Fish Stripes: All Posts by Kevin Barral

Miami Marlins Acquire Jonathan Davis from Detroit Tigers

2023-05-22T22:22:58-04:00

Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images

Miami adds some major league-ready outfield depth via trade in exchange for a recent draft pick.

On Monday, the Miami Marlins announced their acquisition of outfielder Jonathan Davis from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for 2021 fifth-round draft pick Brady Allen.

The Marlins have acquired OF Jonathan Davis from the Tigers in exchange for minor league OF Brady Allen.#Marlins
— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) May 22, 2023

Davis, who was drafted in the 15th round of the 2013 MLB Draft, spent most of his career with the Toronto Blue Jays as a AAAA guy. Davis' best season at the major league would be the shortened 2020 season where he slashed .259/.364/.444/.808 with one home run and six RBIs in 13 games played. Aside from that small sample size, he hasn’t played too much more at the highest level.

Davis was designated for assignment in 2021, spending time with the New York Yankees, Milwaukee Brewers and most recently the Tigers. In AAA Toledo, Davis was slashing .258/.336/.516/.852 with five home runs and 20 RBIs at the time of the trade. On defense, he was splitting time between all three outfield positions.

The move to acquire Davis was to simply have outfield depth in the minor leagues as at the moment. Injuries to Avisaíl García, Jesús Sánchez and Jazz Chisholm Jr. led to the recent call-ups of Xavier Edwards and Peyton Burdick.

If there is an encouraging sign with Davis, it is the last week of play where he is slashing .471/.526/.765/1.291 with one home run and two RBIs. This is something to take with a grain of salt considering his age (31) and the fact that he’s had many years of AAA experience.

In terms of what the Marlins gave up, they gave up an under-the-radar prospect in Brady Allen. Miami drafted Allen in the fifth round of the 2021 draft. Since then, it’s been nothing special, but thus far in High-A Beloit, Allen is slashing .256/.324/.440/764 with a 116 wRC+, which is way over the league average. The Sky Carp were mainly using him in right field.

Brady Allen looks like he’s a mini Adam Duvall so sign me up pic.twitter.com/bEbDehEjJg https://t.co/mTyHkajfcg
— Calico Joe (@CalicoJoeMLB) May 22, 2023

Meanwhile in Low-A Jupiter, outfielder Jorge Caballero has been raking (.350/.441/.463, 157 wRC+). Maybe Allen’s departure creates room for him to be promoted.

It is a little weird that Miami gave up a 23-year-old prospect for a 31-year-old filler, but maybe Miami believes that Allen is ultimately going to become nothing more than a filler himself. It’s obviously hard to choose a winner in a minor league trade, but the Tigers did get the younger player who has many more years of club control. Time is on their side.

This transaction has no implications on the current 40-man roster.

Jonathan Davis will most likely be sent to AAA Jacksonville where he will stay until there’s a clear fit for him on the active roster. As for Allen, he hasn’t officially been assigned to an affiliate, but expect it to be the Tigers’ High-A team.

Known for his speed, Jordan McCants wants to “slow the game down”

2023-05-22T07:00:00-04:00

Fish Stripes checks in with the Marlins prospect during his first season playing at full-season ball.

In the third round of the 2021 MLB Draft, the Miami Marlins selected Jordan McCants from Pensacola Catholic (FL). Since that moment, the journey for McCants hasn’t been an easy one, but he is seeing improvements thus far in the 2023 season where he is now at Low-A for the first time in his career.

GET THAT BASEBALL! ⚾️

First career home run for Jordan McCants (@JordanMcCants4).

101.5 mph exit velo, 415 feet.#Marlins | @GoHammerheads pic.twitter.com/3lGKbDo68O
— Fish on the Farm (@marlinsminors) April 15, 2023

Currently slashing .247/.297/.310, McCants’ numbers don’t jump off the page, but he’s impacting almost every game in a positive way. The left-handed-hitting infielder has reached base safely in 33 of his 39 appearances this season. He has already established a new career high with 10 steals in 11 attempts.

“Just trying to slow the game down,” said McCants following the Hammerheads game on Saturday. “We’ve been battling and competing every day, so just trying to slow the game down and stick to my approach and just go out there and have fun.”

McCants described the 2022-23 offseason as “a mind opener” for him. “I reviewed the whole season last year. I was thinking what could I have done better and every situation or every aspect of the game, and I just basically drilled it in my mind—try to connect those dots and make it better this year and just keep on progressing and trying to stay as consistent as I can with baseball.”

Jordan turned 21 years old on Sunday. For as long as he can remember, Robinson Canó has been a player that he has looked up to.

Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images

“Robinson was my favorite player since I was a toddler,” said McCants. “I’ve been with him since the Yankees. I followed him to the Mariners, the Mets, the Padres, the Braves, everywhere, man.”

“He just slows the game down,” added McCants. “He’s smooth, he just makes the game look effortless and I try to go out there and do the same, make it look easy because it’s not easy at all.”

Like Canó, McCants’ main position for the FCL Marlins last season was second base. However, he’s getting a lot more reps at third for Jupiter (26 of his 39 starts this season).

McCants is from the city of Pensacola, Florida, which is where the Marlins Double-A affiliate, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, play. McCants participated in the team’s annual Fish Fest in January. He shared his love of the city and how much it would mean for him to wear that jersey in a game.

