couldn't do enough. Miami fell by a score of 10-6, securing yet another series loss in their 31st set of the season. While Cabrera did generate a good amount of swing-and-miss—he tallied seven strikeouts—the righty let up seven hard-hit balls. Cabrera allowed one homer on his four-seam fastball, one on his changeup, and two on his curveball. Overall, Cabrera's power-changeup was the pitch that he found the most success with, as it was responsible for two of his strikeouts and 14 of 33 whiffs (42%). Saturday's late-fireworks show marked the first time Cabrera allowed more than two homers in his career. The former-top prospect's 2024 ERA now sits at 8.26. Marlins manager Skip Schumaker defended his starter postgame, saying, "He's just not sharp yet. I think the velocity was his best of the year so far. I think the changeup was good again. Just some hanging breaking balls got hit like last start." Huascar Brazobán, Andrew Nardi, Anthony Bender and A.J. Puk finished the game out of the bullpen for Miami. Brazobán entered the contest in the middle of the fourth with a 5-4 lead, although the bases were loaded after Cabrera allowed two singles and hit a batter before being pulled. All three runs crossed after some Reds small-ball, allowing Cincinnati to take a lead they never gave up. Nardi was bit by the homer bug as well, as Santiago Espinal and Rece Hinds gave more fans souvenirs. The homer off of Nardi was Hinds' second of the day and third of the series. On the bright side, Bender and Puk both enjoyed clean innings. Offensively for Schumaker's club, the two 2023 trade deadline acquisitions, Jake Burger and Josh Bell, essentially kept Miami in the game. The two went back-to-back in the third, one of four hits and two RBI's for Burger, while Bell laced a double in the sixth to put his team back within a run, his second RBI of the day. Burger's 10th homer of the season was just his first against a left-handed pitcher, as Andrew Abbott struggled just as much as Cabrera did. Elsewhere in the Marlins lineup, Xavier Edwards tallied two more hits, raising his batting average to .333 and his OPS to .816. After coming back to the big league club with a chip on his shoulder, Edwards is showing the Marlins coaches and front office what he can do when given the opportunity. Finally, hours after Schumaker mentioned that he could be getting looks in the infield, Jazz Chisholm Jr. was moved from center field to second base in the middle of the game. Chisholm had not played in the infield since June 28, 2022 before Saturday. After recent trade reports, it appears that Miami is sending a message by showing the 26-year-old's versatility. Trevor Rogers takes the ball in an attempt to salvage the series Sunday afternoon at 1:40 ET. Opposite of Rogers is Nick Lodolo, who is enjoying a solid 2024 campaign, sporting a 3.30 ERA and an 8-3 record. It is the Marlins' final game before the All-Star break. View full article

The top of the order excelled and Roddery Muñoz delivered the longest outing of his career, but neither were enough for the Marlins to salvage game three in the Space City. Coming off an outing that was a step in the right direction—albeit against the lowly Chicago White Sox—Miami Marlins starting pitcher Roddery Muñoz had a tough challenge awaiting him Thursday night at Minute Maid Park in the form of the surging Houston Astros. Houston has not lost a series since June 10-12 in San Francisco, and their bats had already secured another series win against Miami, putting up a combined 13 runs in the first two games. While Muñoz did allow six runs to cross, just four of them were earned, and the 24-year-old gave the Marlins much-needed length, tossing 6 ⅔ innings on just 94 pitches. His offense put up eleven hits, but could only put three runs on the board due to an abysmal 1-for-10 night at the plate with runners in scoring position. Josh Hader went 1-2-3 in the ninth, locking down a 6-3 win and series sweep for the 'Stros. After walking and hitting a couple batters led to runs in the first, second and fourth innings, Muñoz was able to pitch into the seventh after an efficient final couple innings of work. The righty threw just 30 pitches in his final 2 ⅔ innings of work even though he allowed another run via a sac fly in the fifth. Marlins manager Skip Schumaker praised his starter for working out of tough situations, saying "I thought he did really good containing them...When they had guys on base, we could've gotten in much more trouble then what we did." Muñoz's slider was effective, as the pitch was responsible for both of his two strikeouts and three of his eight whiffs. The same cannot be said for Muñoz's sinker, though, as Astros hitters saw