All-Time Marlins Countdown: Chapter 43

Throughout this offseason, Fish Stripes is going over each of the 630 players to have appeared with the Marlins in a regular season game.

With 265 players down and 365 to go, we’re still 20 days from the midpoint of this thought exercise. Today’s group of five players had between 75 and 249 PA/BF, and all finished slightly below replacement level.

365. Donn Pall

Donn Pall is a six-foot-two right-handed pitcher from Chicago. In 1985, he was a 23rd round pick of the White Sox out of the University of Illinois.

Pall played his first six seasons in Chicago, putting up a 21-19 record and a 3.45 ERA in 255 trips out of the bullpen. Prior to making his way to the Marlins, he also played for the Philadelphia Phillies, the New York Yankees, and the Chicago Cubs. In 1995, he spent the entire campaign with the Chicago White Sox’ Triple-A club, the Nashville Sounds.

A month into the 1996 season, Pall signed with the Marlins through free agency, the first of three seasons in which he signed a one-year deal with the team. In all three seasons, he spent more time with Florida’s Triple-A affiliate, the Charlotte Knights, than he did with the parent club.

For Florida, Pall appeared in a total of 37 games out of the bullpen, going 1-2 with a 5.30 ERA. He struck out 35 in 54 ¹⁄₃ frames, and totaled 1.436 WHIP. On July 15, 1996, he earned his only victory while with the team, striking out a pair and allowing one hit in two scoreless innings of a 15-5 win over the Houston Astros. The Marlins didn’t extend Pall a fourth contract, and he spent the 1999 season with the Cincinnati Reds Triple-A club, the Indianapolis Indians.

364. Peter O’Brien

Peter O’Brien is a six-foot-four outfielder from Hialeah, Florida. In 2011, the Colorado Rockies chose him in the third round out of Bethune-Cookman. Instead of signing, O’Brien bolstered his draft stock with a season for the Miami Hurricanes, during which he slashed .340/.441/.626 with 10 home runs and 40 RBI. In 2012, he went in the second round, to the New York Yankees.

At the 2014 trade deadline, New York traded O’Brien to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Martin Prado. It was with the D-Backs for whom he made his major league debut. In 36 games over two seasons, he went 13-for 74 from the plate with six homers and 12 RBI. His Achilles heel, then and now, was his propensity to strike out, which he did 32 times in 79 plate appearances for a 40.5 percent whiff rate.

O’Brien was then traded and waived and claimed, changing affiliation five times. He started the season with Arizona, was traded to the Kansas City Royals in January, claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds in May, claimed off waivers by the Texas Rangers later in May, then claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Dodgers in June. A year later, the Marlins purchased his contract from L.A.

As he had with Arizona, he also appeared in exactly 36 games for Miami. He went 25-for-108 with six doubles, five homers, and 14 RBI. He drew 11 walks, scored 10 runs, and struck out 41 times in 121 plate appearances, a 33.9 percent K rate. In 119 ²⁄₃ innings of defensive work in the outfield, he made one assist and one error in 20 chances for a .950 overall fielding percentage.

O’Brien signed with the Atlanta Braves through free agency after the 2019 seaosn, but was released in August without having played in any games for them.

363. Mike Rabelo

New Port Richey, Florida native Mike Rabelo was a fourth round pick of the Detroit Tigers in 2001. A switch-hitting, right-handed throwing catcher, Rabelo hit .322/.391/.489 in three seasons for the Division 2 University of Tampa.

In 2006, Rabelo went 0-for 1, striking out in his only plate appearance. In 51 games in 2007, he hit .256 with one homer and 18 RBI. After the season, he was included in the deal with the Marlins that made Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis Detroit Tigers.

Rabelo appeared in 34 games for the Marlins in his lone season in Florida, going 22-for-109 from the plate with one double, three home runs, and 10 RBI. He drew eight walk, scored nine runs, and struck out 25 times. On June 4, he went two-for-four, including a ninth-inning two-run homer to tie the Atlanta Braves at four. The Marlins went on to win, 6-4.

In 262 ²⁄₃ defensive innings behind the plate, Rabelo made one error for a .995 fielding percentage. He also nabbed six-of-22 runners trying to steal, a 27 percent kill-rate that was right in line with the National League average. It was the final major league appearances of Rabelo’s career. He’s currently the assistant hitting coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

362. Daniel Barone

Daniel Barone is a six-foot-two right-handed pitcher from San Jose, California. The Marlins took him in the 11th round in 2004 out of Sonoma State University.

For six years, Barone was part of the Marlins system. He played at most levels for the club, including the Jamestown Jammers, the Greensboro Grasshoppers, the Jupiter Hammerheads, the Carolina Mudcats, the Albuquerque Isotopes, and the New Orleans Zephyrs. In 2007, he appeared in 16 games for the parent club Marlins.

Barone started in six of his 16 total appearances for Florida. He went 1-3 with a 5.71 ERA, and struck out 18 in 41 innings. He also walked 19 and surrendered 50 hits, including 11 round-trippers. His 1.683 WHIP, paired with his 4.0 K/9, did not inspire a great deal of confidence.

Later, Barone signed with the Texas Rangers, and pitched in four games for their Double-A Midland Rockhounds in 2009. It was his last appearance in affiliated ball.

361. Andrew Heaney

Andrew Heaney is a six-foot-two left-handed pitcher from Oklahoma City. In 2009, he was a 24th round choice of the Tampa Bay Rays, but instead of signing, he matriculated to Oklahoma State University. It turned out to be a good decision.

Heaney went 2010 with a 3.19 ERA in three seasons for the Cowboys, with 246 K’s in 251 ²⁄₃ innings. The Marlins chose him in the first round in 2012, ninth off the board. In 2014, he made his major league debut with the parent club.

Heaney appeared in seven games for the Marlins that year, starting in five of them. He went 0-3 with a 5.83 ERA, and struck out 20 in 29 ¹⁄₃ innings with a 1.330 WHIP. Heaney only walked seven during that time, but also allowed six home runs. His best appearance with the club was his first, on June 19. He took the loss, despite only allowing one run on a solo homer. He gave up four hits and one walk in six innings, striking out three in a 1-0 loss to the New York Mets. Miami traded Heaney to the Los Angeles Dodgers after the 2014 season was through.

Heaney was immediately traded from one Los Angeles team to another, flipped to the Angels for Howie Kendrick. Since then, Heaney has been more-or-less a part of the Angels rotation. In 84 games, all starts, he’s 24-26 with a 4.35 ERA and 480 K’s in 475 ¹⁄₃ innings.