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Speaker 1: Fresh episode of Fish Bites looking forward to the twenty

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Speaker 1: twenty Miami Marlins regular season. This is Eli Sussman, managing

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Speaker 1: editor of Fish Stripes, where we cover all things Miami Marlins. Unfortunately,

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Speaker 1: for the past several months that hasn't been much of

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Speaker 1: anything at all. A lot of historical perspective, a lot

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Speaker 1: of speculation as the entire league Major League Baseball has

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Speaker 1: been put on pause for over three months in the

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Speaker 1: midst of this COVID nineteen pandemic, but finally breakthrough on

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Speaker 1: Monday night when the Players Association rejected a sixty game

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Speaker 1: proposal for the twenty twenty season that had a lot

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Speaker 1: of caveats to it, and very swiftly though the Commissioner,

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Speaker 1: Rob Manfred and MLB owners voted unanimously to proceed with

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Speaker 1: the season anyway. Per multiple reports from National Insiders, it's

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Speaker 1: going to be sixty games and full pro rated salaries

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Speaker 1: for the players. A lot of other wrinkles to it

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Speaker 1: that are still being sussed out in detail, but again

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Speaker 1: multiple reports citing an opening day potentially of July twenty fourth,

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Speaker 1: barely a month away from finally getting this season underway.

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Speaker 1: It was an especially highly anticipated season for the Marlins,

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Speaker 1: after struggling so much at the major league level of

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Speaker 1: the past two years, now they have so much more

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Speaker 1: high ceiling young talent at various positions that are breaking

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Speaker 1: through to the majors. They made those shrewd veteran acquisitions

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Speaker 1: over the offseason, like improvement from twenty nineteen was inevitable,

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Speaker 1: a lot of enthusiasm, and of course these circumstances take

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Speaker 1: some of the momentum out of their wings. This is

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Speaker 1: a very frustrating process to follow. I hope for some

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Speaker 1: of you you had the good sense to just tune

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Speaker 1: it out entirely. We did our best on fish Stripes,

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Speaker 1: providing daily updates on the situation and distractions in some

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Speaker 1: cases from the negotiations, but it was frustrating. It was

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Speaker 1: frustrating to follow the League Office and the Players Association

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Speaker 1: having so much trouble agreeing on much of anything. The negotiations,

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Speaker 1: I think everybody would agree, were drawn out much longer

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Speaker 1: than they need to be, and this resolution, while better

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Speaker 1: than nothing, doesn't fully satisfy people. Sixty games that whatever

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Speaker 1: the presumed the eventual champion of the season is never

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Speaker 1: going to be treated quite the same as they would

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Speaker 1: in an ordinary situation, and of course there are some

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Speaker 1: things out of their control where the state of the

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Speaker 1: pandemic in the US, the way that it's been managed,

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Speaker 1: it creates some doubt as to whether or not we're

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Speaker 1: actually going to be able to play this season as

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Speaker 1: plans in the first place, just because of all the

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Speaker 1: areas across the country that are still battling it, including

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Speaker 1: in the state of Florida, maybe especially in the state

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Speaker 1: of Florida, one that has had a huge uptick in

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Speaker 1: reported cases. As we're recording this and heading into what

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Speaker 1: would potentially be a new spring training, a quote unquote

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Speaker 1: summer training that begins just a week away, pending the

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Speaker 1: approval from the Players Association, a lot of other little

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Speaker 1: details that we're trying to solidify because in the course

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Speaker 1: of this back and forth between the league and the

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Speaker 1: Players Association, there were a lot of little bargaining chips

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Speaker 1: thrown in, such as the designated hitter, how to divide

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Speaker 1: up the playoff revenue, the size of the rosters that

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Speaker 1: are going to be used, and the number of off

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Speaker 1: days that are going to take place. It does seem

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Speaker 1: there's some clarity about the schedule that, as had been

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Speaker 1: rumored for the past couple of months. They're going to

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Speaker 1: limit travel as much as possible and keep it regional.

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Speaker 1: The Marlins will only be playing nine other teams this year.

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Speaker 1: There are other rivals from the National League East and

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Speaker 1: the teams from the American League East. The only opponents

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Speaker 1: standing in the way of the Maarlins ending their eternal

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Speaker 1: playoff droute would be the Ranning World Series champion Washington Nationals,

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Speaker 1: the Braves, the Phillies, the Mets, the Yankees, the Red Sox,

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Speaker 1: the Orioles, the Blue Jays, and the Tampa Bay Rays.

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Speaker 1: An interesting wrinkle in this is going to be fewer

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Speaker 1: off days than usual, but hopefully the limited travel will

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Speaker 1: help manage that. A few extra spots on the active

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Speaker 1: major league rosters will help shift the load and not

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Speaker 1: overwhelm any one person. It's still just a big relief

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Speaker 1: the fact that they have some sort of plan in place.

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Speaker 1: There is some hope that Marlin's fans will get to

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Speaker 1: see Jonathan vr Francisco, Cervelli, me Garcia. A handful of

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Speaker 1: these offseason acquisitions signed to one year contracts that initially

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Speaker 1: there was that risk of them only being a Marlin

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Speaker 1: on paper and in exhibition games, never actually getting to

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Speaker 1: do the real thing moving forward, and we're going to

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Speaker 1: be reminding you this on a near daily basis is

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Speaker 1: the risk of all this falling apart due to health

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Speaker 1: related issues. We're only a few days removed from Major

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Speaker 1: League Baseball temporarily shutting down all of its spring training

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Speaker 1: facilities in order to do a deep cleaning and to

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Speaker 1: reassess their policies because there was a pretty significant outbreak

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Speaker 1: at the Philadelphia Phillies facility in clear Water. Overall, approximately

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Speaker 1: forty positive tests for COVID among players and Major League

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Speaker 1: staff members just in recent days around the entire league.

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Speaker 1: By all accounts, nobody's life is being threatened. The only

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Speaker 1: reason why this is a possibility to even proceed with

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Speaker 1: this kind of thing in the middle of a pandemic

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Speaker 1: is because many of the players are what you would

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Speaker 1: call low risk groups, where many of them, if they

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Speaker 1: even tested positive, may be asymptomatic or would have very

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Speaker 1: mild symptoms, and as long as they don't have certain

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Speaker 1: pre existing conditions, they should be okay with it. But

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Speaker 1: one thing that we can't anticipate is players that may

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Speaker 1: be opting out of this season. A good percentage of

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Speaker 1: players do have some financial security, and even by playing

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Speaker 1: this season, because it's all being pro rated, players are

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Speaker 1: only earning about thirty seven percent of their usual salaries,

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Speaker 1: and whether it's worth the risk for them to play

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Speaker 1: in the first place is a very fair question, especially

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Speaker 1: for veteran players, especially those that have families that are

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Speaker 1: relying on them to have long careers after the twenty

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Speaker 1: twenty season. That's one thing that I think we can

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Speaker 1: anticipate is seeing some notable players opt out of the

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Speaker 1: twenty to twenty season to prioritize their health and well

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Speaker 1: being above all else. And it's going to be you

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Speaker 1: really can't blame them for doing that because of how

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Speaker 1: little we know about this disease. For the basic fact

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Speaker 1: that we now have in this country alone over one

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Speaker 1: hundred and twenty thousand deaths being attributed to COVID nineteen,

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Speaker 1: and for people to want to take every step possible

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Speaker 1: to avoid adding to that total, it's understandable. Unlike anything,

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Speaker 1: for sure, that we've ever had in Major League baseball,

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Speaker 1: it's gonna be the shortest season completed in many generations,

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Speaker 1: and so many complicating factors, obviously one being fan attendance

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Speaker 1: and the lack thereof we're at a point where one

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Speaker 1: of the only professional leagues anywhere in the world that

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Speaker 1: has fan attendance on a daily basis is the Chinese

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Speaker 1: Professional Baseball League in Taiwan, but everywhere else in the

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Speaker 1: world world because of the concerns that COVID spreads so

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Speaker 1: easily in crowded places, it's difficult to manage and it's

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Speaker 1: really not worth the trouble in order to actually go

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Speaker 1: through with that and bring fans into the building. So

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Speaker 1: what that does for all the jokes that people have

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Speaker 1: made about Marlin's park attendance over the year of many

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Speaker 1: of those jokes have been deserved, frankly because the atmosphere

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Speaker 1: at the ballpark relative to others across the league. But

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Speaker 1: any player will tell you those that are playing right

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Speaker 1: now overseas. Former Marlins pitcher Dan Strali is in Korea

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Speaker 1: right now having a lot of success. But he's been

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Speaker 1: the first to tell people on his own podcasts and

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Speaker 1: other appearances that it is totally it's an entirely different

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Speaker 1: game when you're pitching in front of nobody versus an

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Speaker 1: actual crowd that's invested in your success or your failure,

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Speaker 1: And that's something that players will have to adapt to.

