Fish Stripes: All Posts by Alex Carver

Catching up with the Hammerheads

2018-08-14T08:45:12-04:00

Photo by @GoHammerheads/Twitter

The Marlins High-A affiliate is stocked with intriguing prospects.

“Shark Week” may be over, but on the shores of Jupiter, an exciting month of Hammerheads baseball is set to begin, starring some of the organization’s brightest young and recently acquired talent. This gives local Marlins fans a sneak peek at what the next decade and beyond will look like for their hometown team.

Following the return from the Yankees on Giancarlo Stanton will be a bit easier for the rest of the season as infielder Jose Devers joins former Yankees organizational teammate Jorge Guzman in Jupiter.

Devers, signed as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican, made an immediate offensive impact in stateside ball hitting .246/.359/.348 in 45 games last year for the GCL Yankees made his Marlins’ organizational debut and full season ball debut on April 19. After wetting his feet by going .220/.256/.293 in his first 10 games, Devers enjoyed a .280/.327/.340 June and .308/.333/.408 July. At one point, Devers reached in 16 straight games and in 19 of 20. At another, he found his way on in 24 of 25 games. Devers finished his Greensboro tenure off by reaching base in 15 of his last 16 contests. All in all, he hit .273/.313/.332 as a Grasshopper.

On the other side of the ball, the versatile fielder played perfect defense at second base (15 games) and .970 FPCT defense at shortstop (59 games). While making almost every routine play asked of him, Devers went far out of his way (literally) to get his glove on anything hit in his general direction, proven by his 3.9+ range factor between the two spots.

Among the countless individuals who Devers impressed during his time in Greensboro was manager Todd Pratt who says that despite his youth, because of his ability to positively adapt offensively and to make the most of natural defensive boons, Devers owns a baseball IQ that puts him well ahead of other prospects. Because of this, Pratt sees Devers having no trouble succeeding in High-A and beyond.

”Devers is ahead of the game in his overall knowledge,” Pratt says. “He was able to make adjustments after seven weeks here offensively. Defensively his game clock is unmatched.”

After facing the huge test of his first year in full season ball with steadfast success through his first 85 games, the Marlins will up the ante for the final month of the season. Devers will face off against competition that is on average over four years his elder in a mostly pitcher-friendly league.

Devers is already exhibiting above average bat-to-ball skills and plate coverage thanks to a heady situational approach and sizzling bat speed. He provides superior infield defense via great reads off the bat, along with plus-plus speed and transfer skills. Considering he’s just 18 years old, we like a fully developed Devers both mentally and physically to ripen into an offensive floor Ronny Cedeño comp (.245/.289/.353) and ceiling of Mark Grudzielanek (.289/.332/.393). Defensively, his ceiling could be Adeiny Hechavarria at short (+23 DRS) and Aaron Hill at second (+39 DRS) is within the realm of possibility.

The toolsy, baby-faced Devers has reached High-A very early in both his organizational and pro career, proving the team holds his ability in high regard. He is one facet away—power production—from becoming a five-tool cornerstone, and there’s plenty of time to add the required muscle and mass for that.

Expect the Marlins to allow Devers plenty of time to grow in High-A and beyond, but don’t rule out his MLB debut at the turn of the decade.

A new era has begun in Jupiter. #HammerDown pic.twitter.com/2InivpdxMD
— Jupiter Hammerheads (@GoHammerheads) August 8, 2018

Another quick mover through the organizational ranks in his inaugural year with the Fish has been a Day 2 draft selection from this season, Tristan Pompey.

Similarly to his new teammate Devers, the cousin of Red Sox regular Rafael Devers, Pompey comes from a well-known athletic pedigree as the younger brother of Dalton Pompey.

Half of those genes were supplied to the Pompey boys by their father who excelled as an amateur and semi-pro football star, but succumbed early in his career due to injuries. In high school, Tristan allowed his infinite athleticism serve him by competing and excelling in three different sports: baseball, volleyball and basketball.

Ultimately though, Pompey, who was a major catalyst in the Junior National team reaching the World Championships in 2015 and regarded as the fifth best amateur prospect in his country that same season, committed himself full time to baseball. According to Tristan, of the three surfaces he manned, the baseball diamond agreed with his instinctive athletic core the most.

”Baseball has always come naturally to me so it was pretty easy for me to stick with it because when you have a natural talent and you work hard to improve it, the sky is the limit. I owe most of my success to my natural talent, upbringing and good bloodlines.”

When Tristan committed himself full-time to baseball, two other individuals did along with him: his parents. While one of them wasn’t initially too fond of the game and the other wasn’t too well versed in it, the couple was infatuated with their boys’ happiness and driving them—both figuratively and literally—to future success.

”My dad hated baseball but he would go and find the best coaches in the area to teach and train us,” Pompey says. “My mom actually read in a magazine about switch-hitting and when my brother was growing up, she told my dad to get the kids to switch hit. It was a a lot of driving and gas that went into it. Having committed parents that want the best for you definitely helps.”

Like Devers, Tristan has ridden his fantastic athleticism and natural baseball gifts to instant stardom as a young adult. Wherever he has played, Pompey has been a team leader both on and off the field. After his decorated high school career, Tristan attended the University of Kentucky where he hit a ridiculous .361/.464/.541 as a sophomore while racking up the most single-season at-bats in school history (266). Among his countless accolades that year were 96 hits, second most in the country, 70 runs scored, third nationally, 46 walks, 28th-most in the nation and the fact that he ended the season in the midst of a 37 game on-base streak. More of the same his junior year as he hit .335/..448/.557. That earned Pompey First Team All-American honors.

After being promoted to Greensboro after just four games in the GCL, Pompey proved his skills weren’t exclusive to the metal bat collegiate ranks by hitting .314/.422/.430 with the Grasshoppers. He reached in 21 of 24 games in North Carolina and ended his tenure there on a 15-32, 4 2B, 2 HR, 8/10 K/BB run.

Regarding how he has been able to so quickly adjust to the shift in competition level, Pompey credits it all to an ethos which tells him that the only way he can fail is to allow it to happen:

”My mindset is that I’m the best player on the field and the only person who can beat me is myself. I adjust well because I’m a competitor in everything I do so it will never change. The most successful people are not the ones stuck in their ways, but the ones who are consistently adjusting and adapting to the situation.”

A tall and slender 6’4”, 200 pounder, Pompey swings from an open stance that compacts upon execution of his swift uppercut swing. What he lacks in bulk is made up for by good swing paths and great plate coverage. Perhaps the most advantageous factor in Pompey’s game is the fact that his mother’s suggestion to teach him how to switch hit at such a young age has turned him into an equally dangerous threat from both sides of the plate. This season in Greensboro, he was a .722 OPS from the right side and .879 OPS from the left.

In his collegiate years, Pompey exhibited a huge front foot timing trigger which was a likely culprit for his 21% K rate.

This year in Greensboro, his pro coaches have quelled that issue by getting Pompey lower in a more closed stance and making the most out of his wide hips. He is turning inward and snapping outward upon swing execution, giving him a more advantageous step in to the baseball.

An above-average runner out of the blocks and out of the box, Pompey is an even better plus-plus runner at top speed, the product of countless hours spent at the track with father. The same acceleration tools that give Pompey a 20-25 SB potential serve him in the field, too. He makes good reads and has the ability to cover all necessary ground and then some. A smooth route-runner with great vision off the bat and the owner of a powerful throwing arm, a filled out Pompey projects to produce on the positive side of the dWAR equation as a right fielder.

Already the exhibitor of all five tools at the age of 21, a fully grown Pompey both physically and mentally is a pleasantly scary thought. Save his time spent in the Cape last season, a tenure which may have been a huge blessing in disguise for the Marlins who were able to snag this potential first round talent in Round 3, Pompey hasn’t only taken every jump in level in stride, he has met it with a boost in confidence. Off to another fantastic start at a new level with the Hammerheads (8-for-13 with two doubles in his first four games), it doesn’t appear Pompey is going to allow anything to hold him back.

