1 00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:15,760 Speaker 1: Here we go, the official show on the fish Stripes 2 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:21,360 Speaker 1: podcast channel. I'm Eli Susman, the managing editor of fish Stripes, 3 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:25,280 Speaker 1: where we cover the Miami Marlins every day in our 4 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:28,440 Speaker 1: own way, even in the midst of a week long 5 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:31,840 Speaker 1: seven game losing streak. We're still here for you, So 6 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:34,000 Speaker 1: check out all that stuff on fish stripes dot com. 7 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:37,800 Speaker 1: Go to fish stripes dot com. If you enjoy listening 8 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:40,320 Speaker 1: to the pod, take a few seconds go to Apple 9 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:43,000 Speaker 1: find us there, leave a rating and review. It would 10 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:45,800 Speaker 1: mean a lot, and it's part of our campaign between 11 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:48,680 Speaker 1: now and the end of the twenty twenty one regular season. 12 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:50,920 Speaker 1: For every new rating and review that we receive on 13 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 1: the pod, that's an extra dollar being donated to the 14 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:58,280 Speaker 1: Player's Alliance. You can find more about that great organization 15 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:03,360 Speaker 1: at the Players Alliance. Not a whole lot of new 16 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:06,040 Speaker 1: stuff to say about the twenty twenty one Marlins. Very 17 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:09,440 Speaker 1: few positive stuff to say at the very least, other 18 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:14,959 Speaker 1: than Sandy al Contra is amazing. It's nothing new. I'm 19 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:18,280 Speaker 1: kind of probably at this point last year I reached 20 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:20,600 Speaker 1: the state where you can never bet against this guy. 21 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:24,319 Speaker 1: Every single season he does a little something new to 22 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:28,560 Speaker 1: get even better. We've been through some of his developments 23 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:32,640 Speaker 1: here on the Pod this season, and through another masterpiece 24 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:35,840 Speaker 1: on Sunday, one home run that just snuck over the wall, 25 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:38,520 Speaker 1: another mistake that was a no doubt or other than 26 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:42,080 Speaker 1: that lights out and in the process striking out eleven 27 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:45,600 Speaker 1: Cincinnati Reds, setting a new career high in that category. 28 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:47,600 Speaker 1: Of course, he didn't get and he runs the bort. 29 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 1: That's always the case, it seems, when he takes a mound, 30 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:55,880 Speaker 1: especially on Sunday. The trend is it's pretty incredible how 31 00:01:55,880 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 1: he seems to step up his game on that particular 32 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:02,080 Speaker 1: day of the week. For as high as we are 33 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:05,120 Speaker 1: about some of these up and coming Marlins pitching prospects, 34 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:07,320 Speaker 1: some that are about to debut, some that should debut 35 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:10,600 Speaker 1: next season and beyond, it's a really great legitimately great 36 00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:13,880 Speaker 1: strength of the organization. I don't think you could count 37 00:02:13,919 --> 00:02:16,680 Speaker 1: on any of them to be the type of all 38 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:20,840 Speaker 1: star ace type pictuer that Sandy already is. I'm confident 39 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:23,760 Speaker 1: that he's going to keep trending upwards. I would highly, 40 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:27,240 Speaker 1: highly recommend that the Marlins find a way to hold 41 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:30,120 Speaker 1: on to him through his prime years. He's just entering 42 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:34,360 Speaker 1: his prime. It's a privilege to watch every fifth game 43 00:02:34,639 --> 00:02:36,639 Speaker 1: to see him do this. We get to watch him, 44 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:41,080 Speaker 1: according to my math, seven more times fingers crossed, assuming 45 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:45,840 Speaker 1: no injuries setbacks between now and the end of the 46 00:02:45,919 --> 00:02:50,680 Speaker 1: regular season. So savor all that stuff. It's been awesome 47 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:53,120 Speaker 1: and I feel happy for him that one way or 48 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:55,000 Speaker 1: another he's going to get a nice pay raise heading 49 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:59,560 Speaker 1: into twenty twenty two. For most of this pod, I 50 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:02,280 Speaker 1: don't want to talk about the Marlins. I want to 51 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:05,680 Speaker 1: talk about an organization that the Marlins should aspire to 52 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:09,760 Speaker 1: be like. The common comp that is thrown out there 53 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:16,000 Speaker 1: for this organization is the in state rivals fellow franchise, 54 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:18,480 Speaker 1: the Tampa Bay Rays. People look at the Rays, who 55 00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:20,840 Speaker 1: just made it to the World Series last year, who 56 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:22,800 Speaker 1: have a very strong chance of making it this year, 57 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 1: and who do it on a shoestring budget. They see 58 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:29,760 Speaker 1: that as the model for what the Marlins should be, 59 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:33,400 Speaker 1: hopefully could be. To me, I've always felt that the 60 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:35,360 Speaker 1: Rays are just an anomaly. I mean, they run their 61 00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:39,040 Speaker 1: organization unlike anybody else from both an analytical and a 62 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:43,000 Speaker 1: personnel standpoint, and in a lot of ways it's positive. 63 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:46,160 Speaker 1: In some ways, I find it to be setting baseball 64 00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:49,160 Speaker 1: back in certain ways. Like all in all, it's an 65 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 1: obviously nice standard to aspire to, it's just that it 66 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:55,840 Speaker 1: doesn't seem realistic to me. I don't think what they 67 00:03:55,880 --> 00:04:01,880 Speaker 1: do is really replicable with other organizations. It is that unique. Instead, 68 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:03,920 Speaker 1: I would think that the Marlins want to set their 69 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:07,880 Speaker 1: sights on a team in their own division. Leading their 70 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:10,520 Speaker 1: division right now by a surprisingly large margin, all of 71 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:15,440 Speaker 1: a sudden, the Atlanta Braves. As we're recording this, they 72 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:18,800 Speaker 1: are pretty much pretty close to undefeated in August. They 73 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:21,680 Speaker 1: have been Baseball's best team this month. They are writing 74 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:24,080 Speaker 1: a nine game winning streak, which, by the way, matches 75 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:26,159 Speaker 1: the longest winning streak that the Marlins have ever had 76 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:29,000 Speaker 1: in franchise history. Can you imagine if the Marlins went 77 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:31,920 Speaker 1: on a nine game winning streak, how crazy we'd be 78 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:37,760 Speaker 1: because that's something that they never Marlins have never crossed 79 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:41,320 Speaker 1: that threshold before. And the Braves are doing this, of 80 00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:45,360 Speaker 1: course without Ronald Acunya Jr. And you know that you're 81 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:48,280 Speaker 1: probably watching first hands when he