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Speaker 1: It'll be a difficult adjustment for fans as well at home,

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Speaker 1: because so much of our enjoyment of the games, even

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Speaker 1: if we're just watching from home, especially in these circumstances

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Speaker 1: where many of us will be watching from home instead

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Speaker 1: of in public places. That the camaraderie of being around

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Speaker 1: other fans who could get it on social media, especially

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Speaker 1: on Twitter, but black outside of that, one thing you

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Speaker 1: rely on is what you hear through the broadcast, the

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Speaker 1: emotion that you hear coming through the screen or through

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Speaker 1: the radio, and that might be there. Whatever effects are

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Speaker 1: going to be there this year are probably going to

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Speaker 1: be manufactured by the magic of broadcasting effects, and it

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Speaker 1: won't quite be the same, And it's just impossible to

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Speaker 1: say exactly how fans and players will adjust to it.

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Speaker 1: I received a handful of fascinating questions from fist Stripe's followers.

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Speaker 1: That's what we're gonna spend most of this pod episode

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Speaker 1: doing is digging into those questions as best I can

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Speaker 1: about twenty twenty and beyond. But one other point I

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Speaker 1: wanted to bring up this is circling back to an

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Speaker 1: article we had on fish strips dot Com.

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Speaker 2: So check out fishtripes some really fun stuff on there.

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Speaker 1: There was that prospect potentially of the season being as

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Speaker 1: short as fifty games, to concerns about MLB ownership, pinching

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Speaker 1: pennies wanting to minimize their losses as much as possible

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Speaker 1: with as short a season as possible, and multiple reports

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Speaker 1: saying that it could be as short as fifty games.

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Speaker 1: You know, ultimately we reached sixty, but it's the same

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Speaker 1: sort of principle where it's such a dramatic deviation from

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Speaker 1: what we're used to being one hundred and sixty two games.

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Speaker 1: And the findings I got there were just how volatile

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Speaker 1: this is and how unpredictable a season is under these circumstances,

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Speaker 1: because over such a short period of time, when you

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Speaker 1: have the right combination of players, you have the right

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Speaker 1: health of those players are simply ones that are in

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Speaker 1: a nice groove in the middle of a hot streak

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Speaker 1: that even teams with unquote low talent or those without experience,

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Speaker 1: they can really overachieve under small samples, And if the

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Speaker 1: entire season is going to be a smallish sample, then

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Speaker 1: that raises the ceiling for this Marlins team. I thought

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Speaker 1: I was pretty clear with my thoughts back in March

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Speaker 1: that this Marlins team was still far away from being

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Speaker 1: a true contender, that there really was not any scenario

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Speaker 1: under a full length season for them to make the

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Speaker 1: playoffs or frankly, to even be aggressive in during the

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Speaker 1: season at the trade headline adding players. They weren't going

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Speaker 1: to really take those steps and go for it, sensing

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Speaker 1: that their window wasn't really open to contend just yet.

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Speaker 1: I believe that's still true in this situation, that they're

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Speaker 1: not going to enter this spring training two point zero

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Speaker 1: with any unrealistic expectations. They're not going to be picking

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Speaker 1: up veteran free agents at the last minute to fort

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Speaker 1: five certain areas of the roster. They're just going to

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Speaker 1: roll out the team that they have. But because of

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Speaker 1: the shortened season and because of some different circumstances that

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Speaker 1: I'm going to get into in just a few moments,

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Speaker 1: with these fanning questions that the ceiling is higher on

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Speaker 1: this team, there is a scenario where some of these

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Speaker 1: former top prospects unveil their full potential very early on,

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Speaker 1: and that you have guys that really gel together that potentially,

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Speaker 1: with this limited schedule, you could get some lucky branks.

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Speaker 1: With these teams that you're matched up with more than

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Speaker 1: usual and take advantage of them. There is the opportunity

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Speaker 1: for this team to be good if everything goes right.

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Speaker 1: There is also the opportunity on the other end of

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Speaker 1: the spectrum for them to be terrible historically bad. They

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Speaker 1: could have a lower win percentage than they had in

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Speaker 1: twenty nineteen, because, again a small sample, it's unpredictable and

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Speaker 1: very small things can sway it one way or the other.

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Speaker 1: A big question is going to be whether or not

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Speaker 1: they have a trade deadline. Does that complicate the travel

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Speaker 1: too much to do? It will seem to be ready

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Speaker 1: to make decisions so quickly about a team knowing that

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Speaker 1: the full length season is so small. That's a big

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Speaker 1: factor because that was a reason why the Marlins perhaps

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Speaker 1: since seemed ready to contend, they would be tempted to

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Speaker 1: unload some veteran salaries in the middle of the year,

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Speaker 1: and that same temptation isn't going to be quite the

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Speaker 1: same this year. The incentives to trade away high salary

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Speaker 1: players won't be the same because salaries themselves are just

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Speaker 1: a fraction of what they ordinarily would be. Tons of

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Speaker 1: other variables at play in this situation, and as I

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Speaker 1: mentioned before, we're going to get into that in much

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Speaker 1: more detail later in this week on a roundtable episode

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Speaker 1: of fish Bites with a bunch of my colleagues here

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Speaker 1: at Fish Stripe, So stay tuned for that. Once we

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Speaker 1: have the finalized details about everything, that's when we'll really

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Speaker 1: dive in and try to make some educated guesses about

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Speaker 1: where the season is going to go for the team.

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Speaker 1: But the rest of this episode, I want to look

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Speaker 1: at some particular questions that we received on Twitter from

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Speaker 1: our great followers, and a couple of them here are

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Speaker 1: very closely related. One of them is from Jason with

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Speaker 1: his user name Jason zero one nine three eight eight

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Speaker 1: seven three. He says, will the Marlins sacrifice service time

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Speaker 1: other prospects for a chance to win now in this

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Speaker 1: sixty game season? A lot of good arms, dangerous lefty

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Speaker 1: bats on the farm. He's absolutely right about the talent

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Speaker 1: down there, and connected to that a little bit more

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Speaker 1: specific from Jose at Marlin's twenty twenty one If service

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Speaker 1: time still counts, and it will, does that mean Monte

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Speaker 1: Harrison has a better chance of starting this year when

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Speaker 1: the season does start. And this is an excuse for

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Speaker 1: me to dive into a handful of prospects. Will made

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Speaker 1: this the season so intriguing on paper for the Marlins

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Speaker 1: under ordinary circumstances is how many of these guys are

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Speaker 1: right on the brink of breaking through to the major leagues.

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Speaker 1: You saw it in speA spring training. The vast majority

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Speaker 1: of their top twenty prospects were invited to big league

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Speaker 1: spring training, even though few with any of them was

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Speaker 1: expected to make it onto the opening day roster. Several

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Speaker 1: of them were still in camp when spring training got

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Speaker 1: cut off, and even those that didn't were optioned to

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Speaker 1: the high levels of the minor leagues and projected to

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Speaker 1: receive opportunities later in the year. A lot of these guys,

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Speaker 1: they have a lot of experience in the minor league levels.

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Speaker 1: They've been successful performers in the minor leagues, and they

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Speaker 1: have the kind of tools and raw ability that translates

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Speaker 1: to the major leagues. They have high upside. That's a

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Speaker 1: priority for this organization when they've been rebuilding this farm

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Speaker 1: system is they've been prioritizing high upside. Even if these

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Speaker 1: are players that could be volatile, they have some kinks

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Speaker 1: that need to be worked out. Mechanically or with their approach,

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Speaker 1: it's worth it because they put it all together. You

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Speaker 1: have potential All stars at so many positions. You have

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Speaker 1: a deep team, deeper than they've had at any other

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Speaker 1: time in recent history. That's how you create a contender.

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Speaker 1: And even in these new circumstances, I think we will

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Speaker 1: see a lot of these prospects in the majors. The

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Speaker 1: one name brought up by Jose was Monte Harrison. If

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Speaker 1: you can remember all the way back to late February

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Speaker 1: and early March, Monte was receiving a lot of playing

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Speaker 1: time in spring training and he was taking advantage of it,

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Speaker 1: a handful of stolen bases, and he was hitting to

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Speaker 1: all fields, really playing with a great sense of urgency.