the pitch well all night. Three of the six runs and two of the three doubles Muñoz allowed came on his sinker. The pitch was thrown sixteen times and generated zero whiffs. According to Stathead, Munoz's final line is the first of its kind in MLB history. At the plate, the outfielders at the top of Miami's lineup enjoyed solid nights. Bryan De La Cruz got the scoring started just two batters in to the game with a solo shot into the Crawford Boxes. Thursday's blast was De La Cruz's second career homer against the team that signed and developed him. Additionally, Jesús Sánchez doubled twice to bring his season OPS back up to .710, while Jazz Chisholm Jr. sent out his second homer of the series. Chisholm Jr. has upped his play since being brought up in trade rumors earlier this week and is back to being on a 20 homer/20 stolen base pace. Elsewhere, Nick Fortes continued his dominance at the dish with runners in scoring position and two outs with an RBI single in the second inning. Fortes entered Thursday's contest with a .467 batting average in said situations (.147 BA in all other situations). Schumaker addressed his offense's poor performance with RISP, saying "We had the right guys up with less than two outs, we just couldn't capitalize." Out of the bullpen, Andrew Nardi completed the sixth following Muñoz's departure, and Tanner Scott did more Tanner Scott things with a scoreless bottom of the eighth. Looking ahead, Miami travels to Cincinnati to face the Reds, coming off a sweep of their own against the Colorado Rockies. Yonny Chirinos gets the ball for Miami for game one on Friday night. Chirinos owns an ERA of 4.19 in four starts with the Fish. Cincinnati will counter with rookie right-hander Carson Spiers. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 ET. View full article

The 2022 sixth overall pick led the way for Marlins affiliates from July 1-6 as he put together his best week of the season. Throughout the course of the Minor League Baseball season, Fish On First staffers will release detailed recaps each week taking you through the previous week's developments at all levels of the Miami Marlins organization. Low-A Jupiter The Hammerheads had a rough couple of days at the office, dropping five of six games against the team they share Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium with, the Palm Beach Cardinals. The main culprit for the majority of the losing was Jupiter’s offense. Hammerhead bats combined for just seven extra-base hits all week, six of them being doubles and a lone triple off the bat of Triple-A rehabber José Devers. To put into context just how subpar the offense was the entire series, just one player OPS'd over .600, that being Brett Roberts at .616 (Roberts was there on a rehab assignment as well). It wasn’t the best of week’s on the mound either, but there was a lone standout that earned FSL Pitcher of the Week after a five-inning, no-run, seven strikeout performance from Eliazar Dishmey. Four of Dishmey's last five outings have been scoreless. High-A Beloit Similar to Jupiter, the Sky Carp did not see much success this past week against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, going 2-4 in their six matchups. On the hill, Emmett Olson and Thomas White were responsible for both wins. Olson was solid, allowing three runs over 5 ⅓ innings of work, but White was dominant. FOF’s number one prospect tossed five innings of one-run ball with two walks and three punch outs. Noble Meyer undeservedly took a loss in a game that he shoved, sitting down six Timber Rattlers in 4 ⅓ innings while allowing one run to come across. You can catch both White and Meyer at the Futures Game this Saturday at 4:10 ET from Globe Life Field highlighting the first day of All-Star week’s festivities. The undisputed top two prospects in Miami’s system have shined in their first full season of pro-ball, with White racking up 81 strikeouts and pitching to a 3.10 ERA over 61 innings between both Jupiter and Beloit, while Meyer has struck out 61, and allowed a meager 25 hits in 50 ⅓ innings pitched. Also similar to Jupiter, there was minor action at the plate, with the only notables being Jake DeLeo and Tony Bullard. DeLeo hit 7-for-20 (.350) with 3 RBI’s, whilst Bullard OPS’d .869 with two doubles. Double-A Pensacola The Blue Wahoos out-performed the Hammerheads and Sky Carp with their series split against the Montgomery Biscuits. We’ll start with the bad for Pensacola on the hitting side. Nathan Martorella, who has been struggling since coming over from the Padres in the Luis Arráez deal, had his worst week as a Marlins farmhand yet. The lefty went hitless in seventeen at-bats, dropping his batting average as a