Marlins Minor League Report: July 29-August 4

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 August 5.

Triple-A New Orleans Baby Cakes (5-1, 60-51 overall)

The New Orleans Baby Cakes offense exploded during their six games this past week. They produced an insane average of 9.5 runs/game. The Baby Cakes didn’t score fewer than seven runs in any of their games.

This outburst also caused the promotions for a few of the key players on the Baby Cakes this past week. Both Lewis Brinson and Isan Diaz were recalled by the Miami Marlins. Without two of their top producing players, the Triple-A club figures to see a drop-off moving forward.

Outstanding Player: Jesús Sánchez

The new No. 3 Marlins prospect per MLB Pipeline, Sánchez certainly made a great first impression during his first week since being acquired by the Marlins at the trade deadline. The 21-year-old hit 6-for-15 (.400 AVG) along with a double, three home runs, seven RBI’s and recorded an eye-popping 1.543 OPS during his first four games with the Baby Cakes.

Sánchez has instantly added a spark to the Baby Cakes offense that has been inconsistent for the majority of this season. His performance this past week has also gotten Marlins fans even more excited for the future of this team.

Double-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (5-2, 54-58 overall)

Multiple dominating performances from the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp’s pitching staff is the reason for their outstanding record this past week. Across seven total games, they surrendered an average of just 1.7 runs/game, holding opponents scoreless three times.

However, the Jumbo Shrimp’s offense was nowhere near as dominate as their pitching staff was this past week. Despite the explosive arrival of Jazz Chisholm, their offense produced average results as they were held to four runs or fewer through six of their seven games this past week.

Outstanding Player: Jorge Guzman

The No. 17 prospect for the Marlins recorded arguably his best start at the Double-A level. Jorge Guzman has been largely inconsistent through his 21 starts this season, but he just showed exactly why the Marlins think so highly in him.

Guzman pitched seven scoreless innings against the Biloxi Shuckers and allowed just a single hit and a pair of walks. This start was his longest outing as a member of the Jumbo Shrimp and also the most efficient that Guzman has been since June 13. In both starts, Guzman threw 66% of his pitches for strikes.

High-A Jupiter Hammerheads (5-1, 44-64 overall)

Just like the Jumbo Shrimp, the Jupiter Hammerheads received outstanding performances from their pitching staff this past week. Their staff held opponents to an average of just 1.8 runs/game through their six games. The Hammerheads’ pitching staff deserves the majority of the credit for their record this past week.

Large in-part to the average results recorded by their offense this past week. The Hammerheads’ offense produced an average of 4.3 runs/game through their six games. While their production was slightly improved from last week, they were still held scoreless for the 3rd-time over their last ten games.

Outstanding Player: Jordan Holloway

The 20th-round pick by the Marlins in 2014 was finally able to locate his pitches with consistency this past week. Holloway had been struggling with that part of his game immensely.

That wasn’t the case in his start against the Daytona Tortugas. Holloway went six scoreless-innings and allowed just two walks and three hits. This was the first time since June 7 that Holloway allowed just a pair of walks in a start. The 23-year-old has two electric pitches in his fastball and curveball. But, has been hindered so far in his career with the lack of command with those pitches.

Low-A Clinton LumberKings (4-3, 54-50 overall)

The Clinton LumberKings began this past week by winning four straight with a run differential of +13. But, they then faltered during their final three games of the week. Losing all three games by just one run. The LumberKings were impressively consistent during the majority of the week, recording an average of 5.6 runs/game through their seven games.

The same cannot be said on the pitching side. Clinton’s pitching staff gave up an average of just 2.5 runs/game through four of their seven games this past week. However, their staff then surrendered a combined 19 runs during their other three games.

Outstanding Player: Kameron Misner

The No. 10 prospect within the Marlins minor league system went on a tear as soon as he arrived to the LumberKings this past week. Kameron Misner who was a CBA pick during the first round of this year’s draft was promoted to the LumberKings before the start of this past week.

During his six games, Misner hit 8-for-24 (.333 AVG) along with a pair of home runs and seven RBI’s. What’s also extremely impressive about the 21-year-old is his ability to get on base—he forced three walks and struck out four times.

Misner has the chance to quickly rise up the Marlins’ system if he can continue to hit for power and get on base consistently.

Short Season A Batavia Muckdogs (4-2, 30-20 overall)

The Batavia Muckdogs received inconsistent results from both their offense and pitching staff this past week. Their offense recorded a total of 16 runs through half of their games, but then received just six runs of support during their other half.

Their pitching staff performed even worse. They surrendered just a single run through two of their games, but then an average of 6.0 runs/game during their other four games.

Outstanding Player: Jackson Rose

The 23-year-old recorded his best start of his professional career this past week. A 35th-round pick by the Marlins last season, Rose went five scoreless innings and gave up just a single hit while also striking out four batters.

But Rose was rocked during his second start this past week, chased from the game after just three innings. He surrendered six runs on five hits along with a home run. After recording a 2.60 ERA, 0.800 WHIP and .173 OPP AVG during July, Rose struggled with his location during his first start in August.