With all of that in mind, we project Pompey’s ceiling to fall somewhere in between fellow switch hitter Randy Winn, a .284/.343/.416 yearly hitter, and current Diamondbacks star A.J. Pollock.

Speaking of power potential, let’s take a closer look at another recent promotee to Jupiter, Lazaro Alonso.

An international signee out of Cuba where he was regarded as the nation’s eighth best prospect in 2016, Alonso was a .255/.366/.348 hitter with 13 doubles and 30 RBI in his inaugural season in stateside ball with Batavia. This season with Greensboro, Lazaro’s powerful but patient offensive game took the next step. In 43 games with the Grasshoppers, Alonso hit .336/.428/.517 with 19 XBHs while posting a 51/23 K/BB. This included a 41-for-98 stretch (.418 BA) to open the season.

Though it has taken the under-the-radar B-type prospect a few weeks to adjust to FSL pitching and conditions, Alonso is beginning to come back around. He responded to a .182 July by hitting .286 in his first eight games of August. Overall, Alonso is 10 for his last 34 (.294).

A 6’3”, 220 specimen (almost certainly heavier than that listed weight), the lefty hitter embodies a David Ortiz Mini-Me at the plate in terms of stance, approach, mechanics and power-first mentality. The ball absolutely explodes off his bat, leading to some of the best exit velocities in the entire system.

As far as he’s come this season in just his second year in stateside ball (altering his approach to become a more closed and upright hitter, allowing his extremely wide lower half to serve him better and while his natural plate vision has remained constant), Alonso still has a ways to go to realize his full potential as a 20-plus homer threat at the next level. He must eventually improve his swing paths, covering the plate more advantageously and tempering himself from pulling off, learning how to use his opposite field when appropriate.

For the immediate future, we place Laz on the same path as fellow lefty power hitter and former teammate John Silviano. The 24-year-old recently got his call to Double-A after beginning this season in a repeat year in Jupiter. Alonso owns better raw power and much better discipline to jump Silviano in the organizational ranks. We place a modest MLB ceiling for him, somewhere around former Marlins Mike Lamb and Chad Tracy—defensively limited, but positive oWAR complementary piece capable of 15+ homers and 60+ RBIs between the bench and spot starts over the course of a full season.

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Tracy played for the 2010 Fish

Perhaps the best feel-good story in Jupiter of late belongs to Josh Roeder. The right-handed pitcher has gone from nearly finding himself out of the professional ranks at the beginning of the season to becoming the most effective starter in the Hammerheads rotation.

A 21st-round selection by the Yankees after a single season at a D-II school followed by three years at D-I Nebraska, Roeder spent the bulk of his previous three pro seasons with the short season Staten Island Yankees. Following a 2.19 ERA, 29/7 K/BB start to 2017 in the NYPL, the depthy Yankees finally gave Roeder the call to full season ball. He skipped past past A in favor of A+ Tampa.

However, the 24-year-old was barely allowed to get his feet wet as a Tarpon, tossing in just eight relief innings before New York cut ties with him. The issue had nothing to do with Roeder’s arm—many arms including Chance Adams, James Kaprielian, Jonathan Holder, Domingo German and Justus Sheffield were ahead of him developmental-wise, limiting his opportunities in the organization. The Yankees cut him and allowed him to explore other ventures.

Roeder looks back on the tenure with positive thoughts and considers it a huge catalyst in making him the pitcher he is today. He gives due credit to the organization’s conditioning programs and attentive tutelage:

“My time with the Yankees was and still is greatly appreciated to this day. First and foremost they gave me the opportunity every kid ever dreams of and that is to play professional baseball. While I was there I learned a lot not only about myself personally, but also how to become a better pitcher and the areas I needed to improve.

“Coming out of college as a closer, I knew it probably wasn’t going to stick when I joined the Yankees. My time there was anywhere from back end of the bullpen to piggy backing the starter in my three year stint. I knew I had to be patient when it came to moving up and all I could do was go out there and pitch day in and day out and give them every reason to promote me. I learned a lot from the biomechanics department, all of my coaches, as well as the mental conditioning department and how to control all aspects of my game at the next level. I wasn’t so much concerned with just getting 8 IP in their A+ affiliate. I think it was more about finding a role in their organization that I fit in to and unfortunately there just wasn’t any room for me; that’s just part of baseball.

“But those are the kind of things I leave in God’s hands to take care of for me. All I can do is control what I do on and off the field and how I prepare and leave the rest to him, knowing that things will work themselves out when the time is right and I will be ready.”

Roeder didn’t wait long before the Miami Marlins came calling. Less than a month after his release by the Yanks, the Fish inked him to a minor league deal.

”This day was like being drafted all over again for me,” Roeder said. “Going from not knowing what I was going to do next to getting a call on Easter Sunday on the way to church with my family, I can’t thank the Marlins organization enough for giving me a second chance.”

This new chance for Roeder was also met with a new responsibility: starting games and making it deep into them. Despite only starting one game in New York’s organization, he has responded to the promotion to the rotation by tossing quality starts in eight of his first ten outings with the Hammerheads by way of a 1.05 WHIP and 39/13 K/BB.

According to Roeder, being used as the first man out of the ‘pen in Staten Island left him well prepared for the starting role. He is also reveling in the freedom of incorporating his full repertoire. This is the pitcher he was born to be.

”I came to the Marlins ready to fill whatever role they needed me to be in and fortunately for me it was as a starter. I have grown to love the role of a starter and everything it takes to be one at this level. I feel as if it allows me to also be the pitcher I truly am and use my entire arsenal of pitches versus maybe two or three as a reliever.

“The transition for me has been a lot of fun actually. Credit goes out to Manny Olivera and Jason Erickson for helping me kickstart the transition while I was in extended spring training and also to Bruce Walton who has been a ton of help ever since I made my debut with Jupiter. I try and keep a simple mindset about the whole thing and that is, ‘nothing has changed, I’m still pitching and I still have to go out there and do my job which is to throw strikes and get outs.’

“Now the only difference is that it’s at the beginning of the game and I go out and execute my job for as many innings as I can until Smoke tells me I’m done for the night. My goal is to always come out of the game giving my team the chance to win.”

Roeder overcomes his modest 6’0”, 175-pound frame by deploying a deep and well-planned out arsenal. He owns a four-seamer topping out at 95, a one-seam sinker that levels at 91, a tight slider in the mid-upper 80s and a high 70’s spinner, all of which he controls well. But perhaps the most important part of Roeder’s deep repertoire is his changeup, which he throws two different ways. He’ll alter the grip depending on where his previous pitch wound up and where his catcher sets up.

”Glove side will be four-seam/circle change and arm side will be the sinker-change as I like to call it because it’s not a tw- seam grip.”

This versatility with the change which piggybacks his first pitch fastball leads to an enhanced ability to take the hitter’s eyes away. The result is usually a swinging strike or weak contact. The stepping-stone changeup is usually used to set up his out-pitch slider, but can also be used to bring him back from down in the count.

A heady control-and-command guy who shows confidence in all of his stuff and uses the entire strike zone with a plus mix of heat and movement and has the staunch ability to miss barrels, the 25-year-old should be a quick mover. With similar success at Double-A, Roeder could contribute to the 2019 Marlins as either a back-end starter or long relief option. His past experiences give him good flexibility in virtually any pitching situation, which will play to his advantage in terms of earning service time at the highest level.

Jupiter Hammerheads recap, 4/15-4/29

2018-05-04T09:00:00-04:00

Hammerheads shortstop Joe Dunand | Photo by @GoHammerheads/Twitter

The High-A affiliate continues to be the best-performing club in the Marlins organization.

If you need reason to place faith in what the Marlins are building towards, look no further than the 2018 Jupiter Hammerheads. After a 67-68 year at the High-A level last season where the team batted .234/.305/.328, offseason acquisitions such as Robert Dugger and Jorge Guzman, along with sprouting young talent such as Joe Dunand and Brian Miller, have combined to make the current Hammerheads the best team in the Florida State League.

