Miami Marlins 2021 Season Review: C Nick Fortes

The Miami Marlins No. 29 prospect, 25-year-old catcher Nick Fortes made his major league debut during the 2021 season. A former fourth round pick by Miami back in 2018 out of Ole Miss, Fortes will likely see more time at catcher in the major leagues with the Marlins in 2022.

Miami Marlins 2021 Season Review: C Nick Fortes

Fortes would begin the 2021 season with Double-A Pensacola, but would struggle at times however during the month of May posting a combined .619 OPS. The 25-year-old backstop would however bounce-back in a big way during the month of June slashing a combined .299/.365/.442 across 22 games.

After a strong first two months of the season overall, Fortes would appear in 18 games with the Blue Wahoos to begin the month of July before being called-up to Triple-A Jacksonville. Collecting five hits across his first three games, Fortes got-off to a hot start with the Jumbo Shrimp, and that continued into the month of August where he held an eight-game hitting streak at one point.

After finishing the month of August with a combined .723 OPS during his time in Triple-A, Fortes would go-on to appear in only 12 more games with the Jumbo Shrimp to begin the month of September before being called-up to the big leagues.

Making his major league debut on September 18th, Fortes posted an impressive 2-for-3 outing in his debut where the 25-year-old hit his first major league home run while driving in two runs. Fortes would go-on to finish the 2021 season with the Marlins where he collected nine hits in 31 at-bats, four of which were home runs.

Fortes would appear in a total of 95 games between Double-A Pensacola and Triple-A Jacksonville during the 2021 season where he slashed a combined .245/.332/.367 with seven home runs, 44 RBI’s, and five stolen bases. Not only did Fortes draw an impressive 32 walks to 54 strikeouts offensively, but the 25-year-old also threw out 27% of baserunners defensively.

After finishing the 2021 campaign with the Miami Marlins, Fortes will begin the 2022 season in either the major leagues or Triple-A Jacksonville.