Miami Marlins notes: Mack, Bride, Fortes and more

As we finalized looking back at the Trade Deadline, and have busied ourselves with some optimistic notes for the future... let's take a look at quite a few recent developments. Those developments include a new MLB.com piece about prospects, then some injury news and some more! As the second half of the season is in full swing, let's get into it!

More news and notes on the Miami Marlins

Let's start with someone that you may not have even heard of! Who? Catching prospect Joe Mack! Mack was the 31'st pick of the 2021 draft, but has only been able to bat .217/.324/.303 over the last three seasons. He did however always show good defensive skills and now finally made some adjustments with the bat. He's now batting .250/.336/.470, with 19 home runs in 96 games, between the A and AA levels. Perhaps he can make even more improvements in the future.

Mack's Major League counterpart Nick Fortes has been placed on the 10-day IL. The reason? He's suffering from a right quadriceps strain. Fortes is having another mostly disappointing season. He's batting .219/.246/.288, with 2 home runs and 18 RBI in 78 games and 215 AB. He's been worth -0.5 WAR, though he still plays strong defense. Fortes is under control through the 2028 season, but I doubt that he's still on the Miami Marlins next season. Jhonny Pereda has been called up to replace him. He has no hits in any of his 5 AB that ironically took place in 5 games.

Is Jonah Bride becoming a decent starting piece for the Miami Marlins? He's having a pretty solid season, in albeit a rather small sample size. He's currently batting .273/.364/.439, with 3 home runs and 13 RBI in 24 games and 66 AB. These results have him worth 0.3 WAR so far. Now, his EV is just 87.9, he doesn't have much of a track record and he's already 28 years old. Still, could we be witnessing a late-bloomer? I'm definitely intrigued about what his production would look like over the course of a full season.