Fish Bites: Miami Marlins Prospect Updates

Editor's Note: Please welcome long-time Fish Stripes reader Andrew Townes to the fold as one of the new authors of the expanded Fish Bites links series. Expect Andrew to report the latest in Marlins news on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

- In a fairly predictable move the Miami Marlins' top pitching prospect Jose Fernandez, along with Jake Marisnick, has been reassigned to minor league camp. The general consensus seems to be that Jose Fernandez is just not quite ready for the MLB, but as put best manager Mike Redmond, "his day will come".

- Speaking of Miami pitching prospects that tore apart the South Atlantic League in 2012, our friend Ehsan Kassim of Marlin Maniac offered up his breakdown of LHP Adam Conley. He believes the 2011 2nd round pick could become a 3 starter for the big league club in the future.

- For those of you focused on current Miami Marlins, Giancarlo Stanton will be answering questions in the "Chatting Cage". The video chat will take place Thursday, March 14 at 3:30pm EST and fans can take part in the video chat or ask the star outfielder questions via Twitter using the hashtag #minorvictories #chattingcage.

- Additionally, Giancarlo Stanton felt right at home in Marlins Park as he took on Puerto Rico as a part of team USA in the 2nd round World Baseball Classic game hosted in Miami. Stanton went 2-3 with a walk in the game as USA took the win 7-1 over PR behind a 5 RBI night from David Wright. A game recap can be found here.

Around the League

- Today, The Detroit Tigers gave an unconditional release to (former) outfielder and designated hitter Brennan Boesch. Before the 2012 season Boesch was seen as a potential breakout player, but after a .240/.286/.372 slash line and a -1.3 FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement (fWAR) during the season, Boesch had outstayed his welcome in Detroit. Al Beaton of SB Nation's Tigers blog Bless You Boys has the breakdown.

- For a saber-slanted look at the NL East rival Atlanta Braves, look no further than Beyond the Box Score. My own personal projection system has the Marlins facing the Braves 19 times in 2013 so this will certainly be a useful tool for any Miami Marlins fan.

- Over on Minor League Ball, John Sickels released his top 150 prospects list. Jose Fernandez, Christian Yelich, Justin Nicolino, Andrew Heaney, Marcell Ozuna and Jake Marisnick all make appearances. Feel free to join in the lively discussion in the comments section where John Sickels himself is answering fans questions.

- In other World Baseball Classic news, Puerto Rico won their elimination game against Italy bringing to an end an unexpected run by the Italians. On Thursday USA and the Dominican Republic will be facing off in Miami with the winner moving on to the next round in San Francisco.

At Fish Stripes

- Today the Marlins faced the Atlanta Braves in a game that featured a strong outing by Nathan Eovaldi who allowed only three hits in five innings of work. Unfortunately the offense did not offer much support and the Marlins fell 2-1, but sometimes spring games are not just about the win.

- Our fearless leader continues his season preview series with a look at center field. Is incumbent Justin Ruggiano the best option for starting duties? If not Ruggiano, then who? Michael answers these questions and more on the other side of the link.

- In what was likely a very busy day for Mr. Jong he also previewed the hypothetical outlook for prospect Christian Yelich. Yelich certainly seems like he will have a bright major league career, but should the Marlins start the clock on his career now? Michael asks, and answers.

- Also on the site we have a look at another Miami Marlins prospect. Jacob Realmuto could very well be the Marlins starting catcher one day but he will have to get past Rob Brantly first. Conner Dorney takes a closer look.