“When I got down here in spring training ball, I met a lot of guys that are on that affiliate team,” said McCants. “I just love those guys out there, man. They’re doing their thing. I’m happy for them and I was just telling somebody the other day about the 10-game win streak, and you know, those boys are just doing great...I’m telling everybody in Pensacola to go to the Wahoos games right now.”

Pensacola Blue Wahoos

From left to right: Matt Snyder, Griffin Conine, Will Banfield and Jordan McCants

There have been 25 MLB players to come out of Pensacola, according to Baseball-Reference, including 2015 AL MVP Josh Donaldson and 2016 World Series champion Addison Russell. Although McCants is still far away from joining that group, his development has been encouraging to see.

Main Takeaways from a Visit to Jupiter

2023-05-20T19:17:12-04:00

Kevin Barral/Fish Stripes

JUPITER, FL—With the Miami Marlins on a long road trip, I decided to take a small trip to Jupiter to watch some of the Low-A prospects battle it out with the Daytona Beach Tortugas.

Marlins number eight prospect Jacob Miller was expected to start, but was a healthy scratch and will pitch at some point next week. Instead, the Hammerheads went with 19 year-old prospect Jhoniel Serrano who gave up five runs (four earned), struck out two, and walked six. Velocity wise, Serrano looked good as he topped at 92-93 MPH. Aside from that, Serrano used his Cutter, Curveball, Changeup, Sinker, and Slider which showed his deep pitch-mix, but aside from that, nothing truly impressive from the Hammerheads starter.

Despite struggling thus far in the season, Pensacola native Jordan McCants had himself a nice game. Going three for five with two singles and a double, McCants is a small, but quick player, so seeing him run at 28.9 feet per second was no surprise as well. Despite the struggles in the month of May, the sign of hope for the 20-year-old is putting the ball in play with a .364 BABIP.

Torin Montgomery, who was drafted in the 2022 MLB Draft, has had a slow start to the season, but is seeing the ball better as of late. Torin this afternoon had an RBI double, a single, and a walk. “Just learning, getting things under my belt,” said Torin before the game. “I don’t really like to believe in slumps,” said Montgomery on his slow start to the season.

For more on Torin Montgomery and his adjustment to pro-ball, listen to my interview with him.

Torin with an RBI double. The Hammerheads are now down 5-3. #Marlins I @GoHammerheads https://t.co/VPwgLyN1vS pic.twitter.com/2hjIWiGg9T
— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) May 20, 2023

Ian Lewis, who has been struggling this season, saw the ball well today as he walked twice and only struck out once. Entering today’s game, Lewis is slashing .333/.467/.500/.960 with three walks and two strikeouts in the series against Daytona. If there is hope for Lewis to get it going, this is a nice series to do it.

Although he didn’t make the start today, we had the opportunity to speak to Jacob Miller prior to the game. “A lot of learning, a lot of adjustments to make,” said Miller. “Biggest thing is to fill up the strike zone and work on execution.” This season, Miller has a 5.00 ERA, 4.26 FIP, but has been able to fill up the strike zone as he is at a 8.00 K/9 this season.

For more on Miller and his transition to pro-ball, being drafted by the Marlins, and how important the changeup has been not only to him, but the whole Marlins organization as a whole, check out my interview with Miller.

Despite not making the start today, we were able to talk to Miami #Marlins number eight prospect according to MLB Pipeline Jacob Miller on the transition to the big leagues, pitch arsenal, and the development of the change up. @fishstripes pic.twitter.com/E89F1FII8T
— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) May 20, 2023

In the Jupiter bullpen, Manuel Medina was truly impressive in terms of his stuff. With low velos, watching the movement on his pitches were a sight to see. Going mainly with his changeup, he was able to get 10 swings on it which shows how much that pitch confuses batters, but also is something to take with a grain of salt as this is the Low-A level and there are guys who are very raw. Medina ended his outing going 2 ²⁄₃ innings, striking out four, walked two, and gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits.

Javier Sanoja, who was on a nine game hitting streak saw that come to a close on Friday, but got it going today going one for three with an RBI single. Excluding this afternoon’s game, Sanoja is slashing .262/.321/.362/.682 with 20 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. if there is a player who has shined in the Low-A level, Sanoja is one to mention. Sanoja is also striking out at a low 12.2% rate and walking at a 8.3% rate.

Game Notes:

Jhoniel Serrano was the leader in swing-and-miss
Jordan McCants, Brett Roberts, and Torin Montgomery had multi-hit games
Jorge Caballero, who has been the best player for the Hammerheads in 2023, went hitless
The Hammerheads had a total of five errors today by five different players
Tommy Nance, who is currently on a rehab assignment in Jupiter, was not seen today and the last time that he pitched with the Hammerheads was on May 12.

Something fishy with Tommy Nance. Pitched in a rehab game on May 12, but hasn't appeared since. https://t.co/qtbYcYKNF8
— Fish Stripes (@fishstripes) May 20, 2023

Jupiter dropped the game by a final score of 9-4.

MIA 3, SFG 4: Sandy’s late-game struggles continue in loss against the Giants

2023-05-20T00:58:14-04:00

Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images

The Marlins are now just 2-7 this season in games started by the reigning NL Cy Young award winner.

After a successful homestand, Miami began their 10-game road trip in San Francisco on Friday night.

The first run of the game occurred in the bottom of the fourth inning. A Mitch Haniger RBI double drove in Michael Conforto, who had a base hit in his at-bat. Haniger took advantage of Sandy in this at-bat as the sinker just seemed to not be working for him. The Giants took the 1-0 lead.