Biweekly Stats	Yearly Stats
11-3, .273/.351/.361, 25 XBH, 71/48 K/BB	258/.347/.374, 15 HR, 56 XBH, 191/90 K/BB
109 IP, 2.31 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 3.07 K/BB	204 IP, 3.36 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 3.36 K/BB

Through 24 games last season, the Hammerheads were a .250/.310/.357 team with a 2.97 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The offense dramatically improved this past April: .258/.348/.374 with a 2.13 K/BB. What stands out most is this team’s ability to make sufficient contact and reach base. It’s also reflected on the scoreboard and in the standings. Whereas last year’s team had 88 runs, a minus-seven run differential and 11-13 record early on, this year’s squad scored 122 runs with a plus-32 run differential and 18-6 record at the same point. They enter Friday at 20-7, one of the first minor league affiliates at any level to reach 20 wins in 2018.

Fresh of the heels of their 18-run explosion on April 14, the Hammerheads went on to win their next seven in a row. Over the eight-game win streak, the team hit .296.

There’s no quit in these Sharks, who consistently compete until the 27th out. During their recent 12-3 run, three of the Hammerheads’ victories came in walk-off fashion, including a two-run rally on April 29.

Down 2-0 going into the bottom of the 9th, the Hammerheads put two men on without putting the ball in play (two walks). After a Brian Miller single scored pinch-runner Michael Donadio, the winning run scored with Stone Garrett at the plate when a wild pitch plated Rodrigo Ayarza. Jupiter has four wins via walk-off already this season.

Walk-off ALERT! @Rindfleisch48 drives in the game winning run with a sacrifice-fly to center, scoring @stonegarrett22. Hammerheads win in 11 innings, 4-3! @MiLB @FloridaStateLg pic.twitter.com/rk2ug3laWs
— Jupiter Hammerheads (@GoHammerheads) April 18, 2018

One of the biggest catalysts for the Hammerheads’ success is shortstop Joe Dunand. He has reached in 24 of his 26 games this season. Dating back to last year, he’s reached in 30 of 33 career games. He sports a career .393 OBP and just shows a natural knack for getting it done at the plate, finding barrels via great mechanical quickness and exhibiting fantastic plate vision. His plate coverage has improved from his college years in that he’s exhibited stronger hands on pitches on the inner half and the ability to stay inside the baseball. Dunand has shown significant growth since the Marlins made him a second-round draft pick out of North Carolina State. Uncle A-Rod would approve.

Another major contributor this season has been outfielder Brian Miller. Having hit in 21 of 25 games overall, Miller hit in nine of 10 to close out April, going 18-40 with four multi-hit efforts and two four-hit games. While the 6-foot-1, 186 pounder hasn’t hit for much power (just five extra-base hits), he is making contact at a ludicrous 85% rate. It’s all about making pitchers work and taking what he’s given, getting on base and using his plus speed and good baserunning instincts to get into scoring position (eight steals already).

Miller is a multi-dimensional leadoff threat with fantastic bat-to-ball skills, good patience and a lightning quick lateral line drive swing. He is flying through the minors with a .326 batting average in his pro career. While you’d eventually like to see a steeper launch angle to generate more lift, it’s pretty hard not to like the potential for Miller. He demonstrates four out of five traditional tools with Shane Victorino-esque ceiling (.265/.364/.426 career in the majors).

As good as the Hammerheads have been, they stand to get even better moving forward. On April 28, right-hander Jorge Guzman was recalled from extended spring training. He started that day and worked four innings of scoreless ball, allowing just two hits while striking out seven.

The Marlins No. 3 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, Guzman’s calling card is his huge velocity that eclipses triple digits and tops out at 103 miles per hour. Guzman also possesses a slider that is borderline MLB-ready. Dipping down into the high 80s with that pitch gives hitters a completely different look and because he maintains the same arm motion and speed to the plate, it makes him nearly impossible to time. He’s also nurturing a low 90s changeup that needs further development, but which showed positively at the back end of last year in short-season ball.

There’s a lot of effort to Guzman’s release as he kicks his leg high, leans back and explodes to the plate, a characteristic that is usually telling of a future bullpen arm. However, Guzman is able to maintain his velocity and repeat his mechanics even as innings wear on. Should the development of his breaking arsenal continue and his health remain intact as innings pile up (career high 66.2 IP in 2017), this is a kid who could ascend to The Show as soon as next year. An extremely fun guy to watch compete, Guzman has a special skill set with major upside. We will be watching him closely.

Also on the verge of returning to action is the Marlins 9th-ranked prospect James Nelson. The 20-year-old corner infielder came within a point of winning the South Atlantic League’s batting title with the Greensboro Grasshoppers last summer. He hit .309, garnered an All-Star selection midseason and earned the organization’s Minor League Player of the Year award at the end of the season.

Nelson has been out since early in spring camp with a meniscus injury that required surgery. He had spent this past offseason prioritizing home run power by adding 20 pounds of mass, filling out his 6-foot-2 frame to an even 200 pounds.

It will be a busy season for Nelson, who will also aim to cut down on his 24 percent strikeout rate from 2017, increase his six percent walk rate and continue to perfect his craft at third base. The Marlins originally drafted him as a shortstop. He will take on all of those challenges after a month-long delay due to the injury.

On top of obvious natural talent that already has him well ahead of the game, Nelson will have the gargantuan benefit youth on his side. More familiarity and experience hitting with a wood bat and added raw power due to his improved size should allow him to succeed against older competition. He currently projects to make the big leagues as a 22-year-old in 2020 with good potential for all five tools.

Up next

5/4-6 @ FTM
5/7-9 @ PMB
5/10-12 vs. CHA
5/14-17 vs. FTM

Sharks Recap 6/22/2017-7/17/2017

2017-07-22T13:00:03-04:00

Alex from Fish on the Farm is back with another detailed Hammerheads report.

The page has turned again in Jupiter in more ways than one. The arrival of the second half of the season has come and along with it, the arrival of several promotees. After a mostly disappointing sub .500 first 70 games of the year, this new core has made the Hammerheads a 13-11 squad and has the team in the running for the second half title and a playoff berth. Here's a look at that hot start in this week's Sharks Recap.

Team Highlights

The Hammerheads continue to play to Roger Dean Stadium and the rest of the pitcher friendly Florida State League on both sides of the ball. Despite having a .232/.307/.325 seasonal line with figures that rank last, last and 10th in the FSL, the team still holds down the third lowest ERA (2.87) and WHIP (1.19) even though they have thrown in the league's most innings.

Invidual Highlights

The prospect-poor Marlins delved deep into the independent league ranks this year signing a multitude of unaffiliated ball superstars hoping to catch lightning in a bottle. In Boo Vazquez, they may have done it.

Born one day before the Marlins' inaugural Opening Day in 1993, Nicholas "Boo" Vazquez had fantastic start to his college career at Pittsburgh where he hit a combined .332/.417/.441. He also had a good showing in summer ball those two years, hitting .314/.408/.415. Accordingly, scouts had him coming off draft boards as early as the 10th round following the completion of his junior year. However, that season, Vazquez was the victim of some unfortunate circumstances. The Pitt Panthers moved from the Big East to the very competitive ACC and struggled mightily, hitting just .237 collectively. Against an elite class of pitchers that included Zac Gallen, Carlos Rondon, Daniel Gossett and Luke Weaver, Vazquez's numbers took a big hit. In his first year of draft eligibility, he slashed just .246/.312/.400 with a 32/18 K/BB and was not selected. Vazquez bounced back in his senior year hitting .285/.355/.460 but again wasn't taken in the draft. After finishing out 2015 by hitting OPSing .865 in the independent leagues and terrorizing talent there to the tune of a 1.067 OPS to begin 2016, he finally began his pro career with the Royals' rookie ball affiliate. In his first taste of affiliated ball, the 22-year-old slashed a very average .255/.320/.422. He was cut by the Royals last December and signed with the Fish in January.

