Aug. 22, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA: Miami Marlins pitcher Jacob Turner against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Down on the Farm Report for the Miami Marlins: May 19th

Feb 28, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sam Dyson (36) delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Marlins 8-2. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

Down on the Farm Report for the Miami Marlins: May 18th

Triple-A:

New Orleans Zephyrs (18-22) @ Fresno Grizzlies (24-19)

Loss 6-3

Ed Lucas, SS: 2-for-5, R, 2 SO

Jake Smolinski, LF: 1-for-4, R

Brian Flynn, SP: 5.1 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO, 2 HR

Jonathan Albaladejo, RP: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 SO

After enjoying a ton of success in Double-A with the Suns, Flynn is still trying to find his groove in New Orleans. While Flynn has not been a flop in AAA, he has been nowhere near as dominating in AA ball. He owns a 3.99 ERA and a 3.81 FIP and has struck 30 in 29 2/3 innings, but he has also allowed 27 hits.

Ed Lucas continues to be one of the top hitters in the PCL with a slash line of .313/.365/.486. Lucas, about to turn 31 in two days, is a nice organizational player for the Fish.

Double-A:

Jacksonville Suns (24-15) @ Mississippi Braves (25-17)

Win 3-1

Christian Yelich, LF: 1-for-4, 3B (5), 2 SO

Jake Marisnick, CF: 2-for-4, HR (3), R, 2 RBI

Sam Dyson, SP: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 SO

Michael Brady, RP: 1.0 IP, 1 SO, SV (7)

Christian Yelich proved to the Marlins why he is ready, but also not ready for a call to the big leagues. Yelich notched his 2oth extra base hit 103 at bats, but has also continued to strike out too much. Yelich owns a 24.6% strikeout rate as of right now. That is something the Marlins would like to see improved before he gets called up. He is also just 7-for-33 (.212 BA) against lefties this season.

Jake Marisnick hit his third home run of the spring and brings his triple slash line to .242/.290/.419. He will need to continue to heat up to earn a promotion this season. Michael Brady earned his seventh save of the season and has pitched well in 2013 with a 2.82 ERA.

High Class A:

Jupiter Hammerheads (21-19) vs. Palm Beach Cardinals (17-23)

Win 5-2

Brent Keys, LF: 2-for-5, R, RBI

Alex Burg, 1B: 1-for-4, HR (1), R, 3 RBI

Jose Urena, SP: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2ER, 1 BB, 5 SO

Jordan Conley, RP: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, SV (3)

All Keys does is hit, it seems. Keys picked up two more hits in this game brought his average up to .367 on the season. If Keys can continue to his well with the Hammerheads, it won’t be soon before he joins the Suns team in Double-A.

Jose Urena had a nice bounce back start from allowing 6 runs in just four innings of work. He lowered his ERA back down to 4.53, but his FIP looks a lot better at 3.73.

Low Class A:

Greensboro Grasshoppers (17-24) vs. Lakewood BlueClaws (17-24)

Win 8-5

Cameron Flynn, LF: 3-for-4, 2 3B (2), 2 RBI, SO

Yordy Cabrera, 3B: 2-for-4, 2 R, 2B (7), RBI, SO

Daniel Oliver, SP: 3.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 2 SO

Blake Logan, RP: 1.0 IP, 1 BB, 1 SO, SV (9)

The Grasshoppers offense broke out, as Flynn had himself a day, hitting two triples and driving in two runs. Third base prospect Yordy Cabrera collected two hits in the game, including his seventh double of the season to bring his slash line to .241/.313/.386 with 12 extra base hits in 145 at bats. Cabrera has improved his plate discipline a bit in 2013, but still has a lot of work to do to justify the Oakland Athletics picking him in the second round in 2010.

May 28, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins third baseman Hanley Ramirez (bottom) watches fans reach for a foul ball during the second inning against the Washington Nationals at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Faith, Hope and the Plight of the Miami Marlins Fan.

Sports fandom is a weird thing, it is like religious faith, really liking a band and a love affair all at once. Sports fans sacrifice so much of their time, sanity, emotion and even money in order to support a team. Marlins fans have been jerked around so much since the fire sale in 1997 that it has hard for us to still believe. The winter of 2011-2012 was a time of hope and expectation for people in South Florida, a new stadium, an ownership apparently recommitted to winning – but we all know how that went – nowhere. The players apparently didn’t want to play for Ozzie Guillen, Samson and Loria meddled, the Showtime cameras captured it all. The experiment failed and so spectacularly that Giancarlo Stanton and Ricky Nolasco were the two players to not be jettisoned in favor of “rebuilding” or “restructuring.” But enough ink, both virtual and actual has been spilled talking about what Jeffrey Loria has done to Marlins fans, the city of Miami and all other concerned parties. I want to talk about something more topical, a reflection of what has happened on the field in the past week or ten days, the apparent collapse of the Marlins on the field.