The Giants strike first as Mitch Haniger smacks an RBI double to give San Fran a 1-0 lead. #Marlins #SFGiants pic.twitter.com/K1Hxpwk3Oc
— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) May 20, 2023

After being unable to get anything going, the Marlins offense woke up and got to Giants starter Anthony DeSclafani in the top of the sixth inning. Jorge Soler worked the walk, Luis Arráez had his 10th double of the season and his third hit of the night, and Bryan De La Cruz continued his hitting streak which drove in both Soler and Arráez to give Miami a 2-1 lead.

Miami takes the lead! Bryan De La Cruz with an RBI double which drove in both Soler and Arráez.

Miami takes the 2-1 lead and that’ll do it for Anthony DeSclafani.#Marlins #SFGiants pic.twitter.com/GbRVjBvGlg
— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) May 20, 2023

That didn’t last long because everything went wrong for Alcantara in the bottom of the sixth. After giving up a walk to LaMonte Wade Jr. and a base hit to Thairo Estrada, former New York Met J.D. Davis had a sac fly that drove in Wade Jr. to tie the game at two apiece. Right after, Michael Conforto had a sac fly to drive in Thairo Estrada. That gave the Giants a 3-2 lead.

Something to note on the Thairo Estrada single is the mental mistake that Alcantara made and how that cost him the game. A couple of weeks back, we saw a bad throw to first from Alcantara, that seemed to have stuck in his mind and it ended up being a big factor as to why Miami lost that afternoon. Sandy made a horrid throw to first which then moved Wade Jr, to third and Estrada to second. That paved the way for both sac flies.

Mental mistake for Sandy as he makes a bad throw. We saw this against the Diamondbacks a couple weeks back and it led to a rough ending to his outing. #Marlins pic.twitter.com/osYVp7PXhp
— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) May 20, 2023

The nail in the coffin to Sandy’s start was a Mitch Haniger single, Mike Yastrzemski walk, and a Casey Schmitt RBI single to make it 4-2.

Going 5 ²⁄₃ innings, striking out five, walking three, and giving up four earned runs, the Marlins ace struggled towards the back end of his start, which has been a trend as of late.

Sandy Alcantara the 3rd time thru the Giants lineup pic.twitter.com/9QVl4r7j5d
— Fish Stripes (@fishstripes) May 20, 2023

The big difference for Sandy was the use of his pitch mix. He had been relying on his sinker this season as he throws it 27.7% of the time. Tonight, that was his least-used pitch as he shifted toward the four-seam fastball (43.0%), collecting four of his five strikeouts with it. The use of a different pitch mix could’ve been an adjustment to his slight dip in velocity and spin rate, which has been an issue in the past couple of starts for the Marlins ace.

Aside from the sixth inning, DeSclafani had everything working for him. Disco struck out six, walked two, and allowed two earned runs on five hits. Overall, the San Fran starter did not disappoint.

Late in the game, Bryan De La Cruz crushed a solo homer that left the bat at 102.0 MPH and went 403 feet into the air to pull the Marlins back within a run.

The Bryan De La Cruz hot streak continues as he hits a 403 foot solo homer that left the bat at 102.0 MPH.

Miami is now down, 4-3. #Marlins pic.twitter.com/Blfd7lOY7X
— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) May 20, 2023

De La Cruz has been the Marlins best hitter as of late and is currently riding a 13-game hit streak. What an impressive turnaround it’s been considering how much he was struggling a couple of weeks back when he wasn’t even hitting close to the Mendoza line.

Both Skip Schumaker and Jacob Stallings were ejected in the bottom of the eighth after Bryan Hoeing issued a walk to J.D. Davis. Prior to the 3-2 pitch, Schumaker said the Marlins believed Davis should’ve been charged with a pitch clock violation (resulting in a strikeout). The umpires huddled up to discuss, but didn’t rule in the Marlins’ favor. Bryan Hoeing was able to pitch out of the inning without allowing any runs, but Luis Urueta and Nick Fortes had to complete the game in place of Schumaker and Stallings, respectively.

Miami was unable to add to the De La Cruz home run and fell in game one of the series by a final score of 4-3. This would mark the club’s second one-run loss of the season.

Manager Skip Schumaker Postgame Press Conference

The Fish are back at it on Saturday as Braxton Garrett takes the mound for the Marlins against Giants ace Logan Webb. First pitch is at 4:05 pm EST.

How Marlins discovered Eury Pérez, knew time was right for call-up

2023-05-18T07:15:00-04:00

Jasen Vinlove/Miami Marlins/Getty Images

“He’s a diamond,” the area scout who signed Pérez said. “You see his shining light from far away.”

On Friday, Miami Marlins top prospect, Eury Pérez made his major league debut against the Cincinnati Reds. Going 4 ²⁄₃ innings, striking out seven, only giving up two runs, and throwing 88 pitches, Eury looked like he belonged despite being MLB’s youngest active player.

For Eury to reach the sport’s highest level at age 20 speaks to his individual ability, but also to key members of the Marlins organization who gave him the opportunity and guidance to develop so rapidly.

When Pérez was just 15 years old, he was still extremely raw, but had shown potential. “He’s a diamond,” said Angel Izquierdo, the area scout who signed Eury. “You see his shining light from far away. I was looking for a job in the baseball world and I saw this kid and I’m like, okay okay, and then see everybody standing up like looking at this kid. I’m okay, I’m not wrong about him. So this guy is special.”

