The Offishial Show Episode 161: Marlins’ Depth Must Step Up

From 2019-2021, Miguel Rojas was as valuable as any position player on the Miami Marlins. Over these next few weeks, the Marlins need their captain to get back to performing at that level.

On this episode, Ely revisits the series against the Brewers and the festivities commemorating the silver anniversary of the 1997 Marlins World Series championship team (3:20), then focuses on how Rojas’ role is expanding in the absence of Joey Wendle (14:30) and what the Jesús Luzardo injury means for Cody Poteet (24:30).

Fish Prospects of the Week (May 9-15): Pat Monteverde (High-A Beloit) and Ian Lewis (Low-A Jupiter); honorable mentions to Zach McCambley and Jerar Encarnación (Double-A Pensacola).

Enjoy Episode 161!

Wendle (.304/.368/.456, 140 wRC+ in 87 PA) had been serving as the Marlins’ main third baseman and backup shortstop. It’s still premature to forecast his return date from a hamstring strain.

If Rojas can recapture his 2019-2021 form (99 wRC+ over that three-year span), the Marlins will be alright. Unfortunately, he’s off to a miserable start to the season, not even succeeding against left-handed pitching.

The Marlins are hopeful that Luzardo (4.03 ERA, 3.73 FIP in 29.0 IP) will be able to return to their starting rotation after completing the minimum term on the 15-day pitcher IL.

Poteet has thrived as a reliever so far in 2022 (0.55 ERA, 2.69 FIP in 16.1 IP), throwing harder than ever and doubling the usage of his changeup. With the club still reluctant to call up prospects Max Meyer and Edward Cabrera, he’ll be tested with contributing in critical situations.

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Fish Stripes is ranked by Feedspot as the world’s No. 2 Miami Marlins podcast (trailing only the pod that’s produced by the franchise itself). Our programs include The Offishial Show, Big Fish Small Pod, Fish Stripes Unfiltered and Earning Their Stripes. All new episodes are posted to FishStripes.com/podcasts. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Podbean, Megaphone or wherever you normally get your pods from.