This season, Boo, who has been anything but boo worthy, is scoffing at every scout, team and individual who doubted him in his draft years. In 67 games with the Grasshoppers, he hit .281/.364/.446 with an .809 OPS, 14th best in the South Atlantic League. In being promoted to Jupiter, he hasn't lost a single step. The 24-year-old began his Hammerheads' tenure by putting his name in team history books as he built a 16 game hit streak, a franchise record to start a Sharks career. He currently holds a 17 game on base streak.

At the plate, Vazquez gets low in his stance and minimizes what would otherwise be a large strike zone. From a slight split stance he engages a quick power swing after a medium high front leg trigger and toe tap. A quick-to-mature physical specimen that was listed at 6'4 200+ as early as his junior year of high school, Vazquez has had ample time to adapt to his body. He controls his limbs extremely well and doesn't try to do too much at the plate (especially not after he saw the reprecussions of that his junior year). He recognizes pitches extremely well and watches the ball all the way through the zone. He extends well on outside pitches and goes to all fields. Against upper level talent, the trick for Vazquez will be maintaining his timing and ability to get his hands into the ball which can get a little spotty at times, especially against same side pitching causing him to either miss barrels or miss altogether, which is where most of his Ks stem from. That small kink out of the way, this is a guy who exemplifies ballplayer in every sense of the word including in the way he looks, sounds, and competes. Just 24 this year, Vazquez lines up as a ceiling 20/20 left fielder with the floor of a heavy lefty bench bat. Not bad for a guy the Marlins virtually plucked off the street.
Another recent promotee who has taken his call-up in stride and continued to perform well this year is righty Ben Meyer. Exclusively a reliever the first three years of his career, Meyer began to transition to the rotation in 2016, starting 10 games in Greensboro. This year for the Hoppers, it was back to the pen but for the Hammerheads, six of his first 11 appearances have been starts. Wherever and in whatever capacity he has been called upon to serve, Meyer has delivered good results, a testament to his ability to pitch and knowledge of the game.

The owner of the seventh most strikeouts in the history of the University of Minnesota baseball program, he's already up to 95 in a combined 74 innings this year. The 6'5", 180 pounder can attribute that to his downhill arc and shortened distance to the plate, his fastball which has ticked up into the mid 90s this year and which exhibits good run to the corners, a high 70s slide piece which burrows away from hitters and a fading changeup that he throws from the same exact arm angle as the fastball and generates plenty of whiffs. Most of all though, Meyer can attribute his success to his impeccable control. That along with his headiness for his craft allows him to throw all three of his pitches in any count and give his opposition a different look each time through the lineup. It is for those reasons he shouldn’t have much of a problem sticking as a starter, provided he can make the same success stand up in the upper levels of the minors.
Jeff Brigham, who stumbled early last year but had great second half only to begin this season on the DL is back from injury with a vengeance. The 25-year-old has pitched into the 5th in every start with four of those eight outings being quality starts. With Trevor Richards gone, Brigham has emerged as the ace of the Sharks' staff. On the year, Brigham owns a 2.60 ERA, a 1.02 WHIP and a 43/16 K/BB. He has been lights out in his last three starts, all quality outings in which he has a collective 24/4 K/BB.

Health has always been an issue for Brigham since he had Tommy John that forced him to miss 2013 and redshirt as a junior in 2014. After being drafted by Los Angeles in the 4th round in 2015, he came to the Marlins as the center return piece in the Mat Latos/Michael Morse trade in 2015. Brigham was able to stay healthy for most of last year, logging 120 innings, including the aforementioned impressive end to his season. However, this latest ailment which was once again shoulder related, has his future as a starter very much up in the air. Brigham has been able to keep those hopes alive by adjusting to a slight drop in velo by developing his changeup into a more useable pitch. Once a stiff waste pitch type offering, the Brigham change has shown improved depth and balances well with his best pitch power slider.
Scott Squier is another Hammerhead who has overcome some adversity to start the season and emerged as a quality rotational arm. Following a shaky start to the season in which he struggled keeping pitch counts in check and getting deep in games, Squier has tapped into fantastic command and really developed his bread and butter changeup. Four of Squier's last 6 starts are of the quality variety, inlcuding his last outing, an eight inning, three hit gem. The 24-year-old's newfound control is exhibited by the fact that he has walked just seven over a 37.1 inning span.

Squier won't whiff a lot of guys but he is a master at generating weak contact outs. He doesn't use much, if any, back leg load in his delivery at all. Instead, he remains upright and tosses straight ahead which leads to some effort in his pitches. He doesn't generate easy velo, topping out inconsistently at 92 but his plus plus changeup and good biting slider may be enough to keep him at the back end of a Major League rotation.

Up Next

7/18-20 @ St. Lucie
7/21-24 @ Daytona
7/25-28 vs Florida
7/29-8/1 vs Lakeland
8/3-6 @ Ft. Myers
8/7-9 @ Charlotte

Sharks Recap: 6/3/17-6/21/2017

2017-06-25T12:23:19-04:00

The Hammerheads' team moniker heard throughout the dugout and clubhouse is "heads up, eyes out". Through some adversity and a pretty disappointing start to the year, the Sharks have stayed true to that ideology, staying positive and keeping their sights affixed on improving game by game. As a result, despite going 17-31 in their first 48 games, Jupiter now sits at 33-34, just one game under .500. Here's a look at the numbers behind this great run and the guys most responsible for it in this week's Sharks Recap.

Team Highlights

Since May 27, the Hammerheads have won 15 of their last 20, including 12 of their first 16 in June and eight of their last nine. Over that span, the club has started to find its collective power stroke. After barely slugging .300 in their first 48 games, the Sharks have slugged .371 in their last 20. The pitching has kept up its end as it continues to stifle opponents, tossing to the tune of a 2.74 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP over their last 177.2 IP. Jupiter's seasonal ERA and WHIP continue to shrink as they inch their way closer to the top of the Florida State League. Their 3.20 ERA ranks fourth and their 1.22 WHIP ranks third.

Individual Highlights

Over the last two weeks, the Hammerheads have been the beneficiaries of both the tutelage and experience of rehabbing Major Leaguers. Justin Bour, Justin Nicolino, Tom Koehler and Junichi Tazawa have all completed rehab assignments in Jupiter and Adeiny Hechavarria and Martin Prado are currently finishing theirs. For outfielder Kyle Barrett who is, believe it or not, riding another lengthy hit streak of seven games, marking his sixth 5+ game hit streak this year, and averaging .304, 9th in the FSL, getting the opportunity to play with Prado has been a childhood dream come true.
Another Hammerhead that seemed to really hit it off with a current Marlin is John Silviano. Coming into play on June 12, Silviano was mired in a 2-21 slump, slashing .212/.300/.394. That night, Bour gave Silviano one of his MLB issued bats, a birch stick affixed with a Marlins' styled "41" on the knob and his name scrolled across the barrell. That night, Silviano went 2-5 with a grand slam and a three run homer with a career high 7 RBI, tying the franchise record for most in a single game. In the Hammerheads' first game back from the All-Star break, Silviano homered in a second straight effort. Since receiving the tangible as well as some intangible words of wisdom from Bour, Silviano is 4-13 with two homers and 8 RBI and his slugging percentage has risen from .394 to .455.

