Hitting prospects impress in scrimmage. And more insight on Sixto, Marlins’ rotation
While the Miami Marlins’ spring training roster shrinks to something closer to what it’ll look like on Opening Day next month, the future of the organization is still hard at work on back fields around the Marlins’ facility at Roger Dean Stadium.
On Tuesday, some of Miami’s best hitting prospects hit the field for a scrimmage in Jupiter and didn’t wait long to impress onlookers. In the first at-bat of the game, Kameron Misner went deep off Zach McCambley, then Peyton Burdick matched his fellow outfielder by homering off Jake Eder in the first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning.
McCambley and Eder both delivered three strong innings, and threw about 60 pitches apiece, but the two leadoff hitters delivered the biggest highlights of the day.
While neither ranks among the top 100 prospects in the MLB.com rankings, Misner and Burdick remain two of the most promising hitters in Miami’s farm system. Misner was a first-round pick in the 2019 MLB draft and Burdick went in the third round the same year. Misner was the No. 14 prospect in the organization last year and Burdick was No. 16 — MLB hasn’t updated its organizational rankings yet this year — and both should push to play for Double A Jacksonville at some point this season. The prospects last played with Class A Clinton in 2019 before MLB canceled the minor-league season in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and are likely on track to start with Class A Advanced Beloit.
The Marlins sent two more of their best-hitting prospects to the minors Monday, too. Miami optioned shortstop Jose Devers and outfielder Jerar Encarnacion to the Pensacola Wahoos before its game against the Washington Nationals in West Palm Beach. The Marlins also optioned pitchers Shawn Poteet and Cody Morimando to minor-league camp before they made the quick trip south to the FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.
Marlins plan to use five starters
With two off days in the first nine days of the regular season, Miami won’t need a fifth starting pitcher until the 13th game, but Don Mattingly said the Marlins plan to carry five starters to open the year — whether Sixto Sanchez is ready by then.
“Without going into it, we’re going start with five starters. We know that,” the manager said. “That’s just part of the long-range plan for everybody.”
The move has one major benefit for Miami: Last Tuesday, pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. said the Marlins are going to have to manage innings for their young starters and the extra day of rest built into the early part of the calendar will naturally do some of the work.
The biggest drawback is the implications it could have on Sanchez’s readiness to start in his first turn through the rotation. Sanchez has gone through several setbacks and false starts this spring — starting with a delayed arrival to camp because of a visa issue and continuing with a false positive COVID test — and Mattingly hasn’t yet committed to the starting pitcher being available when the season begins.
Mattingly continues to insist he won’t rush his MLB Rookie of the Year Award hopeful.
“The thing with Sixto is getting ready and making sure that he’s totally ready, built up, ready to compete where he doesn’t walk into a game and say, OK, he’s only allowed to throw 60 pitches. We’re not going to do that, I’ll promise you that,” he said. “We’re going to get him ready and then we’re going to get him going, so once that happens — if that happens right away, it’ll be right away and if it happens five, eight, 10 days into the season, then it happens.”
Including the rookie, Miami has four pitchers effectively locked into rotation spots, with starting pitchers Pablo Lopez, Sandy Alcantara and Elieser Hernandez filling the other three. Rookie pitchers Daniel Castano, Nick Neidert and Trevor Rogers are all candidates for the final spot after debuting last season, and there could be room for two of them at the outset if Sanchez isn’t quite ready. Pitcher Gio Gonzalez is a dark horse after the Marlins signed him March 3.
