Marlins Minor League Report: July 1-7

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 8.

Triple-A New Orleans Baby Cakes (4-3, 49-41 overall)

Heading into the Triple-A All-Star break, the New Orleans Baby Cakes pitching staff finished the first half on a high note. They surrendered three runs or fewer in four of their seven games this past week. Generally speaking, they were able to put the Baby Cakes in a position to win.

Offensively, the Baby Cakes took a bit of a step back from their performance last week. Their offense recorded an average of four runs/game. With Isan Díaz reporting to Cleveland for the MLB Futures Game and Monte Harrison landing on the injured list with a wrist issue, that’s understandable.

Outstanding Player: Lewis Brinson

The 25-year-old Brinson has displayed significant improvements at the plate since his demotion at the beginning of May. Those improvements were evident this past week as well. Brinson hit 7-for-24 (.292 AVG) along with a solo home run and a pair of walks.

While Brinson still needs to significantly reduce the amount of strikeouts, his progress through 61 games with the Baby Cakes could be pointing towards a September call-up.

Double-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (3-4, 39-48 overall)

The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp were subject to very inconsistent offense and outstanding pitching this past week. Their arms rebounded from surrendering 13 runs through the first two games to give up an average of just 2.8 runs/game the rest of the way.

With the bats, the Jumbo Shrimp produced a combined 35 runs through four games, including an 11-run eruption on July 3.

But the Jumbo Shrimp then scored a total of just five runs in their other three games.

Outstanding Player: Edward Cabrera

The No. 8 Marlins prospect per MLB Pipeline, Cabrera recorded his best start since being promoted to the Jumbo Shrimp. He logged six scoreless innings and allowed just a pair of hits and three walks.

Following this start, Cabrera’s ERA is now down to 2.25 and OPP AVG to .190.

High-A Jupiter Hammerheads (1-5, 29-51 overall)

The Jupiter Hammerheads offense produced an average of just 2.3 runs/game through their six games. Stretching back to the previous week, that’s been two runs or fewer for them in eight of their last ten games.

Meanwhile, their pitching staff looked respectable, particularly left-hander Trevor Rogers who racked up a season-high 11 strikeouts. This would have likely been a much more successful week for the Hammerheads if they could have received a bit more support from their offense.

Disappointing Player: Jerar Encarnación

Jerar Encarnación has been rising through the rankings so far this season. But the 21-year-old finally hit a wall lately. Ranked No. 19 in the Marlins minor league system, Encarnación went just 3-for-22 (.136) and struck out five different times this past week. As a result, his batting average has dropped from .326 to .262.

These are the first real struggles that Encarnación has had all season. It should be interesting to see how he adjusts moving forward.

Low-A Clinton LumberKings (5-2, 44-41 overall)

A shutout was the only thing that stopped the Clinton LumberKings from winning six of their seven games this past week. Their offense was impressive at times, but their pitching staff deserves the majority of the credit for this impressive hot streak.

The LumberKings allowed two runs or fewer in six of their seven games. They were nearly unstoppable from Tuesday onward.

Outstanding Player: George Soriano

20-year-old George Soriano continued to impress during his two most recent starts. Soriano pitched a combined 15 innings and allowed just one run and seven hits. He also recorded 10 strikeouts.

This continues to trend for Soriano as he provides the LumberKings some consistency after an early-season rough patch. Entering June, his ERA was at 5.93; now, he’s dropped it all the way down to 4.11.

Short Season A Batavia Muckdogs (5-2, 15-8 overall)

Most of the credit for Batavia’s victories this past week goes to their pitching staff. Their staff surrendered an average of 1.8 runs/game during their five wins this past week. While the offense wasn’t terrible, their average of 3.3 runs/game has room to improve.

Outstanding Player: Remey Reed

Remey Reed pitched extremely well once again this past week. The former sixth-round pick from 2016 pitched seven scoreless innings on Tuesday and struck out seven batters.

While Reed did surrender five hits on two runs in just four innings in his second start of the week, it’s clear that a promotion to the LumberKings could be on its way very shortly.