Silviano, a 13th round pick by the Blue Jays out of high school in 2012, has an interesting backstory. After being released by Toronto in 2014 after failing to hit over .200 in three rookie ball seasons, he went back to school in his native central Florida, first playing for the DeLand Suns where he had a solid .266/.439/.437 39-game season before being recruited to Lynn University in Boca Raton in 2016. There, Silviano really flashed his true potential. In 51 games for the Lynn Fighting Knights, the 21-year-old slashed .405/.528/.950, marks which ranked 4th, 2nd and 1st in his conference. His ridiculous 1.478 OPS led the conference. It came by way of a conference most 31 homers and 190 total bases. He also led the league in walks (51) and runs scored (70) and placed second in RBI (81). The near Triple Crown worthy season alerted the attention of the Marlins who signed him at the end of the collegiate season. He finished out that calendar year by hitting .212/.281/.449 for the Grasshoppers. This year, he's playing in his first full professional season at the highest level he's ever seen. While he was a complete threat at the college level, it has never exactly come full circle for Silviano at the professional level. But things are looking up. This season, he's spraying the ball around the field better than he ever has. He's learning how to go with pitches instead of trying to turn on everything. This is proven by his 47.3% pull percentage, 30.9 center percentage and 21.8 oppo percentage. He made pull contact over half of the time in each of his last three professional seasons. He's also advantageously lost some of the uppercut action to his swing, a habit which led to his stroke staying long and a lot of swings and misses. Where he sported a 20.8 line drive percentage, a 51% ground ball percentage due to getting on top of pitches and an 11.1 infield fly ball percentage due to lateness, all on top of 57 Ks last season, this year, the line drive percentage is up to 24.3, the ground ball percentage is down to 43.9, and the infield fly ball percentage is down to 5.9. His K% has gone from 33% to 24%. He's also been a lot more patient, walking at a 10.1% clip as opposed to under 8% last year.

As it is with a lot of power-first hitters, Roger Dean Stadium and the Florida State League haven't been kind to Silviano, proven by his .245 BABIP. Rather than looking at his seemingly dreadful .215 BA and .298 OBP, Silviano's weighted on base average (wOBA) of .339 and league and park adjusted runs per PA (wRC+) of 113, above league average, tell a much better story of how Silviano is on his way to becoming a complete threat at the pro level this season. This isn't to say Silviano still has some hitches to work out but he's still just 22 and he's willing to learn. Though we haven't seen it a lot this year due to him DHing and focusing on fine-tuning his offensive game, Silviano is an above average catcher who sports athletic pop times and an above average arm which is clocked at 90+. Should he continue his hot hitting as his BA and OBP normalize, he could prove to be of extreme value at a historically limited offensive position.
By way of a 2.17 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 81/12 K/BB first half marks which ranked 3rd, 1st and 3rd thus making him one of, if not the very best pitcher in the league, Trevor Richards was one of three Hammerheads invited to the FSL All-Star Game. Richards was one of few FSL South players not to actually get into the game. However, the 24-year-old will undoubtedly and gladly trade sitting that game out for what happened to him the next day: he received his call-up to AA. Richards made the flight to Jacksonville having allowed just one eared run and one walk in his last 17.1 IP and having recorded six quality starts in his last nine outings. A 6'2" 190 righty, Richards has always sort of flown under the radar, going undrafted in 2014 despite a great career at Drury University in which he struck out 230 batters, second most in school history and sported a 2.96 ERA, second lowest by a Drury Panther. He played two seasons in the independent leagues, posting a 3.30 ERA, a 1.20 WHIP and a 132/47 K/BB befoe being signed by the Marlins in 2016.

A ground ball pitcher as proven by his 60.7 GB% with the Sharks this year, Richards commands the lower half of the zone better than anyone in the organization and looks a lot like Nicolino did on his way up. He has pinpoint control and command of all three of his pitches and will throw them to either side of the black. His best pitch is an 82-85 MPH changeup that he masks by throwing it with the same arm speed as the fastball and which hitters cannot pick up until it is fading at a 10 MPH rate 20 feet from the plate. He also mixes in a mid-70s breaking ball to keep hitters guessing. It's a distant third pitch which he will need to bring up into the zone a bit and gain a bit more confidence for to completely fill out but having just turned 24, he has some time to do so while for now, he lives mostly off his great fastball/changeup combo. If he gains a bit of a better feel and control of his breaking ball, there's nothing against the free and easy Richards who owns a fluid and very repeatable, comfortable delivery, becoming an effective 3-5 starter. Considering where this organization is regarding starting pitching, keep this name on your short list of future rotational options.
On Wednesday, it was revealed that catcher Roy Morales has been suspended 80 games due to testing positive for a banned substance. In his first 30 Hammerheads games, Morales, 22, was slashing .288/.370/.356 almost exactly what he slashed in Greensboro last year (.288/.374/.341). He had walked more than he struck out, driven in 15, and made just 2 errors behind the plate. Known as a defensive guru who can get his 6'2" 195 frame in front of anything, great framing skills and a head for game calling on top of an improving for-average offensive skill set with room for more growth power wise as his body fills out, this is undoubtedly a huge blow for both Morales and the Marlins who lose their 18th best prospect. The optimistic outlook on the suspension is that Morales is no stranger to missing time. He successfully returned from a broken wrist despite having to repeat his senior year in high school. The same troublesome wrist cost him the last month of last season and kept him out of getting valuable time in the instructional league only to go on to have the season he is currently having. In short, there's still reason to be hopeful about Morales' future. He doesn’t turn 23 for two more months.

Up Next

6/22-25 @ Palm Beach
6/27-29 vs Florida
6/30-7/3 @ Lakeland
7/4-6 @ Florida
7/8-10 vs Port St. Lucie
7/12-14 vs Palm Beach

Sharks Recap: 5/15/17-6/2/17

2017-06-07T13:15:01-04:00

Here’s a look at how the Hammerheads have faired lately.

After getting off to a 2-9 start, a tenure that ended with them playing two doubleheaders in four days, a rainbow appeared over Abacoa and Roger Dean Stadium. Since then, things have been much brighter both in Jupiter and for the Jupiter Hammerheads. After ending the home stand with a series win against Bradenton, the Sharks took to the road where they have won five in a row and are threatening to climb out of the Florida State League South cellar.

Team Highlights

The Hammerheads have continued to do a great job pitching in Roger Dean Stadium and the overall pitcher-friendly Florida State League. During this two week span, the Sharks posted a 3.53 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 126 strikeouts. While guys like Trevor Richards and Cody Poteet deserve a lot of the credit, don't discount the bullpen. During this two week span, Jupiter relievers have combined for a 3.08 ERA and 61 strikeouts.
Unfortunately, the Hammerheads have also played to big FSL parks on the other side of the ball, too. As a team, they have hit just 23 home runs (just five more than MLB leader Aaron Judge), 79 doubles and nine triples, all of which rank second-to-last in the league. Their meager 202 runs scored ranks third worst in the league and the team's leader in slugging percentage is Brian Schales at .394, not even good enough for top-30 on the circuit.
The Hammerheads were part of a strange incident May 20 in Port Charlotte when catcher Roy Morales went back to catch a foul popup and bumped into the protective screen behind home plate. The screen completely fell over onto the field, causing the game to be suspended until the next day. That Sunday, the Hammerheads completed both that game and the game prior to it which was also suspended due to rain. Sunday's original game was canceled.

Something is missing... "Way to go, now we can't play no more" pic.twitter.com/UIT4Zha1Ja
— Dustin Geiger (@D_Geiger) May 20, 2017

Individual Stats

Two more weeks gone and here we are again talking about another Kyle Barrett hit streak. This time, it's nine games and counting. He was on base in 14 of 16 games in this two week span and has been on in 44 of 49 overall. By swiping eight bags over this two week time frame, Barrett now has a team-high 11 steals. Barrett was somehow snubbed from original All-Star selections despite hitting .303, good for 10th in the FSL and at least 20 points better than all four of those who got selected, but due to injury to the St. Lucie Mets' Jeff Diehl, he will participate in the festivities in Lakeland on June 17.

I don't think I'll never get tired of watching this kid play baseball. He just flat out finds ways to get it done. His fantastic plate vision and pitch recognition coupled with snappy bat speed and a bountiful baseball IQ allow him to succeed in any situation, whether it be attacking the first pitch, grinding out at-bats or bunting for a hit.

The very few holes Barrett had in his game after last year are starting to fill themselves in. He's turned his 6.4 percent walk rate from his days with the Grasshoppers into 8.1 percent and his 17 percent strikeout rate has shrunk to 13.2.

