Earning Their Stripes: June 19, 2021

The Marlins minor league system totaled five games on Saturday.

The short story: Troy Johnston hit for the cycle for the Snappers, and Jake Eder pitched six shutout innings for the Blue Wahoos to earn top honors for the Marlins system. Read on for more details.

Recent Transactions

6/19

Marlins designated 3B Deven Marrero for assignment and selected the contract of SS Luis Marte from Jacksonville. RHP Robinson Martinez was assigned to Jupiter from GCL.

6/18

Marlins optioned CF Lewis Brinson and SS Isan Diaz to Jacksonville, and activated RHP Cody Poteet and SS Miguel Rojas from the injured list.

6/16

Marlins select 3B Deven Marrero’s contract from Jacksonville; Marlins designate RHP Luis Madero for assignment; Brian Miller (JAX) activated from temporarily inactive list; LF Tevin Mitchell promoted from Beloit to Jacksonville

6/15

RHP Edward Cabrera assigned to Pensacola from Jacksonville; LHP Brandon Leibrandt assigned to Jacksonville from Pensacola; RHP Brian McKenna assigned to Jacksonville from Pensacola; RHP Andrew Bellatti assigned to Jacksonville from Pensacola; LHP Braxton Garrett optioned from Miami to Jacksonville; RHP Preston Guilmet sent outright from Miami to Jacksonville; Marlins recalled CF Lewis Brinson from Jacksonville; Marlins recalled RF Jesús Sánchez from Jacksonville; RHP Alberto Guerrero assigned to Pensacola from Beloit; RHP Remey Reed assigned to Beloit from Jupiter

6/14

Marlins selected RHP Luis Madero from Jacksonville; RHP Robinson Martinez assigned to GCL Marlins

6/13

RHP Josh A. Smith (JAX) placed on 7-day IL; LF Brian Miller (JAX) placed on the temporarily inactive list; 2B Eddy Alvarez (JAX) placed on the 7-day IL; SS Miguel Rojas sent to Jumbo Shrimp for a rehab assignment

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Triple-A

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 7, Charlotte Knights 13

With 8,231 turned out at Truist Field, the hosting Charlotte Knights topped the Shrimp by a half-dozen runs on Saturday evening.

Braxton Garrett (3-2, 5.22) started and was charged with the loss for Jacksonville, after allowing eight earned runs over 4 ²⁄₃ innings. Garrett struck out three, walked four, gave up five hits, and put 50-of-90 pitches over the plate.

Trailing 3-0 in the top of the third, the Shrimp got their first run on a Bryson Brigman RBI-single. They tied the game in the fourth with a Corey Bird RBI-double and a Brian Miller RBI-groundout.

In the fifth inning, the Crustaceans took a 4-3 lead on a Justin Twine solo home run. Later in the inning, Connor Justus and Lorenzo Quintana both crossed the plate on a defensive error to make it 6-3. The lead wouldn’t last.

Shrimp pitching coughed up six runs in the fifth, one in the seventh, and another three in the eighth to enter the ninth trailing 13-6. Quintana’s final-inning RBI-groundout was far too little to swing the dial for Jacksonville. Quintana and Twine were the only Shrimp players to finish with more than one hit.

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Double-A

Pensacola Blue Wahoos 2, Montgomery Biscuits 0

Despite getting only two hits, the Wahoos topped the Biscuits in a seven-inning makeup game from Friday night, and the first game of a twin bill.

Bubba Hollins collected both hits and both RBI. Both runs scored on his second inning single, bringing home Peyton Burdick and Lázaro Alonso.

Pensacola owes the win mostly to Jake Eder (2-2, 1.08), who struck out seven and gave up three hits over six innings. Eder walked three and put 57-of-95 over the plate. Josh Roberson earned the save by striking out two in a hitless seventh inning.

Pensacola Blue Wahoos 4, Montgomery Biscuits 2

The Wahoos completed the sweep with an announced crowd of 5,038 for both games, topping the Biscuits 4-2 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

Edward Cabrera, making his third start of the MiLB season but first since returning from his rehab assignment, was stretched out to 4 ²⁄₃ innings. He allowed two hits, including one solo home run while striking out seven and walking only one. Cabrera put 42-of-67 pitches in the strike zone.

Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the second, Riley Mahan put the Wahoos on top with a homer to left field, a two run shot and Mahan’s second of the year. After Montgomery tied it with a solo shot in the sixth, Peyton Burdick clobbered a walk-off two-run shot in the last of the seventh. Colton Hock (1-0, 1.33) earned the win by getting the final three outs prior to Burdick’s homer.

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Low-A

Jupiter Hammerheads 5, St. Lucie Mets 8

With 860 in the house at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, the hosting Hammerheads dropped to 21-20 to the St. Lucie Mets.

MD Johnson (2-3, 2.16) took the loss despite whiffing five in 5 ²⁄₃ innings. Johnson gave up five runs (two earned) on six hits and a pair of walks, plating 60-of-102 offerings.

Trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the second, the Sharks put their first run up on an infield groundout by Angeudis Santos. Trailing 5-1 in the sixth, Santos drove in another run by drawing a bases-loaded walk.

By the bottom of the seventh, Jupiter was trailing 7-2. Cameron Barstad made it interesting with a three-run homer. Dalvy Rosario and Federico Polanco led the Hammerheads offense with two hits apiece.

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High-A

Beloit Snappers 15, Peoria Chiefs 8

Troy Johnston hit for the cycle with 1,203 on hand at Dozer Park, home to the Peoria Chiefs.A

ll nine Snappers starters collected at least one hit, while the top four in Beloit’s lineup went a combined 11-for-22. Johnston started his bid for the cycle in the first inning, with a two-run homer to open the scoring. In the second, David Martinez added a solo shot to make it 3-0, followed by a Connor Scott RBI-single, a Johnston RBI-double, and a Griffin Conine two-run homer for a 6-love lead.

With a 6-2 lead in the fourth, Johnston tripled home Will Banfield, then crossed the plate on a Conine fielder’s choice.

With an 8-5 eighth inning lead, Beloit turned it on again with a Banfield RBI-double and a run scoring single from Johnston, completing the cycle with six RBI. Nic Ready singled Johnston home, followed by a Zack Kone RBI-groundout. Conine added another RBI in the ninth with a single.

Kyle Nicolas (3-1, 5.13) earned the victory with five good innings. He struck out five and walked one, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits and a walk. Josh Simpson struck out two in two shutout innings.