suffered a season ending 82 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:51,760 Speaker 1: knee injury at Lone Deep Up Park. They've been missing 83 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:57,320 Speaker 1: several key pitchers this season. They've had some prospects that 84 00:04:57,360 --> 00:04:59,120 Speaker 1: they were expecting to get a lot from who haven't 85 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:01,480 Speaker 1: panned out, and yet here they are playing at an 86 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:05,240 Speaker 1: incredibly high level entering this new week with playoff odds 87 00:05:05,240 --> 00:05:08,120 Speaker 1: depending on where you look, at least eighty percent and 88 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:10,080 Speaker 1: almost all that about winning the division. But all of 89 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:12,720 Speaker 1: a sudden, the wild card is actually a fallback for 90 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:15,359 Speaker 1: them if in case one of these other teams in 91 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:19,000 Speaker 1: the East somehow like clicks just in time. They were 92 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:22,320 Speaker 1: in a nice, pretty spot, very likely going to win 93 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:27,240 Speaker 1: their fourth consecutive NL East title. You travel back in 94 00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:29,640 Speaker 1: time to one year ago, and what was the conversation. 95 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:33,760 Speaker 1: It was a lot of the Marlins are quote closing 96 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:36,240 Speaker 1: the gap with the Braves. You remember that, I mean, 97 00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:39,000 Speaker 1: ultimately the Marlins finished second in the division. It was 98 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:41,760 Speaker 1: four games back at the end of the season, and 99 00:05:42,279 --> 00:05:44,919 Speaker 1: there was a point entering I think the final week 100 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:48,080 Speaker 1: of the season where they went to Atlanta on the 101 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:51,240 Speaker 1: road for four games with a mathematical chance of actually, 102 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:53,880 Speaker 1: you know, stealing the division from the Braves. They did 103 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:56,240 Speaker 1: not do that, and really, ever since then, I just 104 00:05:56,279 --> 00:06:00,479 Speaker 1: think it's been crystal clear that the gap hasn't closed 105 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:03,800 Speaker 1: much at all. There have been some nice moments of 106 00:06:03,839 --> 00:06:07,960 Speaker 1: course during that twenty twenty regular season. Even earlier this season, 107 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:09,960 Speaker 1: there was that series in Atlanta where the Marlins nearly 108 00:06:10,279 --> 00:06:13,400 Speaker 1: swept a four game series from the Braves in I 109 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:15,200 Speaker 1: believe that was in April of this year, where the 110 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:17,599 Speaker 1: Braves got off to that slow start, and the Braves 111 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:20,240 Speaker 1: were pretty mediocre for the entire first half of the 112 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:23,640 Speaker 1: year before finally turning it on. I want to get 113 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:25,680 Speaker 1: into how they turned it on, how they've done this, 114 00:06:26,320 --> 00:06:29,720 Speaker 1: how they've you know, in recent memory, you know, as 115 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:33,000 Speaker 1: almost as long as the Marlins have been in existence, 116 00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:36,400 Speaker 1: the Braves have ruled the division, and they're doing this, 117 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:39,440 Speaker 1: but they're doing in this current era, even though it 118 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:42,320 Speaker 1: hasn't resulted in any trips of the World Series as 119 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:45,640 Speaker 1: much as any titles. It's extremely impressive and I think 120 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:47,560 Speaker 1: there are some lessons that can be learned from what 121 00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:50,719 Speaker 1: they're doing. That's an interesting question. Been talked about alive. 122 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:55,080 Speaker 1: That's an interesting question. They answered this year with an 123 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:58,960 Speaker 1: opening day payroll of one hundred and thirty one million dollars, 124 00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:01,680 Speaker 1: and I was a surprise to actually check that that 125 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:04,120 Speaker 1: is a franchise record for them. They're spending more than 126 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:08,120 Speaker 1: ever before, yet that number doesn't blow you away. You 127 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:11,560 Speaker 1: may you probably don't think about this much because the 128 00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:14,200 Speaker 1: Marlins are never anywhere close to this conversation. But the 129 00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:17,520 Speaker 1: luxury tax threshold this year is what, right around two 130 00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:20,720 Speaker 1: hundred and eight two hundred and ten million dollars, So 131 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:23,480 Speaker 1: the Braves are not even two thirds of the way 132 00:07:23,480 --> 00:07:27,440 Speaker 1: they're They are a mid market team. For as much 133 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:30,560 Speaker 1: history as they have and for how as much success 134 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:32,440 Speaker 1: as they've had year after year after year, for like 135 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:35,480 Speaker 1: especially the last thirty years, winning the division. In the 136 00:07:35,520 --> 00:07:38,040 Speaker 1: majority of those years, they've never had to break the 137 00:07:38,040 --> 00:07:40,800 Speaker 1: bank to do it. Some of their recent full seasons 138 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:43,640 Speaker 1: prior to twenty twenty one, their payrolls kind of floated 139 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:46,280 Speaker 1: in that one hundred and fifteen one hundred and twenty 140 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:49,440 Speaker 1: million dollar range. It's very middle of the pack by 141 00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:54,520 Speaker 1: Major League Baseball standards, and they haven't been perfect reaching 142 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:58,920 Speaker 1: this goal for sure. More than a few of prospects 143 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:01,320 Speaker 1: that they've had have no panned out despite a lot 144 00:08:01,320 --> 00:08:05,920 Speaker 1: of hype. They've made some more than a few whiffs 145 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:09,000 Speaker 1: in free agency. Just looking at the past few years. 146 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:12,960 Speaker 1: They after a great year from Marcello Zuna in twenty twenty, 147 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:15,680 Speaker 1: they brought him back for this year, and for both 148 00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:18,560 Speaker 1: injury and off the field reasons, that is a disaster. 149 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:21,480 Speaker 1: It got overshadowed, of course by the pandemic and by 150 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:23,920 Speaker 1: some of their other young pitchers. But they gave Cole 151 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:27,640 Speaker 1: Hammils a big one year contract in twenty twenty, and 152 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:29,720 Speaker 1: he got hurt in his first start and never got 153 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:32,839 Speaker 1: back to them. He might never actually pitch again in 154 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:35,960 Speaker 1: the majors, as it looks like we'll see. This past offseason, 155 00:08:35,960 --> 00:08:38,200 Speaker 1: they signed Drew Smiley to a three year deal that 156 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:40,840 Speaker 1: raised a lot of eyebrows, and it has not worked 157 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:44,000 Speaker 1: out either. He's got a fielder independent pitching well over five. 158 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:47,040 Speaker 1: He's a below average starter that they're still stuck with 159 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:49,320 Speaker 1: for Oh, I should correct myself. That was just a 160 00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:51,160 Speaker 1: one year deal for Smiley, but it was still like 161 00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:55,840 Speaker 1: a big salary considering his very mixed major league track record, 162 00:08:57,080 --> 00:08:59,199 Speaker 1: So he doesn't even really have time to salvage that 163 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:02,160 Speaker 1: deal for them, although he is in their rotation right 164 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:05,120 Speaker 1: now for the moment. Will Smith is the one that 165 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:08,600 Speaker 1: they gave a multi year deal, their closer really, and 166 00:09:08,679 --> 00:09:11,679 Speaker 1: they that was prior I think it was even prior 167 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:15,440 Speaker 1: to this year. He hasn't been great. He's been a 168 00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:20,480 Speaker 1: very ordinary late ending reliever that is making really close 169 00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:23,280 Speaker 1: to top dollar for a closer in today's game. They've 170 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:26,880 Speaker 1: made their mistakes, but it's also a lesson that you 171 00:09:26,920 --> 00:09:30,760 Speaker 1: don't need to shoot more than fifty percent on your 172 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:35,240 Speaker 1: free agent signings to get to improve through that avenue. 