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Speaker 1: And if you've heard Monte speak publicly, whether it's on

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Speaker 1: team media, whether it's on our podcast, he was a

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Speaker 1: guest on earning their stripes a year ago. He is

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Speaker 1: a guy that checks all the boxes you want in

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Speaker 1: terms of his intangibles, his readiness to be competitive, his

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Speaker 1: confidence in himself. And so if the results are there

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Speaker 1: and he's at a point in his career professionally that

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Speaker 1: you think he could be pretty close to his physical prime,

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Speaker 1: then there really isn't that much of an incentive to

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Speaker 1: hold him back. Monte would be turning twenty five in

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Speaker 1: all August, which is very shortly after this opening day.

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Speaker 1: He really had a great chance to be in the

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Speaker 1: majors last year if not for a wrist injury that

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Speaker 1: sidelined him for a couple months. And yeah, now the

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Speaker 1: question is whether or not he'll be on the opening

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Speaker 1: day roster, and I think that only question depends on

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Speaker 1: how exactly the rosters are structured. I believe what has

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Speaker 1: been reported multiple times is it's expected to be a

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Speaker 1: thirty man active roster at the beginning of the year,

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Speaker 1: twenty eight to thirty instead of what was planned to

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Speaker 1: be twenty six. And among that number, you'd imagine the

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Speaker 1: Marlins are going to add at least one more pitcher

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Speaker 1: than usual, but potentially one more outfielder as well, because

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Speaker 1: aside from Corey Dickerson in left field and potentially with

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Speaker 1: the opportunity for Jonathan var to play center field, there

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Speaker 1: was some fluidity in their outfield alignment, and Monte is

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Speaker 1: probably the best defensive option they have in center field

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Speaker 1: when he is running the bases and hitting, as he

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Speaker 1: showed at times in TRIPAA in twenty nineteen and during

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Speaker 1: spring training this past year. That then he has the

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Speaker 1: potential to be one of the best players on the

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Speaker 1: team period. So I expect him to definitely see some

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Speaker 1: major league time this year because of his age. He's

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Speaker 1: just not a type of guy that you gain all

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Speaker 1: that much by holding him back. He's a guy that

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Speaker 1: if he made the opening day roster, got a full

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Speaker 1: year of service time this year, and never went back

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Speaker 1: down to the miners again, he would still be under

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Speaker 1: Marlin's club control through his age thirty season. I think

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Speaker 1: with not only Monte, but a lot of these Marlins prospects,

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Speaker 1: they're so likable if you want to imagine them staying

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Speaker 1: with the organization their whole career. If not, especially in

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Speaker 1: Monte's case, there is that relatively clean opportunity to break

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Speaker 1: ties if it comes to that, where you could just

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Speaker 1: go year by year with him through his age thirty season.

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Speaker 1: If they just hold him back a little bit, they

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Speaker 1: would have him under control for an additional year until

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Speaker 1: age thirty one, at which point it would be understandable

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Speaker 1: if you expect him to cline from him and you

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Speaker 1: could just part separate ways. He'll go do his highest

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Speaker 1: bidder in free agency. The Marlins have been through that

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Speaker 1: quite a number of times as a small market team,

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Speaker 1: it happens, but frankly holding him back in this case.

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Speaker 1: In a year where as I mentioned, the ceiling on

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Speaker 1: this team is higher than it would have ordinarily been,

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Speaker 1: they have a lot to gain with the rebuild and

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Speaker 1: by recapturing the fans' attention and excitement by overachieving in

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Speaker 1: the season, and Monte is a guy that certainly raises

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Speaker 1: the potential for this team if he's on the roster

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Speaker 1: in some way. Also, a couple of prospects that I

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Speaker 1: think fit on this roster rather cleanly at some point

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Speaker 1: during the year would be right handers George Guzban and

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Speaker 1: Jordan Holloway, both of them on the Marlands forty man

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Speaker 1: roster for the second straight year, guys that are being

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Speaker 1: groomed as starting pitchers, but both have some serious question

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Speaker 1: marks about their control and whether or not they can

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Speaker 1: throw strikes consistently enough in order to be effective as

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Speaker 1: major league starters. But the clock is ticking a little

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Speaker 1: bit on them because they've now been on the forty

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Speaker 1: men a second straight year and they're guys that have

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Speaker 1: electric fast balls and breaking balls. If they simplify their

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Speaker 1: pitch mix to just those two pitches, then you can

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Speaker 1: see them immediately stepping into the Marlins bullpen and having success.

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Speaker 1: I think any of us could agree that's the weakest

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Speaker 1: component of this Marlins team. Looking forward, the offense plugged

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Speaker 1: a few holes during the offseason, the starting rotations to

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Speaker 1: take a nice step forward with the maturation of some

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Speaker 1: of these young pitchers, and the big question is the bullpen,

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Speaker 1: because at the end of twenty nineteen, the bullpen wasn't shatters.

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Speaker 1: They did a total makeover during the offseason, getting rid

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Speaker 1: of some of the guys, even those that had had

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Speaker 1: some success last year. You have no idea what you're

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Speaker 1: going to get, but Guzman and Holloway have the kind

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Speaker 1: of stuff that could pretty immediately put them in very

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Speaker 1: significant roles on the team. They had the potential to

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Speaker 1: miss a lot of bats when they are consistent with

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Speaker 1: their deliveries, So I would expect them at various points

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Speaker 1: of this season to both get opportunities. Guys that have

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Speaker 1: the kind of physical build that you trust them to

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Speaker 1: hold up in high leverage innings, and like I said,

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Speaker 1: they just have the kind of ingredients to be successful

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Speaker 1: as relievers, even if they're a little bit buried on

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Speaker 1: the starting pitching depth chart. A couple other reliever names

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Speaker 1: to keep in mind, these guys not on the forty

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Speaker 1: men roster, so ones that would have a tougher time

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Speaker 1: getting into the mix for opening day but potentially later

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Speaker 1: in the year. Left hander Alex Vessia. Right hander Tommy Eveld.

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Speaker 1: With Vessia, I mean, he's just been successful at every

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Speaker 1: single level of pro competition, dating back a full calendar year,

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Speaker 1: an amazing scoreless streak that he has, and it's just

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Speaker 1: really impressive. You know for a fact that the Marlins

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Speaker 1: feel very highly about him internally, so that will certainly

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Speaker 1: weigh into it. With Eveld, he's the oldest player that

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Speaker 1: we've mentioned in this group, so someone that you just

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Speaker 1: don't have a whole lot to gain by keeping him

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Speaker 1: down and away from the major league gleuble much longer.

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Speaker 1: He's pretty he's pretty much he is what he is

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Speaker 1: going to be. And it wasn't really that long ago

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Speaker 1: that there was a lot of enthusiasm for Eveld when

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Speaker 1: he's acquired via trade. He had so much success. Similar

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Speaker 1: to Vessia, when he was pitching at the Single A

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Speaker 1: and High A levels despite a step back last year.

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Speaker 1: He's someone that has four usable pitches that he can

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Speaker 1: use in relief situations. He has a lot of experience

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Speaker 1: in high leverage situations working up through the minor league system.

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Speaker 1: That's just someone me personally. I feel that Eveld has

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Speaker 1: been a little overlooked in the public discourse here in

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty, so I imagine that could change at some

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Speaker 1: point during the year. So the bigger complication here on

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Speaker 1: the prospects is what exactly they do with their conventional

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Speaker 1: starting pitching prospects. The ones at the very top of

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Speaker 1: the lists six do Sanchez, Edward Cabrera, Nick Knightder are

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Speaker 1: the ones that come to mind with me. Where Nider

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Speaker 1: pitched all the way at Triple A and dominated the

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Speaker 1: Arizona Fall League. Both sixt Oh and Edward pitched at

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Speaker 1: the Double A level and had great success over there.

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Speaker 1: Six to Oh and Edward and most people's opinions that

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Speaker 1: consensus top two pitching prospects in the organization, and another

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Speaker 1: wild card on top of that would be Max Meyer,

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Speaker 1: who was the first round draft pick the Marlins just took,

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Speaker 1: but as of this recording. The Max Meyer signing isn't

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Speaker 1: even official yet. I'm very, very skeptical about him pitching

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Speaker 1: in the majors under any circumstances this year, just because

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Speaker 1: of how little the organization knows about him and the

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Speaker 1: kind of adjustment it would be from going to college

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Speaker 1: basically straight to the majors and a year where there's

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Speaker 1: no minor league baseball. So I think the focus in

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Speaker 1: this situation should be on six to oh Edward, And

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Speaker 1: it's hard to say exactly what's gonna happen with them,

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Speaker 1: because on the other hand, we have this really short

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Speaker 1: season that's gonna be cramped into a small window. So

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Speaker 1: the limited off days would mean that you could see

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Speaker 1: you can imagine some teams opting for a six man

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Speaker 1: rotation throughout the year, the potential need to add an

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Speaker 1: extra slot into the rotation because of the lack of

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Speaker 1: off days, and potentially some concerns about pressuring your pitchers

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Speaker 1: to do too much and too short a time. The

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Speaker 1: Marlins could be one of those teams that have so

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Speaker 1: many of these interesting options rotation candidates that they could

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Speaker 1: go with a six man rotation and all of a sudden,

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Speaker 1: these prospects that seem to be on the outside looking in,

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Speaker 1: I could get into the mix even without all that

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Speaker 1: many injuries in front of them. What would help their

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Speaker 1: case of getting into the mix, unfortunately, well, I should

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Speaker 1: say awkwardly, is if they get an opportunity because one

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Speaker 1: of their teammates or a couple of their teammates go

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Speaker 1: down with a COVID infection. Presumably Baseball is going to

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Speaker 1: have a mandatory two weeks or more absence for these

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Speaker 1: type of players once they have a positive test. They

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Speaker 1: need to stay away from teammates. Who knows exactly how

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Speaker 1: much they'll be able to work out in the meantime.