Wahoo down to .163 and his OPS down to .429. Ely Sussman detailed last week what has gone wrong for Martorella here. Now for the good, and perhaps most intriguing development of the past month-plus down on the farm. Jacob Berry, Miami’s 2022 first-round pick, had an abysmal April and May to start his 2024 campaign, slashing .173/.239/.272 and .138/.169/.163 in those months, respectively. Since then, though, Berry has been one of the most consistent bats in all of the Marlins’ system. In June, Berry rebounded with a .300/.388/.500 month with nine extra-base hits (two home runs) and 14 RBI’s. Now, in the first week of July, the former LSU Tiger put together his best week yet. Against Montgomery, Berry OPS’d an astounding 1.178 with two long balls and two doubles. While Berry’s season stats are still poor, his recent play has been just what the doctor ordered, especially with the Minnesota Twins calling up Brooks Lee, the player who was taken one pick after Berry in the 2022 draft. Somehow out-performing Berry last week at the plate was Paul McIntosh, with an even more impressive OPS of 1.377 and one blast of his own. McIntosh has had an up-and-down 2024 and after his dominant performance against the Biscuits, his season slash line now sits at .247/.345/.390. A few days after his 24th birthday, Luis Palacios celebrated with the only quality start for Pensacola last week, as he delivered a strong three earned-run, six inning outing, striking out three and walking one. Triple-A Jacksonville Taking three of five against the Charlotte Knights, the Jumbo Shrimp were the lone Marlins affiliate to win their inaugural series of July. Evan Fitterer, Shaun Anderson and Max Meyer were all solid on the bump for Jacksonville. Fitterer and Anderson both allowed six hits and two earned runs, the only difference being Fitterer completing seven innings compared to Anderson’s six. Meyer spun his best outing since being sent back down to Triple-A, striking out six Knights over 4 ⅔ innings. The righty could be back in Miami in roughly two weeks, when his lack of service time in 2024 locks in another year of club control on the former third overall selection. Marty Costes and Troy Johnson rivaled Berry and McIntosh when it came to mashing at the plate, as Costes OPS’d 1.143, coupled with Johnston’s seven RBI’s and two doubles, good enough for a 1.155 OPS of his own. Up Next Low-A Jupiter travels to the west coast to take on the Bradenton Marauders High-A Beloit welcomes the Cedar Rapids Kernels to town Double-A Pensacola heads north to face the Rocket City Trash Pandas Triple-A Jacksonville visits the Gwinnett Stripers View full article

Getting a rare opportunity to make back-to-back starts, Dane Myers carried the Marlins to a 4-3 win on Saturday afternoon. MIAMI, FL—In the seventh inning of a one-run ballgame with RHP Michael Soroka on the mound, Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker had plans of pinch-hitting the powerful and hot bat of Jesús Sánchez to start a rally for his ballclub. The only problem? The lefty was unavailable on Saturday due to hamstring soreness. "If (Sánchez) was really available, I would have pinch-hit him" said Schumaker postgame. "That shows you how smart I am," he added jokingly. The second-year manager laughs because that would have made Dane Myers a spectator. Instead, Myers took his turn in the cleanup spot and hammered a hanging slider 420 feet to put the Marlins in the lead. A.J. Puk and Tanner Scott recorded six consecutive outs to secure Miami the 4-3 win in game two of three against the MLB-worst Chicago White Sox. For Myers, it was the climax of a great day at the plate. Against Garrett Crochet, one of the best starters in the American League, the 28-year-old recorded two hits on two impressive at-bats, with the second being an RBI single after fouling off three Crochet heaters in a row. After striking out to Soroka in the fifth on a slider, Myers was looking for that same spinner when he stepped up to the plate in the seventh. "Just a hanging breaking ball. I took one of those in the first at-bat off of Soroka, so saw that one and didn't miss it." In a riveting turn of events, the Marlins got to the aforementioned lefty Crochet. They had been an unfathomable 4-26 against left-handed starters this season. On Saturday, though, Miami's bats were able to draw long counts and hit 28 foul balls, leading to the removal of Crochet after just four innings of work. In addition to Myers' RBI, Vidal Bruján notched one of his own in the fourth. "Good pitcher. Obviously his numbers are good. We were just trying to be aggressive on the fastball. He's got one of the best fastballs. Worked out for us today." Myers said of the