Barrett’s line-drive percentage is also way up from last year and he is doing absolutely everything that a great Major League leadoff hitter does. He's also playing solid defense at all three outfield spots, including right field — a spot he played for the first time in his career this past week. An extremely fun player to watch with a great head on his shoulders, Barrett should be getting his call to Jacksonville any day now. With continued success there, if the Marlins are sellers at the break, Barrett is a guy an out-of-contention team may give a well-deserved look. At the very least, he has already earned himself a spring training invite and a watchful eye from the Marlins' brass next season.
Another Shark quickly swimming upstream is right-hander Trevor Richards. Richards is the owner of the FSL's ninth best ERA (2.41), its third best WHIP (0.97) and its most strikeouts (69). He has gone at least five innings in all but one of his outings and hasn't walked more than two on any occasion.

Coupling sinking heat with two plus secondary pitches, Richards has pinpoint control of each pitch. Getting ahead early and often, he limits pitches, conserves energy and works deep into starts with ease. When Richards is on, which he has been 90 percent of the time, there are no noticeable hitches to his game. The tell-tale sign for this righty will be if he can keep it up over the course of a full season's worth of starts. His 59.2 innings and 11 games played are already a career high. So far, so good though. At age 24 and with the Marlins in dire straits for starting pitching, he's on the fast track to the Show and should be another Shark turned Shrimp after the break.
Junior Arrojo, a Marlins' offseason signee and career independent league superstar (.293/.422/.382 in six seasons, including .341/.483/.486 last year), has had quite an interesting journey so far as a member of the organization. Originally assigned to the short season Muckdogs, Arrojo was sent to the Baby Cakes on May 8 for three games, then to the Shrimp for four games before winding up with the Hammerheads on May 22. Perhaps the Marlins were experimenting, trying to determine Arrojo's level of production, or perhaps the Marlins were a couple of flights away from their next frequent flyer miles bonus. Whatever the case, Arrojo is in Jupiter and he has been impressive, getting on base in each of his first eight games and hitting .281/.425/.313. A local graduate from Florida International where he had a .276/.384/.358 career, Arrojo is another top of the order grinder who works patient, professional at-bats and makes the most of his chances. This is proven by an on-base percentage over .400 in three of his last four seasons in the independent league, including last year when he led his conference with a ridiculous .483 marker in its second most plate appearances (452).

The best of his several plus attributes, Arrojo swiped 40 or more bases in each of his last two seasons with the Rockland Boulders, both times leading the league. He also stole at least 20 in each of his last two seasons at FIU. For his playing career, he has 227 steals in 272 attempts (83 percent success rate).

With a reputation for being nearly impossible to keep off base, speed that makes it equally hard for opponents to keep him out of scoring position and good instincts up the middle of the field, Arrojo was a nice find by the Fish. However, there is one big thing working against him: time. Arrojo just turned 29 this year. If the indy league's top prospect from this past year can continue to show that his skill set is transferable to affiliated ball, he will be back in the upper minors very soon and could find himself getting a tryout with a Marlins club looking for infield depth. Though it may not seem like it at the moment for the near-30-year-old Miami native who is playing in Single-A ball, for a guy who was making less than $2,000 a month to play while traveling between New York, New Jersey and Canada, the situation couldn't be more ideal.

Up Next

5/3-5/6 @ Tampa
5/8-5/11 vs Clearwater
5/12-5/15 @ St. Lucie
5/19-5/21 vs Ft. Myers

Sharks Recap: 5/1/17-5/14/17

2017-05-18T13:00:02-04:00

Catching up with the Hammerheads

Over the past two weeks, things have been pretty gloomy, dark and dreary -- not in the skies above it which have been almost exclusively perfect but rather on the baseball diamond where the Jupiter Hammerheads have gone 4-9, paving their road to an overall 15-22 record, making them the worst team in the Florida State League. Despite the collective dismal performance though, there have been a few bright spots. Here's a look at those few highs and the more numerous lows in this rendition of Sharks Recap.

Team Highlights

During a six game losing streak the Hammerheads had a 10-22 run differential. They've lost 9 of their last 13 overall.
Including a 4-31 record in their last two games, the Hammerheads are hitting a tumultuous .177 (67-379) with runners in scoring position this year.
Jupiter is hitting .234 second worst in FSL, .627 OPS also second worst, .319 SLG dead last. They've tallied the league's second most Ks (339).

Individual Highlights

Despite not much in the way of protection in the lineup behind him recently, Kyle Barrett continued to see ball, hit ball leading him to the 14th best OBP (.377) and BA (.306) in the FSL. He has also continued to place the ball well after showing the ability to barrel up any pitch by way of excellent plate coverage. Barrett is on pace for 19 doubles. His previous career high 12 in senior year of college. Barrett has a scrappy base hit first approach but is shaping a knack for finding gaps on top of surprising pop. There's tons to be excited about here especially in pitchers haven Roger Dean and the FSL. With similar production which doesn't seem to be letting up for more than a game or two, Barrett, who has hit in 26/33 games via a patient visionary approach should find himself promoted to Jacksonville by the break.
Lefty Jeff Locke on rehab from the Marlins after injury in spring training has made two rehab starts in Jupiter. He's allowed 1 ER on 7 hits with 10 strikeouts and no walks in 9 IP. He will make 1-2 more rehab starts before rejoining the Marlins who have recently lost two of their starters to injury and demoted two others to the minors.
Infielder Angel Reyes went 2-4 with an RBI double on the 6th after a monster game Thursday in which he hit his first homer and tallied three hits en route to Hammerheads breaking their six game skid. However excluding those two games Reyes has just 3 hits in 36 May ABs. Reyes had a .307 April but with a .358 BABIP, it appears as though he was fortunate to post that mark. The Ks have kept coming for Reyes who struck out at a 19.6% rate last year and has done so at a 21.8% this year but his walk rate has improved from 7.3% to 9.6%. Despite a .311 career OBP which includes his most fortunate .350+ mark so far this year, the Marlins seem committed to Reyes' future as a top of the order guy. At 22 with an extremely long swing, I can't imagine Reyes as anything but a boom-or-bust bench player at the next level.
Starter Trevor Richards was shelled for 6 runs on 10 hits in 2.2 IP on April 27 but he rebounded on May 2 with a 6 IP, 4 H, 9 K, 2 BB, shutout start and then built on it with 11 IP, 11 H, 4 ER, 12/2 K/BB over his last two starts. His 2.55 ERA is 15th best in FSL as is his 1.13 WHIP. His 5.00 K/BB is 11th best. Undrafted out of Drury University where he had a two year career that consisted of a 2.96 ERA and 230 Ks both that ranked second all-time in Drury's history, Richards put in two years of combined 3.30 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 2.81 K/BB ball with the Indy league Gateway Grizzlies before being discovered by Miami. He comes to Jupiter after an impressive year out of the pen in Greensboro last year (43.2 IP, 2.68 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 2.71 K/BB). Richards begins his windup from a energetic pace, rocking back on his back leg to build up velo but as he comes forward he adds a hitch to his step downhill, throwing the opposition's timing off. He further keeps hitters off balance with his arsenal that holds a good velo mix and includes a 92-94 MPH fastball, an 82-85 MPH changeup and a 71-74 MPH late breaking slow curveball. At 24, he's one of the eldest of the single A Hammerheads but with more command consistency, he has stuff that plays up to the next level and the makeup of a back end starter. A free and easy thrower, nothing seems highly strenuous, giving him a good innings eating background. With the organization's pitching depth at an extreme premium, pay close attention to Richards who could be placed on the fast track to the Show, beginning with a promotion to Jacksonville fairly soon.

Up Next

5/15-18 @ PMB
5/19-21 @ CHA
5/22-25 vs TBY
5/26-28 vs BRD
5/30-6/2 @ DUN

Sharks Recap: 4/17/17-4/30/17

2017-05-04T21:27:00-04:00

A look at the Jupiter Hammerheads last two weeks.