173 00:09:35,280 --> 00:09:38,280 Speaker 1: You know, despite those mistakes I just mentioned, they also 174 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:41,480 Speaker 1: brought in Travis Darnault with a free agent deal and 175 00:09:41,559 --> 00:09:45,280 Speaker 1: very recently just extended him for two more years, a 176 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:48,520 Speaker 1: deal that was very concerning if you're a Marlins fan, 177 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:51,679 Speaker 1: considering how well Darnault has been hitting against Marlins pitching 178 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:54,320 Speaker 1: of late, how he's had a position of need for 179 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:57,480 Speaker 1: the Marlins as a catcher. There's very few desirable ones 180 00:09:57,480 --> 00:10:00,000 Speaker 1: that will be on the free agent market this upcoming offseason. 181 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:02,760 Speaker 1: Charlie Morden. They picked him up on a one year 182 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:05,640 Speaker 1: deal and he's been great for them. He's been arguably 183 00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:10,199 Speaker 1: the most valuable pitcher this year, aging extremely gracefully. So 184 00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:13,080 Speaker 1: just getting back to the payroll one hundred and thirty 185 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:15,280 Speaker 1: one million entering opening day this year, I guess that 186 00:10:15,360 --> 00:10:17,520 Speaker 1: will go up a little bit before the end of 187 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:20,120 Speaker 1: this season based on some of the trades they made 188 00:10:20,120 --> 00:10:22,520 Speaker 1: that we'll get into in a moment. That's a lot 189 00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:26,280 Speaker 1: lower than these other NL East teams. We kind of 190 00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:28,439 Speaker 1: put them in one bucket entering this year. Remember, it 191 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:31,560 Speaker 1: felt like all of them had some aspirations of being 192 00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:34,280 Speaker 1: good this year. They were spending a lot of money 193 00:10:34,360 --> 00:10:37,640 Speaker 1: to do it. The Mets have been flirting with that 194 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:41,240 Speaker 1: luxury tax threshold up near two hundred million dollars all year. 195 00:10:41,679 --> 00:10:45,439 Speaker 1: The Nationals in the Phillies were not that far behind either, 196 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:48,400 Speaker 1: and yet the Braves are kind of in the middle. 197 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:52,760 Speaker 1: They they're showing that you don't need those ridiculous resources, 198 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:54,960 Speaker 1: you don't need your ownership to kind of run the 199 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:58,640 Speaker 1: team at a financial loss potentially in order to contend. 200 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:02,400 Speaker 1: There is a smart middle ground that they have absolutely 201 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:06,079 Speaker 1: nailed that should not be out of reach for the Marlins. 202 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:08,760 Speaker 1: The Marlins, just for reference, I believe they enter this 203 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:13,000 Speaker 1: year right around fifty seven million dollars in payroll, depending 204 00:11:13,040 --> 00:11:15,440 Speaker 1: on exactly where you will look. It was not really 205 00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:18,360 Speaker 1: above sixty not even half of what the brands are spending. 206 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:22,200 Speaker 1: And it's been a trend where they continue to dip 207 00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:26,440 Speaker 1: that spending every single year since new ownership took over, 208 00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:29,959 Speaker 1: say what you will about Lauria and how at times 209 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:32,839 Speaker 1: he's certainly penny pinched with the way he built the team. 210 00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:36,440 Speaker 1: This new ownership is even more frugal right now, despite 211 00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:38,120 Speaker 1: the fact that they just re upped on a new 212 00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:41,319 Speaker 1: TV deal, that they finally got the naming rights deal 213 00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:45,640 Speaker 1: for Lone Depot Park, in that Major League Baseball in 214 00:11:45,679 --> 00:11:49,160 Speaker 1: general has some very lucrative TV contracts. As a brand, 215 00:11:49,240 --> 00:11:54,280 Speaker 1: they get benefits from revenue sharing, it's really hard to 216 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:57,920 Speaker 1: excuse the fact that they didn't put simply more resources 217 00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:01,760 Speaker 1: into the major league payroll for this year. Saying that 218 00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:05,000 Speaker 1: just getting close to the middle of the pack can 219 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:06,840 Speaker 1: do a lot of good for you. It leaves you 220 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:10,080 Speaker 1: that Martin for error that the Marlins just don't seem 221 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:15,200 Speaker 1: to have because they choose not to have it. Getting 222 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:17,720 Speaker 1: into some of the individual guys that have made this 223 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:19,760 Speaker 1: run possible. Again, we're talking about the Braves in the 224 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:22,320 Speaker 1: fact that they are in prime position to win their 225 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:25,559 Speaker 1: fourth consecutive division title. The Marlins, of course, have never 226 00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:28,679 Speaker 1: won a division title in nearly three decades of existence. 227 00:12:29,160 --> 00:12:33,160 Speaker 1: Most of it comes down to their homegrown position player corps. 228 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:38,920 Speaker 1: Freddy Freeman, National League MVP last year Ronald Acunya Junior, 229 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:41,160 Speaker 1: who was one of the front runners win MVP this 230 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:44,600 Speaker 1: year if he didn't have that knee injury. Ozzi Albie's, 231 00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:47,319 Speaker 1: who is one of the better second basemen in all 232 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:50,880 Speaker 1: of baseball. With Albi's and Akunya not even in their 233 00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:53,200 Speaker 1: primes yet, and with Freeman kind of right in the 234 00:12:53,200 --> 00:12:57,640 Speaker 1: middle of his prime, I also wanted to mention Julio Tehran. 235 00:12:57,840 --> 00:13:00,000 Speaker 1: You remember him. I mean, he's pitched against the Marlins 236 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:03,199 Speaker 1: almost as much as anybody in history. He's no longer 237 00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:06,560 Speaker 1: with the team. He kind of fizzled pretty quickly. But 238 00:13:06,600 --> 00:13:09,360 Speaker 1: that was another guy that they originally signed, they developed 239 00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:12,079 Speaker 1: in the Brave system. And what also ties all these 240 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:15,360 Speaker 1: guys in common is that they got that pre arbitration 241 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:19,760 Speaker 1: long term extension. The Braves locked them up really early 242 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:23,000 Speaker 1: once it was a parent that they were impact players. 