Marlins approach at the plate. Yonny Chirinos took the ball for Miami. In what is becoming the norm for the righty, he worked himself into multiple situations with runners on. Chirinos had mixed results. Chicago put runs on the board in the first and third, but that was all. In his fourth start, the 30-year-old kept his team in the contest, just as he did in his first three. The unsung hero of Saturday's contest was Miami's bullpen. A trio of relievers combined for four dominant innings following Chirinos' departure. Outside of the usually dominant Scott, Puk enjoyed an impressive 1-2-3 inning against the heart of Chicago's order. When asked postgame what has worked since returning to the 'pen, Puk said it was "just a little transition going back from starting and going back to the bullpen. I kinda just lower my arm slot again, getting back to something more comfortable. That was the biggest, the mechanical change: throwing a different slot." Schumaker praised Puk for reverting to his old slider grip and regaining velocity in the process, saying, "He went from an 83 mph slider to an 87 mph slider. That's a much different pitch. It's a much different break." Sunday's series finale sees the return of Edward Cabrera to the Marlins rotation after a a two-month hiatus following a 60-day stint on the injured list with a right shoulder impingement. Rookie Jonathan Cannon, who owns a 4.62 ERA on the season, toes the slab for the South Siders. First pitch comes your way at 1:40 ET. View full article

South Florida native and Red Sox starter Kutter Crawford had never even been to loanDepot park as a fan, let alone a player before his gem on Tuesday night. MIAMI, FL- Following a relatively successful 3-4 road trip, highlighted by a series split against the National League-leading Philadelphia Phillies, the Miami Marlins returned to loanDepot park on Tuesday night to begin their eighth home stand of the season against the 44-39 Boston Red Sox. Essentially from pitch one, Miami was playing from behind. It took Boston just four batters to grab an early 2-0 lead, one they held on to for the rest of the contest behind starter Kutter Crawford's fourth consecutive quality start on their way to a 8-3 win. After his offense got to Marlins starter Valente Bellozo in the first inning, highlighted by a Rafael Devers two-RBI single, Crawford dominated. Crawford's combination of efficiency and mixing of his fastballs allowed him to cruise through Miami's order his first time around, allowing one hit on a minuscule 39 pitches through his first three innings of work. The 28-year-old said postgame that he "knew (his) job is to attack the strike zone with as many quality strikes that (he) could", and he did just that, walking zero batters. Crawford threw his four-seam and cutter 77% of the time, with the two pitches combining for twelve whiffs. The righty finished his night tossing six innings of one-run ball, with his only mistake being a solo shot to Jake Burger in the fifth. Crawford, who hails from Okeechobee, Florida, and who played college baseball in Fort Myers at Florida Gulf Coast University, had "a number of family and friends in attendance". Tuesday was his first time in loanDepot park not just as a player, but his entire life as well, as he noted postgame. When I asked him what it was like to be back home professionally for the first time and pitch in front of said family members and friends, he said it "felt good...You know, I'm a fan of indoors even though it still gets hot in there. But no, it was a good atmosphere here." Miami was only able to scratch across two more runs following Crawford's departure, with the loudest and most noteworthy being Jesús Sánchez's 448-foot no-doubt homer to dead-center field in the seventh. It was another lackluster day at the plate for the Fish, who were only able to put up seven hits the entire night with just a 37.9% hard-hit rate. Opposite of Crawford was Bellozo, making his second major league start after an encouraging debut last week in Kansas City. Unlike his first start, Bellozo was getting hit around early and often. The first four batters he faced combined for an average exit velocity of 96.9, with the fourth being the previously mentioned two-RBI single off the bat of Devers. Innings two and three were Bellozo's most impressive in his short tenure in the big leagues, as the 24-year-old recorded two strikeouts in the second, then struck out the side in the third. Disaster struck yet again in the fourth, though, after Ceddanne Rafaela worked a seven-pitch at-bat and deposited a Bellozo changeup into the stands that gave Boston a 5-0 lead. Bellozo was able to get though five innings before turning the ball over to Declan Cronin. All in all, as Bellozo noted postgame, it was a "good effort... a good fight", especially considering that "one pitch" was the difference between an OK start and a good start. Bellozo, like Crawford, leaned mostly on his fastball and cutter, specifically his backdoor cutter, throwing the two pitches 65% of the time. Six of Bellozo's eight strikeouts came on both fastballs. Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said of his starter's outing, "It's kind of an interesting outing because he had, gosh, eight strikeouts, but then when he was hit, he was hit hard. So it's just kind of an interesting outing. I don't know how else to put it, but he didn't shoot himself in the foot. He had one walk. I thought he attacked against, you know, in his second career start against the Boston Red Sox. I thought it showed that he's, you know, not afraid. He's gonna go on the attack. He does not walk any guys and that's what we preach here." Cronin and JT Chargois pitched in relief for Miami. The former allowed an uncharacteristic five hits and two earned-runs, while the latter allowed a singular run, a Jarren Duran blast, in two innings of work. The second of three games between Boston and Miami features the Marlins leader in starts, Trevor Rogers. Rogers is coming off one of his best performances of the season, a solid six inning three earned-run performance in Philadelphia last Thursday. Young righty Bryan Bello will toe the slab for Alex Cora's squad in his 15th start of the season. Bello was shelled in his previous start, giving up seven earned runs in just 2.1 innings of work. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 ET. View full article

Valente Bellozo was just four outs away from being awarded a win in his first MLB start. The Royals had other plans, though. Entering a 1-0 game in the eighth inning of Wednesday's series finale against the Kansas City Royals, Miami Marlins reliever Huascar Brazobán had been, in the words of his manager Skip Schumaker, "really good" as of late. After allowing two earned runs on the first day of June to the defending World Series champion Texas Rangers, the 34-year-old gave up just three more earned runs thus far in the rest of the month, including a hitless appearance in ⅔ innings of work just less than 24 hours before he took the mound in Kaufmann Stadium once again. His quality performance looked like it was going to continue, as the Dominican made quick work of Michael Massey and Maikel García before the heart of the Royals lineup finally woke up. Superstar shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. started the rally with a triple into the right-center field gap. He was driven in by Vinnie Pasquantino's line drive single up the middle. on a frozen rope double in to left field. The Royals then took and extended their new lead, courtesy of a Salvador Pérez frozen rope double in to left field and a single from Nick Lofton. After allowing his fifth consecutive hit and third run, Schumaker had seen enough, calling upon JT Chargois to keep Miami in the contest. Instead, Kansas City kept on rolling, tacking on two more runs off yet another single, this time off the bat of Freddy Fermin. Chargois finally escaped the inning with a Massey groundout. When it was all said and done, the Royals put up five runs, had seven consecutive hitters reach base, six of them being on hits, all with two outs. Brazobán's season ERA now stands at 5.63. The main issue for the righty was his command, most importantly his four-seam fastball, as Royals hitters took advantage of missed spots. Three of the five hits Brazobán allowed were off of his heater. Most importantly for the Royals faithful, closer James McArthur enjoyed an easy 1-2-3 inning on his way to clinching a 5-1 victory and series win for Kansas City for the first time in nearly three weeks when they took two out of three against the Seattle Mariners. The biggest tragedy to come from the rally and subsequent loss is Valente Bellozo's impressive MLB debut. Schumaker had high praise for his starter, saying that he's "not sure what more you could've asked for", that Bellozo was "not scared on the mound" and "didn't hurt himself." As Schumaker detailed, the righty was going after Royals hitters from pitch one. Bellozo did not walk a batter all day and finished his inaugural start with just 72 pitches in five innings of work. Bellozo relied on his four-seam fastball to get ahead and his sweeper to put hitters away. Bellozo generated nine whiffs on his fastball and six on his sweeper, a combination that kept Royals hitters "off-balance," as Schumaker said. Postgame, Bellozo detailed his competitive nature, saying that he "loved the