Over the past two weeks, the Jupiter Hammerheads spent time at both ends of the extreme, at one point scoring 18 runs on 25 hits in a game then allowing 14 on 20 hits at another. Ultimately, it spelled out a 6-6 record to keep them at two games under .500 entering the month of May. Here's a rundown of the happenings surrounding the Sharks including team and individual highlights these past 14 days.

Biweekly Stats	Season Stats
.244/281/.301	.245/.316/.330
3 HR/25 XBH	8 HR/54 XBH
4.03 ERA, 1.30 WHIP	3.33 ERA/1.19 WHIP
88 K/27 BB	202 K/57 BB
57 RF/59 RA (-2 RD)	94 RF/104 RA (-10 RD)

Team Highlights

On April 21, the Hammerheads walloped the Bradenton Marauders, 18-5, the most runs the team has scored in a single game in franchise history. The 18 runs came on 25 hits, nine of which were doubles, both of which were also club records. Every Jupiter hitter had at least two hits and all but one had at least one RBI.
Jupiter followed that game up by allowing nearly as many runs six days later in a 14-3 loss to Daytona at Roger Dean Stadium. The 14 runs tied the most ever scored in a Hammerheads' game at the Dean. Jupiter foes scored the same amount of runs one other time in 2015 and on three other occasions in 2014. Twelve of those runs were earned and saw the Hammerheads' team ERA move from 3.02 to 3.43.
Save the offensive explosion on the 21st, the Hammerheads hit just .202 with runners in scoring position over these last two weeks. On the season, even when you count the 18 run affair, they are a below the Mendoza line team with RISP, hitting just .231.
After a loss on April 30, one Jupiter player expressed to me how much the Hammerheads struggle in day games. A look at the box scores confirm his claims. In day games this season, Jupiter is 0-3 with a -26 run differential.

Invididual Highlights

Outfielder Kyle Barrett has stayed absolutely scorching red hot, getting on base in every game these last two weeks and getting on via a hit in all but one. For the season, he's been on base in 20 of 22 games and on via a hit in 18 of 22. His .330 BA is 9th best in the Florida State League and ranks as one of the best career months of April ever for a Jupiter Hammerhead. With the ability to foul off tough pitches, grind out at bats, select a pitch he likes and wait out the break on pitches but still make solid contact due to an extremely quick and snappy swing and some hidden gap to gap power as well as good base running instincts, plus speed and above average outfield coverage prowess thanks to good reads off the bat, good route running and a solid arm, Barrett is conjuring a skill set reminiscent of the likes of a young Chris Coghlan. Florida State League foes are waiting for Barrett to mercifully cool down but their only reprieve all year has been a short 0-7 "slump". If Barrett keeps this type of play up through the month of May, he could/should get a chance to see if it persists after making the difficult jump to AA.
"Holy Shark!" If you take one look at Angel Reyes' game logs over the past two weeks, you cannot help but exclaim these words of divine shock. Over the span, Reyes has hit very similarly to Barrett, going 18-61 (.295) with hits in 10 of 12 games. Like his teammate, he also shook a short mid-month slump (0-10) to come back and finish his collective April slashing .307/.365/.386 with a BA and OBP that each rank within the top 15 in the FSL. A signee out of Venezuela as an 18-year-old in 2012, Reyes' career until last year had been a bit of a feeling out and adjustment process. He came into 2016 with a career .230 BA and .303 OBP compounded by a 22% K rate all in the rookie ball ranks. However, in Reyes' .349 slugging percentage made up of 30 doubles, 8 triples and 6 homers, the Marlins saw enough to give Reyes a chance in full season ball in 2016. There, he pretty much hit exactly to his career numbers slashing .252/.314/.351 with a slightly improved 19.6 K rate. So here we are in 2017 and after getting another somewhat surprising promotion, the 21-year-old is somehow hitting .307/.365/.386. To quote Danny Glover aka George Knox in 1994, "you can call it fate, you can call it Angels, you can call it whatever you want." But whatever it is, the Marlins are certainly pleased. Reyes appears to have refined his approach by improving his timing trigger and not getting too far out on his front foot, leading to a better transfer of power and a much shorter swing. He has also modified his stance to be much more compact and shifted more towards the back of the batters' box allowing his bigger step into the ball the serve him more advantageously. He is also leading his swing with his back elbow rather than his front, which has kept him from flying open. These refined mechanics and the ability to change positively with his body's growth has led him to much more control over his 6'0" 175 pound frame. Turning just 22 on Saturday and playing his best brand of ball at the highest level of competition he's seen, there's plenty of reason to be high on Reyes, especially if he grows into more power and can nail down the ability to man second base, a position where offense comes at a premium and a process which the Marlins started this season.
Righty Cody Poteet continued his great work on the mound, making three starts these last two weeks, going at least five innings in each and giving up a total of just three earned runs. Each of his five starts have been of the 5+ inning, two runs or less variety. His 1.33 ERA ranks among the top five in the Florida State League as does his lowly 0.93 WHIP. A Marlins fourth round pick in 2015 after a 2.45 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 8.35 K/9 (by way of the PAC12's ninth most strikeouts), 2.27 K/BB junior season at UCLA, Poteet is starting to enjoy another season similar to first full year in the organization. Last year, he held down the sixth best ERA in the South Atlantic League (2.91) by way of its 20th best WHIP (1.29) and 14th best LOB% (70.7%). Poteet did walk at an 8.7% rate in his first full season in pro ball but so far this year it looks as though he's learned from it and has rectified it while the Ks have persisted. Through his first 27 IP, he has walked just five and struck out 17 (3.4 K/BB). Even though he has three quality pitches including an 88-92 MPH heater with movement down in the zone and two even better secondary offerings, a high-70’s curve with tight arc and late bend and a high-80’s slider which he throws with the same arm speed as his fastball and really confuses opposing hitters. He can throw a changeup but it is very much a work-in-progress pitch which he has yet to perfect the arm action on. Poteet's long-term potential will depend on the development of that changeup. He hasn't been throwing it much so far this year and when he has it has looked uncomfortable for him and usually wound up out of the zone. However, at just 21 and with a long season ahead, there's still plenty of time for him to grow into it. At the very least, already with a fastball/slider combo that is way above his current level and a mix-in knee-buckling curve all of which he throws for strikes with a great knowledge of the zone and all of which project even better as he establishes more command, Poteet is at the very least a future bullpen staple.

Up Next

5/1-4 @ Clearwater
5/5-7 @ Daytona
5/8-10 vs Bradenton
5/11-14 vs St. Lucie

Hammerheads Weekly Recap: FSL All-Stars edition

2016-06-10T16:16:03-04:00

Rob Foldy/Getty Images

On the same week as their selections to the Florida State League All-Star Game, those picked to represent the Hammerheads each showed why they were given the honor by continuing to shine on the diamond.

Editor's note: Please welcome Alex Carver to our staff for weekly reviews of the Jupiter Hammerheads! -MJ

Weekly Stats

2-5, 26 RF/36 RA

.262/.317/.327

12 XBH (9 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR)

51/16 K/BB

67 IP, 66 H, 30 ER, 42/21 K/BB

4.02 ERA, 1.3 WHIP

On the week that Florida State League All-Star rosters were announced, those picked to represent the Hammerheads honored their selections by continuing to play quality baseball. However, it wasn't enough to keep the Hammerheads from going 2-5, dropping them two games below .500 (27-29).

Who's Hot

Outfielder Taylor Ard went 8-24 with 2 RBI, 3 BB and 4 K. At one point, he owned a five game hitting streak. The week moves the 26-year-old's seasonal slash line from .227/.279/.362 to .239/.297/.359. Ard is a sizable 6'2", 230 power-first threat, proven by a career .153 ISO but in the extremely pitcher friendly Florida State League, he is learning to settle for less than everything at the plate and focus on simply getting on base. Despite owning a career low .358 SLG to this point in the year, Ard has been on base at least once in all but six of his games. However, his ability to mash still remains. At home, arguably the toughest place to hit in all of minor league baseball, Ard owns a .427 SLG with 4 homers and 5 doubles. Considering this, his struggles on the road can partly be attributed to bad luck proven by a .267 BABIP which should normalize as the second half progresses.