Before we see 20 year old Eury make his debut, let’s take a look at Eury in 2018 when he was just 15 years old. #Marlins pic.twitter.com/4tUnc2n0HX
— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) May 12, 2023

“The talent, it’s too obvious, man,” Izquierdo continued. “It was too obvious there that talent, that smoothed out body, that’s too much, it was too much. It was too easy to identify that.”

“If I were with a team at that time, I will definitely sign this guy,” Izquierdo recalled thinking. “Then the Marlins gave me the opportunity and Eury was one of the first, actually the first one that I showed them...long story short, he’s a Marlin. It was a whole good process.”

With coaching and added strength, Eury’s fastball velocity increased dramatically through the years. Izquierdo remembers the pitch sitting in the low 80s when he saw him for the first time. Against major league competition last Friday, Eury averaged 97.4 mph and topped out at 99.1.

Strikeout number one for Eury Perez. 98.1 MPH fastball to get Tyler Stephenson.

Pitches thrown: 15#Marlins pic.twitter.com/5CZk5MZNDi
— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) May 12, 2023

“Eury’s been a pretty natural strike-thrower,” said Adrian Lorenzo, Marlins senior director of international operations. “So for most young guys, especially young Latin guys, the command and the control part usually has to work its way into a manageable spot. The good thing is for Eury, he was a pretty natural strike-thrower from the beginning and just kind of consistently kept that trend, so that’s put him in a different category than most.”

“And then I’d say the pretty big obvious one,” Lorenzo added, “he just came on physically, right? Like came on physically over the course of the last two years which puts him in a spot where he can be throwing consistently mid-to-upper 90s. Without that physical development, he doesn’t get to this point where he’s at right now. I think he's still got a lot of physical projection left, so as crazy as it seems, there’s a lot more left to see from Eury still.”

At the time of his official signing—July 2, 2019—the Marlins listed Eury’s weight at 170 pounds. Entering this season, he was listed at 220.

“For me, it’s been the miscellaneous stuff,” said Hector Crespo, Marlins director of minor league operations. “I think, obviously the pitch package and arsenal has always been there, the delivery, the fluidity of it all, it’s just the reason that he went to Double-A again—the PFP part of it, the pitch-to-pitch-to-count stuff, just the whole foundation level, and I think he’s really made strides, especially this year. So just put them in a better position to have success and hopefully stick here for a long time.”

Pérez skipped the Triple-A level completely to join the Marlins rotation. Due to his inexperience and the canceled 2020 MiLB season, he threw only 186 career innings in regular season games prior to debuting. Both Lorenzo and Crespo said they are unsure about how Eury’s workload will be managed at the big league level.

“I’ll leave it to [pitching coach] Mel (Stottlemyre Jr.) and [general manger] Kim (Ng) and how they want to operate it,” said Crespo. “I just think his work in Double-A has kind of set him up for what he’s going to be doing here in the Major Leagues.”

For all of the Marlins employees who have watched Eury develop from a $200,000 signee into the organization’s top prospect, the debut was a big day for them and they couldn’t have been more excited:

“I think, like Adrian (Lorenzo) said, that it got here a little quicker than anticipated, but it couldn’t have been for a better guy, a better competitor, a better person. He’s gone each step of the way. He’s been the ultimate, I’d say, competitor, but he’s been able to get here. It’s a testament to his character of the person he is, so obviously the ability is there, but just happy for him and his family...it’s just full-circle kind of deal.”

Pérez will be going back out for his second start against the Washington Nationals on Thursday at 1:10 p.m. If he goes another start after that, he will be heading up to Coors Field to face the Colorado Rockies.

Adjustments have been key for Bryan Hoeing

2023-05-13T11:40:09-04:00

Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images

After a rough 2022 campaign, Bryan Hoeing has looked sharp thus far in 2023.

Last season, right-handed pitcher Bryan Hoeing made his major league debut as an emergency starter for the Miami Marlins. Flown across the country on short notice to replace an injured Braxton Garrett, he had the challenge of facing the dominant Los Angeles Dodgers on the road.

Although the story of his call-up was nice, Hoeing’s debut went as badly as feared. He allowed seven earned runs, including two home runs. Final score: L.A. 7, Miami 0.

Bryan Hoeing strikes out Max Muncy for his first big league strikeout. It was on a 80.4 MPH Curveball.#Marlins 0, #Dodgers 3 pic.twitter.com/SdVw80A2CZ
— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) August 21, 2022

Hoeing pitched out of the Marlins bullpen after that with mixed results. He finished 2022 with a 12.08 ERA and 8.48 FIP in 12 ²⁄₃ innings pitched. The Marlins were able to outright him to the minors after the season ended because no other team claimed him off waivers.

However, Hoeing has quickly worked himself back into the picture, rejoining Miami’s active roster and having a lot more success this time around. Since his April 25 call-up, Hoeing has a 4.73 ERA with a 2.84 FIP.

“I think it’s just more confidence,” said Hoeing when I spoke to him prior to the game on Friday. “I definitely put a lot of work in this offseason with my body, my pitchability, my pitches, and everything like that.”

Hoeing is incorporating the 4-seam fastball more, which was a pitch that he threw only once in the majors in 2022. He has thrown it 32 times this season and will most likely continue to use it. Aside from that, he continues to use his trusty sinker and slider, which have been producing more whiffs.

“Throwing all three of my pitches for strikes at any point in the count—it just opens up the plate, keeps the hitters a little bit more off-balance,” said Hoeing.

