Marlins fall/winter update, Oct. 29-Nov. 4

A regular Monday feature here at Fish Stripes over the next few months, we’ll do a roundup of storylines, stats and highlights from Marlins players who are staying active this offseason. That includes the top prospects showcasing their skills in the Arizona Fall League, but think internationally, too—the organization has several hispanic players getting extra reps in their home countries.

All the weekly updates will be contained in this thread.

Stats updated through Sunday’s games.

Arizona Fall League

The Marlins are being represented in the AFL by seven players, including four who are ranked among the organization’s Top 30 prospects, per MLB Pipeline. They’re rostered on the Salt River Rafters (4-1 record last week, 13-8 record overall).

2B/SS Bryson Brigman: .280/.345/.280 in 13 G

RHP Tommy Eveld: 7.2 IP, 9.39 ERA, 6 K

OF Monte Harrison: .353/.460/.431 in 14 G

RHP Kyle Keller: 8.2 IP, 3.12 ERA, 9 K

OF/DH Brian Miller: .265/.351/.306 in 17 G

RHP Chad Smith: 6.1 IP, 7.11 ERA, 2 K

RHP Jordan Yamamoto: 16.0 IP, 1.69 ERA, 20 K

Salt River Rafters stats via MiLB.com

That’s some convenient timing: our new Bryson Brigman interview—part of The 4-6-3 series on middle infield prospects—dropped on Friday night, moments after Brigman completed one of his best AFL games (1-2, 2 BB, R, full game at SS). Please read it if you haven’t already to learn more about his breakout season.

It continues to be a strong fall for Monte Harrison. Sporting a .460 on-base percentage (fourth-best among qualifiers), he’s less stressed about performance and devoting more of his attention to executing a great Halloween costume:

Over at Fish of the Farm, Alex Carver breaks down exactly how Harrison’s swing has changed. The new mechanics create a separate set of concerns moving forward:

But as positive as these adjustments have been, has Harrison negated his lower half too much?

Looking at the new Harrison, his lower half is nearly stationary, limiting his fence clearing ability, especially at his future home of Marlins Park. The minuscule hip torque and lack of power transfer will cause his hit tool to rise but his power tool, which currently stands at 55, to drop.

Harrison and Jordan Yamamoto represented the Marlins on Saturday night’s Fall Stars roster. It was a rare opportunity to see these prospects televised (MLB Network and MLB.com), but Monte’s stolen base in the fourth inning is best appreciated from the stands:

(Full disclosure: I didn’t have the chance to extract a clip of it from the broadcast.)

The East Fall Stars lost in a walk-off thriller, 7-6. Yamamoto was the only pitcher on their roster who didn’t participate. No hard feelings, though.

Dominican Winter League

Toros del Este infielder Cristhian Adames has settled into an everyday role for a team that surged back to the .500 mark at 9-9. He’s slashing .275/.356/.375 in 12 games played. Adames now has more career Winter League appearances (166) than major league appearances (176).

The 27-year-old elected free agency on Friday, so we’ll have to exclude him from future fall/winter updates unless the Fish work out a new deal with him soon.

Another slow week for teammate Magneuris Sierra. He’s down to .250/.294/.250, very comparable to his MLB career thus far (.227/.263/.242). In 2018, the Marlins hid Sierra against left-handed pitching, and the Toros are giving him the same treatment.

Samuel Castro recorded his first DWL stolen base in Sunday’s extra-inning victory.

Venezuelan Winter League

The silver lining for right-hander Jorgan Cavanerio (Tiburones de La Guaira) is that he still hasn’t issued a walk to any of his 30 batters faced. However, Cavanerio continues allowing hits in each relief outing with a 9.00 earned run average overall.