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Speaker 1: It's going to be very disruptive to anybody's season if

436
00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:21,560
Speaker 1: they have a positive test, even if they're totally asymptomatic,

437
00:25:22,160 --> 00:25:24,880
Speaker 1: and that's simply going to open up the need for

438
00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:27,760
Speaker 1: more players to get their opportunities at some point during

439
00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:31,159
Speaker 1: the season. There's no formula to anticipate who on the

440
00:25:31,200 --> 00:25:34,480
Speaker 1: team would be more susceptible to catching it. So far,

441
00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:37,600
Speaker 1: the Marlins have been very quiet talking over these past

442
00:25:37,600 --> 00:25:40,080
Speaker 1: few months about who, if anybody in the organization has

443
00:25:40,119 --> 00:25:43,920
Speaker 1: even tested positive for it at any point. We really

444
00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:47,159
Speaker 1: don't know, and so that's a big wild card in

445
00:25:47,200 --> 00:25:51,280
Speaker 1: this situation. The one that simply cannot be anticipated in

446
00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:54,320
Speaker 1: any way or quantified is how that would affect the

447
00:25:54,440 --> 00:25:57,880
Speaker 1: available players that the Marlins had. But I lean towards

448
00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:01,040
Speaker 1: the possibility that you're going to see more roster churn

449
00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:04,000
Speaker 1: in this shortened season than you would in a typical

450
00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:08,680
Speaker 1: year because of this pandemic that we're living through, and

451
00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:12,240
Speaker 1: it seems like some prospects could be the nice beneficiaries

452
00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:17,240
Speaker 1: of that awkward circumstance. Another question we got from Jake

453
00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:22,399
Speaker 1: Bollington his Twitter handle coach Jake underscore ut just a

454
00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:25,680
Speaker 1: general question about the evolution of the Marlins lineup each year,

455
00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:27,000
Speaker 1: what we would like to see it look like in

456
00:26:27,040 --> 00:26:30,280
Speaker 1: twenty twenty, twenty twenty one, twenty twenty two, twenty twenty three.

457
00:26:30,280 --> 00:26:33,400
Speaker 1: It's a very open ended question. Pitching staff as well.

458
00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:36,240
Speaker 1: Jake is asking about so I mentioned, like some of

459
00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:40,320
Speaker 1: the names up above, guys that I'm really enthusiastic about,

460
00:26:40,480 --> 00:26:42,440
Speaker 1: especially six to six tot is a guy that I

461
00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:45,520
Speaker 1: feels such a safe bet to be an effective major

462
00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:48,520
Speaker 1: league starting pitcher at least early on in his career,

463
00:26:49,119 --> 00:26:51,840
Speaker 1: and even Nick Knidert as well, is someone that has

464
00:26:51,840 --> 00:26:54,119
Speaker 1: a much lower ceiling than six to oh or Edward,

465
00:26:54,359 --> 00:26:56,560
Speaker 1: But I really like his potential of getting off to

466
00:26:56,600 --> 00:26:59,040
Speaker 1: a fast start in his career and getting acclimated very

467
00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:02,840
Speaker 1: well because the precise commands that he has of several

468
00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:06,560
Speaker 1: different pitches and some of the other intangibles that he

469
00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:09,560
Speaker 1: brings to the equation. So six to zero and Knightered

470
00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:12,560
Speaker 1: are guys that I'd plan on being starring pitchers for

471
00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:15,760
Speaker 1: this team for at least the next several years, this

472
00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:20,119
Speaker 1: whole window that Jake is looking forward to. Another player

473
00:27:20,119 --> 00:27:22,560
Speaker 1: that I think everybody is falling in love with is

474
00:27:22,640 --> 00:27:26,080
Speaker 1: first baseman Lewin Diez, acquired last year in the trade

475
00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:30,200
Speaker 1: for Sergio Romo. Just amazing power from the left side,

476
00:27:31,119 --> 00:27:34,960
Speaker 1: stunning athleticism at first base as well. Just a really

477
00:27:35,040 --> 00:27:38,919
Speaker 1: well rounded player who doesn't swing and miss very often,

478
00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:42,159
Speaker 1: and who seems to be very committed to continue getting better.

479
00:27:43,200 --> 00:27:46,240
Speaker 1: He's someone I'm really enthusiastic about. I believe he could

480
00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:49,480
Speaker 1: be one of the best first basemen in the history

481
00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:53,560
Speaker 1: of this Marlins franchise. Some other key names to think about,

482
00:27:54,320 --> 00:27:57,520
Speaker 1: of course, Brian Anderson is still under control, not just

483
00:27:57,560 --> 00:28:00,440
Speaker 1: this year, but at least three more years beyond via

484
00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:04,000
Speaker 1: the arbitration process, And he was playing so well as

485
00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:06,679
Speaker 1: we got to the second half of last season before

486
00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:09,880
Speaker 1: that unlucky injury where he broke his finger and had

487
00:28:09,880 --> 00:28:12,800
Speaker 1: to miss the down the stretch the last month plus

488
00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:15,480
Speaker 1: of the twenty nineteen season. But when he is healthy,

489
00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:18,359
Speaker 1: I really believe in him, love his well rounded game,

490
00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:21,920
Speaker 1: and I think he stunned everybody with his defensive play

491
00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:25,080
Speaker 1: last year. Won the best defensive players in all of baseball.

492
00:28:25,320 --> 00:28:26,919
Speaker 1: So if this guy's going to be an above average

493
00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:33,000
Speaker 1: hitter and a versatile impact defender, then you can trust

494
00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:36,920
Speaker 1: him to be a big part of this team moving forward.

495
00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:40,360
Speaker 1: Of course, another big name that really caught our attention

496
00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:45,720
Speaker 1: the Spring Jazz Chisholm, who has all the ingredients you

497
00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:49,600
Speaker 1: want from an everyday shortstop. Still a lot of risk

498
00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:53,360
Speaker 1: in his game depending on the swing and miss, potential

499
00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:56,720
Speaker 1: issues that he'll need to overcome, but still only twenty

500
00:28:56,720 --> 00:29:00,680
Speaker 1: two years old, and someone that you also love his

501
00:29:00,840 --> 00:29:03,600
Speaker 1: work ethic and his conviction in what the Marlins are

502
00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:07,480
Speaker 1: building as an organization. Bad what's that say to you

503
00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:08,680
Speaker 1: that they traded for you?

504
00:29:09,040 --> 00:29:12,320
Speaker 2: It's saying to me that they actually they wanted me here,

505
00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:15,719
Speaker 2: and I feel really grateful that they want me here

506
00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:18,440
Speaker 2: and want me to be a part of this group

507
00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:20,600
Speaker 2: that's coming up, because it's a really group coming up

508
00:29:20,680 --> 00:29:22,440
Speaker 2: right now, and I can see it, and I'm watching

509
00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:26,160
Speaker 2: it now that i'm here, I really can see it coming.

510
00:29:26,840 --> 00:29:29,800
Speaker 2: And I'm telling you is Marlins is going to win

511
00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:31,160
Speaker 2: a championship in two three years.