A big change that we’ve seen from 2022 to 2023 is the higher strikeout rate. His Triple-A K/9 more than doubled from 4.69 to 10.38. In the majors so far this season, it is 8.10. That adjustment is important for a groundball pitcher now that infield shifting has been restricted.

Interesting to let Nardi begin this third inning.

Nonetheless, after getting BABIP’d, Bryan Hoeing has come back to get Dansby Swanson this way. Consistent 94 mph fastballs.#Marlins pic.twitter.com/HpUA1gXzJU
— Fish on the Farm (@marlinsminors) May 6, 2023

“I don’t mind it,” said Hoeing regarding the pitch clock. “I work quickly as it is, so for me, it doesn’t really affect me too much. I think as pitchers we can kind of use that to our advantage sometimes whether it’s a whole, not a whole sidestep, all that stuff. I think you can use it to your advantage and obviously, the pace of play overall for baseball is improved too, which is good for the fans.”

Marlins number one prospect Eury Perez debuted on Friday, displacing Hoeing from the starting rotation. Instead, Hoeing entered in relief of him and threw 1 ¹⁄₃ innings and struck out two while only walking one and giving up one hit.

Hoeing’s spot in the Marlins ‘pen could be in danger soon. JT Chargois is days away from coming off the injured list and Rule 5 Draft pick Nic Enright needs a spot once he’s eligible later this month.

“I just take it one day at a time,” said Hoeing. “Personally, just stay healthy, go out there, and help the team win. It’s more about the team and is for me being around these guys.”

If Hoeing keeps pitching like this, Miami’s front office will have an interesting decision to make.

CIN 7, MIA 4; Eury’s strong debut not enough as Fish fall to Reds late

2023-05-12T22:13:04-04:00

Photo by Andres Bolivar/Con Las Bases Llenas

Miami’s top prospect had to settle for a no-decision in his first MLB start.

The day finally arrived: Eury Pérez made his Major League debut. Pitching 4 ²⁄₃ innings and striking out seven, the 20-year-old righty set the bar high for himself for future starts.

In his first major league start, the expectation for the top prospect was to go out there and throw five innings of good ball. He threw good ball for the most part, but was one out away from finishing the fifth.

Perez's first mistake came in the top of the fourth inning where he allowed a solo homer to Tyler Stephenson (who was also Perez's first strikeout victim). A 104.6 miles per hour, 388-foot homer gave the Reds the early 1-0 lead.

Well, Tyler Stephenson was Eury Perez first strikeout victim and now he is the first player that Eury gives up a homer to.

388 feet

104.6 Exit velo #Marlins pic.twitter.com/I7KNO41Vq6
— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) May 12, 2023

It was smooth sailing for Eury until the top of the fifth. With two outs in the inning, Jake Fraley came up to the plate and on the first pitch of the at-bat, Fraley hit a solo homer that gave the Reds a 2-1 lead and ended Eury’s night. Fraley’s home run left the bat at 105.8 MPH and went 399 feet into the air.

“Yeah, I mean three strikes, which was the most impressive with every pitch,” said Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker. “Commanding the curveball and slider, changeup was really good in big spots, three-two counts, throwing offspeed striking out Will Myers, who is a really good hitter for a long time.”

“I felt like you can control his emotions as good as anybody out there. So super impressive what he did out there. I thought Stallings did a great job with him as well and couldn’t have asked for a better start.”

Eury Pérez with the lineup card from his debut and the ball from his 1st Strikeout#Marlins pic.twitter.com/w6xfz9HI2b
— Daniel (@Drodyyy) May 13, 2023

Despite Perez giving up the two runs, he still had himself an encouraging outing. Going mainly with his fastball which he threw 40 times and then his slider which he threw 26 times, the Dominican had seven strikeouts. He threw the curveball 18 times and four of those were strikeout pitches and then he punched out two more with the slider. He only struck out one with the fastball.

Perez showed what we expected in terms of using his secondary stuff and produced a lot of whiffs with it. To be more specific, Eury produced 16 swings-and-misses. In terms of his control, Perez was fine, only walking two hitters (one of which could’ve easily been a strikeout instead).

Eury’s 88-pitch workload was only two below his minor league career high of 90.

Eury Perez final line:

4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO, 88 NP#Marlins pic.twitter.com/0zFNRl8zVA
— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) May 12, 2023

“I want to thank the team for the opportunity,” said Perez through translator Luis Dorante Jr. when asked about his emotions. “Going out there, it was an unbelievable experience to deal with. To play against these veteran players, the emotions were all over the place to be honest, but I was able to control it.”

Despite holding the lead for the majority of the game, Graham Ashcraft did have his struggles tonight as he gave up two homers an RBI and a passed ball that scored a runner. Ashcraft went 5 ²⁄₃ innings, struck out three and gave up a total of six hits. Compared to past outings, Ashcraft didn’t miss as many bats as usual.

The first run that Ashcraft gave up was an RBI double to Bryan De La Cruz who had been struggling for the past couple of weeks. Arráez—who got on base through an error—continued to show excellent baserunning as he went from first to home and scored easily (26.5 feet per second sprint speed).

“We actually caught a break right there,” said Schumaker. “You know, I think we might have been in between them when to send them not to send them, whatever. Fraley cut off the ball pretty quick there, he probably thought that it was going to go all the way to the ball. Probably caught a break there. Having said that, we’ve been running the bases a lot better lately.”