243 00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:25,120 Speaker 1: I mean, it varies a little bit with guy to guy. 244 00:13:25,360 --> 00:13:28,680 Speaker 1: Okuney of course, had an incredible rookie year, really burst 245 00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:30,959 Speaker 1: onto the scene. Yeah, I guess, and Friedman was in 246 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:34,240 Speaker 1: the same category. They signed him in his final year 247 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:38,920 Speaker 1: pre arbitration eligibility. When he broke out as an MVP 248 00:13:39,559 --> 00:13:42,480 Speaker 1: down ballot vote Getter when his power really started to pop. 249 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:45,000 Speaker 1: After some questions about that early in his career with 250 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:47,960 Speaker 1: the Azzi Albi's he was coming off an All Star season, 251 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:52,200 Speaker 1: and with Juligo Tran, I mean you could say he's 252 00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:55,079 Speaker 1: the one deal that didn't age super gracefully. He kind 253 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:58,760 Speaker 1: of plateaued in his mid twenties and then regress in 254 00:13:58,800 --> 00:14:01,840 Speaker 1: his late twenties. But they still got excellent value for 255 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:05,520 Speaker 1: that deal to get them most of those years between 256 00:14:05,679 --> 00:14:08,959 Speaker 1: like two million and ten million dollars, where even if 257 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:11,679 Speaker 1: a guy is just an average Major League Baseball player, 258 00:14:11,679 --> 00:14:15,840 Speaker 1: you're getting a fine value out of that. So much 259 00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:19,480 Speaker 1: is put on the importance of being able to draft 260 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:25,080 Speaker 1: and internationally signed players that are the right players we talk. 261 00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:28,600 Speaker 1: We always think about guys and other organizations that do 262 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:32,000 Speaker 1: the Marlins have enough prospect capital to acquire that guy. 263 00:14:32,560 --> 00:14:35,320 Speaker 1: Fan grafts every single year they have their trade values 264 00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:38,040 Speaker 1: column where they ranked the top fifty players in Major 265 00:14:38,120 --> 00:14:41,120 Speaker 1: League Baseball according to trade values. A couple of Marlins 266 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:43,040 Speaker 1: were on that list this year. I know Trevor. I 267 00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:47,120 Speaker 1: think both Trevor Rodgers and Pablo Lopez were right around 268 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:50,840 Speaker 1: the very bottom of that top fifty. But once you 269 00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:55,280 Speaker 1: move like further up there, even the top thirty, especially 270 00:14:55,360 --> 00:14:58,880 Speaker 1: the top twenty, that's where guys like Akunya and Albi's 271 00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:03,400 Speaker 1: both are right now. You shouldn't even really dream about 272 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:07,040 Speaker 1: targeting those guys as as trade targets because they're untouchable. 273 00:15:07,080 --> 00:15:11,840 Speaker 1: That's exactly what every team aspires to get, an everyday 274 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:16,760 Speaker 1: player who has like very like clear all star potential, 275 00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:19,400 Speaker 1: if not higher to that, and being able to extend 276 00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:23,040 Speaker 1: their team control even beyond when their free agency would 277 00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:26,120 Speaker 1: naturally occur. Those guys are That's exactly what you want 278 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:28,360 Speaker 1: out of a top prospects. Like the number of the 279 00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:31,120 Speaker 1: top prospects in baseball, we could say, like Wander Franco, 280 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:34,840 Speaker 1: who was called up by the Rays a little over 281 00:15:34,880 --> 00:15:37,400 Speaker 1: a month ago and is heating up lately. It would 282 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:39,600 Speaker 1: be a great outcome for Wander Franco if he turns 283 00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:42,720 Speaker 1: into like Ozzie Albi's. There are very different types of players. 284 00:15:42,720 --> 00:15:45,000 Speaker 1: It's not like the best comp but that's that's what 285 00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:49,520 Speaker 1: I'm saying, is that there's no individual prospects in baseball, 286 00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:51,880 Speaker 1: especially not in the Marlins organization right now that you 287 00:15:51,920 --> 00:15:54,600 Speaker 1: can say, Wow, that guy's going to be that has 288 00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:58,960 Speaker 1: that guys has Hall of Fame potential, that guy should 289 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:02,000 Speaker 1: be a perennial All Star. Are like, that's not realistic 290 00:16:02,080 --> 00:16:06,160 Speaker 1: to put on any prospects shoulders. We like to dream 291 00:16:06,200 --> 00:16:08,720 Speaker 1: about their upside and their ceiling and if everything goes right. 292 00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:12,640 Speaker 1: The reality is that the Brave struck gold a few 293 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:15,960 Speaker 1: times here and they capitalized not by locking these guys up. 294 00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:19,600 Speaker 1: So a critical question for them in twenty twenty two 295 00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:22,400 Speaker 1: and beyond is whether Freddy Freeman sticks Rounds Because he's 296 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:25,760 Speaker 1: finally at the end of that early extension. He is 297 00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:29,720 Speaker 1: now in year twelve is eleventh full season, but you're 298 00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:32,480 Speaker 1: twelve overall in the major leagues, and he's finally coming 299 00:16:32,560 --> 00:16:35,640 Speaker 1: up on free agency for the first time. It seems 300 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:38,480 Speaker 1: very likely that the Braves will pay up for that, 301 00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:40,680 Speaker 1: and for the first time in his career, it will 302 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:43,320 Speaker 1: be at a rate that might not be very efficient. 303 00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:45,440 Speaker 1: Now that he's a couple of years into his thirties, 304 00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:47,640 Speaker 1: that he plays a position at the bottom of the 305 00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:50,600 Speaker 1: defensive spectrum, that's going to be a pretty fascinating decision 306 00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:53,040 Speaker 1: for the Braves. I think that's one thing I should 307 00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:55,080 Speaker 1: point out here is that as impressive as this run 308 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:58,280 Speaker 1: has been for them the last four years. They're not 309 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:01,400 Speaker 1: assured of sitting at the time the division moving forward. 310 00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:03,840 Speaker 1: I mean, there were some serious doubt about them entering 311 00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:07,240 Speaker 1: this year as even being the favorite in the division, 312 00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:11,040 Speaker 1: given some of these questions that they do have. What 313 00:17:11,080 --> 00:17:13,520 Speaker 1: I wanted to emphasize again is how important it is 314 00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:16,879 Speaker 1: for the Marlins if they want to emulate that to 315 00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:22,720 Speaker 1: be to find those stars as amateurs, to be able 316 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:25,800 Speaker 1: to have the infrastructure to identify those players, and of 317 00:17:25,840 --> 00:17:28,359 Speaker 1: course to pay wed takes to sign them, which usually 318 00:17:28,359 --> 00:17:32,040 Speaker 1: isn't enough because Major League Baseball makes it levels the 319 00:17:32,040 --> 00:17:34,639 Speaker 1: playing field in a way that the Marlins should be 320 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:36,480 Speaker 1: able to take advantage of it. You can only spend 321 00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:40,800 Speaker 1: five six million dollars every year in international free agency, 322 00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:44,040 Speaker 1: your draft bones pool, and hea you get any given years, 323 00:17:44,119 --> 00:17:47,600 Speaker 1: never more than fifteen million dollars to sign all of 324 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:51,840 Speaker 1: your draft picks. This is these are avenues that the 325 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:55,719 Speaker 1: Marlins can be as competitive as any big market team 326 00:17:56,160 --> 00:17:59,639 Speaker 1: in order to acquire that young talent, and that's up 327 00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:01,840 Speaker 1: to them course to develop it, and then it's up 328 00:18:01,880 --> 00:18:04,959 Speaker 1: to them relatively early in their careers to have the 329 00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:08,080 Speaker 1: conviction to sign them up, which brings me back to 330 00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:10,520 Speaker 1: Sandy al Contra, where he's kind of at that same 331 00:18:10,560 --> 00:18:13,000 Speaker 1: stage of his career that Freddy Freeman was when Freeman 332 00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:16,400 Speaker 1: got his first contract. He obviously plays a different position. 