512
00:29:31,240 --> 00:29:35,200
Speaker 1: I love that. I'd say one more general thought about

513
00:29:35,200 --> 00:29:38,280
Speaker 1: the Marlins roster construction over these next few years is

514
00:29:38,280 --> 00:29:43,240
Speaker 1: I anticipate them being highly reliant on homegrown players and

515
00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:47,160
Speaker 1: not entirely of their own choosing. The Marlins have been

516
00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:50,600
Speaker 1: speaking so highly of their farm system. You look anywhere

517
00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:53,320
Speaker 1: across the industry and there's a lot of praise for

518
00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:57,000
Speaker 1: all the waves of talent they have coming through. But realistically,

519
00:29:57,040 --> 00:29:59,760
Speaker 1: if you want to be a championship contending team, all

520
00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:02,520
Speaker 1: the their examples in modern history show you need a

521
00:30:02,560 --> 00:30:05,960
Speaker 1: blend of the young guys and the veterans with some

522
00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:11,440
Speaker 1: track record, with some loud voices in the clubhouse, guys

523
00:30:11,440 --> 00:30:14,560
Speaker 1: that frankly will cost a lot of money that the

524
00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:17,680
Speaker 1: Marlins will have a hard time coming up with. This

525
00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:22,120
Speaker 1: is already arguably the lowest revenue organization in baseball, and

526
00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:25,520
Speaker 1: the pandemic hit them at a terrible time, right as

527
00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:28,800
Speaker 1: they were wrapping up this local television deal with Fox

528
00:30:28,800 --> 00:30:33,120
Speaker 1: Sports Florida that severely underpaid the organization for about fifteen years.

529
00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:37,240
Speaker 1: The hope was that they'd get substantial raise heading into

530
00:30:37,280 --> 00:30:41,440
Speaker 1: the long term during the negotiations coming up after the

531
00:30:41,520 --> 00:30:44,800
Speaker 1: end of twenty twenty. But now all that is throwing

532
00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:47,240
Speaker 1: a big curveball. You have no idea what the television

533
00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:49,680
Speaker 1: ratings are going to look like for twenty twenty, when

534
00:30:49,680 --> 00:30:52,600
Speaker 1: the Marlins will pretty frequently be going head to ahead

535
00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:58,560
Speaker 1: against the NBA Playoffs, the NHL Playoffs, potentially the NFL season,

536
00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:03,800
Speaker 1: and of course is the lingering concern that all these

537
00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:06,280
Speaker 1: events could be put on hold by the pandemic. If

538
00:31:06,280 --> 00:31:08,600
Speaker 1: you don't even if they're not even able to play

539
00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:11,680
Speaker 1: these games whatsoever, then they just head into the new

540
00:31:11,720 --> 00:31:14,600
Speaker 1: deal with no momentum and not really much leverage in

541
00:31:14,680 --> 00:31:19,760
Speaker 1: order to expect a substantial raise from Fox Sports Florida.

542
00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:22,440
Speaker 1: And so that's a big part of their revenue equation.

543
00:31:23,080 --> 00:31:26,000
Speaker 1: Obviously missing out on all the gate revenue that they

544
00:31:26,040 --> 00:31:30,400
Speaker 1: were expecting. That's been another limiting factor for this organization

545
00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:32,840
Speaker 1: for years and years and years simply not being able

546
00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:35,760
Speaker 1: to sell a lot of tickets for people to attend,

547
00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:41,560
Speaker 1: and not a lot of attractive other concessions and merchandising opportunities.

548
00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:43,960
Speaker 1: This was another year that they were hoping to take

549
00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:46,760
Speaker 1: big advantage of that finally get a lot of their

550
00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:52,320
Speaker 1: rebranded apparel and other items off the shelves, and that

551
00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:54,520
Speaker 1: stuff is really put on hold. The only way that

552
00:31:54,560 --> 00:31:56,760
Speaker 1: you're going to be selling a lot of merchandise this

553
00:31:56,880 --> 00:31:58,720
Speaker 1: year is if the team is having a lot of

554
00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:00,880
Speaker 1: success on the fields. Otherwise there's just not going to

555
00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:05,200
Speaker 1: be that big rush for fans to continue putting more

556
00:32:05,320 --> 00:32:09,280
Speaker 1: disposable income in the pockets of this organization. So if

557
00:32:09,320 --> 00:32:12,600
Speaker 1: you just have these revenue sources that aren't expanding the

558
00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:17,239
Speaker 1: way that they hoped they would. And unfortunately, despite all

559
00:32:17,280 --> 00:32:19,600
Speaker 1: the savings that they get for most of the player

560
00:32:19,640 --> 00:32:24,080
Speaker 1: payroll this year, they were dealt to another difficult blow

561
00:32:24,440 --> 00:32:27,400
Speaker 1: with the fact that someone like way in Chen, who

562
00:32:27,480 --> 00:32:32,040
Speaker 1: was deservedly cut loose after the twenty nineteen season, he's

563
00:32:32,240 --> 00:32:37,440
Speaker 1: exempt from this pro rated salary situation, and as far

564
00:32:37,480 --> 00:32:40,920
Speaker 1: as I understand, the Marlins get no relief on the

565
00:32:40,960 --> 00:32:44,280
Speaker 1: twenty two million dollars they still owe way in Chen

566
00:32:45,160 --> 00:32:48,200
Speaker 1: that's going to be put a big dent into their payroll.

567
00:32:48,240 --> 00:32:51,000
Speaker 1: Given the lack of revenue coming in to offset that,

568
00:32:51,760 --> 00:32:54,760
Speaker 1: it should be an extremely quiet free agency period for

569
00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:58,080
Speaker 1: them heading into twenty twenty one, and so they'll be

570
00:32:58,080 --> 00:33:00,920
Speaker 1: betting pretty heavily on all these grown guys. If you

571
00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:03,480
Speaker 1: just look at their top prospects list, a lot of

572
00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:06,160
Speaker 1: those players will be getting opportunities in the major leagues,

573
00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:10,000
Speaker 1: and it will be from that point a pretty simple meritocracy.

574
00:33:10,040 --> 00:33:13,440
Speaker 1: The ones who perform well and acclimate themselves best to

575
00:33:13,480 --> 00:33:16,440
Speaker 1: the big league environment, those are the ones that are

576
00:33:16,440 --> 00:33:19,920
Speaker 1: gonna have regular roles on this team for the near future.

577
00:33:20,520 --> 00:33:22,720
Speaker 1: A couple more questions to get to before we wrap

578
00:33:22,840 --> 00:33:28,000
Speaker 1: up here. Benjamin Billig is Twitter handle at Billig. Benjamin

579
00:33:28,840 --> 00:33:33,240
Speaker 1: mentioned Jonathan VR and him potentially being underrated, and I

580
00:33:33,520 --> 00:33:35,560
Speaker 1: guess he was hoping that I would hype up VR

581
00:33:35,720 --> 00:33:38,160
Speaker 1: a little bit, someone who was coming off a big

582
00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:42,520
Speaker 1: statistical season for the Orioles in twenty nineteen twenty five

583
00:33:42,560 --> 00:33:46,360
Speaker 1: home runs, forty stolen bases, matching a career high, with

584
00:33:46,440 --> 00:33:49,320
Speaker 1: four wins above replacement, actually setting a new career high

585
00:33:49,360 --> 00:33:53,520
Speaker 1: going by fangrafts for so, is he underrated? And the

586
00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:55,720
Speaker 1: short answer to that is no, I don't really think

587
00:33:55,760 --> 00:33:57,760
Speaker 1: he is. He is coming off a very good year,

588
00:33:58,280 --> 00:34:00,360
Speaker 1: and he does have one other year in his career

589
00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:02,760
Speaker 1: in twenty sixteen that was kind of similar to it,

590
00:34:03,240 --> 00:34:05,800
Speaker 1: but outside of that, in parts of five other major

591
00:34:05,880 --> 00:34:09,560
Speaker 1: league seasons, he is someone that you have some serious

592
00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:13,680
Speaker 1: concerns about what his upside is. As a hitter. He

593
00:34:13,760 --> 00:34:17,040
Speaker 1: has benefited a lot from high batting averages on balls

594
00:34:17,040 --> 00:34:20,960
Speaker 1: and play. Some of that is a product of his

595
00:34:21,080 --> 00:34:23,960
Speaker 1: ability to use and spread the ball to all fields,

596
00:34:24,440 --> 00:34:27,520
Speaker 1: as well as his speed out of the box, his acceleration.