#Marlins get on the board and tie this game up. RBI double from Bryan De La Cruz. I continue to be impressed with Luis Arráez base running. 26.5 feet per second this time for Arráez. pic.twitter.com/P9Zd52ED2h
— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) May 12, 2023

It didn’t get any better for Ashcraft after giving up the RBI double. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Joey Wendle smacked a triple—misplayed by Wil Myers—to put himself in scoring position. Not too long after, Ashcraft threw a passed ball that allowed Wendle to score, but originally called out. After checking the replay, Wendle was safe as Ashcraft had dropped the ball and on top of that, it seemed as if there was interference on his end. Marlins tied the game up at two apiece.

Carlos Torres pauses to watch the ball fly loose but still calls Joey Wendle out. This call was overturned after video review. pic.twitter.com/DkikGKzj7d
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) May 13, 2023

The bottom of the fifth would get worse for Ashcraft as Jazz Chisholm Jr. crushed a solo homer to give the Marlins the lead to a score of 3-2. With an exit velo of 103.7 MPH and a distance of 381 feet, Jazz hit his sixth home run of the season.

Marlins take the lead after a 381ft Homer-run by Jazz!!!! pic.twitter.com/OKmALtYAse
— Daniel (@Drodyyy) May 13, 2023

Thankfully for Ashcraft, Luis Arráez and Yuli Gurriel both grounded out to finish the inning. The bottom of the sixth was the last we would see from Ashcraft as he gave up a mammoth homer to Peyton Burdick to extend the lead to 4-2.

Burdick’s first home run of the season left the bat at 108.1 MPH and went 425 feet into the air. Peyton’s home run was also the ball that went the furthest tonight and came in second for highest exit velo.

Peyton Burdick Solo shot!!!!

(425ft and an exit velo of 108.1mph) pic.twitter.com/q1Ym8BQTMK
— Daniel (@Drodyyy) May 13, 2023

After Eury was taken out of the game, the Marlins went with reliever Bryan Hoeing who threw 1 ¹⁄₃ innings, allowed one hit, struck out two, and only walked one. Hoeing would be replaced for Tanner Scott who immediately ran into trouble as he allowed a single to Stuart Fairchild and Jose Barrero worked the walk. After that, he struck out Jonathan India and Jake Fraley grounded into a force out. That would be the end of the line for Scott as he taken out in place for Huascar Brazoban.

Brazoban immediately allowed an RBI double to Spencer Steer who drove in Fairchild and Fraley to tie the game up at four. It was a surprising letdown for the usually reliable Brazoban.

Rare blown lead by the Marlins bullpen. Tanner Scott put the tying runs on base and Huascar Brazoban let 'em in with a line drive double.
— Fish Stripes (@fishstripes) May 13, 2023

The Miami would hold up until the top of the ninth which is when Miami went with Dylan Floro. After back-to-back singles from Fairchild and Barrero, Floro would strikeout India. This was second strikeout of the night. Then, the dagger. On a 1-1 count, Floro threw a fastball right down the middle which Jake Fraley took deep for 101.4 MPH and 392 feet to give the Reds 7-4 lead. This was Fraley’s first multi-career home run game and tied a career high four RBIs.

Jake Fraley with his second home run of the night and this time it may be the dagger as the Reds take the 7-4 lead in the top of the ninth inning. #Marlins #Reds
— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) May 13, 2023

Miami would end up dropping game one of the series as reliever Alexis Diaz came in and shut down Jesus Sanchez, Joey Wendle, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. Miami now falls a game under .500 and they’ll look to tie the series up at one apiece with Sandy on the bump for Miami.

Skip Schumaker’s postgame press conference

.@Malrins manager Skip Schumaker talks about Friday's loss to the Reds. #MakeItMiami pic.twitter.com/llm5Z9cDJl
— Bally Sports Florida: Marlins (@BallyMarlins) May 13, 2023

Brad Penny looks back at historic 2003 season

2023-04-29T15:53:46-04:00

Photo credit should read TONY RANZE/AFP via Getty Images

Penny was the latest Marlins alum to visit the ballpark as part of the franchise’s 30th anniversary festivities.

On Friday, the Marlins celebrated “Flashback Friday” for the third time in 2023. In honor of the franchise’s 30th anniversary, the Marlins wear teal pinstripe uniforms and bring in players from the past.

This time around, the Marlins brought infielder Mike Lowell and pitcher Brad Penny, who were integral parts of the 2003 World Series-winning season. Penny threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Lowell.

2003 World Series Champs Mike Lowell (catching) and Brad Penny (throwing). #Marlins pic.twitter.com/5ogKxCPvHF
— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) April 28, 2023

“It’s fun seeing Mikey (Lowell),” Penny told the media. “Anytime Mikey, he has always been a great teammate one of my favorites and I played with him here and in Boston, and it’s just good to see from your face to be in a place that so many memories.”

Penny had a 4.13 ERA and 3.92 FIP, won 14 games and threw 196 ²⁄₃ innings for the 2003 team. He also earned two wins over the favored New York Yankees in the World Series that year. and how big it was for Florida and coming back to watch the Marlins play against the Cubs.

When asked about the memories that Penny made in ‘03, he immediately went to the relationships that he made throughout his Marlins tenure:

“That team was different than the other teams I played for. I tell people all the time, you go to dinner, it’s usually like four here before they’re kind of split up at night. But that team, it was you go do it was going to take four hours because there’s 20 people or so guys coming.”

