Tag Archive for: Lewis Brinson

Marlins doubleheader Phillies

5 Takeaways from Marlins Doubleheader Split with Phillies

/0 Comments/in /by

The 5-day, 7-game series between the Miami Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies stands as the most important series in recent Marlins history. Meaningful baseball in September is not something Marlins Park has witnessed lately. After a rousing walk-off win on Thursday, the Marlins split Friday’s doubleheader with the Phillies, taking Game 2 5-3 after a 11-0 Game 1 loss.

Here’s a look at five takeaways from the Marlins doubleheader split with the Phillies.

Dontrelle Willis in on Trevor Rogers

The Marlins have a bevy of young arms at their disposal. And while most of the headline these days have been reserved for Sixto Sanchez, Trevor Rogers has also impressed. Entering Friday’s doubleheader, Rogers posted a 3.00 ERA with 21 strikeouts over his first three starts at the Major League level.

Rogers, a former first-round pick by the Marlins, outdueled two-time Cy Young award winner Jacob deGrom. He then notched a career-high 10 strikeouts in his last outing against Tampa Bay. Perhaps most impressive is Rogers accomplishments come without a single start above Double-A prior to 2020.

Rogers piled up five strikeouts over the first two innings on Friday. Unfortunately, though, the potent Phillies lineup figured him out in the third and fourth innings, putting up nine runs (eight earned) and chasing him from the game. Rogers exited with 26 strikeouts over his first four career starts with the Marlins, matching the franchise record held by Dontrelle Willis.

During the game, Willis voiced his support for Rogers on Twitter.

 

“[Rogers is] a strike thrower with great life but teams can use that to be aggressive (which the Phillies did the second time around) and they swing at everything cause they know it’s going to be in the zone,” Willis said on Twitter. “I was effectively wild so they couldn’t do that to me.”

Rogers will have to make adjustments, like moving the hitters’ feet, which Willis mentioned, if he wants to continue his early-season successes. After Friday’s performance, Rogers’ ERA jumped from 3.00 to 6.50.

Run Differential Doesn’t Mean Much

Entering Saturday’s game, the Marlins team run differential sits at minus-28. That’s the fourth-worst run differential in the National League, but Miami currently sports the sixth-best record in the NL and holds the 7-seed for the playoffs.

Going into their final game in Atlanta earlier this week, the Marlins had an even run differential. What followed over the last four games pushed the run differential to negative-28.

That said, Miami is 2-2 in that span, despite being outscored 45-21.

Wednesday’s historic loss tilted the differential dramatically to the negative. Remove that contest, the Marlins would be minus-8 for the season. Take Friday’s 11-0 game off the ledger and Miami’s plus-3. And that’s just two of the team’s 41 games this season. Even eliminating the Marlins two most lopsided wins of the season (8-0, 8-2) would only move the differential to minus-8.

There’s only one non-playoff team in the NL that sports a better run differential figure at present (Mets, plus-9).

Run differential is often used when judging the likelihood of a team’s sustained success in a season. But with a 60-game sprint, the sample size may be too small. The last time that the team with the best run differential won the World Series was in 2016 (Cubs, plus-252).

Perhaps the most telling part of this might be the fact that Wednesday’s game in Atlanta should not have been such a historic blowout. A seemingly blown call by the umpires in the second inning turned what would’ve been a 2-1 Marlins lead heading into the third into a 11-2 deficit. After that call, and several other borderline ball-and-strike calls in favor of the Braves, the game got out of hand.

What’s more, the Marlins have been better than average in one-run games this season (8-7), after a terrible 2019 (16-28). Miami’s average margin of victory is 2.71, while it’s average margin of defeat is nearly double that at 4.25.

Brinson Breaking Out During Marlins, Phillies Doubleheader

The emergence of Lewis Brinson over the last few weeks has come as a surprise to some, but not to the 26-year-old outfielder.

“It’s not a fluke that I’m here and living out my dream,” Brinson said. “A lot of blood, sweat and tears over the past couple of years. This offseason has been big for me, mentally and physically, being able to trust myself and know that I’m here for a reason.”

Brinson’s third inning home run sparked the Marlins offense in Game 2 of the doubleheader.

“That was big,” Brinson said postgame via Zoom. “Tied the game up against a good lineup. Got momentum on our side a little bit. Obviously after that, we took off a little bit.”