597
00:34:27,840 --> 00:34:30,719
Speaker 1: Not guy that has amazing top ends, not top end

598
00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:34,279
Speaker 1: sprint speed, but his acceleration and how quickly he gets

599
00:34:34,320 --> 00:34:36,600
Speaker 1: to that top speed and how well he maintains it

600
00:34:36,680 --> 00:34:39,719
Speaker 1: running down the line. That's allowed him to overachieve some

601
00:34:39,760 --> 00:34:43,120
Speaker 1: of these peripheral numbers. So I think it's pretty safe

602
00:34:43,160 --> 00:34:45,439
Speaker 1: to say that he's going to be a useful piece

603
00:34:45,480 --> 00:34:48,280
Speaker 1: for this team, an upgrade for this team. The reason

604
00:34:48,280 --> 00:34:50,239
Speaker 1: why the trade for him was so well received is

605
00:34:50,280 --> 00:34:54,160
Speaker 1: because marlins offense was so lacking in several departments. Last year,

606
00:34:55,080 --> 00:34:58,400
Speaker 1: especially in the base running department. Aside from John Birdie,

607
00:34:58,400 --> 00:35:00,880
Speaker 1: there was just nobody that was the green light to

608
00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:03,840
Speaker 1: run for this team and doing it efficiently. If you

609
00:35:03,880 --> 00:35:06,400
Speaker 1: look at VR especially last year or last year was

610
00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:09,640
Speaker 1: borderline historic from him in terms of the value that

611
00:35:09,680 --> 00:35:12,440
Speaker 1: he added to his team as a base runner. He

612
00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:15,640
Speaker 1: didn't set a career high in steals, didn't lead the majors,

613
00:35:15,920 --> 00:35:19,839
Speaker 1: but he was really efficient and he was great at

614
00:35:19,880 --> 00:35:23,439
Speaker 1: taking the extra base as well on balls that were

615
00:35:23,840 --> 00:35:27,240
Speaker 1: live and in play. Someone that was scoring very frequently

616
00:35:27,239 --> 00:35:30,800
Speaker 1: whenever he got got into scoring position in the first place,

617
00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:34,239
Speaker 1: and that seems like a very safe tool for him

618
00:35:34,440 --> 00:35:37,359
Speaker 1: to carry with him into twenty twenty, someone that is

619
00:35:38,120 --> 00:35:40,759
Speaker 1: by most agent curves, he's right smack dab in the

620
00:35:40,800 --> 00:35:43,680
Speaker 1: middle of his prime at age twenty eight to age

621
00:35:43,719 --> 00:35:47,839
Speaker 1: twenty nine, and he's only under contract for this one

622
00:35:47,880 --> 00:35:51,720
Speaker 1: year before hitting free agency, which made it a really nice,

623
00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:55,200
Speaker 1: low risk pickup for the Marlins and no doubt makes

624
00:35:55,200 --> 00:35:57,759
Speaker 1: them better. I'm still skeptical of what he's going to

625
00:35:57,800 --> 00:36:01,319
Speaker 1: look like defensively at center Fiel most of his career

626
00:36:01,400 --> 00:36:04,400
Speaker 1: he's been playing the middle infield positions with the Marlins,

627
00:36:04,520 --> 00:36:07,040
Speaker 1: they had Miguel Rojas there, who was coming off a

628
00:36:07,080 --> 00:36:10,600
Speaker 1: strong twenty nineteen of his own, and big expectations for

629
00:36:10,760 --> 00:36:13,560
Speaker 1: Yon Diaz, who was tearing it up in Triple A

630
00:36:13,719 --> 00:36:16,840
Speaker 1: last year before reaching the majors and running into a

631
00:36:16,840 --> 00:36:19,719
Speaker 1: bit of a wall and trying to adjust from that.

632
00:36:20,680 --> 00:36:23,960
Speaker 1: So I'm still a little unsure exactly where if you

633
00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:28,040
Speaker 1: are fits. Defensively, I think the versatility overall is more

634
00:36:28,040 --> 00:36:30,640
Speaker 1: of a positive than not. But he just has so

635
00:36:30,719 --> 00:36:33,240
Speaker 1: little experience in the center. You wonder how much value

636
00:36:33,280 --> 00:36:35,560
Speaker 1: he'd be giving back to the team if he was

637
00:36:35,680 --> 00:36:40,040
Speaker 1: used there on an everyday basis. And if he is

638
00:36:40,280 --> 00:36:43,600
Speaker 1: playing second base instead, then that is a bit of

639
00:36:43,640 --> 00:36:46,839
Speaker 1: a concern with Isan Diaz. I would seem to point

640
00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:49,640
Speaker 1: to the fact that Isan himself wasn't as productive as

641
00:36:49,640 --> 00:36:52,520
Speaker 1: you would hope that he would be. But overall, I

642
00:36:52,560 --> 00:36:54,480
Speaker 1: think he certainly makes a team better. But let's not

643
00:36:54,520 --> 00:36:57,640
Speaker 1: get too carried away. I would guess that twenty nineteen

644
00:36:58,600 --> 00:37:02,200
Speaker 1: was relatively a best case scenario for VR, So anything

645
00:37:02,280 --> 00:37:05,120
Speaker 1: like that on a pro rated basis, the Marlins should

646
00:37:05,160 --> 00:37:08,120
Speaker 1: be thrilled. One last segment I want to get to

647
00:37:08,239 --> 00:37:12,920
Speaker 1: here was brought up by a good friends, a great

648
00:37:13,239 --> 00:37:17,160
Speaker 1: reader of fish Stripes, an avid Marlins fan, Zach Rabb,

649
00:37:17,560 --> 00:37:21,879
Speaker 1: who wanted to reminisce about some random Marlins players. If

650
00:37:21,880 --> 00:37:24,920
Speaker 1: you've been following fish Stripes the last few weeks, pretty

651
00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:27,440
Speaker 1: much every day, not every single day, but I've been

652
00:37:27,520 --> 00:37:29,880
Speaker 1: trying to get to it as much as possible, posting

653
00:37:29,920 --> 00:37:34,440
Speaker 1: a random picture or video clip of a former Marlins player,

654
00:37:35,239 --> 00:37:38,520
Speaker 1: the random Marlin of the day, generally guys that had

655
00:37:38,560 --> 00:37:42,040
Speaker 1: a short tenure with the Marlins team and those whose

656
00:37:42,080 --> 00:37:46,200
Speaker 1: highest level of performance wasn't all that extraordinary, because that's

657
00:37:46,239 --> 00:37:47,800
Speaker 1: what we want to do. We want to highlight guys

658
00:37:47,800 --> 00:37:51,560
Speaker 1: that can be more obscure and that maybe some people

659
00:37:51,600 --> 00:37:55,440
Speaker 1: had forgotten about. Potentially some players that our followers had

660
00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:57,799
Speaker 1: never heard of in the first place, one that we're

661
00:37:57,840 --> 00:38:01,920
Speaker 1: in and out so quickly and lacking in accomplishments that

662
00:38:01,960 --> 00:38:05,560
Speaker 1: they may have gone under the radar. But simply being

663
00:38:05,640 --> 00:38:08,200
Speaker 1: in the major leagues is a big accomplishment in itself,

664
00:38:08,600 --> 00:38:10,759
Speaker 1: and that's why I wanted to circle back to some

665
00:38:10,840 --> 00:38:15,160
Speaker 1: of these players. So five guys in particular that we've

666
00:38:15,160 --> 00:38:18,080
Speaker 1: posted in the last week or so. I think we're

667
00:38:18,080 --> 00:38:20,759
Speaker 1: on a nice roll with picking out these guys that

668
00:38:20,840 --> 00:38:25,640
Speaker 1: have interesting wrinkles in their stories. So anybody remember John

669
00:38:25,719 --> 00:38:29,400
Speaker 1: Burkatt Marlins right hander from nineteen ninety five to nineteen

670
00:38:29,480 --> 00:38:33,399
Speaker 1: ninety six. He was their opening day starter in ninety five,

671
00:38:33,920 --> 00:38:36,360
Speaker 1: and outside of his Marlins tenure, he had a couple

672
00:38:36,760 --> 00:38:40,399
Speaker 1: Major League All Star appearances. But the fun factoid about

673
00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:44,200
Speaker 1: him is that his best sport may have been bowling.

674
00:38:44,840 --> 00:38:48,000
Speaker 1: As of twenty nineteen, he was still competing in and

675
00:38:48,160 --> 00:38:53,600
Speaker 1: winning professional PBA events. Good for him staying on the

676
00:38:53,600 --> 00:38:58,120
Speaker 1: pitching side. More recently, how about right hander Matt Latos

677
00:38:58,160 --> 00:39:02,919
Speaker 1: from the twenty fifteen Marlins. Just a disastrous debut, one

678
00:39:02,960 --> 00:39:06,799
Speaker 1: of the worst Marlin's debut appearances ever. Didn't make it

679
00:39:06,840 --> 00:39:08,920
Speaker 1: out of the first inning in the game he started.

680
00:39:09,480 --> 00:39:12,000
Speaker 1: What surprised me looking back on it is how sneaky

681
00:39:12,040 --> 00:39:16,080
Speaker 1: good he was for the remainder of that Marlin's partial season.

682
00:39:16,080 --> 00:39:18,680
Speaker 1: He was traded away at the twenty fifteen trade deadline.

