Mertz Continues to Impress, DSL Marlins Win in a Shootout

There were no transactions whatsoever on trade deadline day within the Marlins system.

Triple-A

Pacific Coast League

New Orleans Baby Cakes 0, Sacramento RiverCats 3

Justin Nicolino (4-5, 3.45) started and lost for the Baby Cakes (40-68), as New Orleans lost their seventh in a row by a 3-0 count with 5,337 in attendance at Raley Field. He gave up seven hits and a walk for three runs (two earned) while striking out one RiverCat (46-62). Tayron Guerrero pitched a perfect eighth, striking one out.

Chris Parmalee led the Baby Cakes with two singles. Peter Mooney and Moises Sierra collected the only other two base hits for the day.

Double-A

Southern League

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 2, Biloxi Shuckers 3

Trevor Richards (3-3, 2.91) started and lost for the Jumbo Shrimp (48-59) as they dropped a 3-2 decision to the Shuckers (52-54) in front of 1,901 at MGM Park.

Richards surrendered three runs (two earned) on five hits and zero walks, striking out five in six innings. Severino Gonzalez and Tyler Kinley each allowed a hit and struck one batter out in an inning of work.

Austin Dean hit two singles for two RBI, Dustin Geiger hit two singles, and Braxton Lee collected Jacksonville’s only extra base hit, a double.

High-A

Florida State League

Jupiter Hammerheads vs. Lakeland Flying Tigers (postponed, rain)

Single-A

South Atlantic League

Greensboro Grasshoppers 3, Lakewood Blue Claws 2

Michael Mertz (7-1, 1.93) earned a victory in relief over the Blue Claws (55-52), striking out three in 3 ²⁄₃ innings, while allowing one hit, one walk, and zero runs with 5,202 present at First National Bank Field.

Ethan Clark started for Greensboro (56-47), and whiffed five over 4 ¹⁄₃ innings. He allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits and three walks. Trenton Hill hit a two-RBI-double and James Nelson added an RBI-double. Walker Olis, Eric Gutierrez, Jhonny Santos, and Jared Rindfleisch each collected a single.

Short-A

New York-Penn League

Batavia Muckdogs 2, Mahoning Valley Scrappers 6

The Scrappers (25-15) defeated the Muckdogs (13-25) by a 6-2 count with 1,962 at Eastwood Field.

Remey Reed (1-3, 7.23) surrendered three earned runs on four hits and a walk over four innings, striking out four. Taylor Braley gave up a walk and struck out two in as many innings, and Ryan McKay was lit up for four hits and a walk in two innings, for three runs.

Batavia was held to just four hits on the day. Marcos Rivera hit a double, while Micah Brown (1) and Michael Hernandez (1) each hit solo homers. Thomas Jones added a single.

Rookie

Gulf Coast League

GCL Marlins vs. GCL Mets (postponed, rain)

Dominican Summer League

DSL Marlins 11, Astros Blue 10

The DSL Marlins (25-22) defeated the Blue Astros (25-21) by an 11-10 final despite getting outhit by a 15-to-11 margin.

Walner Espinal hit two singles and a homer for two RBI, Jorge Caballero hit a single and a three-run shot, and Omar Lebron hit a single and a triple for three RBI.

Prospect of the Day

Hitter - Walner Espinal went 3-for-4 with a walk, two runs, and a two-run homer.

Pitcher - Michael Mertz continues to impress with the Grasshoppers, collecting five groundouts, and five strikeouts while giving up just one hit and one walk. He struck out three in 3 ²⁄₃ innings.

Fish Stripes Top 30 Prospect Watch

#1 Trevor Rogers

#2 Braxton Garrett

#3 Brian Anderson batted sixth for New Orleans and went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts to drop to .276.

#4 Dillon Peters

#5 Tyler Kolek

#6 Merandy Gonzalez

#7 Brian Miller

#8 Brayan Hernandez

#9 James Nelson batted third for Greensboro and went 1-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and a strikeout to drop his average to .301.

#10 Drew Steckenrider

#11 Jeff Brigham

#12 Cody Poteet

#13 Colton Hock

#14 Thomas Jones batted fifth for Batavia and went 1-for-4 to raise his average to .198.

#15 Joe Dunand

#16 Riley Mahan

#17 Ryan Lillie

#18 Sam Perez

#19 Trevor Richards lost for the Jumbo Shrimp, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits in six innings. He earned a quality start, though, with a 62 GameScore while striking out five.

#20 Brandon Miller

#21 Edward Cabrera

#22 Sean Reynolds

#23 Pablo Lopez

#24 Ricardo Cespedes

#25 Isael Soto

#26 John Norwood batted fifth for Jacksonville, going 1-for-4 with a strikeout to drop to .279.

#27 Austin Dean batted second for the Shrimp and went two-for-four with a pair of RBI to get to .299.

#28 Ynmanol Marinez

#29 Albert Guaimaro

#30 Stone Garrett

Fish Stripes 10

The top 10 players (by user vote) not already represented in the “official” Top 30 prospects:

#1 Merandy Gonzalez

#2 Ben Meyer

#3 Braxton Lee led off for Jacksonville and went 1-for-4 with a double to drop to .318 for the season.

#4 Ethan Clark started for Greensboro and struck out five in 4 ¹⁄₃ innings. He allowed four hits and three walks for two runs (one earned), with a 51 GameScore and no-decision.

#5 Bryce Howe

#6 Mike Kickham

#7 Michael King

#8 Cameron Baranek

#9 Boo Vazquez

#10 Shao-Pin Ho

Later

10:30AM: DSL Marlins at DSL Astros Blue

Noon: GCL Astros at GCL Marlins

4:30PM: Jupiter Hammerheads host a double header against the Flying Tigers. James Buckelew (1-3, 2.13) will start the first game.

7:00PM: Brandon Miller (0-0, 15.43) will start for the Grasshoppers against the Blue Claws.

7:05PM: Sean Guenther (0-2, 7.94) will take the hill for the Muckdogs opposite the Scrappers.

7:35PM: Dillon Peters (2-1, 2.12) gets a turn against the Shuckers

10:05PM: Keyvius Sampson (4-3, 6.15) will take on the River Cats, and help the Cakes try to avoid getting their eight-game road-trip swept.

Birthdays

Dylan Lee turns 23 today. He's currently on the DL, but this season has racked up a 1.29 WHIP in 98.1 innings, with a 4.85 ERA and a 4-10 record with the Grasshoppers. He was Miami’s 10th round pick last season out of Fresno State.

Minor League History

(courtesy of milb.com)

On this date in 1994 (Lee’s birthday), Jason Robbins pitched a perfect game as the Billings Mustangs defeated the Medicine Hat Blue Jays in Pioneer League play.

Vote in the poll below if you think a player is too low or too high. It currently runs 238 Marlins deep, and is updated at least daily as players enter or leave the system. Players who are no longer considered “prospects” are not included.