Fellow outfielder John Norwood boasted an even .300 BA this week by way of a 9-30 with 2 doubles, 2 RBIs and a 7/2 K/BB. After getting off to a slow .221/.286/.294 start in April, Norwood came back as a man possessed in May, slashing for the best month of his young career. Known best for his game-ending and World Series clinching homer for Vanderbilt in the 2013 College World Series, the athletic 6'1" 185 pound righty who is still growing in to his frame was one of four Greensboro Grasshoppers who placed in the top 6 in the Sally League in homers with 16. The power numbers persisted for Norwood this May as he slugged a more than solid .398 in a pitchers' league. Though he has the ability to reach all fields, Norwood's best power is to the middle of the field. As much present strength as he owns, the Florida State League have already and will likely continue to supress his power numbers for the rest of the year. Considering that, his month of May which ended this week was all the more impressive. As good as his power numbers have been in his career though, his K/BB totals have been equally unimpressive, standard for Norwood's style of hitting but something he needs to temper quite a bit more if he is going to succeed in the upper levels of the minors. Norwood's quick wrists and strong arms allow him to clobber pitches on the inner half but a lower half that isn't as active as it could be and usually finds him reaching for pitches on the outer half. Just 717 ABs into his career though, Norwood has shown better plate vision with each passing year allowing him to jump a level each time. With more playing time and more experience, Norwood could become a valuable power bat with a good outfield throwing arm.

Despite owning the fourth best homer total and the 13th best slugging percentage in the Florida State League, Dexter Kjerstad was left off of the FSL All-Star roster. He responded to his snubbing this week by doing what he has been doing all year to this point: hitting. For the week, Kjerstad went 9-27 (.296) with 2 doubles and and 6 RBI upping his seasonal line from .246/.313/.371 to .254/.317/.406. Another pure power hitter, Kjerstad, who was the Sun Belt conference's best hitter in his lone season with Louisianna Lafayette in 2013 and who went undrafted due to undergoing Tommy John before slugging .428 over his first 80 pro games came to the Marlins after being released by the Royals after a sub-par 51 game start in his first A+ season last year. Few things have been sub-par to the start of his Marlins organizational career. Standing almost straight up in the box at 6'1", 210 with big broad shoulders, Kjerstad screams power hitter as he stares down opposing pitchers and he has the career numbers to match. He has a technically sound approach at the plate, using a front foot trigger to time pitches before getting his snappy hips through the zone well. Working against Kjerstad is the fact that he tends to get out on his front foot too far, especially against pitchers with a quality mix of speeds who can make him look foolish, leading to unbalanced swings and contributing to his gargantuan K ratio which sits at 24.9% this year. Combined with the fact that he is a prototypical free-swinging power bat, the timing issue is something Kjerstad can't afford to struggle with if he hopes to make the tough jump to AA and succeed in the upper levels of the minors. At just 24 though with holes in playing time in his career, there's still time for Kjerstad to round out his offensive game.

Luis Castillo. A name long-time Marlins fans remember well and fondly and, should the Hammerheads' 23-year-old righty continue on his current path to the majors, a name new Marlins fans will be coming to know in the same light within two years. After jumping all the way from the Dominican Summer Leagues to Greensboro and then all the way to Jupiter over the course of last season, making the move from the bullpen to the rotation and never giving up runs at more than a 3.5 clip, Castillo's latest exports are a 2.14 ERA (5th in the FSL), a 42/10 K/BB and a minuscule 1.02 WHIP over the course of his first 54.2 IP. His numbers were lowered to those marks this week by way of allowing just 2 ER on 10 hits, 5 walks and 6 Ks over the course of his last 2 starts, one being his third quality start of the year. Throwing from a low 3/4 slot from the first base side with a free and easy repeatable delivery, Castillo owns snappy arm speed and shortens the distance to the plate with a long stride forward from his 6'2" frame, which makes up for the lack of deceptiveness in his basic delivery. His best pitch by far is a fastball that has little movement but sits at a consistent 97 MPH and which he has the ability to get up to as high as triple digits. He pitches off of it almost exclusively. His breaking arsenal consists of a slurvy slider which flashes plus with 4-10 movement and late bite. When on, the pitch sits in the low 80s and plays off the straight heat very well. Castillo needs to develop more consistency in the pitch but it has plenty of potential to become a go-to pitch. His future as a starter depends on the progression of his changeup. Sitting in the 86-89 MPH range, it is by far his least developed pitch which he first started working on more diligently when he made the move to starting last year. He has made strides with it since then and is starting to flash good bite and fade. When he doesn't try to overthrow the pitch, the drop in arm speed is tough for hitters to pick up on. Should he continue to make similar progression with the change, he could become solid 3-4 starter material. At the very least, he should have no problem cracking the majors as a late reliever.

Who's Not

Since making a late season debut for the Marlins' organization in early May, it's been a rough go for Junior Sosa who was signed as a free agent over the winter. Those struggles continued this week as Sosa went 3-21 with 3 Ks a walk and 2 RBI pushing his seasonal line to a debilitating .159/.211/.220 over his first 82 ABs. A 25-year-old who has been up and down between rookie ball and AA since 2008, has great speed but he isn't getting on base nearly enough to utilize it. Never a spectacular prospect, there is some serious doubt as to whether Sosa can even get back to where he was prior to spending nearly two full seasons off the field, appearing in just 50 games since 2013. He was performing well enough for the Hammerheads' FSL foe the Bradenton Marauders last year but the 83 ABs in which he slashed .263/.341/.395 may have just been a blip on the radar. Standing from a split stance, Sosa is flying open on pitches and finding either none or very little of the barrel of his bat, either rolling over on pitches or striking out. He has been leading off for the Sharks but should this pace continue, he will soon be relegated to a bench role.

Repeating a season in A+ as a 24-year-old, the status quo has remained the same for Chris Hoo. And it isn't good. A disappointing 4-16 week is the latest export from the backstop which brings his year to a .236/.310/.281 total thus far after a .201/.278/.252 year last season. A stout 5'9", 190 pounder, Hoo's physical strike zone is tiny but he expands it mentally by swinging at almost everything close to the plate which has led to a 17/7 K/BB this year, a 52/26 last year and a 1.8% K/BB ratio on his career. Hoo's struggles at the plate are equal in the field where his from behind the plate are lofty and rarely have enough strength behind them, explaining the fact he's only thrown out 79 of a potential 204 base stealers in his career including 17 of 36 this year. At 24 with a lot to work on mechanically, Hoo isn't much of a prospect.

Alternatively, Michael Mader is a quality prospect who has had a rough week. The lefty hurler lasted just three innings in each of his starts and gave up a total of 7 runs, breaking a streak of 6 of his last 7 outings lasting at least 5 IP with one run or less allowed in each. Even with the two tough starts though, Mader's ERA sits at just 3.3, his WHIP at 1.29. Last year, Mader showed he has all the stuff to succeed but had trouble putting it all together in any one start. This year, he's grown in to the velo spike he received last year when he went from the low 90s to reaching 95 with his heat very well. He's flashing that type of heat on a much more consistent basis thanks to improved arm speed. His slow 11-5 curveball plays off the heat very well. His changeup is showing improved run and is turning in to a solid compliment to the heat as well. Mader isn't a guy that is going to hang a ton of Ks in his career but he hits spots with ease and has the knowledge of the art of pitching to get in the heads of opposing hitters. Very mature for his 22 years, there is no doubt he will rebound from this rough stretch. Mader is a quality asset that should be watched closely.

Up Next

After they finish a current series in Clearwater on Sunday, the Sharks will head back home to take on the Lakeland Flying Tigers whom they split a four game series with in April and the Daytona Tortugas whom they will be facing for the first time for three games each. A single game against St. Lucie whom the Sharks are 3-5 against will precede the three day All-Star break.