The Marlins went through a lot of challenges to get to baseball mountain top that year. They hired Jack McKeon mid-way through the season and they had to face some tough opponents in the playoffs, including the Chicago Cubs who were in town on Friday.

“I think you don’t look at that as a player,” Penny said. “That’s just noise that you don’t even pay attention to. The only time we really questioned anything was going into Chicago. We thought we’d beat San Fran, but when we had to be (Mark) Prior and (Kerry) Wood back to back, that’s two great pitchers at their park you kind of question.”

Penny had two stints with the Marlins: from 2000-2004 and in 2014 (the final stop of his career. He posted a 4.12 ERA, 3.97 FIP, 807 ²⁄₃ innings pitched, 483 strikeouts, and a 1.332 WHIP.

Baseball-Reference

Continue to come out to LoanDepot park on Fridays to watch the Marlins play in their teal uniforms and meet more alumni.

CHC 2, MIA 3; Miami gets first walk-off win of the season

2023-04-28T22:52:54-04:00

Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

An unlikely hero drove in the winning run to push the Fish back above .500.

After dropping three out of four against the Atlanta Braves, the Marlins headed back to South Beach with Jesús Luzardo on the mound to see if they can beat the new-look Chicago Cubs.

After two rough outings for Luzardo, he really looked like himself against a good Chicago lineup which featured Dansby Swanson, Ian Happ, and Cody Bellinger. The 25-year-old Venezuelan gave up a homer early on in the game to Nelson Velazquez, but dominated the rest of the way, striking out six. He went 6 ¹⁄₃ innings in which he punched out six Cubbies and gave up two runs. It was the longest start by any Marlins pitcher since April 5 (7.0 IP for Luzardo vs. the Twins).

“I feel like the last two—maybe three in the back half of that Phillies one—just started getting behind on guys and not attacking. So I feel like finding the first-pitch strike again was my biggest key,” said Luzardo following his outing against the Cubs.

The first run which Luzardo gave up was a homer to Nelson Velazquez, who was hitting ninth in the order. With a 101.4 mph exit velo, the Puerto Rican designated hitter gave the Cubs an early 1-0 lead.

A big issue not only with Luzardo, but with the entire Marlins pitching staff has been struggles the third time through the order. There are different ways to assess the third time through the order today for Luzardo.

After striking out Nico Hoerner, Dansby Swanson worked a walk and Ian Happ smacked a base hit. With runners on first and second, Seiya Suzuki grounded into a double play which got Luzardo out of a big jam.

The top of the seventh didn’t go in Luzardo’s favor, though. After Trey Mancini flew out. Cody Bellinger hit a triple to put himself in scoring position. Luzardo was removed from the game following the Bellinger triple. He was replaced by Huascar Brazoban, who allowed an RBI single to pinch-hitter and Cooper City native Eric Hosmer. That run would go to Luzardo’s final line.

Luzardo went more with the slider in his start, which is his second most-used pitch this season. His changeup usage was also up—Luzardo has thrown at a 19.6% rate in 2023, but he used it 25 times (26.0%) and it turned out to be the pitch that had a small tick up in velo. Luzardo topped out at 98.2 MPH. Despite the strong start, the two runs he gave up temporarily put him in line for the loss.

Jesus Luzardo Final Line:

6.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO, 1 HR, 96 NP

This is Luzardo’s third straight outing where he throws 96 pitches. #Marlins pic.twitter.com/L2MPi7ZocQ
— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) April 29, 2023

After a rough outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers where he gave up three homers and five earned runs, Marcus Stroman went 6 ¹⁄₃ innings giving up six hits, two earned runs, and struck out three.

Stroman has a very deep pitch mix and used all six of his pitches tonight. He went sinker-heavy and also unexpectedly relied on the slider, which is a pitch he has used 5.9% of the time this year. Stroman also shied away from his slurve, which he only used seven times tonight, but has used it 26.1% percent of the time this season. Shying away from the slurve made sense for Stroman as the velocity was down and the spin rate was down 150 RPM.

“When Stro is on it’s tough to square the baseball, so Zeus had to go pitch for pitch with them,” said Manager Skip Schumaker on Marcus Stroman following the win.

The first run Stroman gave up began with Jesus Sanchez working the walk in which he then stole second base (his third stolen base of the season). Nick Fortes, who had been struggling this season, came up big with a base hit to move Sanchez to third. Jon Berti then grounded into a double play. Although this wasn’t an RBI for Berti, it scored run number one of the game for the Fish.

After the third inning, Stroman cruised through the next four innings until running into trouble in the bottom of the seventh inning. After Luis Arráez worked the walk, Avisail Garcia got a base hit to move him up Arráez to third.

Avi Garcia continues to find success as of late and gets a base hit to move Luis Arráez to third base. Arráez had a sprint speed of 26.7. #Marlins pic.twitter.com/yMAnQgMop5
— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) April 29, 2023

With runners on the corners and one out, Jean Segura, who ended up being the player of the game, smacked an RBI single to tie the game up 1-1. The ball left the bat at 102.5 MPH that scored Arráez.

Jean Segura, who hasn’t had an ideal start to the season comes in clutch and has his biggest hit as a Marlin so far. RBI single to drive in Luis Arráez. #Marlins have tied the game at two apiece. pic.twitter.com/bTraI31fDM
— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) April 29, 2023

In the top of the ninth inning, the Marlins sent out closer A.J. Puk to keep the game at two apiece. Puk struck out Mancini and Bellinger to begin the inning, but ran into some trouble as Nick Madrigal (who entered the game as a pinch-hitter) and Yan Gomes hit back-to-back singles to put men on first and second. Nelson Velazquez, who had hit the solo homer in the top of the third inning, grounded into a force out which ended the inning.

