Offseason Fish—10/8/19

For many players within the Marlins organization, baseball never stops. Just like last year, Fish Stripes will be consistently updating the whereabouts of your favorite Fish during the offseason. At FishStripes.com/offseason, you can find updates on them, including stats, highlights and (small sample size) analysis.

Arizona Fall League

• RHP Vincenzo Aiello—5.68 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 5 K in 6.1 IP
• RHP C.J. Carter—13.50 ERA, 2.36 WHIP, 5 K in 4.1 IP
• INF José Devers—.200/.200/.200, 0 RBI, 1 SB, 7 K in 20 AB
• OF Jerar Encarnación—.294/.359/.500, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 14 K in 34 AB

• OF Víctor Víctor Mesa—.355/.400/.387, 2 RBI, 3 SB, 3 K in 31 AB
• RHP Nick Neidert—1.62 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 17 K in 16.2 IP (4 GS)
• LHP Alex Vesia—0.00 ERA, 0.30 WHIP, 10 K in 6.2 IP

More of the same for Víctor Víctor, who briefly held the lead in the AFL batting title race. The quality of his contact still leaves a lot to be desired, but the frequency with which he’s getting the bat on the ball remains elite (just as it was during the regular season). Salt River manager Keith Johnson has experimented with Mesa in a variety of lineup positions, from No. 2 to No. 7 and everyplace in between besides cleanup.

Alex Vesia couldn’t maintain perfection forever, though his scoreless streak remains intact entering the second half of the AFL schedule.

Neidert was stretched out to 5 ¹⁄₃ innings in his scoreless outing on Sunday. He kept the Surprise Saguaros off balance with a mix four-seamers, two-seamers, changeups, sliders and curveballs, maxing out at 91.7 mile per hour. This experience for him has been exactly what the Marlins hoped for: building up innings and fully restoring his confidence.

No games played for José Devers since Sept. 29. I don’t yet have the explanation for that, but will try to get one ASAP! (As recently as Sunday, Devers was spotted updating his Instagram Story, so he’s seemingly safe and in good spirits.)

Dominican Winter League

If I’m reading this correctly, INF Samuel Castro has reported to Toros del Este again this winter and was available off the bench in Monday’s exhibition game. He played in 10 games during their 2018-19 campaign. Signed by the Marlins more than five years ago, Castro simply hasn’t made any significant progress at the plate (.229/.299/.281, 2 HR in 1,083 PA in MiLB). These winter ball reps could be a good opportunity for Castro to showcase himself for other organizations.

As noted last week, 1B/OF Peter O’Brien and possibly OF Jesús Sánchez are teammates of his on Toros del Este. RHP Tayron Guerrero is with Tigres del Licey.

The DWL’s 2019-20 season begins on Oct. 12.

Puerto Rican Winter League

SS Jazz Chisholm and OF Monte Harrison will play in Puerto Rico. For Chisholm, the extra reps will help his new organization get a better feel for how close he is to being MLB-ready, while Harrison is compensating for all the time that he was sidelined by a wrist injury. Which PR teams will roster them has yet to be revealed.

Still more than one month away from the league’s opening day.

WBSC Premier12

OF Tristan Pompey has had a busy year of international competition already. Right before reporting to 2019 Spring Training, he traveled to Brazil to help lead his native Canada to qualify for the Pan Am Games. Then in late July, Pompey took a hiatus from High-A Jupiter to compete in the Games themselves in Peru (the team won a silver medal).

There’s even more at stake next month when Canada takes 28 players—including Pompey and his older brother, Dalton—to Asia for the Premier12 tournament, which presents an opportunity to clinch a 2020 Olympic berth.

During the regular season, Pompey’s prospect stock took a plunge due to a combination of injuries and struggles (.194/.295/.271, 0 HR in 166 PA with Jupiter).