Miami Marlins: Fish Farm Report April 23rd

With their first pitch in L.A. slated for 10:10 EST, it was a late night with Jarlin Garcia and the Miami Marlins. On the other hand, the day on the farm consisted of a win, a loss and two washouts.

Transactions

• The Miami Marlins sent J.T. Riddle on a rehab assignment to High-A Jupiter where he is set to appear in a couple of games with the Hammerheads.
• Elieser Hernandez was also sent to Jupiter on a rehab assignment. The Rule 5 pick looks to get back healthy and prove himself at the major league level. If the Marlins decide not to keep him on the 25 man roster, he will be returned to the Astros.

Triple-A Pacific Coast League

(12-4) Oklahoma City Dodgers 2, (7-11) New Orleans Baby Cakes 3

Sandy Alcantara got the ball for the Cakes in a matchup against Manny Banuelos and the OKC Dodgers.

Alcantara was electric on the day, racking up six strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings and allowing one run. He only gave up two free passes, setting his lowest mark of the season.

As soon as Alcantara gets a grip on his base-on-balls issue, look for the Marlins to promote the 22-year-old fireballer. He was consistently hitting the upper 90’s to go along with a plus change that FanGraphs gives a 60 on the 20/80 scale.

Banuelos held the Baby Cakes in check for the first four innings, where he racked up nine strikeouts. After he was removed, the Cakes seized the opportunity and scored three runs in the next two innings.

A Cristhian Adames two-run home run in the sixth inning was all that New Orleans needed to seal the victory. Jumbo Diaz recorded his third save of the season after he allowed one run to score in the ninth.

The Baby Cakes have a built-in off day tomorrow before heading to Nashville to take on the Sounds on Wednesday.

Double-A Southern League

(6-11) Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 1, (9-8) Tennessee Smokies 2

The Jumbo Shrimp lost a tight pitchers duel on Monday. Two runs in the first innings are all the Smokies needed to put away the Shrimp.

Austin Dean added another hit and a walk on the night which actually lowered his average to .525. He is currently leading the Southern League in batting average by 84 points.

While it is impossible for Dean to keep this level of production up, if he continues to put together solid at-bats he will make a push for a call-up to South Beach sometime this summer.

Max Duval followed up his last start at Chattanooga where he allowed nine earned runs in four innings pitched with a quality start on Monday.

Although he was handed a loss, Duval tossed six innings of four-hit ball. The first inning home run he allowed to Jeffrey Baez was his only mistake of the day.

Duval has taken a long road to this point. Originally a hitter at the University of Hawaii, Duval took up pitching in an attempt to keep his baseball career alive.

After bouncing around independent ball for two years, Duval was signed by the Diamondbacks before the 2016 season. He recorded a 3.42 ERA in 15 appearances and 12 starts.

In 2017 Duval made six starts for the Grasshoppers where he recorded a 2.09 ERA. This impressive performance got him assigned to Jacksonville where he has struggled early on, but is looking to build on this quality start.

Duval and the Jumbo Shrimp will take on the Smokies tomorrow at noon in the third matchup of this four game set.

High-A Florida State League

 (14-3) Jupiter Hammerheads, (9-8) Palm Beach Cardinals

The Jupiter Hammerheads were rained out against the Palm Beach Cardinals. The Hammerheads will look to continue their hot start at 4:30 EST tomorrow in a doubleheader at Roger Dean Stadium.

J.T. Riddle will have his first game action of the year tomorrow as he looks to build on his rookie year for the Miami Marlins. Before the rainout, he was set to bat second and play shortstop for the Hammerheads.

Martin Prado was also in the original lineup as is rehabbing from a knee injury that has kept him sidelined.

More from Marlins Prospects

• Miami Marlins: Checking in on prospects from the 2022 Arizona Fall League
• Miami Marlins: How top 2022 MLB Draft picks performed this season
• What’s wrong with Kahlil Watson?
• Miami Marlins: Farm System rankings part 2
• Miami Marlins: Farm System rankings part 1

Another intriguing player to keep an eye on is Brian Miller out of UNC-Chapel Hill. The Tar Heal product has slashed .320/.377/.403 after being selected with the 36th overall pick in 2017.

Miller doesn’t hit for much power which is seen as a negative to evaluators. FanGraph’s currently grades his power as a 20 with a future value of 40 on the 20/80 scale.

While a grade of 40 is still below average, this jump would be huge for the 22-year-old as he already shown his solid bat on ball skills.

If he could continue to work on this part of his game and raise his slugging percentage, Miller will work his way up the prospect ranks for the Miami Marlins.

Single-A South Atlantic League

(10-6) Greensboro Grasshoppers, (6-10) Hickory Crawdads

Today’s game was postponed due to inclement weather and it was rescheduled for a Wednesday doubleheader. The two teams will also play tomorrow weather permitting.

Next: April 22nd Fish Farm Report

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