adrenaline and nerves" and that "if you don't have it, I think you don't love the game." 49a38801-9931b67a-1075847c-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 On the hitting side for Miami, it was another slow day at the office. The lone run of the contest came in the form of a Nick Fortes single in the second inning. After putting up a respectable five hits in the first four innings of the game, the Marlins went hitless the entire rest of the way. The Fish put up just 16 hits over the three games in Kansas City amounting to four runs. Next up on the road trip for Miami is a flight northeast to Citizens Bank Park and a four-game set against the division-rival Philadelphia Phillies. The probable starter on the mound for Schumaker's club is Trevor Rogers, the lone healthy arm remaining from the season-opening rotation, albeit sporting a 1-8 record with a 4.90 ERA. It won't be easy for the Marlins to end their hitting woes, as opposing them is NL Cy Young contender Zack Wheeler. First pitch is scheduled for 6:20 EDT. View full article

The Marlins walked out of Kauffman Stadium a winner for the first time in eleven(!) years on Tuesday night. Going into the seventh inning of Tuesday night's matchup against the Kansas City Royals, the Miami Marlins were desperate for any offense after they had the misfortune of facing Kansas City's ace, Seth Lugo. Miami was the latest victims of Lugo's Cy Young-caliber campaign, as the 34-year-old did not allow a hit until the fifth inning and shut down the entirety of the Marlins lineup with the exceptions of Otto Lopez and Josh Bell, who both got on with singles. Lugo was pulled only six innings in to his start with 87 pitches, opening the door for Miami to tie or take the lead. The Marlins were still in the contest thanks to veteran righty Yonny Chirinos, who was making his second start for the club. Similar to his team and 2024 debut last week against the Cardinals, Chirinos got into multiple jams, but showed yet again that he can walk the tightrope and get out of tight situations as fast as he gets in them. Manager Skip Schumaker credited Chirinos' ability to generate "weak contact" along with his slider that generated nine whiffs over the course of his start. Chirinos' only hiccup was walking leadoff batter Maikel García back in the first, as Garcia came all the way around to score after two stolen bases and a Vinnie Pasquantino RBI single. The aforementioned Lopez got the seventh-inning rally started for Miami, lacing a double down the left field line against new arm Carlos Hernández. After a Tim Anderson groundout moved Lopez to third, it was up to Nick Gordon to come up big for Miami. Gordon, who came up short in an identical situation back in the fifth, roped a ground ball into the four hole that Maikel García made a stellar sliding play on. Just as Mark Vientos did a few weeks back, though, García rushed his throw to first, pulling Pasquantino off of first base and allowing Lopez to come across and score, tying things at one apiece. Just two batters later, more 2023-esque magic struck for Miami. After being in an 0-2 count against lefty reliever Will Smith, Jazz Chisholm Jr. smoked a 95.9 mph line drive right back at the veteran's left shoulder. Smith panicked and made yet another bad throw to first base, bringing home Gordon in the process. In the matter of minutes, Miami had taken the lead after looking lifeless through six innings. A.J. Puk, Huascar Brazoban and Calvin Faucher were all lights out in their respective middle relief and setup roles, throwing up zeroes in the sixth, seventh and eighth. Miami fought to get Tanner Scott some insurance runs off of old friend Nick Anderson in the eighth, however Anderson escaped the frame after allowing a Jake Burger double. Scott made things more interesting than he usually does in the ninth, allowing a Salvador Pérez single and stolen base from the pinch-running Dairon Blanco, but still secured the victory for Miami, getting yet another old friend, Garrett Hampson, to ground out to Burger to make things final. "We'll take any win however we can get it" Schumaker said when asked about the wacky albeit resilient win for his club. The Marlins look to take their third series in a row Wednesday afternoon at 2:10 EDT. Valente Bellozo will make his MLB debut and take the ball for Miami, as announced postgame. A corresponding 26-man and 40-man roster move will be needed to make room for the 24-year-old native of Mexico, who was acquired from the Astros in the Jacob Amaya deal back in April. Brady Singer is the probable starter for Kansas City. Singer, a Florida native and former Florida Gator, possesses a 5.31 ERA in the month of June. View full article