Offishial news, 2/23/23: Sandy Alcantara interview; infield defense; Noah Song

Fish Stripes staffer providing credentialed coverage at today’s Marlins workout: Noah Berger (@Trainboy100)

Marlins Podcast Episodes

• The following pitchers are scheduled to throw live batting practice at Marlins camp today: Matt Barnes, Johnny Cueto, Jesús Luzardo, Tommy Nance, A.J. Puk, Trevor Rogers and Will Stewart.
• According to MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola, the Marlins plan on using their projected Opening Day lineup of position players during their Sunday and Tuesday Grapefruit League games. That implies starts for Luis Arraez, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Garrett Cooper, Avisaíl García, Jean Segura, Jorge Soler, Jacob Stallings and Joey Wendle—question is whether Bryan De La Cruz or Jesús Sánchez will get the nod in left field.
• Within that same article, De Nicola spoke to infield coach Jody Reed about how he’s preparing Arraez and Segura to succeed at second base and third base, respectively. I don’t think I’m alone in having doubts about the team’s overall defensive proficiency.
• Sandy Alcantara ranked 13th on MLB Network’s Top 100 Right Now series. On Miami Mic’d Up with Jeremy Taché, Alcantara talked about the trade involving his close friend Pablo López, his excitement about representing the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic and his expectations for the Marlins’ young, talented starters.
• Rewatch the latest edition of Fish Stripes LIVE covering standouts from early spring workouts, the impact of new manager Skip Schumaker and more. The panel predicted which player will be the 2023 Grapefruit League MVP for the Marlins. With chiropractic care and functional health, La Pop takes a preventative approach that optimizes wellness and quality of life for all ages. Find out more here!

• The Marlins announced 16 heritage celebrations for the 2023 season. They re-upped everything from last season while adding American Indian, Team USA and Serie del Caribe events. First up is Italian heritage on Apr. 14.
• FanGraphs ranked Eury Pérez (No. 4), Jake Eder (No. 62), Yiddi Cappe (No. 99) and Jacob Berry (No. 106) among their top MLB prospects. Pérez has received strong praise from all talent evaluators this preseason, but this is his highest ranking yet from any of the esteemed national outlets. Prospects Live posted their Top 30 Marlins prospects list with publicly available scouting reports on the top five (Pérez, Max Meyer, Berry, Eder and Dax Fulton).
• Kevin Barral came away impressed with Berry after observing and speaking to him at Marlins camp.
• Ben Palmer of Pitcher List defines a “money pitch” as one with at least a 40% chase rate, at least a 40% zone rate and at least a 15% swinging-strike rate. Braxton Garrett’s slider qualified in 2022.
• Good luck to right-hander Noah Song, who received permission to return to professional baseball after three years of Naval service. He’s in camp with the Phillies as a Rule 5 draft pick.
• Here are some highlights from Wednesday’s Photo Day with Marlins players and coaches.