Our Noticias, 4/3/20: Funding food distribution, supporting small businesses affected by COVID-19

Home Plate Meals Relief Fund

The Miami Marlins and health insurer Florida Blue have contributed a total of $150,000 to fund drive-thru food distribution for the South Florida community.

Here is Derek Jeter’s statement on the relief fund:

“With this rapidly evolving situation, we are dedicated to serving our community during these unprecedented times. We wanted to provide direct support to our local community by addressing food security and help deliver proper nutrition to South Florida households. We are thankful for a partner like Florida Blue for seeing the value in our Foundation’s program and joining our effort to contribute to the many families who experience this challenge on a regular basis and have been additionally impacted by COVID-19.”

More details at marlins.com/ReliefFund, or click here to make a donation.

On another coronavirus-related note, Miami-Dade County is now scheduling testing appointments at Marlins Park for individuals as young as 18 years old; initially, the site was only open to those ages 65 and older. To get tested there, you must have symptoms and make the appointment in advance by calling 305-499-8767.

T-shirts, hoodies on sale

BreakingT is clearing out the sports merchandise from their warehouse and slashing prices on most items to do so.

I’m assuming we have some Miami Heat fans on here? They have “Airplane Mode” t-shirts ($15) and hoodies ($20) commemorating the Derrick Jones Jr. dunk contest victory.

Inspired by Isan Díaz’s legendary home run during his MLB debut, Fish Stripes partnered with BreakingT to design custom t-shirts. Those are not being discounted, but consider shopping for one here.

Must-watch Florida State League prospects

Writing for Prospects 365, Earning Their Stripes co-host Ian Smith selected 10 intriguing players who are slated to spend the 2020 season competing in the High-A Florida State League. Marlins outfielder and former third-round draft pick Peyton Burdick is included:

Seeing Burdick this spring really solidified my thoughts on the stocky outfielder. The kid is special. His name has been all over different outlets this offseason as a sleeper, but I don’t think you should be sleeping anymore. He looks to be in the heart of a strong lineup in Jupiter this season, and be on the lookout for his names on some top prospect lists by 2021.

Burdick is the 13th-ranked Marlins prospect on our updated Fish Stripes Top 30 list. Other notables projected to play alongside him for the 2020 Hammerheads include Kameron Misner, Connor Scott, José Devers, Humberto Mejía and Josh Roberson.

“Why I Love Baseball”

Zack Raab has crafted a special project to celebrate the many ways that people develop their love for baseball and share the sport with others. Zack is accepting survey responses from fans of all kinds, but he’s counting on strong participation from the Marlins community.

There are no wrong answers!

Walk-off links

Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images

• Promising left-hander Braxton Garrett is teaming up with the Jupiter Hammerheads for a Twitter Q&A on Friday from 3-4 p.m. ET. Garrett ranks No. 8 on the Fish Stripes Top 30 and was awarded Jupiter’s team MVP award for the 2019 season.
• The fans have spoken about the Marlins’ uniform choices!

• Pete Ball of Pitcher List went very in-depth with his 2020 NL East preview.
• Danny Martinez presents “Marlins Rebuild for Dummies!” Share the video with anyone who remains skeptical about the direction of the franchise.
• The latest entry in our Marlins Games of the Decade series is the University of Miami Night comeback from August.
• FOX Sports Florida’s Jessica Blaylock was interviewed on the And So She Goes podcast about her career path and making personal and professional adjustments in a world without sports.
• Swings and Mishes host Craig Mish discovered a funky piece of memorabilia from a 1990s Marlins home game: