Marlins fall/winter update, Dec. 10-16

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. Now that the Arizona Fall League has concluded, that means turning our attention internationally (the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, etc.).

All the weekly updates will be contained in this thread.

Stats updated through Sunday’s games.

Dominican Winter League

That’s Peter O’Brien (.208/.350/.375 in 14 G) riding shotgun with Toros del Este teammate Nick Rickles, savoring Saturday’s victory that clinched them a postseason berth. No Marlins player has been active for the Toros the entire season, but left-hander Jarlin García (5.0 IP, 5.40 ERA in 6 G) is still being used as a bullpen piece, while Nestor Bautista (2.0 IP, 22.50 ERA in 3 G), Samuel Castro (.300/.417/.450 in 10 G) and Magneuris Sierra (.250/.289/.250 in 16 G) contributed earlier in the year.

Also in the Dominican, outfielder Gabriel Guerrero (Estrellas Orientales) celebrated his 25th birthday in grand fashion:

Noooo one, noooo one, noooo wuh-uh-uh-uh-uh-oooone would’ve thought that Gaby had a better “singing tool” than cousin Vlad Jr. MLB’s consensus No. 1 prospect is far comfortable with the bat than he is with the mic:

Venezuelan Winter League

Yup, that Álex González! Now 41 years old, the 1997 World Series champion played his final professional game on Thursday night for Leones del Caracas.

We celebrated the occasion by reminiscing about his career with the Marlins and a handful of other MLB teams.

Miguel Rojas called it quits on his winter ball campaign (h/t Joe Frisaro, MLB.com), but shined bright while it lasted. Rojas slashed .345/.387/.397 in his 15 games with Tiburones de La Guaira. He would’ve placed fourth in the Venezuelan Winter League batting race if he had enough playing time to qualify.

Now recovered from dengue fever, Elieser Hernández still hasn’t made it into a real game since returning to his homeland more than a month ago.

He was featured in a national story, though. ESPN.com’s Sam Miller went searching for the worst hitting pitcher in the major leagues. The 23-year-old was among the top five candidates:

Hernández batted 11 times this year without doing any positive act: No hit, no walk, no sacrifice bunt, not even a runner advancing on an out. No pitcher had more plate appearances without at least one positive event this year, as the three other pitchers with .000 OBPs in at least 11 PA all had at least one sacrifice bunt.

Left-hander José Quijada (Caribes de Anzoategui) is up to 13 relief appearances on the season. He’s maintained a 4.50 earned run average through 10 innings of work.

Puerto Rican Winter League

What an extremely encouraging winter ball experience Isan Díaz has had. He’s been clutch as demonstrated by Wednesday’s walk-off home run. He’s been versatile, splitting defensive innings evenly between third base and his usual second base. One of the youngest members of Gigantes de Carolina, Díaz owns a .771 OPS overall, a big step up from his Triple-A New Orleans production (.639 OPS).

Yadiel Rivera, on the other hand, hasn’t done anything to help his stock so far in Puerto Rico. A .185/.241/.222 hitter in eight games with Mayagüez, it’s been a familiar struggle at the plate in 11 games since being traded to Caguas (.184/.244/.289).

Rivera predictably lost his 40-man roster spot during the Winter Meetings. Unclaimed by the other MLB organizations, he remains with the Marlins heading into spring training.