Miami Marlins links: Prospects, position battles, and potential Realmuto return

Spring Training doesn’t start for 83 more days, but the news, like the mail, never stops. Fish Stripes is your one-stop shop for all things Marlins, especially all the latest news.

First, let’s check in on some of the organization’s top prospects. Baseball America discusses Jordan Yamamoto’s strong finish in the Arizona Fall League. I can’t read it because I don’t have an account, but maybe you do and can tell me if you agree in the comments. MLB.com also listed Monte Harrison as one of the AFL’s top 25 prospects.

ESPN’s Sam Miller crowns Starlin Castro the winner of the most impressive at-bat of 2018, and I’m hard-pressed to disagree with him. Just about any home run off Josh Hader has to make the list.

The deadline to tender contracts to arbitration eligible players is Friday at 8 PM EST. J.T. Realmuto, Jose Ureña, Miguel Rojas and Adam Conley will almost definitely each be tendered, while Dan Straily is more of a question mark, writes MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. Frisaro also discusses five internal candidates for left field in 2019, following the departure of HBP god, Derek Dietrich.

Another position battle the Marlins will have is for closer, which our own Ian Smith recently discussed. (Drew Steckenrider has my vote as he has two major advantages over the field. He’s the incumbent, and he’s right-handed.)

And if you’re wondering what the Braves’ signing of Brian McCann does to the Realmuto market, we’ve got you covered there, too. Mitchell Custer says the Fish are probably going to have to give a little.

Finally, Derek Jeter made headlines when he said the team would start giving English and Spanish lessons to its players, and the Sun-Sentinel’s Wells Dusenbury updates us on the program’s progress while also profiling coordinator Emily Glass. Given El Profe Trevor Richards’ experience as a teacher, perhaps he could consult on the project.