Groshans had a plan and executed for first homer. Why it’s a good sign for Marlins rookie
It’s a familiar sight all across MLB and so it’s something the Miami Marlins try not to get too excited about.
A prospect comes to the Majors and, within the first few days of his arrival, he makes some magic. It happened this year with JJ Bleday and Charles LeBlanc, who both had multi-hit games in their second appearances for the Marlins. It happened, perhaps most memorably, in 2019 for Isan Diaz, who homered in his first game, while his parents were being interviewed on television.
Now, it’s happening for Jordan Groshans, who followed up a three-hit performance Wednesday by smashing his first home run Thursday to help Miami beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-3, in the finale of an eight-game homestand.
“I’m just trying to win, compete, do what I do,” said Groshans, 22.
Since his call-up Tuesday, Groshans is 4 for 10 with a homer and two strikeouts, and providing South Florida with a glimmer of hope at the end of another lost season.
There’s reason to believe in Groshans — he is the organization’s No. 12 prospect, according to MLB.com’s rankings, and was a first-round pick by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2018 MLB draft — even if it’s too far too soon for any of this to actually mean anything.
The goal now is to make sure he’s not just another one of those flashes in the pan.
“He’s 22 years old,” manager Don Mattingly said. “If he’ll just stay with the approach, keep working — as he starts to see guys more and more, it’s when you really can open up the zone a little bit. ... You see a good stroke.”
Groshans made his debut Tuesday after an impressive month-plus run with Triple A Jacksonville. The Marlins landed the third baseman from the Blue Jays in exchange for relief pitchers Anthony Bass and Zach Pop in August, and he immediately took off, batting .301 with an .814 on-base-plus slugging percentage, seven doubles, two home runs, 10 RBIs, 14 runs, 19 walks and only 19 strikeouts in 31 games for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.
After going 0 for 3 on Tuesday in his first game in Miami, Groshans caught fire. He ripped three singles Wednesday — two to center field and another pulled through the left side of the infield — and was happy, if not entirely satisfied. He said he wanted to do more damage at the plate and it only took him one more day to.
Groshans led off the bottom of the third inning — right after starting pitcher Pablo Lopez escaped the top of the third unscathed despite giving up a lead-off triple — and it meant a green light for the rookie. He swung and missed at a first pitch right over the middle, waited out three balls, and then turned when Phillies starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard left an inside sinker a bit too high.
“I saw the way he was pitching guys. He was trying to set up the slider away and then work in with the sinker,” Groshans said. “I kind of backed off the plate just a little bit and put a good swing on it.”
Groshans cranked it 376 feet, just barely sneaking inside the left-field foul pole. The Marlins’ dugout erupted — shortstop Miguel Rojas shouted, “[Expletive] yeah!” loud enough for the Bally Sports Florida cameras to pick it up — and Jaxx Groshans, the infielder’s older brother and a Boston Red Sox prospect, ran through at least four sections of loanDepot park in excitement, navigating his way through the crowd of 7,877.
“I love it,” Groshans said. “It was really nice to know that he was there to see it and had that reaction.”
Miami (59-85) went up 1-0 and never trailed Philadelphia (80-63) to avoid the sweep at the end of the homestand.
By the time he left the ballpark, Groshans already had the ball in a case, ready to be sent home with his parents to go with the first-hit ball he set aside Wednesday. He also said he’s holding on to his hotel key from his first week in the Majors.
Ideally, he’d like those to just be reminders of the early days of a long, successful career.
With the Marlins firmly focused on the future, Groshans should get a chance to be close to an everyday contributor the rest of the way and, at some point, a challenge will come. The response, as always, is what Mattingly looks forward most to seeing.
“All the things that you need to be a good hitter here it looks like he has, then he’s like the rest of them at that point: Does he put good plans together every day; is he going to stay with an approach, understand who he is?” he said. “Those are all going to be important factors to his growth.”
The homer, then, was a good sign. It was a hard pitch to hit and belting it out of the ballpark takes talent, but Groshans also had a plan of attack and used it to get the best of a former All-Star pitcher.
Now all he has to do is do it a few hundred more times every year.
“They’re going to find some holes and they’re going to start coming,” Mattingly said. “Maybe not this year, but whenever it is that they find it they’re coming and that’s really when you find out whether he’ll make those adjustments.”
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Marlins bring back Jake Fishman
Jake Fishman is back with the Marlins after Miami placed fellow relief pitcher Tommy Nance on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a right groin strain.
The Marlins made room for Fishman, 27, on the 40-man roster by moving outfielder Jorge Soler to the 60-day IL. Soler has been out with a back injury since July.
This is Fishman’s third stint in Miami so far this year and he gave up a run on six hits and no walks in 4 1/3 innings in his previous two. After both, the Marlins designated the rookie for assignment and he passed through waivers unclaimed, despite a strong season with the Jumbo Shrimp.
In 56 innings for Jacksonville, the left-handed pitcher has a 2.25 ERA with 54 strikeouts and 20 walks.
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Up next
Miami now hits the road for a quick three-game road trip, with one series against the Washington Nationals.
The Marlins and Nationals are locked into the bottom two spots in the National League East, and Miami has a 9 1/2-game cushion on Washington to avoid finishing in last place.
Pitcher Jesus Luzardo will take the mound for the Marlins in Game 1 on Friday at Nationals Park in Washington, facing Nationals starting pitcher Josiah Gray.
This story was originally published September 15, 2022 at 9:43 PM.
