Miami Marlins News: Christian Yelich and Jake Marisnick Promoted to Majors

Jul 14, 2013; Flushing , NY, USA; USA designated hitter Christian Yelich hits a RBI double during the second inning of the 2013 All Star Futures Game at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Earlier in the day, two of the Miami Marlins top hitting prospects, Christian Yelich and Jake Marisnick, were removed from the Jacksonville Suns game, and we here at Marlin Maniac speculated that the Marlins had made their decision to promote both of them to the majors.

That thought was put on hold, at least temporarily, as Marlin Maniac friend and Suns commentator Roger Hoover reported that the decision to remove the star outfield duo was because of the “wet field conditions” at Smokies Park.

Although the reasoning sounded legitimate, the fact that both players shared hugs with teammates and were no longer in the dugout during the game, signaled that there was something bigger in the works. None the less, Marlins fans were not thrilled with what seemed to be a tease.

That tease was short lived, as the Marlins announced that both prospects would be called up for Tuesday’s game against the Colorado Rockies:

To make room on the team for the outfield duo, the Marlins optioned second baseman Derek Dietrich and center fielder Marcell Ozuna to the Double-A.

Marlins President points out that neither had much Double-A time and could benefit from some time in the minors, when he addressed the media about the move:

"“I want to make this really clear,” President of Baseball Operations Larry Beinfest said. “The offensive woes of this team I don’t want to be attributed to [Ozuna and Dietrich]. That’s not why this is happening…Those kids did an incredible job. We rushed them here to the big leagues out of need. They had very little to almost no Double-A experience and they did a great job for us."

Another thing to factor for both players, the Marlins can avoid super-2 with both players if they keep them in the minors long enough. Both players remain on the Marlins 40-man roster, but will no accumulate major league time playing for the Jacksonville Suns.

Beinfest did indicate that both players remain in the Marlins future plans, although it’s questionable where Ozuna fits in with the Marlins outfield filled with Yelich, Marisnick, and Stanton for the foreseeable future.

"“Heading into the break and into the weerkend we talked about their at-bats and their approach and the mental side of the offense, etc. We just thought it warranted a time to go down to the minor leagues and work on some offensive things on both their parts. They still have some work to do in the minor leagues…We asked a lot of them and they responded and did a great job. They’re part of our future, and part of our future is coming as well.”"

Yelich, who will start in left on Tuesday, is hitting .280 with a .883 on-base plus slugging percentage in 193 at-bats for the Suns. He would have been in the majors earlier, if it were not for injury issues, including a recent abdominal strain.

Marisnick, starting in right, is hitting .294 with 12 homers, 46 RBI and a .860 OPS in 265 at-bats for the Suns. After a slow start to the season, which included coming back from a broken bone in his hand, Marisnick had hit well enough recently to earn his promotion.