333 00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:20,800 Speaker 1: We're in an era in baseball where I think individual 334 00:18:20,840 --> 00:18:24,439 Speaker 1: starting pitchers there are some exceptions, but because teams go 335 00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:28,359 Speaker 1: through more pitchers than ever before, the investment that you 336 00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:29,960 Speaker 1: need to make to keep a guy might not be 337 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:32,680 Speaker 1: as high as you'd worry about. Like they won't have 338 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:36,080 Speaker 1: to pay him Freddy Freeman money to keep him around 339 00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:39,040 Speaker 1: throughout the rest of his twenties and beyond, and they 340 00:18:39,040 --> 00:18:40,879 Speaker 1: should really look into that because he's the type of 341 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:43,919 Speaker 1: guy that is sort of in this tier. He's not 342 00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:48,800 Speaker 1: a Kunya, He's not Freddy Freeman exactly, but he continues 343 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:51,679 Speaker 1: to get better every single year, and he's at a 344 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:54,040 Speaker 1: great place on his aging curve, and he seems to 345 00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:58,680 Speaker 1: really like Miami a lot. It seems like a great 346 00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:01,560 Speaker 1: fit that there should be some mutual interest there. The 347 00:19:01,560 --> 00:19:03,560 Speaker 1: one other point I wanted to touch on with the 348 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:07,960 Speaker 1: Braves is what they've done in trading pitching depth to 349 00:19:08,080 --> 00:19:13,199 Speaker 1: address immediate needs on their big league roster before the 350 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:17,600 Speaker 1: Marlins became really one of the top teams in baseball 351 00:19:17,640 --> 00:19:21,680 Speaker 1: in terms of developing pitchers and immediately making them better 352 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:24,320 Speaker 1: almost as soon as they draft them or acquire them. 353 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:26,480 Speaker 1: Like the Braves were a team that had that reputation. 354 00:19:27,480 --> 00:19:28,959 Speaker 1: You only go back a few years and they had 355 00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:31,600 Speaker 1: one of the very strongest farm systems in baseball, and 356 00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:33,480 Speaker 1: it was led by the fact that you could look 357 00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:35,960 Speaker 1: at all their full season affiliates from A Ball to 358 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:39,800 Speaker 1: Triple A, and they were bursting at the seams with 359 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:43,600 Speaker 1: potential starting pitchers. Some of the guys that I'll name 360 00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:50,160 Speaker 1: here Joey Wentz, Colby Allard, Matt Whistler, Lucas Simms, Bryce Wilson. 361 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:54,480 Speaker 1: If you follow baseball really closely, you recognize most of 362 00:19:54,520 --> 00:19:58,040 Speaker 1: those names. They've all been traded within the last few 363 00:19:58,119 --> 00:20:01,240 Speaker 1: years in order to get veterans, in order to get 364 00:20:01,320 --> 00:20:04,640 Speaker 1: Adam Adam Duval the first time from Cincinnati, in order 365 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:08,960 Speaker 1: to get Mark Millanson, Shane Green, Chris Martin, guys that 366 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:12,720 Speaker 1: at times peaked as very good relievers for them and 367 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:15,439 Speaker 1: helped plug some holes. And of course Duval, who turned 368 00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:19,440 Speaker 1: into an ideal platoon outfielder for a couple of seasons there, 369 00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:22,040 Speaker 1: and now he came back and of course in the 370 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:26,359 Speaker 1: non pitching related trade. The Marlins as a farm system 371 00:20:26,359 --> 00:20:28,200 Speaker 1: are kind of in a similar spot to where the 372 00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:32,800 Speaker 1: Breves were like twenty seventeen and twenty eighteen. Having that 373 00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:37,159 Speaker 1: seems like it's a surplus of major league quality pitchers, 374 00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:39,520 Speaker 1: some questions about their upside. You know, the guys at 375 00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:42,240 Speaker 1: the very top, as I've seen in my prospect rankings, 376 00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:46,760 Speaker 1: Edward Cabrera, SIXO Sanchez, Max Meyer, Uri Perez, those are 377 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:51,560 Speaker 1: the guys that I think you consider close to untouchable 378 00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:54,400 Speaker 1: that you wouldn't trade them in order to get a 379 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:57,480 Speaker 1: like a reliever or a platoon outfielder. For sure. Their 380 00:20:57,520 --> 00:21:00,080 Speaker 1: value is a lot higher than that. You move below that. 381 00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:02,520 Speaker 1: And there are I could go through dozens of names 382 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:05,040 Speaker 1: right now who are being groomed as starters in the 383 00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:07,680 Speaker 1: minor leagues, the majority of whom we're having a lot 384 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:11,439 Speaker 1: of success, and the Marlins just won't have space to 385 00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:13,720 Speaker 1: use them all. They'll have to make decisions about who 386 00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:17,680 Speaker 1: they think is going to come closest to reaching their 387 00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:20,240 Speaker 1: major league potential at actually being a starter in the 388 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:24,560 Speaker 1: big leagues. And the surplus guys are the ones that 389 00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:28,640 Speaker 1: you ideally for the Marlins within the next twelve months, 390 00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:31,720 Speaker 1: really next eleven months, i'd say, prior to the twenty 391 00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:36,639 Speaker 1: twenty two trade deadline. They are prime pieces that you 392 00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:40,280 Speaker 1: would use to make your major league team obviously better 393 00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:43,880 Speaker 1: they've been. Marlins have tried to like toe the sign 394 00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:45,800 Speaker 1: and be creative for the last few years with some of 395 00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:49,400 Speaker 1: these deals, acquiring guys like Alex Jackson from the Braves, 396 00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:53,560 Speaker 1: who's hasn't established himself at all, who is struggling to 397 00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:56,399 Speaker 1: hit major league pitching in his previous cups of coffee 398 00:21:56,400 --> 00:21:59,040 Speaker 1: and has continued to struggle to hit major league pitching 399 00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:04,240 Speaker 1: since that trade from Atlanta. Of course, I guess the 400 00:22:04,359 --> 00:22:08,080 Speaker 1: most notable one was Zach Gallon for Jazz Chisholm, which 401 00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:11,560 Speaker 1: ultimately may prove to be a win for the Marlins 402 00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:14,600 Speaker 1: or something relatively close to a win win for both sides, 403 00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:19,080 Speaker 1: but it did subtract a pretty valuable pitcher, a guy 404 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:22,679 Speaker 1: that there's very few in the organization right now that 405 00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:26,560 Speaker 1: you would say are Zach Gallon caliber guy moving forward, 406 00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:30,119 Speaker 1: like sometimes you just need to be more black and white. 