Fish On First: A Miami Marlins podcast

The Marlins continue to tinker with the edges of their 40-man roster. Ely reacts to the Austin Dean-Diowill Burgos trade (2:30), the James Tarpley-James Nelson trade (7:10) and the annual hitters camp in Jupiter (15:50). The rest of the episode browses through about 20 important dates during the 2020 calendar year that will influence how the Marlins manage their young talent and approach decisions...

It's the 2020 season debut of Earning Their Stripes, our show specializing in minor league coverage. Special guest Marlins left-hander Braxton Garrett reflects on his impressive 2019 campaign with the High-A Jupiter Hammerheads, shares some of the secrets behind his signature curveball and explains his reasons for being optimistic about the direction of the franchise. Follow Braxton Garrett ( @Bra...

Trades! Not very impactful ones, though. Ely provides the Marlins' perspective regarding last week's Kyle Keller/José Estrada and Austin Brice/Angeudis Santos swaps (2:15), pays homage to recently DFA'd Austin Dean, who was drafted and developed by the organization (16:45), and insists that savings from the 2020 arbitration class should be applied to improving the bullpen (27:45). Brandon Kintzler...

Hey, Marlins fans! On this episode of Fish Bites, Ely Sussman reacts to Starlin Castro signing with the NL East rival Washington Nationals (5:45), switch-pitcher Pat Venditte getting a shot to earn a bullpen spot (16:20) and Lewis Brinson winning a home run derby in the Bahamas (33:50). This Marlins offseason has garnered positive reviews from the fanbase and all across the baseball industry, so l...

All month, we have been anticipating that the Marlins would add a reliable outfield bat. They finally took the plunge on Saturday (pending a physical), signing free agent Corey Dickerson for two years and $17.5 million. What is his plate approach? Can he handle left-handed pitching? How did he win a 2018 NL Gold Glove award? And what does this mean for the rest of Miami's defensive alignment? Ely...

In our second-to-last podcast episode of 2019, Ely provides stats, biographical information and anticipated fit on the Marlins roster for each of the following minor league signings: Santiago Chávez (6:15), Gosuke Katoh (8:45), Ryan Lavarnway (12:55), Christian Lopes (16:00), BJ López (18:15), Matt Kemp (20:20), Brian Navarreto (27:10), Aaron Northcraft (31:45) and Josh A. Smith (35:05). With thes...

Ian Smith conducts an exclusive interview with Marlins LHP Alex Vesia. The former 17th-round draft pick struck out 100 batters in just 66 2/3 innings pitched during his first full professional season, ascending all the way up to Double-A Jacksonville. Vesia reminisces about dominating the Arizona Fall League, becoming an unlikely walk-off hero and more. Follow Alex ( @Alex_Vesia ) Ian ( @FlaSmitty...

The Marlins kept busy during the MLB Winter Meetings, adding a pair of right-handers into their 2020 bullpen mix and engaging agents and other teams regarding experienced outfielders. Aram Leighton brings on Wells Dusenbury, Marlins beat reporter for the Sun Sentinel, to analyze it all (2:30). Then, Ely reads aloud the responses from fans on Twitter who were asked to grade Miami's offseason transa...

What should Marlins fans expect from new acquisitions Jesús Aguilar and Jonathan Villar? Ely weighs in on both the hefty first baseman (3:10) and the versatile, top-of-the-order sparkplug (14:35). These additions forced the Fish to part ways with JT Riddle (30:50) and Tayron Guerrero (32:50), neither of whom realized their full potential in recent seasons. As the Winter Meetings get underway in Sa...

What should the Marlins do with José Ureña, Adam Conley and JT Riddle prior to Monday night's non-tender deadline? Ely reviews their "platform year" performance from 2019 and makes recommendations to the front office (1;15). Then, Daniel De Vivo debuts on Fish Bites to share his updated Marlins top prospects list (33:00) and thoughts on the contentious MLB/MiLB negotiations over the Professional B...

With Wei-Yin Chen finally purged from the Marlins roster, Ely reflects on his complicated tenure with the team (4:35) and what it means for future free agent pursuits (9:40). Aram Leighton makes his return to Fish Bites (11:30), conducting an exclusive interview with Blue Jays outfield prospect Griffin Conine (that's right, Jeff's son!). The 2019 Midwest League home run champion looks forward to h...

Making his Earning Their Stripes debut, Spencer Morris joins Ethan and Ian to preview all of the key decisions facing the Marlins this offseason. The guys react to the Triple-A Wichita affiliate rebrand (2:25), identify key prospects who ought to be added to the 40-man roster to protect from Rule 5 Draft eligibility (4:20), shop for free agents to provide a boost to the major league lineup (13:00)...

