Joey Wendle settling in as Marlins’ shortstop. And Jazz Chisholm Jr. works on bunting
The ball came blistering off Ryan Lavarnway’s bat and whizzed toward Joey Wendle on the left side of the infield.
Wendle, slated to be the Miami Marlins’ primary shortstop this season after spending his entire career roving at three different positions, wasted little time making a highlight-worthy play. He took a quick first step before diving fully to his right to rob Lavarnway of a hit and end the first inning.
It was the first of several key plays — some routine, some above average — in the Marlins’ 11-5 spring training win over Israel’s World Baseball Classic team on Wednesday at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.
Wendle made plays on all four balls that came his way Wednesday and overall has looked steady at shortstop over his first seven Grapefruit League games.
“I’ve been happy with how I’ve played over there so far,” Wendle said. “I mean, it’s not an adjustment per se but just being there every day getting reps, I’m starting to definitely feel more comfortable over there and starting to own the position.”
Wendle came up through the minor leagues primarily playing second base but has mainly split his time in the big leagues between second base (251 games, 203 starts), third base (225 games, 176 starts) and shortstop (89 games, 69 starts).
In 2022, Wendle’s first season with the Marlins, he played 43 games at third base (37 starts), 34 at shortstop (22 starts) and 33 at second base (26 starts).
According to FanGraphs, Wendle was credited with six defensive runs saved while playing shortstop, nine while playing second base and minus-three while playing third base.
“He goes about his work the right way,” first-year Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “He’s used to playing different positions, but he’s shown throughout his career that he was more than capable of playing shortstop. I think the next three weeks, he’ll continue to work on being that shortstop, but we’re really liking where he’s at right now.”
And while flashy plays like the diving grab in the first inning get the most attention, Wendle is focusing on mastering the routine plays and making sure his approach is sound each and every time.
To Wendle, that starts with his first step.
“Getting a good jump on the ball, reading the swing well, sometimes even before the pitch it thrown when you have an idea as to what kind of pitch is coming and how the batter might react to it,” Wendle said. “Just always anticipating the ball coming my way. Getting the ball is step one and then just being an athlete at that point, remembering your infield fundamentals on the normal balls and then on the balls that range out to left and right just being and athlete and getting the ball to first base.”
That said, there is one main area where Wendle is having to adjust.
Because of MLB’s new rules regarding shift restrictions, all infielders have to start each play on the infield dirt. Wendle previously liked starting slightly farther back, with his feet touching the outfield grass. That’s not allowed anymore, which Wendle said means an infielder’s instinct and range will become all the more valuable starting this season.
“I’ve been calling it the grass is lava,” Wendle said. “Quite frankly, I hate that rule, but it’s where we are. To me, your depth is really a big issue this year, especially up the middle. I really liked using the grass and even used to take my first step on the grass because I felt like I had better traction out there, but we’re not allowed to do that anymore.”
Bunting Jazz
Marlins center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. recorded a bunt single in the first inning against Team Israel, the first time he attempted to bunt in a live game this spring.
Chisholm also worked on his bunting last spring training and said it’s another aspect of his game he hopes to implement more during the season.
“You always have to have something that’s part of your game that everybody thinks you’re not going to do,” Chisholm said. “My thing is bunting. Everybody knows that I like to hit homers and want to swing for the fences but I’ve always got that in my back pocket.”
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