In his last 15 games, Brinson has made strides at the plate. He’s hitting .313 over that stretch with a .989 OPS. In those games, he scored six runs, drove in five and connected on three homers.

“He’s coming along,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “We’ll keep going with him. He’s getting better. We’ll mix and match him a lot of different ways.”

There’s a Competition Brewing at Second Base

The return of Isan Díaz to the lineup this weekend is a welcome one, too. Considered the Marlins second baseman of the future, Diaz opted out for the season in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak in July. However, after sitting out nearly two months, Diaz opted back in and has been welcomed with open arms.

Playing in his first games since July, Diaz’s RBI single in the fourth inning of Game 2 of the doubleheader put the Marlins up for good.

Prior to the game, Diaz said he’s “very excited to be here again.” He talked about how his decision to opt out was tough and personal. He went on to say he’s appreciative of both the organization and his teammates for welcoming him back.

His return comes after Jon Berti was placed on the 10-day IL. Jazz Chisholm has manned most of the games at second since.

Diaz called Chisholm “a stud” and said he’s “doing a phenomenal job” at second. Diaz revealed he took grounders at third base in Jupiter, something also seen at Marlins park prior to Friday’s games, and claimed he’s ready to play anywhere he’s needed.

Chisholm has manned both second base and shortstop this season. He’s hitting only .160, but in his last two starts, Chisholm has made strides at the plate. He’s 3-for-8 with a triple, a homer, two RBI and a walk in those most recent starts.

In his return, Diaz went 2-for-5 over the doubleheader, driving in one run.

“It’s a good feeling to come back into the clubhouse and see everyone, and see how focused everyone is,” Díaz said postgame. “It’s exciting. I’m ready to go, and I’m happy to be back.”

Is Yimi the New Closer?

Prior to the Marlins doubleheader with the Phillies on Friday, Yimi Garcia said it doesn’t matter to him when or where he pitches.

“I don’t believe in roles,” Garcia said pregame. “I’m ready to pitch from the first inning. I’m available for whatever Donnie needs me and to just get outs.”

Garcia posted a huge shutdown inning during Thursday night’s walkoff win, and on Friday, with Game 2 on the line, Mattingly turned to him rather than the team’s closer, Brandon Kintzler.

Kintzler wound up pitching in the sixth instead of closing. He started the season 9-for-9 in save opportunities but has blown the last two. That, coupled with a fingernail issue that he was having, which Mattingly revealed postgame, may have led to the backend change.

Prior to last night’s save, Garcia’s only other save in his career came with the Dodgers in 2015. His manager then? Don Mattingly.

Garcia surrendered his first run of the season, but shutdown the Phillies to record the save. He’s tallied 12 strikeouts with a 0.93 WHIP this season over 9.2 innings pitched. He certainly has the stuff to be a full-time closer for the Fish.

Marlins walk off

Marlins, Mets Stage Most Important Walk Off in Franchise History

/1 Comment/in /by

In baseball, walk-offs are normally met with celebration. The home team has prevailed in their final opportunity to win, much to the delight of their fans in attendance. The Marlins have had their fair share of walk off wins, including in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series when the club hoisted their first of two championships.

On Thursday night, the Miami Marlins and New York Mets staged a walk off together. Considering the empty stadium, the somber moment was not met with celebration, it was met with resolve.

Marlins outfielder Lewis Brinson, a Black man, stepped to the plate after the Mets took the field. Once Brinson was announced, both dugouts emptied onto the field and observed a 42 second moment of silence.

From there, the rival teams tipped their caps to one another and walked off the field. Brinson left a “Black Lives Matter” shirt covering home plate.

“We thought collectively as two teams that it would send a powerful message for us to take the field at game time when you can see everything and the cameras are all on us, and have that 42-second moment of silence of those that have lost their lives and those that have been affected by this,” said Brinson.

“The shirt on the plate I think speaks for itself,” Brinson continued. “The words on the shirt speak for themselves. Just having it in the center of everything and just know that both teams are unified.”

The gesture came about after players from both teams discussed it. Marlins shortstop Miguel Rojas and Michael Conforto of the Mets communicated between the clubs and helped arrange the details.

