Gone Fishin': Miami Marlins Fans Show Up, Pitching Shows Out

Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Gone Fishing on the 5 Reasons Sports Network. Do not forget to like, comment, subscribe, and share. It does help grow the channel. And just a reminder guys, 5 Reasons Sports, we've got a lot of great content coming up, whether you like the hurricanes in the middle of their recruiting season, the heat, the NBA, we all know the offseason never sleeps in the NBA, the Panthers and their potential offseason moves. We just announced our Messi and Co., our soccer side of things as we get ready for Lionel Messi to make his debut for Inter-Miami. And we have here the Gone Fishing as well as FlipDM for the Marlins who are 45-34 on this Monday, June 26th. The Marlins are six games back of the Braves, four games up the wildcard. They went 3-1 this week against the Pirates, 1-2 against the Blue Jays. But all in all, people have to be feeling really good about what this team is doing. I don't want to hold up. I want to go ahead and go right into it, getting your Major League Players of the Week. Your Major Leaguer Hitter of the Week is going to be Garrett Cooper, the much maligned Garrett Cooper on this show, but I will give props when they are due. Cooper hit a huge 3-run homer late in the game in the first game against the Pirates. He's been pretty good since coming off of the I.L. of late. This week he hit 3-64 with the 4-17 on base, 5-91 slugging for a 1,008 OPS and pretty clutch performances all throughout in this one. So a great week for Garrett Cooper. Definitely something that you're hopeful for if you can kind of regain that form that he had in the first half last year when he was selected to the All-Star Game. Just something that can help lengthen out the lineup and really pick up the slack as some of the other bats in the lineup have gone a little bit cold, and we will touch on that as well. And your Pitcher of the Week is going to be none other than the baby goat himself, Yuri Perez. 1-0, 12 innings pitch, 0 earned runs, 1 walk, 7 hits, 18 strikeouts. It's a shame that he's only 1-0 for the week as his first start came against Toronto in what was a 2-0 loss, but Yuri has been everything you could ask for, and then some. Just a fantastic performance yesterday against the Pirates, another repeat, 6 innings, 9 strikeouts, 21 scoreless innings in a row. I do want to give a shout-out to Braxton Garrett. It really is a shame that it feels like he's kind of been overshadowed lately by the Yuri Perez stuff because if it weren't for Braxton, it would absolutely be the story of this rotation over his last three starts, averaging about 15Ks per 9. Just absolutely insane stuff out of Braxton. And on the minor league side of things, your Minor League Hitter of the Week, I couldn't make this a Dane Meyers show if I wanted to because it feels like I talk about him so much. He had a great week, but he's going to fall into the honorable mentions, call it a little bit of voter fatigue for this week. I'm giving it to Griffin Conine down at Pensacola, hitting .429 for the week, .579 on base, .714 slugging, and .1293 OPS, one homer, four runs batted in in five games. But Dane Meyers at AAA this week, hitting .458 with a .480 on base, has a .481 average in AAA thus far on the season. He's been absolutely just nuts. And your Pitcher of the Week is going to be Cole Kershyper, who went six innings, one 1-0 record, no earned runs, two walks, two hits, three strikeouts, both round pick last year out of Illinois for the Marlins. The lefty with his best career start at Jupiter, so hopefully more good things to see from him on the way. All right, so I want to get into it this week. The Marlins, they're off today, but they've got three in Boston and three in Atlanta. And it looks like one of the main things that I want to talk about here is you've got Jazz on the mend. The fans are coming out to the ballpark lately. We have the Yuri Perez situation and some new reporting there that I want to touch on. And then just going to go through a fun exercise of projecting who we are going to see in LA representing the Marlins as all-stars in the Midsummer Classic. So it looks like by all accounts, I would expect Jazz to join the team in Boston and be the starting centerfielder going forward. As far as who goes down in that case, you're looking at Jazz and Segura probably coming back relatively in short order within a couple days of each other. Jazz probably before Segura here. So I'd imagine you see Garrett Hampson go down and probably see Jacob Amaya heading back to Jacksonville. You know, this is something that could be a really big, big development for the Marlins is getting Jazz back. Because you look at the lineup right now and you look at where they're going lead off a rise. So Layer 2, some combination of De La Cruz and Sanchez 3. Cooper likely in your 5. Gurriel in your 6. And then you're extending the lineup. Joey Wendell's hitting a little bit better. So he's no longer necessarily a problem spot in the lineup for lack of a better term. But Jazz, just another bat that lengthens the lineup. But the important thing with Jazz is, especially with the Marlins and their penchant for grounding into double plays, 86 on the year, by far most of the Major League Baseball. And that kind of bit them in that third game against the Pirates where they, or that second game against the Pirates where they blew it late in the game. You know, A.J. Puck with the blown save. But I don't really lay that at his feet so much as I do at the feet of the offense grounding into those critical double plays when they had multiple opportunities with runners on base in that one. And I think having another guy in Jazz who provides a little bit of thump in the lineup, you know, it's been a little bit low with Soler not necessarily scuffling, I would say. But, you know, the power numbers haven't been there over the last week and a half or so. Jesus Sanchez is definitely scuffling hard. He's a guy that I might want to see, you know, maybe Jonathan Davis slides over into kind of a platoon role with Sanchez for the time being as he tries to navigate this slump and pull up out of it. And then, you know, De La Cruz hasn't been giving you a ton of