Fish Bites Episode 44: Marlins manager-in-waiting, AFL champions

The Salt River Rafters, featuring Marlins prospects Jerar Encarnación, Nick Neidert and Alex Vesia, clinched the 2019 Arizona Fall League championship on Saturday! On this new episode of Fish Bites, Ely analyzes their AFL production (2:48) and explains why the hiring of James Rowson as bench coach/offensive coordinator could have huge ramifications (14:10).

”Rowson” rhymes with wow-son, not mow-son. Sorry for butchering that on the pod!

The Ultimate Marlins Depth Charts series continues with a roundup of all the key catchers and first basemen within the organization (24:40).

Enjoy Episode 44!

These are the catchers and first basemen most critical to the present and long-term success of the Fish:

• Major leaguers—Jorge Alfaro (.262/.312/.425, 18 HR in 465 PA), Garrett Cooper (.281/.344/.446, 15 HR in 421 PA), Austin Dean (.225/.261/.404, 6 HR in 189 PA), Chad Wallach (.250/.333/.375, 1 HR in 54 PA)
• 2020 ETAs—Lewin Díaz (.270/.321/.530, 27 HR in 501 PA)
• Next waves—Lázaro Alonso (.282/.381/.418, 12 HR in 491 PA), Nick Fortes (.217/.293/.308, 3 HR in 297 PA), Evan Edwards (.281/.357/.442, 9 HR in 308 PA), Will Banfield (.199/.252/.310, 9 HR in 433 PA), Dustin Skelton (.224/.321/.269, 0 HR in 78 PA), Keegan Fish (.214/.476/.286, 0 HR in 42 PA)
• Curiosities—Sean Reynolds (.172/.291/.348, 13 HR in 375 PA), Tyler Heineman (.341/.397/.622, 10 HR in 182 PA)

The Fish Stripes podcast is home to Miami Marlins shows Fish Bites, Earning Their Stripes and A-Ball with Erik Oas. All new episodes are posted to FishStripes.com/podcasts. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Podbean, Megaphone or wherever you normally get your pods from.

NEW: Fish Bites episodes are also airing on SLAM Radio (SiriusXM channel 145) every Monday at 5 p.m. ET.

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