407 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:34,080 Speaker 1: You need to trade the guys that are unproven for 408 00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:37,119 Speaker 1: the guys that are proven at positions of need. I 409 00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:39,400 Speaker 1: hope to see a lot of that this upcoming offseason 410 00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:43,359 Speaker 1: and in twenty twenty two if they're fortunate enough to 411 00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:45,919 Speaker 1: even like be relevant midway through the season. Those are 412 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:49,399 Speaker 1: the guys that I think you absolutely need to make 413 00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:53,320 Speaker 1: decisions on in order to build a well rounded organization, 414 00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:59,160 Speaker 1: and one that is not losing seven straight games. Losing 415 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:01,399 Speaker 1: almost all their games was really of late at the 416 00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:06,360 Speaker 1: major league level. How are the Marlins doing on their 417 00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:10,480 Speaker 1: mission to be a sustainable contender like the Braves, with 418 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:15,320 Speaker 1: that emphasis on being able to draft and sign amateur 419 00:23:15,359 --> 00:23:17,840 Speaker 1: players and get them in the right positions and then 420 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:22,119 Speaker 1: compliment them appropriately with these trades on the margins and 421 00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:27,080 Speaker 1: with some enough balanced free agent spending that you miss 422 00:23:27,119 --> 00:23:30,000 Speaker 1: on some, but you win on some, and ultimately you 423 00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:33,000 Speaker 1: wind up with a pretty complete team. As I said, 424 00:23:33,040 --> 00:23:36,120 Speaker 1: on the middle of the road budget, nothing too exorbitant. 425 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:39,240 Speaker 1: That the Braves are doing well on the amateur side, 426 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:42,080 Speaker 1: you need to be slightly encouraged by what they've done 427 00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:45,639 Speaker 1: these last few years under the new front office. Twenty 428 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:48,320 Speaker 1: eighteen draft is where we'll start, because that was the 429 00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:52,320 Speaker 1: first one after the ownership change where the Marlins inherited 430 00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:55,520 Speaker 1: a middle of the road twenty seventeen team, which dropped 431 00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:57,800 Speaker 1: them in the draft order to number thirteen. They did 432 00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:01,400 Speaker 1: not have a particularly big draft bone his pool that year. 433 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:04,680 Speaker 1: The best player to this point at the major league 434 00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:08,479 Speaker 1: level that they drafted in twenty eighteen is unfortunately not 435 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:12,680 Speaker 1: on the Marlins anymore. That's Alex Vesia, who is His 436 00:24:12,720 --> 00:24:15,840 Speaker 1: first haste of the big leagues with the Marlins and 437 00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:18,280 Speaker 1: then with the Dodgers was very rocky. But if you 438 00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:20,960 Speaker 1: haven't been paying attention over the last two months or so, 439 00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:22,920 Speaker 1: he has been right up there with the most dominant 440 00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:25,679 Speaker 1: relievers in all of baseball. I need to talk and 441 00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:28,399 Speaker 1: write about him relatively soon because that it was an 442 00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:32,000 Speaker 1: interesting trade that they made, one that was relatively high 443 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:34,560 Speaker 1: on at the time for the Marlins, flipping him for 444 00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:38,760 Speaker 1: Dylan Floro, But the way it has panned out, of course, 445 00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:43,199 Speaker 1: lends it to some second guessing. The big priorities for 446 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:45,960 Speaker 1: the Marlins in that draft class were Connor Scott in 447 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:48,800 Speaker 1: the first rounds o Cyrus Johnson in the second. They 448 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:51,880 Speaker 1: had Will Banfield with a compensation round pick, and Tristan 449 00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:54,440 Speaker 1: Pompeii right after that. At the top of the draft, 450 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:57,360 Speaker 1: they went position player heavy with some short term concerns, 451 00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:01,560 Speaker 1: of course about their offense made some sense, and you 452 00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:04,439 Speaker 1: fast forward now more than three years, none of those 453 00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:07,400 Speaker 1: guys are close to being in the majors. Pompeii technically 454 00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:10,080 Speaker 1: has played for Triple A a few games this year, 455 00:25:10,840 --> 00:25:13,320 Speaker 1: but not as an actual prospect. I would say that 456 00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:16,320 Speaker 1: him of the four has actually panned out the worst, 457 00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:18,399 Speaker 1: despite him being the one that was coming out of 458 00:25:18,440 --> 00:25:21,399 Speaker 1: college and had that track record playing in the sec 459 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:26,040 Speaker 1: that he's I don't want to go too far into him, 460 00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:29,399 Speaker 1: but the production just has not been there, and I 461 00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:31,960 Speaker 1: would say that he's the least likely one to eventually 462 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:36,320 Speaker 1: contribute to them in the big leagues. Connor Scott has 463 00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:39,080 Speaker 1: been fine. I think that's the best way to describe it. 464 00:25:39,119 --> 00:25:43,120 Speaker 1: You know, you'd say that comparing him to the average 465 00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:46,680 Speaker 1: number thirteen overall pick historically, he would stack up as 466 00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:52,280 Speaker 1: right around the median outcome for him, where if I 467 00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:54,960 Speaker 1: was to bet on it, I would say, eventually he 468 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:56,760 Speaker 1: does make it to the major leagues, but it's no 469 00:25:56,880 --> 00:25:59,640 Speaker 1: sure thing, and it's it's definitely an open question as 470 00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:04,280 Speaker 1: to whether he would be able to serve anything close 471 00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:07,719 Speaker 1: to an everyday role in the major leagues, though he is. 472 00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:10,760 Speaker 1: With him and Osiris and Will Banfield, they're all still 473 00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:15,719 Speaker 1: relatively young, all still in their very early twenties. But 474 00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:19,000 Speaker 1: with Osiris, you know, he's undergoing a position change right now. 475 00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:21,680 Speaker 1: He's still at the low A level. Banfield has been 476 00:26:21,680 --> 00:26:24,199 Speaker 1: at high A all year. He's still good defensively, but 477 00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:26,760 Speaker 1: he can't hit, and at the moment as I'm recording this, 478 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:30,439 Speaker 1: he's hurt. Go through the rest of that draft class, 479 00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:33,480 Speaker 1: and there's not a whole lot of other bright stories. 480 00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:36,280 Speaker 1: Very few of them are any higher than double A, 481 00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:39,640 Speaker 1: and none of the pitchers from that draft class profile 482 00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:43,480 Speaker 1: as major league starters. We could very realistically reach a 483 00:26:43,480 --> 00:26:49,360 Speaker 1: point where the Marlins only get maybe two viable big 484 00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:51,880 Speaker 1: leaguers out of that entire draft class. And you need 485 00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:54,000 Speaker 1: to do better than that. If you are going to 486 00:26:54,080 --> 00:26:59,120 Speaker 1: operate on a lower than average Baseball operations spending budget, 487 00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:00,879 Speaker 1: you need to do better. There's a lot of pressure 488 00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:03,240 Speaker 1: on that. And it's too soon really to render a 489 00:27:03,320 --> 00:27:06,119 Speaker 1: judgment on twenty nineteen to twenty twenty for sure. I mean, frankly, 490 00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:08,680 Speaker 1: it's a little premature on twenty eighteen, but definitely on 491 00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:11,919 Speaker 1: those last two, especially because of the canceled minor league season. 