The Marlins offense in particular, since scoring 14 runs in Philadelphia against Roy Halladay and the Phillies as his shoulder disintegrated have scored 21 runs in the past 10 games and lost 9 of 10 games. This stretch has been bad even compared to what the Marlins had done in April when they were struggling mightily to score runs. The Marlins inability to score makes me lose faith that they could ever improve. But most importantly inability to score runs created undue pressure on the pitching and defense. Since May 4^th until last night’s game Marlins starters have had a 4.70 ERA in only 67 IP at nearly 5 2/3 IP per start. That might just be a sign of Kevin Slowey, Alex Sanabia and Wade LeBlanc “regressing to the mean.” On the other hand, the counting defensive stats, Errors and Fielding Percentage are not kind to the Marlins, while advanced defensive metrics are more forgiving; the Marlins are middle of the pack in terms of defensive runs saved.

I am not here to give a panacea or to spout cliches like, things are always darkest before the dawn, but June 1^st is the day that all Marlins fans who have lost faith need to keep their hope alive. In my previous article, I made a sample write up of the Marlins lineup once Giancarlo Stanton, Logan Morrison and possibly Christian Yelich will be in Marlins uniforms. I believe in Adeiny Hechavarria as a 2-hole-hitter and Justin Ruggiano hitting fifth. What is harder to believe is Dietrich and Ozuna hitting 3 and 4, this is the Major Leagues not AA. As admirably as we can expect young players like Dietrich, Ozuna, Fernandez and Yelich to perform, it is almost masochistic to put the onus of run creation and production on the shoulders of a 23 and a 22 year old respectively. Jose Fernandez on the pitching side seems to be up to the challenge, but pitching is an individual pursuit unlike offense.

I chose to speak of hope for one reason, it is the expectation of future change and hopefully improvement. Things couldn’t get much worse that is for sure but I hope that they could and will get better as May turns into June. As Greg Dobbs returns to the bench, Placido Polanco and Derek Dietrich go the back half of the lineup and Juan Pierre is replaced by Christian Yelich, depth will return and the Marlins will look like a Major league team again. What benefits them is time.

The Marlins are benefiting from one thing time, time is their friend. 11-31 is a horrible record to see on the standings but it is also not insurmountable. Not to make the playoffs or finish at above .500 but not lose 100 games or more games than the Houston Astros. I have hope for the future, the short term future. In a couple weeks, the Marlins will improve and the thoughts of these lean days in the middle of May will fade into memory and they will be watchable again.

I want to conclude by saying this this, it is easy to blame Loria and the front office for everything, I do it too. But even if one loses faith and believes that things can only get worse. One must keep hope for the future alive and think that 2013 is not the end of the world and that as we move into the future keep hope alive and think that prospects can turn into stars often sooner than we expect.

Feb 22, 2013; Jupiter, FL, USA; Miami Marlins player Jake Marisnick (77) poses for a picture during photo day at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Triple-A:

New Orleans Zephyrs (18-21) @ Fresno Grizzlies (23-19)

Loss 6-1

Box Score

Bryan Petersen, RF: 1-for-3, RBI, BB

Kyle Skipworth, C: 1-for-4, 2 SO

Doug Mathis, SP: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO

Dan Jennings, RP: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB

Skipworth has struggled in 2013 with his batting and one has to wonder if the Marlins calling him up to the majors multiple times and not providing any playing time has had any lingering effect on him. Skip owns a .167/.250/.167 slash line with 6 strikeouts in 18 at bats.

Double-A:

Jacksonville Suns (23-15) @ Mississippi Braves (25-16)

Win 2-1

Box Score

Jake Marisnick, RF: 0-for-4, 3 SO

Noah Perio, 2B: 1-for-3, 2 RBI

Jay Jackson, SP: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO

Edgar Olmos, RP: 0.1 IP, SV (1)

Jake Marisnick had a rough game at the plate, going hitless and striking out three times. His line on the season now sits at .224/.277/.362. Marisnick is currently in midst of a spell where he is 3 for his last 20. He is still recovering from his broken hand he sustained in spring training and should improve as the season carries on.

Jay Jackson continues to have a strong season, although he is 26-years old and a little old for the level. Jackson owns a 2.45 ERA in 25 2/3 innings with 23 strikeouts and just 6 walks.

