Offishial news, 11/11/21: Kim Ng’s first year; award picks; prospect birthdays

The latest Miami Marlins coverage as the GM Meetings wind down.

By Ely Sussman@RealEly Nov 11, 2021, 12:00pm EST

On his 24th birthday, JJ Bleday was announced as the Marlins’ lone representative for the AFL Fall Stars Game. He celebrated with his fifth fall league home run later that evening and enters today with a slash line of .329/.430/.620 in 93 plate appearances. He also appeared on MLB Network’s Hot Stove show this morning.
Wishing a happy birthday to Nick Fortes, who just turned 25.
In the Dominican Republic, Bryan De La Cruz punctuated his winter ball grand slam with an emphatic bat slam.
In case you missed it, watch Wednesday’s episode of Fish Stripes Live and please subscribe to our YouTube channel! There is some Bleday talk included as well as our AL/NL MVP award predictions.

Man On 2nd breaks down MLB hot stove rumors and the BBWAA award finalists.
Congrats to Demetrius Sims, whose diving double play easily won the 2021 MiLBY Award for Top Play (he received 52% of the fan vote). It was a rough season overall for Sims with Pensacola (64 wRC+ in 81 games), but he can take pride in the smooth defense he played at second base, third base and shortstop.
I did a full simulation of what a “disappointing” Marlins offseason would look like, headlined by the signings of Avisaíl García and Kenley Jansen and a blockbuster trade sending Pablo López to Minnesota for Max Kepler and two top prospects.
The Marlins rank 18th on MLB.com’s final 2021 power rankings.
One full year into her tenure as Marlins general manager, Kim Ng is only now settling into her new normal. Christina De Nicola of MLB.com details Ng’s journey thus far and the complications of trying to focus on her job while at times being treated like a celebrity. De Nicola also reports that the Marlins are on the verge of hiring their new assistant hitting coach, infield/third base coach and director of international scouting.
During their 2021 season, the Jupiter Hammerheads had to get acclimated to an experimental automated ball-strike system (ABS). It appears that their league, the Low-A Southeast, is preparing to use it again next year.
Sandy Alcantara made it on the 2021 All-MLB ballot. Vote for him daily between now and the 5:00 p.m. ET November 19 deadline.

Treat yourself with the percussion therapy device trusted by pros worldwide. Use discount code FISHSTRIPES for a 10% OFF sitewide discount!

The most powerful and versatile handheld percussion massage device for high impact recovery and low impact deep tissue massage.

Share this story