492 00:27:11,960 --> 00:27:14,720 Speaker 1: You know, the twenty nineteen draft picks are right now 493 00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:18,520 Speaker 1: only in their first full professional seasons. It's been a 494 00:27:18,560 --> 00:27:21,719 Speaker 1: mixed bag from that as well, where JJ Blodet at 495 00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:24,520 Speaker 1: the top has very well documented that he has not 496 00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:28,159 Speaker 1: been productive this year the game of challenging assignment. But 497 00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:30,640 Speaker 1: he was someone that we'd expected to reach the major 498 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:34,600 Speaker 1: leagues perhaps by this point, and instead you wonder whether 499 00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:37,360 Speaker 1: or not he'll even be a Triple A next year 500 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:40,960 Speaker 1: or potentially have to repeat the Double A level. Good 501 00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:44,240 Speaker 1: stuff from Payden Burdick at Double A and from Cam 502 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:48,200 Speaker 1: Meisner at High A, but also guys that have more 503 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:50,680 Speaker 1: swing and miss in their game than Bladeta's or more 504 00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:53,720 Speaker 1: than you'd like to see from a potential everyday player 505 00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:56,520 Speaker 1: in the majors. And you go through the rest of 506 00:27:56,520 --> 00:27:58,840 Speaker 1: that draft class. There are some other more good stories 507 00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:03,359 Speaker 1: like Troy Johnston and nicimnu Yez some hit or miss 508 00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:06,480 Speaker 1: with him on the international side. Of course, the biggest 509 00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:10,280 Speaker 1: splash they made since this ownership change was the Maser 510 00:28:10,359 --> 00:28:14,240 Speaker 1: Brothers Victor Victor five point twenty five million dollar bonus 511 00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:17,480 Speaker 1: Victor Mason Junior a one million dollar bonus. It happened 512 00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:22,240 Speaker 1: pretty quickly in late twenty nineteen that Victor Junior surpassed 513 00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:26,200 Speaker 1: his brother as the higher priority prospect, and it's abundantly 514 00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:29,000 Speaker 1: clear this year, where now there's only one level separating 515 00:28:29,080 --> 00:28:32,640 Speaker 1: them just by day, I think a five plus year 516 00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:36,000 Speaker 1: age difference. It's incredible that they might actually be minor 517 00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:42,520 Speaker 1: league teammates in twenty twenty two at some point. That's 518 00:28:42,520 --> 00:28:46,440 Speaker 1: mostly because Victor Victor has looked like a bust. He 519 00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:50,280 Speaker 1: has not progressed anywhere. In his brief shot at Double A, 520 00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:53,400 Speaker 1: he wasn't able to hit whatsoever. Since going back down 521 00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:56,320 Speaker 1: to high A and repeating that level against much younger competition, 522 00:28:56,400 --> 00:29:01,040 Speaker 1: he looks fine. Again, It's doesn't tell you much when 523 00:29:01,040 --> 00:29:04,880 Speaker 1: you're repeating and when he still has so much of 524 00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:09,560 Speaker 1: an issue making quality contact. They can still salvage that deal. 525 00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:13,680 Speaker 1: If Mesa Junior reaches the big leagues and is something 526 00:29:13,720 --> 00:29:17,080 Speaker 1: close to an everyday player, they definitely but there's still hope, 527 00:29:17,240 --> 00:29:19,960 Speaker 1: i'd say, for that transaction, and there are other good 528 00:29:19,960 --> 00:29:24,520 Speaker 1: stories on that front, namely right hander Uri Perez, the 529 00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:27,400 Speaker 1: guy who's already up to high A. That's probably more 530 00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:32,600 Speaker 1: incredible than the Mesa. Contrast between them is that Uri Perez, 531 00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:36,920 Speaker 1: who's even younger than Victor Junior, has already reached the 532 00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:40,720 Speaker 1: same level as Victor. Well, there's almost a seven year 533 00:29:40,760 --> 00:29:44,280 Speaker 1: age difference between those guys, and they're teammates right now 534 00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:47,440 Speaker 1: with the Bloyd Snappers. I'm very high as on Uri 535 00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:50,000 Speaker 1: as mentioned before, as you've seen on my top prospect list, 536 00:29:50,760 --> 00:29:55,400 Speaker 1: So that's kind of one of those gems with the Braves. 537 00:29:55,880 --> 00:29:58,360 Speaker 1: You know, I talked about just really three or four 538 00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:01,920 Speaker 1: guys that you draft, that you develop, that you lock 539 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:05,720 Speaker 1: up long term, that turn into all Star caliber, if 540 00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:09,280 Speaker 1: not slightly better players, and Uri Perez is one of 541 00:30:09,320 --> 00:30:12,760 Speaker 1: those guys potentially. Potentially, it's still so early with him 542 00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:17,440 Speaker 1: because this is his first professional minor league season. It's 543 00:30:17,480 --> 00:30:19,360 Speaker 1: there's a lot of time that he needs to adjust 544 00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:24,360 Speaker 1: to to see how he handles older, more advanced competition. 545 00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:27,760 Speaker 1: He is on a great start to that, but you're 546 00:30:27,800 --> 00:30:31,000 Speaker 1: still at least two years away from seeing him in 547 00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:34,040 Speaker 1: the major leagues, so it's premature on that. There needs 548 00:30:34,040 --> 00:30:37,800 Speaker 1: to be other candidates in the organization, and you know, 549 00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:40,240 Speaker 1: potentially mac Meyer is one of those. We could see 550 00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:45,080 Speaker 1: him a lot sooner than Ury Perez, for sure, And 551 00:30:45,240 --> 00:30:47,080 Speaker 1: you know there's like a tier below them of other 552 00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:51,080 Speaker 1: nice prospects I really like. On the major league level, 553 00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:53,840 Speaker 1: of course, there's there's Trevor Rodgers and Jazz chishm the 554 00:30:53,920 --> 00:30:57,520 Speaker 1: both of whom have had good rookie seasons. Trevor even 555 00:30:57,560 --> 00:30:59,880 Speaker 1: more so than Jazz or just about anybody else. When 556 00:30:59,880 --> 00:31:02,480 Speaker 1: he's been available to pitch, and it looks like he'll 557 00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:03,880 Speaker 1: be able to come back before the end of the year. 558 00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:08,720 Speaker 1: He's been outstanding a lot of He checks so many 559 00:31:08,720 --> 00:31:11,720 Speaker 1: boxes that you want from a starting pitcher. He was 560 00:31:11,760 --> 00:31:14,840 Speaker 1: deservedly an All Star this year, and you feel like 561 00:31:15,360 --> 00:31:18,280 Speaker 1: there's not much flukiness to it. He's going to continue 562 00:31:18,320 --> 00:31:22,440 Speaker 1: to be pretty great moving forward, health permitting. So Trevor 563 00:31:22,520 --> 00:31:26,520 Speaker 1: Rodgers is a candidate for that, but the sample is 564 00:31:26,520 --> 00:31:34,360 Speaker 1: still relatively small. The previous half generation of acquisitions, of course, 565 00:31:34,640 --> 00:31:38,920 Speaker 1: from Lewis, Brentson and Is san Diez. On the pitching side, 566 00:31:40,280 --> 00:31:44,120 Speaker 1: Ellie Is or Hernandez, there's a lot of decent guys 567 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:47,080 Speaker 1: in there that don't really get you super excited. You 568 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:49,480 Speaker 1: know how high I was on Brian Anderson, and he's 569 00:31:49,520 --> 00:31:51,680 Speaker 1: not had a good year. It's been shortened by injury, 570 00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:55,240 Speaker 1: of course, but in August. It's right up there with 571 00:31:56,000 --> 00:31:58,920 Speaker 1: really the worst month of his major league career. He's 572 00:31:58,960 --> 00:32:02,600 Speaker 1: just not hitting, and it's hard to really sugarcoat that 573 00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:05,480 Speaker 1: or come up with excuses for that. He's at a 574 00:32:05,520 --> 00:32:07,800 Speaker 1: stage