Marlins Minor League Report: April 4-7

Each week, Fish Stripes will be recapping the past week’s performances throughout the Marlins minor league system. Highlighting the players who either had an outstanding week, or one they would like to put behind them.

All stats updated entering April 8.

Triple-A New Orleans Baby Cakes (2-2)

The Baby Cakes started their season a day later than expected, as their season-opener was rained out on Thursday. But they then came out the next day and opened their season with a victory against the Round Rock Express. The Baby Cakes then went on to lose two of the next three games against the Express.

Outstanding Player: Zac Gallen

Zac Gallen, the No. 18 prospect in the Marlins system according to MLB Pipeline, is this week’s most outstanding player because of his performance in the first game of the series. He pitched seven no-hit innings and recorded 11 strikeouts (the only Round Rock baserunner reached on an error).

Although Gallen didn’t record the victory, he still was the most valuable player on this team during opening week.

Double-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (2-2)

Similar to the Baby Cakes, the Jumbo Shrimp finished this week with .500 winning percentage. The biggest reason why they lost those two games was because their offense has yet to wake up. The Jumbo Shrimp have produced four runs in four games. While on the other side of the ball, their pitching was able to hold the Jackson Generals to two runs in the pair of games that they won.

Disappointing Player: Brian Miller

The 14th-ranked Marlins prospect, Miller recorded just one hit in 14 at-bats in the four games against the Generals. While he isn’t know for his power, he has the ability to hit above-average in BA and OBP. The 23-year-old finished last season with a .267 BA and a .319 OBP in 66 games with the Jumbo Shrimp.

High-A Jupiter Hammerheads (1-3)

Despite the 1-3 record to start the season, the Hammerheads have actually played decently to start the 2019 season. After they lost back-to-back games to open the season, and only produced a total of three runs. The Hammerheads’ offense exploded for eight runs in the third game of this series. While their offense has found success, their pitching has surrendered a total of 19 runs in four games.

Disappointing Player: Edward Cabrera

No. 8 top prospect Edward Cabrera went 4 ¹⁄₃ innings and gave up five hits, four runs and four walks in his season debut. Cabrera has struggled in the past with the amount of hits he surrenders, but limits the damage with the amount of strikeouts he produces as well. In this start, though, he recorded only three whiffs, which ultimately lead to this disappointing start.

Low-A Clinton LumberKings (2-2)

The LumberKings have opened their inaugural-season as part of the Marlins organization with a 2-2 record. They have arguably been the best team in the Marlins organization to start the year. Despite their record, they have been playing good fundamental baseball on both sides of the ball. They have produced 14 runs and held the Kane County Cougars to just nine runs in the four game series.

Outstanding Players: Chris Vallimont & Jerar Encarnacion

Instead of just choosing one player who stood out this week, I’ve decided to choose both Chris Vallimont and Jerar Encarnacion. Both of these players had outstanding performances that forced my hand in selecting both for this section. Vallimont pitched five scoreless innings and recorded eight strikeouts. While only giving up a pair of hits and walks. Encarnacion led his team’s offense this past week with producing a double and three RBI, while slashing .571/.667/.643 in four games played.