That set the stage for the Marlins to walk the game off for the first time in 2023.

The bottom of the ninth began with Jorge Soler getting a base hit. He was replaced by Garrett Hampson to be the pinch-runner. Then, both Luis Arráez and Avisail Garcia were hit by pitches to load the bases for Jean Segura.

Segura was down 0-2 in the count when he got to Michael Rucker’s cutter and hit it right down the middle to give the Marlins a walk-off win.

Walk-off win number one for the #Marlins. Jean Segura with the RBI single to win it. Marlins are now 8-0 in one-run games and they move to 14-13 on the season. pic.twitter.com/X7HW7RjOVX
— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) April 29, 2023

“He’s one of the leaders in the clubhouse,” said Skip. “He’s the guy that tried to get everybody going no matter how frustrated he is. The guy loves to play baseball so when you see him out there frustrated it hurts you because how much it means to him and how passionate he is when he plays the game and the guy wants to play every single day and you know he’s going to come out on top of this thing.”

Skip then mentioned that it is just a slow start for Jean, but that he is starting to hit the ball very well and it is good to see “those sneak through finally, because if anybody deserves one of those four-hoppers through the infield, it’s definitely Jean.”

Manager Skip Schumaker’s postgame press conference

"You have.a lot of winners in that locker room."

Skip Schumaker speaks after Jean Segura's walk-off victory for the Marlins!@Marlins | #MakeItMiami pic.twitter.com/blB9hpsDoQ
— Bally Sports Florida: Marlins (@BallyMarlins) April 29, 2023

Miami is back at it on Saturday with Edward Cabrera on the mound against Caleb Kilian. The Marlins will be celebrating La Serie Del Caribe, which makes its way to Miami in 2024. Past stars such as Andruw Jones and Vladimir Guerrero Sr. will be in attendance for the celebration.

Garrett Hampson excited for new challenges in Miami

2023-04-27T13:15:00-04:00

Photo by Danis Sosa/Fish Stripes

Hampson’s role has been expanding in his first year with the Marlins organization.

After spending the last five seasons with the Colorado Rockies, Garrett Hampson was a free agent for the first time and signed a minor-league deal with the Miami Marlins.

The Miami #Marlins are signing outfielder Garrett Hampson to a minor league deal.

2022 (MLB): .211 BA, .287 OBP, .307 SLG, .594 OPS, 2 HR, 15 RBI pic.twitter.com/IB32kIFJTV
— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) December 19, 2022

“Just felt like this was a good spot for me,” said Hampson. “I can contribute and help the team win and I was really excited about the staff and the players here. Obviously, a really talented team who once we put it all together, we can definitely win a lot of games.”

During Spring Training, Hampson was added to the Marlins 40-man roster. That quickly proved to be a crucial move. Less than a week into the regular season, Hampson was on a plane down to Miami after shortstop Joey Wendle suffered an intercostal strain that required a trip to the IL.

Through the first 14 games of his Marlins tenure, Hampson is slashing .222/.263/.389/.652 with four RBIs. His 78 wRC+ is easily his highest since his 2018 debut.

“Preparation and having a good plan up there and I’ve always been able to hit, so I’m kind of just trying to get back to feeling comfortable in the box and I feel good where I’m at right now,” said Hampson when asked about what he would attribute his success to thus far.

Hampson previously played his home games at Coors Field, MLB’s most hitter-friendly environment. Now, he’s getting used to LoanDepot, which is famously a pitcher's ballpark. The change of scenery hasn’t been an issue through 15 plate appearances there, as he is slashing .308/.400/.615/1.015 and came up huge on the last homestand.

“I think that kind of plays into my game,” Hampson explained. “The outfield is still big, I can make the good plays out there in center or the infield and use my speed to kind of create some runs. So yeah, I think it’s a good ballpark for me.”

Garrett Hampson who is hitting ninth smashes a solo homer to put the #Marlins back in it.

Exit Velo: 99.3 mph

Launch Angle: 39 DEG

Distance: 366 FT

Home Run in all 30 ballparks

Hit probability: 13%

Barrel: No pic.twitter.com/ISOICBbQBS
— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) April 15, 2023

A big factor that went into the decision to add Hampson to the 40-man despite the underwhelming spring training numbers is his defensive versatility. Hampson has played every position except first base, pitcher, and catcher. The Marlins have most frequently used him at shortstop so far, but also second, center and right.

“It brings value to me and being able to be available at different positions when Skip (Schumaker) needs me,” said Hampson. “So I think anywhere on any team, it’s valuable, but it’s nice to be able to do that for this team.”

After being with Colorado’s Bud Black for the past five seasons, Hampson is under a new manager who comes from a much different background.

“He’s been good,” said Hampson about Skip. “He’s a really good communicator. You never are questioning what he wants or what they're asking of you. So it’s been great so far.”

Hampson also praises Skip for his in-game maneuvers, even those that come at the expense of his playing time. On April 15, Skip had Hampson up at the plate late in the game with runners on the corners and put Luis Arráez to pinch-hit for him and it ended up being a game-winning RBI single.

Hampson’s 2023 goals? “Have a good year, contribute to this team, and most importantly win games for this team.”

Joey Wendle is on track to come back from the injured list next week, but Hampson has made the case to stay up with the big league team for a little longer than expected.