High Class A:

Jupiter Hammerheads (21-19) vs. Palm Beach Cardinals (17-23)

Win 2-1

Box Score

Brent Keys, LF: 2-for-4, BB, R

Isaac Galloway, CF: 0-for-4, 3 SO

Jared Rogers, SP: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO

Jake Esch, RP: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 3 SO

Brent Keys continues hitting in 2013, with two more hits on Friday night, Keys brought his season slash line to .364/.444/.436.  Keys also picked up his fourth stolen base of the season. Keys is on pace to surpass his impressive 2012 numbers and become a bigger part of the Marlins future as a prospect.

Low Class A:

Greensboro Grasshoppers (16-24) vs. Lakewood BlueClaws (17-23)

Loss 6-3

Box Score

Anthony Gomez, SS: 3-for-5, RBI

Matt Juengel, DH: 1-for-3, 2B, RBI, 2 BB

Austin Brice, SP: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO

Helpi Reyes, RP: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 2 BB

Shortstop Anthony Gomez is off to a hot start in 2013, owning a .291/.331/.369 slash line. In his previous 10 games, Gomez has hit .417/.436/.528 slash line with one of the two home runs he has hit this season. Gomez was the Marlins sixth round pick in 2012 out of Vanderbilt.

Mar 9, 2013; Melbourne, FL, USA; Miami Marlins pitcher Brad Hand throws against the Washington Nationals during the bottom of the fifth inning of a spring training game at Space Coast Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Triple-A:

New Orleans Zephyrs (18-20) @ Fresno Grizzlies (22-19)

Loss 4-0

Box Score

Gorkys Hernandez, CF: 0-for-5, 3 SO

Bryan Petersen, RF: 0-for-4, 3 SO, BB

Brad Hand, SP: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 7 SO, 3 BB

A.J. Battisto, RP: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO

Hand continues to be an interesting player in the Marlins organization. While he has the stuff to strike hitters out, his lack of control often leads to a high amount of walks and hits for the opponents. Hand has not been consistent in the minors in getting hitters out and has had the same issues in his limited work in the majors. He at this point is a fringe prospect that will be organizational depth at best.

The Marlins top two hitters in their lineup combined to go for 0-for-9 with 8 strikeouts on Thursday. Not the best recipe for a victory.

Double-A:

Jacksonville Suns (22-15) @ Mobile Bay Bears (19-21)

Win 6-3

Box Score

Christian Yelich, LF: 3-for-4, HR (6), 2B (9), BB, 3 R

J.T. Realmuto, C: 1-for-3, RBI

Adam Conley, SP: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO

Michael Brady, RP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO

In his previous two games, Marlins top hitting prospect Christian Yelich is 6-for-10 with three home runs, two doubles, and has scored five runs. Yelich continues to prove to the Marlins that he is ready for a shot in the majors. The Marlins however, are playing it smart and will wait till the cutoff date for super two players.

Adam Conley has recovered from a rough start to the season, as he lowered his season ERA to 4.62. Conley still has a lot of work to get back to where the Marlins expected him to be this season.

High Class A:

Jupiter Hammerheads (20-19) @ Tampa Yankees (15-23)

Win 9-4

Box Score

Brent Keys, LF: 4-for-4, HR (1), BB, 2 R, RBI

Austin Barnes, DH: 1-for-4, HR (2), 1 RBI, 2 R

Anthony DeSclafani, SP: 4.0 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO

Jordan Conley, RP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 SO

Outfield prospect Brent Keys had himself a day on Thursday. Keys hit his first home run of the season and reached base five times of the Hammerheads. Keys now owns a slash line of .346/.424/.423 in the 2013 season. Austin Barnes also hit his second home run of the season and is off to a fast start.

The Marlins acquired DeSclafani from the Blue Jays in their fire sale trade this past winter. Anthony has pitched really well in 2013, but ran into trouble by allowing too many base runners in this game. Let’s see how he responds in his next game.

The Hammerheads swept the Yankees and outscored them 31-15. Quite an impressive series from the Marlins High-A ballclub.

Low Class A:

Greensboro Grasshoppers (16-22) vs. Lakewood BlueClaws (16-23)

Loss 6-5

Box Score

Cameron Flynn, LF: 3-for-4, 2 R

Yordy Cabrera, 3B: 1-for-5, 2B (6), 2 RBI

Ramon Del Orbe, SP: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO

Miguel Fermin, RP: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO

The Grasshoppers were able to pick up 14 hits in this game, but could not put enough runs on the board, or keep enough off the board to pick up a victory in this game. Their pitching struggled, though only half the runs they allowed were earned runs.

Yordy Cabrera picked up a double in this one and his slash line now sits at .234/.301/.380. Cabrera was acquired from the Oakland Athletics as part of a three-way deal that sent Heath Bell to Arizona.