Marlins on the Move: 7/18-7/24

Welcome back to another week of Marlins on the Move! It proved to be a busy week of transactions coming out of the All-Star break. There have been a few first-time players debuting at the MLB level, a new update on the Kahlil Watson fiasco, movement from some ranked prospects, and an update on a rehab assignment.

Give it five minutes, and you will be in the know with all the latest happenings of the Marlins system!

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Big Days for Bleday & Brazoban

July 23rd and 24th proved to be costly days for the Marlins. Max Meyer, Brian Anderson, Tommy Nance, and Jorge Soler were all placed on the injured list and All-Star Garrett Cooper suffered a day-to-day injury that prevented him from taking the field. Several players were called up to Miami from Jacksonville as a result. The Marlins made space on the 40-man roster by shifting Cody Poteet, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Anthony Bender to the 60-day IL.

Benefitting from this newly found roster space were RHP Huascar Brazoban, RHP Jeff Brigham, INF Willians Astudillo and the star of the bunch, Marlins #4 prospect OF JJ Bleday. Bleday made his Major League debut as a defensive replacement in the 7th inning of the Marlins-Pirates game on Saturday, working a walk in his first big league AB. His first full game Sunday, starting in LF, was extremely impressive. His first hit came on a 1-0 pitch from RHP Mitch Keller. Bleday took a 94 MPH sinker down and in the opposite way, bouncing it towards Pittsburgh SS Oneil Cruz. Bleday beat out Cruz and his noted rocket of a right arm, reaching on an infield single. Bleday would end the day 2-for-4 with a single, double, and stolen base.

Huascar Brazoban is my pick for story of the week. The reliever comes with an incredible story of determination and heart, as he spent 12 years in professional baseball before reaching the majors. Brazoban pitched everywhere from rookie-ball with the Colorado Rockies to the High Point Rockers of the Independent Atlantic League (as recently as 2021), all culminating in his major league debut at 32 years old. Brazoban was signed as an international free agent back in 2011 by the Colorado Rockies, and it all culminated with Sunday’s big league relief appearance. The love Brazoban has for the game is evident and admirable. He lived up to the task, as he allowed only one hit and struck out one in his inning of work.

Kahlil Watson Resurfaces

Kahlil Watson, the Marlins first-round draft pick from last year, has had an interesting July. He had been absent from MiLB action since July 1, when the 19-year-old pointed his bat at an umpire after striking out, gesturing as if it he was firing a gun at the ump. Three weeks later, he was reassigned from Low-A Jupiter to the FCL Marlins and took the field as their starting shortstop on Friday.

Watson produced well last year in the FCL following the draft, but only in a 9-game sample size. This year has been a complete turn in the wrong direction, as 59 games into the season Watson slashed .221/.274/.372 with an incredulous 99 K’s. A year ago, the Marlins were lauded for drafting him. Now, seeing examples of his unprofessional conduct and his inability to deal with adversity, it’s easier to understand why this exceptional talent fell to the 16th overall pick.

Watson clearly needs to be back in an environment that’s more conducive to success.

Ranked Prospect Transactions

It is a mixed bag of high-profile prospect transactions this week, as some are climbing the ladder while others slid right back down the way they came. Both aforementioned Kahlil Watson (ranked #3 per MLB Pipeline) and 3B/SS Cristhian Rodríguez (#26) will be spending some time in the FCL after being demoted from Jupiter. Rodríguez was having a rough time at the plate, posting a sub-.550 OPS with a slash of .201/.276/.264.

Let us not dwell on the bad, though. JJ Bleday (#4) has looked the part of a big leaguer so far, at least as much as you can in less than 2 games. Also joining him in the promotion category is SS Yiddi Cappe (#12) who is taking one of the spots in Jupiter vacated by Rodríguez/Watson. Cappe is a 19-year-old with 50-grade or better tools across the board, according to Pipeline. Cappe had impressive results in only 29 FCL games as his .310/.369/.526 slash produced a 139 wRC+. Cappe has above-average speed and is active on the base paths consistently, but if there is somewhere to improve his game, watch for a reduction of caught stealings as he climbs up the farm system.

Jesús Luzardo: Good at Throwing Baseballs

Luzardo—on the mend from a left forearm strain—took the mound in Jacksonville on Friday, and man, does he look good. Luzardo went four innings deep, not allowing a single hit while striking out three. Between his two rehab starts Luzardo is up to 7 total innings pitched, allowing only a singular earned run.

Luzardo is scheduled to pitch in one more game Wednesday. Expect that to be his last start in the minors before rejoining the Marlins rotation, likely filling in for the recently injured Max Meyer.

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Full Transaction List

C José Estrada assigned to FCL Marlins from Jupiter Hammerheads.

Miami Marlins recalled RHP Tommy Nance from Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.

Miami Marlins sent LHP Jesús Luzardo on a rehab assignment to Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.

RHP Justin Evans assigned to Pensacola Blue Wahoos from Beloit Sky Carp.

C Will Banfield assigned to Pensacola Blue Wahoos from Beloit Sky Carp.

C Jan Mercado assigned to Beloit Sky Carp from Pensacola Blue Wahoos.

SS Cristhian Rodríguez assigned to FCL Marlins from Jupiter Hammerheads.

SS Kahlil Watson assigned to FCL Marlins from Jupiter Hammerheads.

LHP Luis Palacios assigned to Beloit Sky Carp from Jupiter Hammerheads.

SS Yiddi Cappe assigned to Jupiter Hammerheads from FCL Marlins.

RHP Cason Sherrod assigned to Jupiter Hammerheads from Beloit Sky Carp.

Jupiter Hammerheads activated LHP Justin Fall from the 7-day injured list.

Jupiter Hammerheads activated C Joe Mack from the 7-day injured list.

Miami Marlins recalled RHP Jordan Holloway from Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.

RHP Tyler Eckberg assigned to Beloit Sky Carp from Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp activated C Lorenzo Quintana from the 7-day injured list.

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp sent C Payton Henry on a rehab assignment to FCL Marlins.

Miami Marlins selected the contract of OF JJ Bleday from Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.

3B Bubba Hollins assigned to Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp from Pensacola Blue Wahoos.

OF Norel González assigned to Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp from Pensacola Blue Wahoos.

Miami Marlins selected the contract of INF Willians Astudillo from Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.

Miami Marlins selected the contract of RHP Jeff Brigham from Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.

Miami Marlins selected the contract of RHP Huascar Brazoban from Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.

OF Norel González assigned to Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp from Pensacola Blue Wahoos.