683
00:39:19,280 --> 00:39:22,640
Speaker 1: What made him appealing in that trade is that the

684
00:39:22,680 --> 00:39:26,080
Speaker 1: peripherals were great. He had a three point four to

685
00:39:26,200 --> 00:39:29,840
Speaker 1: one field or independent pitching during his Marlin stint, and

686
00:39:29,840 --> 00:39:33,040
Speaker 1: that was including that you know, disastrous debut. The rest

687
00:39:33,040 --> 00:39:36,279
Speaker 1: of that from there. He was great at attacking the zone,

688
00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:39,319
Speaker 1: at keeping the ball in the ballpark, and he wasn't

689
00:39:39,360 --> 00:39:42,560
Speaker 1: fun too. It wasn't easy to root for, and the

690
00:39:42,600 --> 00:39:46,280
Speaker 1: team itself in twenty fifteen, you'll remember, they just really

691
00:39:46,320 --> 00:39:48,400
Speaker 1: never put it all together at any one time, so

692
00:39:48,440 --> 00:39:53,000
Speaker 1: it wasn't a lot of hope surrounding him. What I

693
00:39:53,040 --> 00:39:57,320
Speaker 1: also found out is that he's still technically an active player,

694
00:39:57,400 --> 00:40:00,560
Speaker 1: not in the major leagues, but still pitching professionally. In

695
00:40:00,800 --> 00:40:04,920
Speaker 1: twenty nineteen, he was in the independent Atlantic League with

696
00:40:05,040 --> 00:40:09,799
Speaker 1: the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, and they had moved him

697
00:40:09,800 --> 00:40:13,239
Speaker 1: to the bullpen, but not just you know, any obscure

698
00:40:13,360 --> 00:40:16,000
Speaker 1: mop up duty. He was their closer, and he was

699
00:40:16,400 --> 00:40:20,680
Speaker 1: dominant a one point zero six ERA in twenty nineteen,

700
00:40:21,239 --> 00:40:24,160
Speaker 1: a zero point six y five whip, just two base

701
00:40:24,239 --> 00:40:28,720
Speaker 1: runners every three innings, with twenty five saves in fifty

702
00:40:28,800 --> 00:40:32,200
Speaker 1: one innings pitched. He spent most of the season healthy,

703
00:40:32,360 --> 00:40:35,680
Speaker 1: it seems, you know, working high leveraged situations in the

704
00:40:35,680 --> 00:40:38,360
Speaker 1: Atlantic League while being independent. It is one of the

705
00:40:38,920 --> 00:40:43,280
Speaker 1: more esteemed independent leagues in the US, so I wouldn't

706
00:40:43,320 --> 00:40:46,680
Speaker 1: totally rule out the possibility that someday he finds his

707
00:40:46,719 --> 00:40:49,280
Speaker 1: way back into the majors. He is still only about

708
00:40:49,360 --> 00:40:53,000
Speaker 1: thirty two thirty three years old. And even though his

709
00:40:53,080 --> 00:40:57,560
Speaker 1: Marlin stint wasn't that memorable, a very colorful personality on

710
00:40:57,600 --> 00:41:01,360
Speaker 1: that guy, Matt Latos in the bullpen and then Matt

711
00:41:01,440 --> 00:41:04,280
Speaker 1: Linstrom had a few good seasons with the Marlins. Overall,

712
00:41:04,360 --> 00:41:06,359
Speaker 1: two thousand and seven to two thousand and nine he

713
00:41:06,400 --> 00:41:10,439
Speaker 1: was on the team. He had the highest four seam

714
00:41:10,520 --> 00:41:13,279
Speaker 1: fastball velocity in the majors in two thousand and seven.

715
00:41:13,320 --> 00:41:15,480
Speaker 1: I looked it up, and the record keeping is a

716
00:41:15,520 --> 00:41:17,840
Speaker 1: little bit sketchier when you go back that far and

717
00:41:18,160 --> 00:41:23,400
Speaker 1: trying to quantify pitch characteristics. But according to pitch Info,

718
00:41:23,840 --> 00:41:29,160
Speaker 1: and that's this velocity ratings used on fangraphs, a ninety

719
00:41:29,320 --> 00:41:33,000
Speaker 1: eight point seven mile per hour average fastball velocity in

720
00:41:33,360 --> 00:41:36,319
Speaker 1: seven and it was pretty similar to the subsequent two

721
00:41:36,400 --> 00:41:39,239
Speaker 1: years seven ninety seven ninety eight miles per hour with

722
00:41:39,320 --> 00:41:42,839
Speaker 1: his heater the next couple of years, I realized, looking

723
00:41:42,840 --> 00:41:45,000
Speaker 1: back on it, that he has the distinction of throwing

724
00:41:45,080 --> 00:41:48,440
Speaker 1: the final pitch in the history of Shay Stadium, the

725
00:41:48,440 --> 00:41:51,320
Speaker 1: final official pitch in the last game that was played

726
00:41:51,360 --> 00:41:55,360
Speaker 1: therefore before the Mets moved over to City Field. That

727
00:41:55,440 --> 00:41:57,000
Speaker 1: was at the end of the two thousand and eight season.

728
00:41:58,160 --> 00:42:01,200
Speaker 1: He heard his rotator cuff early in two and nine. It

729
00:42:01,280 --> 00:42:03,839
Speaker 1: was extremely inconsistent that year and the Marlins ended up

730
00:42:04,520 --> 00:42:06,440
Speaker 1: shipping him off for a few different prospects after the

731
00:42:06,520 --> 00:42:08,520
Speaker 1: oh nine seasons. But he had a couple more good

732
00:42:08,560 --> 00:42:11,239
Speaker 1: years after that with other teams, with the Astros, with

733
00:42:11,320 --> 00:42:15,840
Speaker 1: the Rockies, I think, but interesting in that he was

734
00:42:15,880 --> 00:42:18,799
Speaker 1: someone that had all the velocity you could ever ask for,

735
00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:22,960
Speaker 1: but not so great with his control and didn't get

736
00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:25,200
Speaker 1: nearly as many strikeouts as you would hope for someone

737
00:42:25,440 --> 00:42:26,920
Speaker 1: that had that type of v low that he was

738
00:42:26,960 --> 00:42:31,759
Speaker 1: working with on the offensive side. How about Brian Peterson.

739
00:42:31,840 --> 00:42:34,240
Speaker 1: He was an outfielder in the majors for the Marlins

740
00:42:34,239 --> 00:42:36,319
Speaker 1: from twenty ten to twenty twelve, so he spent his

741
00:42:36,400 --> 00:42:39,239
Speaker 1: whole major league career with the Marlins and didn't really

742
00:42:39,280 --> 00:42:42,960
Speaker 1: distinguish himself. There was a lot of promise. Initially looked

743
00:42:42,960 --> 00:42:46,040
Speaker 1: like he might be on something special. After the two

744
00:42:46,080 --> 00:42:48,320
Speaker 1: thousand and nine Arizona Fall League. He was one of

745
00:42:48,320 --> 00:42:52,320
Speaker 1: the best all round players there. Definitely had the outfield

746
00:42:52,360 --> 00:42:56,680
Speaker 1: defense that you were looking for at that position, and

747
00:42:56,960 --> 00:42:59,400
Speaker 1: I guess there was some expectation that he would hit

748
00:42:59,440 --> 00:43:02,359
Speaker 1: a little bit, and he simply didn't when he made

749
00:43:02,360 --> 00:43:04,560
Speaker 1: it to the majors. Overall, one hundred and eighty one

750
00:43:04,640 --> 00:43:06,720
Speaker 1: games for the Marlins over the course of three years,

751
00:43:07,120 --> 00:43:10,319
Speaker 1: a slash line of two twenty, batting average three TOZH three,

752
00:43:10,440 --> 00:43:14,080
Speaker 1: on base three oh five, slugging only two home runs

753
00:43:14,480 --> 00:43:17,600
Speaker 1: in parts of three seasons. I believe he's on the

754
00:43:17,640 --> 00:43:20,960
Speaker 1: short list of most handsome Marlins players. Beauty is in

755
00:43:21,000 --> 00:43:23,200
Speaker 1: the eye of the beholder. But that was a bit

756
00:43:23,239 --> 00:43:25,320
Speaker 1: of a running joke that he had around the Marlins

757
00:43:25,320 --> 00:43:28,160
Speaker 1: clubhouse when he's up in the majors is that he

758
00:43:28,280 --> 00:43:30,919
Speaker 1: certainly looked the part of a guy that you could

759
00:43:30,920 --> 00:43:34,120
Speaker 1: build around. Just the performance wasn't quite there for him.