of his career where he's already one year into 575 00:32:07,880 --> 00:32:11,480 Speaker 1: arbitration and he will be again next year, and that's 576 00:32:11,480 --> 00:32:13,280 Speaker 1: something that we, of course will be unpacking on Fish 577 00:32:13,280 --> 00:32:16,480 Speaker 1: Stripes is exactly where they stand with Ba at a 578 00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:21,720 Speaker 1: position where Marlins don't have any really solid backup plan 579 00:32:21,800 --> 00:32:25,920 Speaker 1: at third base. He's at a stage where he's going 580 00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:29,240 Speaker 1: to be making more and more money, but his production, 581 00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:33,160 Speaker 1: particularly of late, brings into question as to exactly where 582 00:32:33,200 --> 00:32:36,280 Speaker 1: that ceiling is and whether it is worth extending him. 583 00:32:36,360 --> 00:32:39,240 Speaker 1: That's something I'll go into a little bit more, of course, 584 00:32:39,320 --> 00:32:43,720 Speaker 1: as this season winds down. So you know, you see 585 00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:50,640 Speaker 1: some good stories in here with the Marlins, but it's 586 00:32:51,360 --> 00:32:54,680 Speaker 1: there still seem to be pretty far away, right and 587 00:32:54,880 --> 00:32:58,400 Speaker 1: the way that they close that gap would have to 588 00:32:58,440 --> 00:33:01,200 Speaker 1: be by spending some money. They enter next year with 589 00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:04,600 Speaker 1: so few commitments on the books. They're gonna have Miguel 590 00:33:04,680 --> 00:33:07,200 Speaker 1: Rojas for I think five and a half million dollars. 591 00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:11,840 Speaker 1: They'll have Brian Anderson for about that simi amount of arbitration. 592 00:33:12,080 --> 00:33:14,280 Speaker 1: Sandy will get a little less than that in arbitration. 593 00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:19,600 Speaker 1: Pablo also a few million dollars final years of control 594 00:33:19,680 --> 00:33:24,640 Speaker 1: over Anthony Bass his final guaranteed year, Richard Bleier, Dylan Floro, 595 00:33:24,760 --> 00:33:27,240 Speaker 1: like all these little one million, two million, three million 596 00:33:27,280 --> 00:33:30,440 Speaker 1: dollars here and there overall, like they'll head into this 597 00:33:30,480 --> 00:33:35,920 Speaker 1: offseason with like a projected forty five million dollars on 598 00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:38,080 Speaker 1: the books right around there if you include all the 599 00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:40,800 Speaker 1: arbitration eligibles, and even that might be actually a little 600 00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:43,600 Speaker 1: higher than it is. They are near the top of 601 00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:47,920 Speaker 1: the list in terms of financial flexibility. Now, we still 602 00:33:47,920 --> 00:33:50,880 Speaker 1: have to wait and see exactly what the spending parameters 603 00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:53,400 Speaker 1: are in Major League Baseball next year. That's what hovers 604 00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:57,120 Speaker 1: over this rebuild is the new collective bargaining agreements, where 605 00:33:57,160 --> 00:33:58,880 Speaker 1: there are bounds to be a lot of changes to 606 00:33:58,960 --> 00:34:03,280 Speaker 1: the structure of League Baseball. Will those changes benefit small 607 00:34:03,320 --> 00:34:07,320 Speaker 1: and mid market teams or will they not? Historically, if 608 00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:09,440 Speaker 1: we look at the trends in recent years, a lot 609 00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:12,920 Speaker 1: of those changes have actually benefited small and mid market teams. 610 00:34:14,040 --> 00:34:16,279 Speaker 1: But everything is on the table, and I will not 611 00:34:16,440 --> 00:34:19,400 Speaker 1: even venture I guess as to exactly what the financial 612 00:34:19,520 --> 00:34:23,280 Speaker 1: landscape of baseball could look like be on this current season. 613 00:34:23,640 --> 00:34:26,760 Speaker 1: The only obvious thing is that the Marlins could and should, 614 00:34:27,360 --> 00:34:32,040 Speaker 1: under billionaire Bruce Sherman, be able to double their existing commitments. 615 00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:37,439 Speaker 1: They should be able to without without a concern, being 616 00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:41,480 Speaker 1: able to get that payroll into the eighties the nineties 617 00:34:41,520 --> 00:34:44,200 Speaker 1: million dollar range, which kind of what which is where 618 00:34:44,200 --> 00:34:48,120 Speaker 1: it was after they made those first rebuilding trades entering 619 00:34:48,160 --> 00:34:50,920 Speaker 1: the twenty eighteen season. There's no reason at this point 620 00:34:51,120 --> 00:34:53,960 Speaker 1: why they should be even more frugal than they were 621 00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:58,080 Speaker 1: at the onset of all this. There are opportunities to improve, 622 00:34:58,360 --> 00:35:00,560 Speaker 1: will of course get into a lot of that as 623 00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:03,319 Speaker 1: the season winds down, as those free agent targets really 624 00:35:03,400 --> 00:35:06,560 Speaker 1: present itself, as those trade targets present itself, Guys that 625 00:35:06,600 --> 00:35:10,080 Speaker 1: are already on fixed contracts that could make sense for 626 00:35:10,239 --> 00:35:14,520 Speaker 1: the team. There's still enough question marks about the major 627 00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:18,560 Speaker 1: league ready players that you need to fill in some 628 00:35:18,600 --> 00:35:22,439 Speaker 1: of those holes by going outside the organization. That's it's 629 00:35:22,480 --> 00:35:24,520 Speaker 1: not exactly how the Braves did it, as they kind 630 00:35:24,520 --> 00:35:27,400 Speaker 1: of went through, you know, they were set up really 631 00:35:27,440 --> 00:35:31,399 Speaker 1: for this run in twenty eighteen. I'd say when both 632 00:35:31,440 --> 00:35:34,640 Speaker 1: Akunya and Albie's made that great transition to the majors 633 00:35:34,680 --> 00:35:38,920 Speaker 1: and turned into everyday caliber guys. The question with the 634 00:35:38,920 --> 00:35:42,160 Speaker 1: Marlins are they just gonna wait until that happens cross 635 00:35:42,239 --> 00:35:45,600 Speaker 1: their fingers going into twenty twenty two, that Trevor keeps 636 00:35:45,640 --> 00:35:49,520 Speaker 1: doing what he's doing, that Jazz continues to adjust that 637 00:35:51,960 --> 00:35:54,960 Speaker 1: I don't even know what the realistic position players. I 638 00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:59,080 Speaker 1: guess in the outfields, if you think Hayesus Sanchez and 639 00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:04,200 Speaker 1: Brian Del Cruise take steps forward, that Brian Anderson bounces 640 00:36:04,239 --> 00:36:09,799 Speaker 1: back leywin Diez at first base, that that's a guy 641 00:36:09,920 --> 00:36:12,520 Speaker 1: that I like a lot and certainly has a nice 642 00:36:12,560 --> 00:36:15,719 Speaker 1: all round potential. If they do that, it's gonna be 643 00:36:15,719 --> 00:36:20,040 Speaker 1: really frustrating. It's still my work, but it's really it's 644 00:36:20,080 --> 00:36:22,719 Speaker 1: a lower probability of success rate. Unless you combine that 645 00:36:23,239 --> 00:36:29,120 Speaker 1: with some spending. Spend some money to bring this team closer. 646 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:32,399 Speaker 1: There's room for mistakes. You don't need to get every 647 00:36:32,440 --> 00:36:36,799 Speaker 1: single move perfect. Given the resources that this organization has, 648 00:36:36,880 --> 00:36:39,520 Speaker 1: that every major league team has, including the Marlins, you 649 00:36:39,520 --> 00:36:42,239 Speaker 1: don't need to get it all perfect, but there will 650 00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:44,399 Speaker 1: need to be some moves made in order to even 651 00:36:44,440 --> 00:36:47,280 Speaker 1: give them a chance of keeping up in this National 652 00:36:47,400 --> 00:36:49,759 Speaker 1: League East. So I went through a lot on that, 653 00:36:50,960 --> 00:36:52,800 Speaker 1: spending more of it on the Braves than on the Marlins. 654 00:36:52,840 --> 00:36:55,400 Speaker 1: But I hope it was a nice thought exercise for 655 00:36:55,440 --> 00:36:58,360 Speaker 1: you guys instead of focusing, of course, on the current team, 656 00:36:58,400 --> 00:37:01,600 Speaker 1: which is I think I count but twenty three games 657 00:37:01,600 --> 00:37:04,239 Speaker 1: below five hundred entering this off day, So enjoy your 658 00:37:04,280 --> 00:37:07,080 Speaker 1: off day after listening to this pod, with hopefully some 659 00:37:07,440 --> 00:37:10,719 Speaker 1: non Marlins related activities. We'll continue our coverage on the 660 00:37:10,760 --> 00:37:15,000 Speaker 1: site for sure. We'll be leaning more into prospect coverage 661 00:37:15,080 --> 00:37:19,640 Speaker 1: over this next month plus about what's coming next and guys, 662 00:37:19,920 --> 00:37:22,879 Speaker 1: how those guys fit into the near and long term 663 00:37:22,920 --> 00:37:25,719 Speaker 1: future of the team. It's still gonna be a fun ride, 664 00:37:25,800 --> 00:37:27,600 Speaker 1: believe it or not. You might not believe that, but 665 00:37:27,719 --> 00:37:29,600 Speaker 1: it's gonna be fun the rest of this way as 666 00:37:29,680 --> 00:37:33,120 Speaker 1: we look at the franchise from all angles on Fish Drifts. 667 00:37:33,600 --> 00:37:53,879 Speaker 1: I'm Ela Susman. I appreciate the support. Go Fish