Ely rounds up the week's Marlins developments (1:55), including rumors linking the team to top free agent outfielders and great player performances in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Then, enjoy an excerpt from Ethan Budowsky's guest appearance on the Painting Corners Podcast (10:15). Ethan details how the key rebuilding trades have panned out on the field so far and what fans are expectin...

New Fish Stripes contributor LJ Garcia joins Ely (0:45) to explain how he would approach the 2019-20 offseason, and to discuss the recent news of Don Mattingly's Hall of Fame candidacy and Martín Prado's pending retirement. Closing in on the final holiday season of the 2010's, we reflect on what the Marlins accomplished (and failed to accomplish) during this decade. Ely creates a quiz (37:20) abou...

The Marlins should be aiming for a 15-win improvement from last season, but they can't mortgage the future to do it. Ely attempts to thread the needle with carefully thought out 40-man roster maneuvers (6:00) and a handful of efficient free agent signings and trades (19:00). Follow Fish Stripes ( @fishstripes ) and Ely ( @RealEly ) on Twitter. Full coverage here at FishStripes.com . Learn more abo...

For the first time in more than a decade, Major League Baseball's World Series champion hails from the NL East division. Congrats to the Washington Nationals on their 2019 title. On this episode, Ely identifies key individuals on the team who have Marlins connections (1:55) and reminds you that the MLB postseason can be an unpredictable crapshoot. FOX Sports Florida's Kelly Saco joins the show for...

The Salt River Rafters, featuring Marlins prospects Jerar Encarnación, Nick Neidert and Alex Vesia, clinched the 2019 Arizona Fall League championship on Saturday! On this new episode of Fish Bites, Ely analyzes their AFL production (2:48) and explains why the hiring of James Rowson as bench coach/offensive coordinator could have huge ramifications (14:10). The Ultimate Marlins Depth Charts series...

Ely updates you on the 2019 MLB postseason (1:58), specifically the Marlins connections on the rosters of both the advancing and eliminated teams. With Giancarlo Stanton entering his 30s and Marcell Ozuna entering free agency, we revisit the decisions to trade them away and the performances of the players acquired in return (6:00). Then, after debuting the Ultimate Marlins Depth Charts series with...

Kicking off a new Fish Bites series, Ely identifies all of the notable right-handed pitchers in the Marlins organization (5:40). The 30-plus potential impact arms are separated into four tiers: current major leaguers (11:05), prospects slated for MLB debuts during the 2020 season (34:25), the next waves of talent for 2021 and beyond (46:15), and "curiosities" who don't fit neatly into the prior ca...

Unofficially launching Fish Stripes' 2020 MLB Draft coverage, Ian Smith and Ely Sussman are joined by Baseball America national writer Carlos Collazo (1:40). They discuss Marlins draft history, particularly the star-studded 2019 class (featuring JJ Bleday and Kameron Misner), plus all of the plausible candidates for the Fish to consider with their first-round pick next June. Ever wonder what a dra...

Podcasting has no offseason! Ely Sussman hosts the latest episode of Fish Bites. From Jon Berti's baserunning and Jarlin García's untouchable changeup to Lewis Brinson's homerless streak, we have handpicked Marlins season stats—both positive and negative—that encapsulate the team's most important developments in 2019 (3:20). Joining us for a rare interview (48:03), Marlins Chief Revenue Officer Ad...

Fresh off Sunday's season finale, it's time to hand out the hardware for the 2019 Fishys (5:25)! From "most disappointing" to "MVP," there were 11 award categories, voted on by the fans on FishStripes.com and Twitter. As covered in a new article , Marlins Park attendance perked up in the second year of the new rebuild (30:45), and it even compares favorably to 2017 figures when you focus on the pa...

Marlins shortstop prospect Nasim Nuñez calls in from instructional league to tell Ethan and Ian about his experiences as a pro baseball player so far. The Collins Hill High School product credits his family for supporting his pursuit of this dream and his teammates for making him feeling welcome in this new environment. Follow Fish Stripes ( @fishstripes ), Nasim ( @Diamonds_Nas23 ), Ethan ( @etha...

Shocked by the news of Don Mattingly's extension, Danny Martinez explains why he's being retained as Marlins manager despite all the losing over the past four seasons (2:40). More understandably, the team decided to lock in Miguel Rojas, one of their most valuable all-around players (15:20). We wrap up with some fascinating Isan Díaz stats (23:15).  Follow Fish Stripes ( @fishstripes ) and Danny (...

In their first season as a Marlins MiLB affiliate, the Low-A Clinton LumberKings made a deep playoff run. Erik Oas, the team's director of broadcasting and media relations, speaks to Ely and Ethan about the transition from Mariners to Marlins affiliation (5:30), dealing with harsh climate early in the season (8:45) and what makes Mike Jacobs an effective manager (13:00). Individual prospects featu...