“We wanted to do something special,” Rojas said. “We wanted to do something different and, at the same time, send the right message and taking advantage of tomorrow that’s going to be Jackie Robinson Day. The 42 number means a lot for this game and for everybody in the United States.”

For Major League Baseball, the celebration for Jackie Robinson, who broke MLB’s color barrier, comes at a pivotal time for our country. Social injustice, political and social unrest, has polarized the nation, not unlike what was witness during Robinson’s time with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Robinson, who wore the No. 42 throughout his career, stood as a key figure during a difficult time. His ability to rise above and break through, ultimately earning a Hall of Fame distinction, inspired hundreds if not thousands of athletes, Black and otherwise.

“That’s the day an icon made it possible for me to sit here at talk to you guys,” Brinson said to media via Zoom. Brinson said Robinson’s sacrifice allowed him to “walk around the same locker room as Corey Dickerson, Jesus Aguilar, Matt Joyce and play the game that we love and have equal opportunities and make our dream come true. Without that man, I wouldn’t be here right now.”

Marlins manager Don Mattingly voiced his support for his Black players and the Black community as well.

“Enough is enough,” Mattingly said. “It’s been powerful. It’s tough to come back and catch the news, and seeing Dominic talking and just seeing the emotion pour out of him. And then watching Doc Rivers the other night talking about different things and just the emotion of that, and just seeing this. It’s just as human beings, it’s hard to watch some of the things we’ve had to watch and just like enough. Just say, ‘Enough.’ We’ve got to move forward. This can’t be a moment. It’s got to be a movement.”

Mattingly referred to Mets outfielder Dominic Smith’s postgame comments that came in the wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

“I think the most difficult part is to see people still don’t care,” Smith said on Wednesday. “For this to just continuously happen, it just shows the hate in people’s heart. That just sucks, you know? Black men in America, it’s not easy.”

The idea that this gesture cannot be a moment, but a movement, was echoed throughout the evening. Mattingly credited the sentiment to Marlins bench coach James Rowson, a Black man.

“It has to continue,” Brinson said. “It can’t just be tonight; it has to be continual.”

Mattingly went on to say: “As human beings, we have to get better. We’re better than this.”

The Marlins manager admitted he’s still learning to listen while he continues to support.

“I’m learning to like really truly listen to those guys and their feelings on different things that they either suppress or don’t feel like they can talk about,” he said, “or don’t want to talk about.”

For the Marlins, Brinson is the only Black player currently on the active roster, with reliever Stephen Tarpley on the 10-day IL and Monte Harrison being in Jupiter. Diversity exists with the organization, as Rowson is a key member of the coaching staff, Michael Hill, the President of Baseball Operations is Black, and the CEO, Derek Jeter, is biracial.

Only eight percent of the Major League Baseball players are Black. But when you look across the landscape of baseball, white and Latino players stand in solidarity with their Black teammates against this widespread, pervasive injustice.

This walk off comes as perhaps the most important in Marlins history. It’s more important than any single win for the franchise ever, and that’s including Game 7 of the 1997 World Series. This nation is frayed, and those tears continue to widen. We need to stitch America back together, and that can only come from help from either side of the divide.

Marlins

5 Takeaways from Marlins Wild Road Trip

/0 Comments/in /by

The Miami Marlins get a home opener, finally. After a 6-day road trip morphed into a 23-day odyssey, the Marlins are set to defend their home (new) turf for the first time this season. Miami enters the game after a thrilling 14-11 victory over the Blue Jays and own a 1-game over the Braves in the NL East.

Here’s a look at five takeaways from the Marlins road trip.

Marlins Road Trip Produced Some Wild Numbers

The teams trip went from six days to 23 days. They spent eight of those days in quarantine. They’ve made 58 roster moves, used 45 players total, including 26 pitchers. In 2019, they used 25 pitchers for the whole season. All 162 games.

Of the original 30 players on the Opening Day roster, 18 have landed on the IL and one has since opted out. Two of the recent additions are IL bound as well. The Marlins gave up a franchise record seven home runs in a game, and still won!

Despite the wild trip, Miami managed an 8-4 record, including a 5-game winning streak. They posted a 4-1 record in 1-run games, a vast improvement thus far from 2019, where they went 16-28 in 1-run contests.

Finally, the Marlins odds for making the playoffs have climbed to 25 percent for ESPN and 23.3 percent for FanGraphs. If they make the postseason, it’ll be the first time since 2003. The Marlins have the second-longest current playoff drought in MLB (Seattle, 2001).

Aguilar and Anderson Mashing for the Marlins

The Marlins offense has improved considerably under the watchful eyes of bench coach James Rowson and hitting coach Eric Duncan. The offense scores five runs-per-game this year, versus 3.8 in 2019. And the team is connecting on 1.25 home-runs-per-game, which is a vast improvement upon last season’s 0.90 clip.

Jesus Aguilar and Brian Anderson are leading the way in that department. Both have a team-leading four home runs this season. Aguilar leads the team in batting average (.311) and Anderson leads in OPS (1.007). Anderson also leads in RBI (13), but Aguilar is right behind (12).

Marlins manager Don Mattingly has spaced out the two in the lineup, so as long as the players around them continue to get on, these two can knock them in.

Mags Sierra and Eddy Alvarez Deserve Playing Time

Magneuris Sierra’s performance of late demands attention. Sierra’s game-changing speed affects opponent pitching staffs and the Marlins are 5-0 when he’s in the starting lineup. In seven games this season (five starts), Sierra’s hitting .286 with a .421 on-base percentage. He’s played solid defense in the outfield and stolen one base. While some of the other Marlins outfielders have sputtered early on, Sierra has proven to be a sparkplug.

Eddy Alvarez has also impressed of late. After starting his career 0-for-9, Alvarez has gone 4-for-10 at the plate with a double, three runs scored and two stolen bases. His play defensively at second base has been a marvel. He made game-saving plays (plural) versus the Mets last Friday. Mattingly said recently he likes Alvarez in against RHP.

Both of these young players have earned spots in the lineup for now.

Pitching Has Been…Okay

The Marlins lost three members of their starting rotation and about two-thirds of their bullpen. The front office scrambled to assemble a piecemeal staff and the results thus far have been…okay.

The Marlins are 12th in team ERA (4.22), 12th in batting-average-against (.233) and 17th in WHIP (1.34). This season, the bullpen is 6-for-7 in save situations. Last season, the Marlins featured one of the worst bullpens in MLB. Miami relievers posted the fifth-worst ERA (4.97) and their WHIP (1.45) was seventh worst. Relievers had a save percentage of 55.1 in 2019 and blew 22 save opportunities.

Brandon Kintzler is 3-for-3 in saves thus far with a 1.42 ERA. Stephen Tarpley has impressed as well, posting a 2.84 ERA, two wins and a save. Generally, the bullpen has been good in high leverage spots, despite the home run binge from the Blue Jays and the extra innings loss.

For the starters, Pablo Lopez (1-1, 1.80 ERA, 11 K) has become the de facto ace. And Elieser Hernandez, other than one bad inning against Toronto, seems sharp as well. (0-0, 2.79 ERA, 10 K).

Monte Harrison & Lewis Brinson Struggling

The excitement of Monte Harrison’s call up saw Marlins fans frothing. And though he’s been more than stellar in the outfield, Harrison has not really come through at the plate. In 20 plate appearances, Harrison is 2-for-18 with two walks, two RBI and 11 strikeouts. He’s struck out each of his last six at-bats.

The key for Harrison is putting the bat on the ball. He’s seeing 4.6 pitches-per-plate-appearance and he’s hitting .286 on balls-put-in-play. If he can get on the basepaths, his speed remains an incredible weapon.

Lewis Brinson, meanwhile, has gone hitless in his return to the Marlins. He’s 0-for-12 in 15 plate appearances with three walks but just strikeouts. He’s shown increased discipline at the dish, seeing 4.7 pitches-per-plate-appearance, which is up almost a full point for his career average.

Bottom line for Brinson, though, he needs to produce. Hopefully, he and Harrison will see more opportunities in the coming days and can shake off these slow starts.

Marlins call up

5 Most Exciting Marlins Call Ups

/1 Comment/in /by

The Miami Marlins 2020 season resumes in Baltimore this week. They face the 5-3 Orioles for four games in three days after spending more than a week in quarantine. During a Zoom call with media yesterday, Marlins President of Baseball Operations, Michael Hill, made several roster announcements including a number of call ups.

The team’s baseball ops crew scrambled over the last week to piece together a competitive roster. But to fill all of the holes for the 30-man roster, Hill needed to promote from within. Here’s a look at five of the most exciting Marlins call ups.

Marlins Call Ups: Monte Harrison

The road to the big leagues for Monte Harrison has been a winding one. He’ll be the last of the four prospects received in the Christian Yelich deal to reached the bigs. Now 24, Harrison made his pro debut at the age of 18, forgoing a commitment to the University of Nebraska where he would have played both football and baseball.

Harrison comes in as the No. 9 overall prospect for the Marlins via MLBPipeline and his impressive spring/summer had fans clamoring for his MLB debut. At 6’3”, Harrison boasts a unique blend of size, speed and power. He’s a plus outfield defender and wields a cannon arm.

What’s limited him in the past has been inconsistency at the plate. Strikeouts have been an issue, including 215 in 2018 at Double-A Jacksonville. But the Marlins have worked to make mechanical adjustments to Harrison’s approach, including lowering his leg kick and shortening his swing.

At Triple-A in 2019, Harrison dropped his K-rate drop 36.8 (in 2018) to 29.5 percent. Overall, he slashed .274/.357/.451 with nine home runs, 24 RBI and 20 stolen bases. He then hit .300 and posted a .397 OBP in the Puerto Rican Winter League.

Over the summer, Marlins manager Don Mattingly praised Harrison’s work and said: “I think South Florida fans are going to love this guy.”

Harrison should be a fixture in the lineup for the time being, considering the Marlins wanted to have him play every day. This call up is particularly exciting because Harrison has the potential to be a 20/40 guy for the Marlins.

Lewis Brinson

The South Florida native Lewis Brinson was considered the headline prospect return for the Marlins in the Yelich deal. But after struggling for two seasons, Brinson could be on his last opportunity with his hometown club considering some of the other outfield options in Miami’s system.

Brinson struggled in 2019, posting a .197/.247/.263 slash-line with a 34.1 K-rate in 27 games. The team demoted him to Triple-A where he improved (.270/.361/.510 in 81 games) ahead of an August promotion. But his end to 2019 (160/.230/.200 ) was worse than the start.

Brinson is a plus defender with great speed and power potential but contact at the plate remains an issue. With the COVID outbreak, Brinson’s call up for the Marlins should see him patrolling the outfield.

In an interview former MLB OF Xavier Scruggs prior to Opening Day, Brinson called playing for the Marlins a “dream come true.” He admitted his first two seasons “weren’t ideal to start my career” but called this the “best offseason” of his life. Brinson focused inward and remains confident in his abilities. He wants to be “more consistent” and “a leader.”

Brinson said the Marlins are out to “prove people wrong.” He says, “a lot of people sleep on us, but we’ve got a squad.”

Marlins Call Up: Eddy Alvarez

With his call up to the Marlins, Eddy Alvarez is believed to be the first US Winter Olympian to become an MLB player. Alvarez, a Miami native who attended Christopher Columbus High School, won a silver medal as a short track speed skater at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Alvarez returned to baseball after his speed skating career and worked his way up through the minor league systems of both the Chicago White Sox and the Marlins. Last year with Miami’s Triple-A affiliate, Alvarez hit 324/.408/.559 with 12 home runs and 12 stolen bases.

The 30-year-old is yet to make his MLB debut, but made a strong impression at the Marlins’ summer camp workouts.

“I like the kid,” manager Don Mattingly said in July. “I think he’s got a chance to help us.”

As a switch hitter with speed and defensive versatility, Alvarez could prove to be a valuable piece for Mattingly off the bench.

When he learned of his call up to the Marlins, Alvarez reportedly drove down to Miami from Jupiter to tell his family in person. He didn’t go into the house, cautious of COVID-19, but yelled the news through the front door.

Jordan Yamamoto

2019’s roller coaster started fast for Jordan Yamamoto but slowed considerably. Yams began his Marlins career with a pair of seven-inning shutouts, posting 12 strikeouts, five hits and four walks in 14 IP.

But Yamamoto struggled in July and August, posting an 8.13 ERA during a seven-game stretch. He finished 2019 strong with a one-hit, 10-strikeout performance over six innings in his final start of the season.

All in all, Yamamoto posted a 4.46 ERA with a 25.2 percent K-rate. His walk-rate (11.1 percent) needs to come down though.

The 24-year-old was in the running for the fifth starter spot, but lost out to Elieser Hernandez. Miami optioned Yams to Jupiter because he doesn’t necessarily profile as a reliever. He sports a six-pitch arsenal, with his slider as his best offering.

With his call up, the Marlins now have three starters set: Pablo Lopez, Hernandez and Yamamoto. He’ll take the mound during Wednesday’s doubleheader after making 15 starts for Miami last season and posting 82 strikeouts and 36 walks over 78.2 innings.

Marlins Call Up: Jorge Guzman

During Monday’s Zoom call, Marlins president Michael Hill announced Jorge Guzman’s name among the team’s call ups. Guzman is considered the Marlins No. 19 prospect overall by MLBPipeline. The 24-year-old sports a live arm and can touch triple digits on the radar gun.

Guzman slots into a bullpen decimated by COVID-19. Eight of the 12 arms in Miami’s ‘pen have tested positive, so Guzman will initially fill one of those holes despite his pedigree as a starter. The Marlins acquired Guzman from the New York Yankees as part of the Giancarlo Stanton deal.

Mattingly didn’t rule out Guzman getting a turn in the starting rotation, though. “Our guys are going to have to be flexible,” Mattingly said, noting Guzman will “get the opportunity to pitch.”

The 24-year-old hasn’t pitched about Double-A, where the Marlins had him in 2019. With Jacksonville, he posted a 3.50 ERA with 127 strikeouts over 138.2 IP.

Guzman’s call up might surprise some Marlins fans who were expecting the arrival of top-end pitching prospects Sixto Sanchez or Edward Cabrera. The Marlins are being careful with both. Cabrera is dealing with an unspecified arm issue (that’s not being portrayed as serious). Sanchez did not make an appearance in Spring Training and Hill noted the team has “been incredibly cautious with him and his workload.”

Is it Lewis Brinson Time Yet?

/0 Comments/in /by

Lewis Brinson was known as the prized acquisition in the five player trade between the Marlins and the Brewers that sent Christian Yelich to Milwaukee. Unfortunately, Brinson has not had the success the Marlins and their fans were hoping for when they acquired the former Top 100 prospect.

In 505 career major league at bats, Brinson is batting for a .190 average with 13 home runs, 49 RBIs, 26 walks, and a horrendous 165 strikeouts. His poor discipline at the plate early on in the 2019 season was enough for the Marlins to decide it was time for Brinson to reinvent himself in the minors. After 27 games, he was demoted to Triple-A New Orleans.

Since his demotion, Brinson is on a tear. In 51 games since going to New Orleans, he is batting .294 with 12 home runs and 46 RBIs and with a much better strikeout to walk ratio at 64 to 23. He has a much better approach at the plate as well as a new stance to help him make more contact against the breaking ball. (Picture of new stance via @PastyA_)

This demotion has definitely been good for Brinson. Helps build up his confidence and work on his mental approach as well as his plate approach in a stress reduced environment. He has made huge strides and it is in fact time for Brinson to get another shot in the bigs.

Why wouldn’t the Marlins call up Brinson when they have no true center fielder? Currently holding down center is JT Riddle who has been a shortstop his entire career. While he has been able to hold it down, it would still be better to have a true center fielder instead of a platoon between JT Riddle, Curtis Granderson, and Harold Ramirez. 

Granderson shouldn’t be on the field in my opinion, he is better served as strictly a bench bat. Harold Ramirez should strictly be a  corner outfielder. It’s time for Sweet Lew to hold down center field. He is faster and has a better glove than any of the three players mentioned above. Not to mention he just went deep again today for New Orleans, and it was a bomb. (via @DuseReport)

 

Juan Pierre evaluates progress of José Devers, Víctor Víctor Mesa and Lewis Brinson

/0 Comments/in /by

Juan Pierre is still a very valuable piece for the Miami Marlins leading off.

The new Minor League Outfield Coordinator is working with hitters in all different levels of the organization, trying to answer as many questions as possible for them.

Pierre is a great guy to have around the future of the franchise, a key member of that 2003 champion team, with the experience and

He is one definitively one of the most beloved players of that 2003 team. He wasn’t the superstar, but he was a great player in that roster.

Leandro Soto caught up with him during the series between the Marlins and the Saint Louis Cardinals to talk about his role with the team.

Juan Pierre on prospect Nasim Nuñez

There are many ways to work on your swing. Sometimes, you have to step out of the cages, sit down in the dugout and just talk to the guys that have been there.

Juan Pierre is that guy. And he has been that guy for the Miami Marlins minor league teams this year.

He was at Marlins Park on Tuesday to see Nasim Nuñez’ workout, and is happy about what he saw. “I heard he has been switch-hitting for just two years. The ball jumps out of his bat from both sides. His lefty swing looks good, versatile”

Nasim Nuñez is a bright guy, with a bright smile and great attitude. “I don’t want to put pressure on him, but he’s going to draw a lot of comparisons with Francisco Lindor,” Pierre told Leandro Soto.

Hours before, Nuñez said the Puerto Rican shortstop was his favorite player. Could he turn into a Marlins version of Lindor? Hopefully he has some of that power.

 

Juan Pierre: “In Jupiter they ask a lot of questions”

“Talk to them”.

That was probably the order Juan Pierre received when he was called to be part of the staff. He’s dealing with young yuys trying to get where we got. “They ask a lot of questions,” Pierre said.

How are prospects José Devers and Víctor Víctor Mesa doing in Jupiter?

José Devers is really coming to swinging, seeing the ball well, playing good defense. Mesa is still adjusting to the American lifestyle. “He shows flashes of what he can be on a consistent basis. He’s starting to get more consistent with his swing and being an outfielder, but his biggest adjustment is to adapt to the American lifestyle”

The confidence of a hitter

When will Lewis Brinson be back to the team?

Confidence is the key.

“I’ve talked to him and I’ve seen the numbers he’s putting up. He’s getting a more consistent path to the ball. That was the matter with him. Bringing his game in a consistent basis.”

He will be back pretty soon if he keeps doing what he is doing down there.

“Confidence. Believing you can be here. Relaxing and putting all his work out there on the field.”

That’s it, right? Juan Pierre makes it sound easy…

 

Leandro Soto finally didn’t ask players or coaches about the shift, and he will continue to go to Marlins Park every week, until the Marlins win the World Series, so you have a lot of time to enjoy his work

Lewis Brinson was optioned to New Orleans

/0 Comments/in /by

Lewis Brinson has not been the star the Marlins thought were trading for Christian Yelich a couple of offseasons ago.

He has not played as a regular major league baseball player either.

He has actually been pretty bad, as has been the entire Marlins offense.

Craig Mish, of Swings and Mishes, reported on Tuesday afternoon that Marlins’ patience with Brinson had come to an end.

Brinson had been the starting centerfielder for the major part of the first month of the season, and was not able to make the adjustments to hit in the majors.

In this first month, he could only hit .197, seven points above his average in the majors.

Lewis Brinson’s lack of contact

Is what we saw from Brinson in a little over a season in the big leagues the player he really is?

Probably not. But he definitively needs to work on putting the ball in play.

He has struck out 165 times in 505 at-bats in his career.

That means that Brinson did not even put the ball in play in around 33 percent of the times he went up to the plate.

For someone with that speed, and not much power, this is unacceptable.

The Marlins prefer to keep working on it in Triple-A, after giving him an entire month, and an entire season last year.

Will we see Lewis Brinson back in the majors soon?

If he hits, we will.

If not, it will be time to move on…

Lewis Brinson y su decepción continua

/0 Comments/in /by

Lewis Brinson tiene casi 500 turnos en Grandes Ligas y su bate no termina de despertar.

De hecho, la muestra es realmente preocupante.

Alarmante.

Austin Dean recibió bastantes menos oportunidades que Brinson, y Peter O’Brien hace rato que fue enviado a ligas menores por no poder batear.

¿Porqué los Marlins no lo envían a Ligas Menores?

¿Hasta cuándo van a esperar los Marlins de Miami para enviar a Lewis Brinson a las ligas menores?

Además, ¿es la campaña de Major League Baseball Let The Kids Play puro mercadeo sin un mensaje claro? ¿Qué pueden hacer las Grandes Ligas para atraer a una audiencia más amplia?

Lo discutimos en el EP 31 de Cinco Razones Podcast, con Ricardo Montes de Oca, Leandro Soto y Alejandro Villegas:

Escuche todos los episodios de Cinco Razones Podcast haciendo click aquí