All-Time Marlins Countdown: Chapter 46

Through their first 28 seasons of play, the Florida and Miami Marlins have employed 630 players for at least one plate appearance or batter faced.

This offseason, Fish Stripes is going over all of them, from number 630 all the way to number one, which we’ll get to on the last day of the offseason. We’ve already looked at 280 of them, but we still have a long way to go. Today’s group of five all have collected between 75 and 249 PA/BF as of the end of the 2020 campaign, and all are very slightly below replacement level.

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350. Isaac Galloway

Isaac Galloway is a six-foot-two right-handed hitting and throwing outfielder from Pomona Valley, California. In 2008, the Marlins took him in round eight out of high school. By 2010, he was considered the number eight prospect in Florida’s system.

Galloway took a long time to reach the majors. He wasn’t bad enough to straight up cut ties with, and he wasn’t quite good enough to make the final break into the big leagues for 10 full minor league seasons and change. In 2018, he finally made the jump to the parent club.

Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images

Galloway made his debut on July 31, 2018, collecting a single in his only plate appearance and later scoring a run in an eventual 11-6 loss to the Atlanta Braves. On August 19, he played center field and batted seventh in the lineup, going three-for-five and falling a triple short of the cycle as the Marlins topped the Washington Nationals, 12-1.

In 43 games total, Galloway went 13-for-64 from the plate with three doubles, three home runs, and seven RBI. He drew nine walks, scored seven runs, and struck out 21 times. Defensively, he played 155 ¹⁄₃ errorless innings in the outfield, with near equal shifts in left (41 ¹⁄₃ innings), right (53 ²⁄₃ innings), and center (60 ¹⁄₃ innings).

Galloway returned to the Marlins parent club level to start 2019, and spent April and May in Miami. He went nine-for-54 at the dish with one double and one RBI. He drew no walks and struck out 17 times. On May 11, he was assigned to the New Orleans Baby Cakes at the Triple-A level and didn’t get back to the majors again. On September 30, the Marlins granted his free agency.

349. Trevor Rogers

Trevor Rogers is a six-foot-five left-handed starting pitcher from Carlsbad, New Mexico. In 2017, the Marlins made him their first round choice out of high school, with the 13th overall selection in the draft.

The Marlins didn’t press Rogers into action right away, keeping him out of play until his debut in 2018 with the Single-A Greensboro Grasshoppers. In 17 starts, he went 2-7 with a 5.82 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 72 ²⁄₃ innings with a 1.56 WHIP.

Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

Rogers split the 2019 campaign between the High-A Jupiter Hammerheads and the Double-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. He put up a 6-10 record in 23 starts in total, with a 2.90 ERA, a 1.14 WHIP, and 150 K’s in 136 ¹⁄₃ frames. After a solid showing through and through, Rogers opened the 2020 season as the Marlins number eight prospect, according to the MLB Pipeline.

Rogers wasn't expected to join the Marlins parent club in 2020, but events contrived to see him join the rotation in late-August for the remainder of the season. He started seven games, posting a 1-2 record and a 6.11 ERA. He struck out 39 in 28 innings, for a ridiculous 12.54 K/9, but also allowed a 1.607 WHIP.

Rogers had his best and worst on display on September 6 in a 5-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. He struck out 10 in what would remain his only quality start of the season, but of the four hits he allowed, three were solo home runs. Sixty-three percent of his 568 total pitches landed in the strike zone, and he generated swinging strikes on 13 percent of his offerings. He’s expected to hold down a spot in the rotation in 2021, and improve his standing in the next All-Time Marlins Countdown that I’ll be writing in the 2025-26 offseason. Mark your calendars!

348. Hansel Izquierdo

Hansel Izquierdo is a six-foot-two, right-handed pitcher from La Habana, Cuba. In 1995, the Marlins selected him out of Southwest Miami HS in the seventh round. It didn’t pan out initially, and the Marlins released him almost exactly two years later. He signed on with the Chicago White Sox, and later with the Cleveland Indians.

Izquierdo resigned with the Marlins after the 2000 campaign, and spent 2001 between three Marlins affiliates, the Single-A Kane County Cougars, the High-A Brevard County Manatees, and the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs. In 2002, Izquierdo made his major league debut.

Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Izquierdo came out of the bullpen 18 times for the Marlins through the first three months of the season, and also started twice. He went 2-0 with a 4.55 ERA and a 1.82 WHIP, and walked more (21) than he struck out (20). He generated strikes on 58 percent of his offerings.

On May 9, in his first career start, Izquierdo pitched five scoreless innings, allowing three hits and three walks. He struck out two and earned his first victory. The Marlins sent him down to the Triple-A Calgary Cannons at the end of June, then released him at the end of the season.

Izquierdo went on to play in the minors for the Montreal Expos, the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees, the Chicago Cubs, and the Pittsburgh Pirates before playing four seasons in the Mexican League.

347. Toby Borland

Toby Borland is a six-foot-six right-handed pitcher from Ruston, Louisiana. The Philadelphia Phillies drafted him in the 27th round of the 1987 draft out of high school.

Borland debuted with the Phillies at the major league level in 1994, and also played for the New York Mets, the Boston Red Sox, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Anaheim Angels before making his way to the Marlins. He went 9-8 with a 4.11 ERA and 178 strikeouts in 228 innings through his pre-Marlins career.

Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images

Florida signed Borland through free agency after the 2001 season. then played his final three major league seasons with the Marlins. He came out of the bullpen 40 times, pitching a total of 41 ²⁄₃ innings. He went 2-1 with a 4.54 ERA and 33 whiffs against 25 walks. He made one error in 10 fielding chances, and didn’t have a plate appearance while with the team.

Borland’s best game with the Marlins, measuring by WPA according to Baseball Reference, was on April 27, 2003. He struck out one batter over two hitless innings, pitching the 13th and 14th innings of an eventual 20-inning, 7-6 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

346. Mark Smith

Mark Smith was a six-foot-three outfielder when originally drafted in the first round of the 1991 draft by the Baltimore Orioles. A Pasadena, California native, Smith hit .336 and slugged .668 in his final collegiate season with the University of Southern California. He hit 16 homers with 80 RBI and stole 18 bases in 22 chances with the Trojans.

Once turned professional, Smith made his major league debut with the Orioles in 1994, and later spent two seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Before joining the Marlins, he slashed .243/.320/.404 in 197 contests, with 18 round-trippers and 73 RBI. Granted free agency following the 1998 season, Smith signed with the Marlins just over a year later.

Smith spent the entire 2000 season with the Marlins at the major league level, and appeared in 104 contests. He went 47-for-192 with eight doubles, a triple, and five homers with 27 RBI. He drew 17 walks, scored 22 runs, and struck out 54 times. On July 2, Smith accounted for all of Florida’s offense with a pair of solo home runs in a 2-1 win against the Montreal Expos.

Smith spent the 2001 season with those same Expos, then later got back to the majors in 2003 with the Milwaukee Brewers.