power. Cooper providing a little bit of it. Luis Serais, surprisingly enough, providing a little bit of power with his solo shot the other day. But I think getting another bat in the lineup that can drive in runs, that can give you that slugging percentage in Jazz is definitely going to help them because they've got a ton of guys that can hit singles, that get on base and do that. And so what I think that they really need in the lineup right now is another bat that can kind of get you some slug, get the ball in the air, you know, hit a few out, get a couple sack flies. And I think that his presence is going to be a very welcomed one for the offense, especially as they get into this part of the schedule on the road in Boston and on the road in Atlanta. The other thing with Jazz, though, is do you do you consider, you know, maybe not center field? We all know with the turf toe injury, it's really going to be something that he's going to have to play through and kind of manage until until the offseason when he can really get surgery to get it properly addressed. So I don't know if they're going to have him come back into an everyday center fielder role. I would expect that that's the case, but I'm not 100% certain. As far as that goes, you know, they did cut Daniel Castano or DFA him. So they do have 39 men on the 40 men roster. Not necessarily that I think anything's imminent. You know, I don't have any, any, you know, sources. I don't have any knowledge of the inner workings of the organization. So I don't want to speculate too much there. But it does strike me as interesting that they did clear that spot up, you know, whether that's to call up an additional player, maybe a Dane Myers, or whether it's to make a trade over the next week or two, considering that they are in prime position to be buyers at the deadline and kind of improve the team for this playoff race going forward. But I did want to just, I did also want to touch on something that we saw over the weekend that I think was really, really positive. You saw you saw the fans show up. And that's something that I really want to touch on because I saw a tweet, you know, because David Sampson a couple weeks ago, you know, in the middle of the, the, the heat and the Panthers going on their magical runs, you know, he, he went on Levitard and, you know, he basically said, you know, all these teams in the market, they, they're secretly rooting against each other. They don't, they don't want anyone to soak up too much of the, of the attention. As, as, you know, they don't want any one team to soak, soak up too much of the attention and capture the imaginations of the sports fans to where essentially, basically in his mind, they're all competing for the same set of eyeballs. But in a sport like baseball, where you're playing from April to October, and I saw a tweet like this, I think it was from Danny MIA. I hope it was, at least I might be wrong on that. But essentially the, the, the sentiment was, you know, especially when you're looking at baseball or basketball and hockey, which kind of just fit or just finishing when baseball season starts up, you know, I think that the fan base is kind of carrying that momentum over from those runs. And it's kind of, it's kind of helped create that buzz, that excitement for, for the Marlins, because, you know, the fans are kind of in this whirlwind of a drunken stupor of, of celebration after celebration, where it's, you know, you've got FAU and Miami in the final four, and then you, and then you look up and, and the Heat are in the finals and the Panthers are in the Stanley Cup final. And then you look up again and the Marlins are 11 games over 500. And it's like, Oh my God, where's this all coming from? And, you know, it's just this, you know, that, that the, the fans have kind of latched onto that high. And it's, it's led to, you know, this, this uptick in attendance that we, that we saw where you've got over 24,000 against the Pirates on a Saturday, regardless of if it's Puerto Rican heritage night or not 24 grand plus against the Pirates is, is fantastic. And then you've got 21,000 plus on Sunday for Bark in the Park again, versus the Pirates. So I, you know, this is a fan base that's starting to get excited about this team. And I, and I just, I just wanted to take that time to kind of number one, just encourage the fan base to keep coming out. I mean, it's fantastic to see, you know, it's, it's really cool to see baseball actually being cared about and this market. And it really is validating for a lot of people that said, well, you know, if, if you have a competitive team, the fans will come and it's, and the proof is in the pudding. I mean, obviously two games does not make an entire season. But I think that over the course of the season, if this continues, you'll continue to see the fans show up and the Marlins will continue to reap those benefits. And hopefully that creates, you know, a, a, a mutually beneficial relationship to where you have the team really, really trying to make this something sustainable and kind of build that relationship with the fan base. That's, that's never really been built. You know, the fan base, there's not, there's not that association to teams like the Heat have with, with Kimmy and Zoe and Shaq and Dwayne and the big three, you know, for the Marlins, it's, it's these brief one-year iterations before they, before they kind of blow things up. And I think that they're in a prime position to kind of create and really cultivate that fan base, um, through the success that they have now, you know, and, and I, and really, I think Yuri Perez and, and Luis Araiz are at the heart of it because how many teams in baseball can say, Hey, come out and watch our, our rookie phenom pitcher who, you know, if you let him go the whole year, he'd be in Cy Young conversations. And then you've got Luis Araiz who's chasing 400 and he's in MVP conversations. So, you know, you've got a fantastic draw for this team right now. They're a very compelling, um, team going forward in terms of, Hey, there's star power to watch here, you know, for this team. And I, and I just think all the naysayers that, let's say baseball doesn't work in Miami, you know, I would say bad baseball doesn't work in Miami. