The Marlins get some pop back into their lineup with catcher Jorge Alfaro’s return
.JPG "Miami Marlins catcher Jorge Alfaro (38) strikes out swinging during the bottom of the ninth inning of a game against the Atlanta Braves at Marlins Park in Miami, Florida, on Saturday, June 8, 2019.")
Add another power bat back into the Miami Marlins’ lineup.
The Marlins announced before their series opener against the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday that catcher Jorge Alfaro has been activated from the seven-day concussion injured list. He is batting seventh to begin the Marlins’ final home series before the All-Star break.
Chad Wallach, the Marlins’ Opening Day backup catcher, is continuing baseball activities on the 60-day IL while he deals with a concussion of his own.
“Obviously good for us to get Jorge back and good for him,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “The concussion stuff, as we’ve learned this year, is nothing to play with. Chad was in a similar situation and is still going. ... It’s a good thing to have [Alfaro] back and playing.”
And so ends Alfaro’s first IL stint of the year, which was needed after he took a swing off the back of the head from Marcell Ozuna and a foul ball off the face mask late in the Marlins’ 7-6, 11-inning win over the St. Louis Cardinals on June 20. Bryan Holaday replaced Alfaro in the ninth inning.
Alfaro enters Friday second on the team with nine home runs to go along with a .261 batting average, 27 RBI and 22 runs scored in 59 games.
Mattingly does not expect that Alfaro will need to be slowed back into his regular everyday role, which would make it realistic that he also starts on Saturday before getting an off day during the Marlins’ day game on Sunday to close out the series at Marlins Park.
“I think he’s in pretty good order physically,” Mattingly said. “Obviously with the day game, we don’t really do that with anybody unless there was another situation for us later in the year. He’ll probably play two out of three this series.”
Having Alfaro’s bat in the lineup could be beneficial for a Marlins team looking to rebound from a three-game sweep against the Washington Nationals to begin the homestand. The Marlins (30-49) hit .194 with 31 strikeouts in the three losses.
“Each series is different. Each game is different,” Mattingly said. “We’ve got to move on. We had a good series in Philadelphia [last weekend], but that’s not going to do us any good [this series]. ... You just move forward.”
With Alfaro off the IL, the Marlins optioned catcher Wilkin Castillo back to Triple A New Orleans.
The Marlins also placed reliever Tayron Guerrero on the 10-day IL with a right middle finger blister and recalled reliever Jeff Brigham.
Futures Game
While the Marlins’ representative in the 2019 All-Star Game is still up in the air, the club will be well represented in the All-Star Futures Game.
For the first time in franchise history, the Marlins have three representatives in the prospect showcase on July 7 in Cleveland. The three players: second baseman Isan Diaz, outfielder Monte Harrison and right-handed pitcher Sixto Sanchez. All three are top-six prospects in the Marlins’ organization according to MLBPipeline. All three were also acquired in trades over the last 18 months, with Diaz and Harrison coming to the Marlins in the Christian Yelich trade while Sanchez was the top prospect from the J.T. Realmuto trade.
Sanchez, the top prospect in the Marlins’ organization and the No. 22 overall prospect in MLB, has shown over the last two weeks what he looks like at his best. The 6-0, 185-pound righty has given up just three earned runs on 16 hits and three walks while striking out 23 over 20 innings in his last three starts for Double A Jacksonville. For the season, which includes two starts in Class A Advanced Jupiter and nine at the Double A level, Sanchez has a 3.14 ERA and has struck out 60 batters while walking just eleven. Opposing batters are hitting .268 against him.
Harrison, the Marlins’ No. 2 prospect and No. 85 overall prospect, is hitting .284 with nine home runs, 22 RBI, 20 stolen bases and 39 runs scored in 50 games.
Diaz, the Marlins’ No. 6 prospect and the No. 8 overall second baseman prospect in MLB, is hitting .287 with 16 home runs, 47 RBI and 61 runs scored for Triple A New Orleans. He has had both a 17-game hit streak and a five-game home run streak this season.
The Marlins are one of five teams with three players selected to participate in the Futures Game.
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