760
00:43:34,200 --> 00:43:37,760
Speaker 1: So he's been out of the majors since twenty twelve,

761
00:43:37,800 --> 00:43:40,200
Speaker 1: and I think retired from pro baseball for a handful

762
00:43:40,200 --> 00:43:42,640
Speaker 1: of years now. Final one that came to mind is

763
00:43:42,680 --> 00:43:45,600
Speaker 1: our most recent one that we put out, Eric Reid.

764
00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:47,919
Speaker 1: Eric Reid from two thousand and six to two thousand

765
00:43:47,920 --> 00:43:50,359
Speaker 1: and seven had a couple cups of coffee for the

766
00:43:50,360 --> 00:43:53,320
Speaker 1: Marlins during his minor league career. He stole one hundred

767
00:43:53,360 --> 00:43:56,440
Speaker 1: and ninety four bases in their system, as one of

768
00:43:56,480 --> 00:43:59,520
Speaker 1: the higher stolen based totals in franchise history in terms

769
00:43:59,560 --> 00:44:03,160
Speaker 1: of you know, minor league affiliates, And he came up

770
00:44:03,680 --> 00:44:06,319
Speaker 1: to the team at a time they were a bit

771
00:44:06,440 --> 00:44:09,239
Speaker 1: unexpectedly competitive, so there wasn't a whole lot of playing

772
00:44:09,280 --> 00:44:11,400
Speaker 1: time for him. He was coming off the bench, and

773
00:44:11,440 --> 00:44:14,200
Speaker 1: it's one of the more unusual career stat lines I've

774
00:44:14,239 --> 00:44:17,400
Speaker 1: ever seen and that you may ever see moving forward.

775
00:44:17,880 --> 00:44:20,279
Speaker 1: He played in sixty total Major League games for the

776
00:44:20,280 --> 00:44:24,440
Speaker 1: Marlins in two thousand and six and seven. Combined sixty games,

777
00:44:24,760 --> 00:44:30,080
Speaker 1: only sixty eight played appearances, averaging barely one played appearance

778
00:44:30,320 --> 00:44:34,759
Speaker 1: per game for his whole career. The vast majority of

779
00:44:34,800 --> 00:44:37,400
Speaker 1: his appearances, as you can tell, came off the bench,

780
00:44:37,480 --> 00:44:40,560
Speaker 1: either as a defensive replacement or as a pinch hitter.

781
00:44:40,719 --> 00:44:43,440
Speaker 1: I think he only started ten games out of sixty.

782
00:44:43,920 --> 00:44:46,800
Speaker 1: It's the kind of ratio that you just don't see anymore,

783
00:44:47,480 --> 00:44:51,719
Speaker 1: playing at a time where most teams carried maybe two

784
00:44:51,840 --> 00:44:54,319
Speaker 1: extra outfielders, and I guess a lot of his playing

785
00:44:54,360 --> 00:44:56,600
Speaker 1: time also came as a September call up as well,

786
00:44:56,600 --> 00:44:59,960
Speaker 1: when rosters were expanded, but even still, it's kind of

787
00:45:00,120 --> 00:45:04,680
Speaker 1: usage is just perplexing. Fore those couple of years, oh

788
00:45:04,760 --> 00:45:07,440
Speaker 1: six was most of this, I guess was under Joe Girardi,

789
00:45:07,520 --> 00:45:09,799
Speaker 1: so he'd be the guy to ask about how he

790
00:45:09,920 --> 00:45:12,959
Speaker 1: used Eric Reid. And Reid never got another major league

791
00:45:12,960 --> 00:45:17,239
Speaker 1: opportunity after seven. And that's unfortunate for a guy that

792
00:45:17,719 --> 00:45:20,480
Speaker 1: had amazing speed by all accounts seen you know, we

793
00:45:20,600 --> 00:45:23,600
Speaker 1: performed that way and uh, just by the eye test,

794
00:45:23,920 --> 00:45:25,960
Speaker 1: he showed that he had an ability to affect the

795
00:45:26,000 --> 00:45:28,560
Speaker 1: game in that way and just never got any sort

796
00:45:28,560 --> 00:45:31,960
Speaker 1: of consistent playing time in the majors. He finishes up

797
00:45:32,000 --> 00:45:36,240
Speaker 1: as one of the worst hitters, I'd say without argument,

798
00:45:36,320 --> 00:45:39,000
Speaker 1: really he's the worst hitter in Marlin's history for a

799
00:45:39,000 --> 00:45:42,640
Speaker 1: position player like that's it. Like you've seen some bad ones,

800
00:45:42,680 --> 00:45:45,719
Speaker 1: especially the last couple of years, but Eric Reid for

801
00:45:45,800 --> 00:45:49,520
Speaker 1: the Marlins career six hits and sixty one at bats

802
00:45:49,800 --> 00:45:54,400
Speaker 1: a slash line of oh ninety eight one sixty seven

803
00:45:54,760 --> 00:45:59,680
Speaker 1: oh ninety eight, never had an extra base hit. And

804
00:46:00,080 --> 00:46:02,520
Speaker 1: it's just a last reminder that you can't fall too

805
00:46:02,600 --> 00:46:05,799
Speaker 1: much in love with your prospects. There are some that

806
00:46:05,920 --> 00:46:09,440
Speaker 1: will never really put all together or simply not get

807
00:46:09,719 --> 00:46:12,840
Speaker 1: the opportunity that you would expect them to get because

808
00:46:12,840 --> 00:46:17,160
Speaker 1: of internal competition. And I guess ultimately that's the sign

809
00:46:17,160 --> 00:46:21,120
Speaker 1: of a healthy organization when you have more players than

810
00:46:21,160 --> 00:46:23,719
Speaker 1: you know what to do with and some guys get

811
00:46:23,760 --> 00:46:27,320
Speaker 1: squeezed out in that occasion. But hopefully that's just yielding

812
00:46:27,360 --> 00:46:31,839
Speaker 1: ground for players that have superior all around games, And

813
00:46:31,960 --> 00:46:34,240
Speaker 1: as mentioned earlier in this episode, that's what the Marlins

814
00:46:34,280 --> 00:46:37,080
Speaker 1: are banking for that their next several waves of young

815
00:46:37,120 --> 00:46:39,839
Speaker 1: players will have a lot of success stories in them

816
00:46:40,239 --> 00:46:44,000
Speaker 1: that solidify those positions four years to come and give

817
00:46:44,040 --> 00:46:47,239
Speaker 1: this team a chance to be a successful contender. Could

818
00:46:47,239 --> 00:46:49,839
Speaker 1: that window of contention open as soon as the twenty

819
00:46:49,880 --> 00:46:53,960
Speaker 1: twenty season. There's a little glimmer of hope because of

820
00:46:54,000 --> 00:46:58,000
Speaker 1: how short the season is that anything is possible. This

821
00:46:58,080 --> 00:47:01,560
Speaker 1: team could overachieve, and we're all really excited to be

822
00:47:01,600 --> 00:47:05,480
Speaker 1: covering it moving forward for you and reacting to these

823
00:47:05,560 --> 00:47:09,719
Speaker 1: unprecedented circumstances. Next podcast episode coming up in just a

824
00:47:09,760 --> 00:47:12,719
Speaker 1: couple of days, will be somewhat of a roundtable formatal

825
00:47:12,719 --> 00:47:15,359
Speaker 1: of a lot of my colleagues joining me to try

826
00:47:15,400 --> 00:47:18,520
Speaker 1: to make sense of what this season is going to

827
00:47:18,600 --> 00:47:23,560
Speaker 1: look like and our expectations for the Marlins in twenty twenty.

828
00:47:24,440 --> 00:47:27,440
Speaker 1: But it's a big relief for me running this website

829
00:47:27,480 --> 00:47:30,080
Speaker 1: because obviously there's so much joy I get from watching

830
00:47:30,120 --> 00:47:34,720
Speaker 1: live Major League Baseball, and you guys have been very patient.

831
00:47:34,840 --> 00:47:37,040
Speaker 1: I know the fans have deserved a lot better than this,

832
00:47:37,160 --> 00:47:39,600
Speaker 1: and they do deserve better than the sixty game season,

833
00:47:40,360 --> 00:47:44,600
Speaker 1: So that's unfortunate that we can't quite go above and

834
00:47:44,640 --> 00:47:48,040
Speaker 1: beyond that total. But it's better than nothing, and we

835
00:47:48,120 --> 00:47:50,800
Speaker 1: hope you guys will stick around for it. Am Eli

836
00:47:50,880 --> 00:47:52,359
Speaker 1: Susman go.

837
00:47:52,440 --> 00:48:06,960
Speaker 3: Fish Conducted and inducted INT