Marlins Minor League Report: July 22-28

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

All stats updated entering July 29.

Triple-A New Orleans Baby Cakes (2-3, 55-50 overall)

Inconsistency was the main theme from the New Orleans Baby Cakes offense this past week. Their offense recorded a combined 15 runs through three of their games. But then, they were only able to produce a total of three runs through their other two games.

Finally, the Baby Cakes received quality performances from their pitching staff this past week. Aside from the six runs surrendered in the first game of the week, the pitching staff completed the week by giving up an average of just 2.5 runs/game through their remaining four games.

Disappointing Player: Isan Diaz

The No. 3 Marlins prospect per MLB Pipeline, Isan Diaz had one of his worst performances in recent memory this past week. The 23-year-old hit a measly 3-for-17 (.177 AVG) along with seven strikeouts. As a result, Diaz’s batting average has dipped below .300 for the first time since July 14.

Diaz has been the driving force behind the Baby Cakes offensive production this season. So, it’ll be interesting to see how they perform once he is ultimately promoted to the Marlins in the coming weeks.

Double-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (2-5, 49-56 overall)

Following last week’s outstanding offensive performance, the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp were failed by their offense this past week. The Jumbo Shrimp’s offense produced an average of just 1.4 runs/game.

The lack of run support completely undermined the success that the Jumbo Shrimp’s pitching staff had this past week. Their staff held their opponents to three runs or fewer in four of their seven games.

Disappointing Player: Joe Dunand

Dunand, once a second-round draft pick, seems to be regressing from a midseason hot streak. He’s coming off a 2-for-16 week (.125 AVG) with a .410 OPS. The longtime shortstop is also seeing himself frequently pushed over to third base.

It’s unclear what the next development step would be for Dunand if he doesn’t finish 2019 with some momentum. For now, he has dropped out of the Marlins Top 30 prospects.

High-A Jupiter Hammerheads (2-6, 39-63 overall)

Similar to the Jumbo Shrimp, the Jupiter Hammerheads received very little support from their offense. Held scoreless three different times this past week, they were limited to three runs or fewer in six of their eight games overall.

Going forward, the Hammerheads pitching staff will be without Chris Vallimont (since he was traded to the Minnesota Twins for Lewin Diaz). However, there’s plenty of talent remaining—the team surrendered an average of just 3.3 runs/game this past week.

Outstanding Player: Braxton Garrett

The No. 7 Marlins prospect was outstanding in his pair of starts this past week. Braxton Garrett pitched a combined 10 innings and allowed just a single run in each of his starts. The 21-year-old’s performance this past week has now lowered his ERA to 2.89. Which ranks him 7th in the FSL in ERA.

Garrett has continued to impress in just his first full, healthy season of professional baseball. While the Marlins have no need to rush him through their system, Garrett’s 2.89 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, .212 OPP AVG and 103 strikeouts surpass most experts’ expectations.

Low-A Clinton LumberKings (2-4, 50-47 overall)

The Clinton LumberKings offensive production faltered significantly this past week, recording an average of just 2.8 runs/game. Compared to the LumberKings run support of 6.2 runs/game from last week, the offensive drought was a big reason for this unsuccessful record.

Aside from another dominating performance from Remey Reed, the LumberKings pitching staff recorded average results once again (3.8 runs/game in their five other games).

Outstanding Player: Remey Reed

The sixth-round pick by the Marlins in 2016 was virtually unhittable once again this past week. In his start against the Cedar Rapids Kernels, Reed pitched 7 ²⁄₃ scoreless-innings and created eight strikeouts.

Reed has been dominating opposing lineups in 2019. If he had enough starts to qualify, Reed’s 0.48 ERA would one of the best throughout the entire minor leagues. The emergence of Reed just furthers the amount of quality pitching depth that the Marlins currently have within their system.

Short Season A Batavia Muckdogs (3-4, 26-18 overall)

Both the offense and pitching performed exceptional to begin the week for the Batavia Muckdogs, then struggled through the final five games this past week. The Muckdogs offense exploded for a combined 12 runs during the first two, plummeting to just 2.6 runs/game to conclude the week.

As for the pitching staff, they gave up a total of four runs during the first two games of the week. However, the average spiked to 5.6 runs/game after that.

Outstanding Player: Nic Ready

The 23rd-round pick by the Marlins during this year’s draft had an outstanding start to the week. Nic Ready started this past week by hitting 6-for-9 (.667 AVG) along with a pair of doubles, three home runs and seven RBI’s. But he hit just 2-for-19 (.105 AVG) and struck out 10 times during the remainder of the week.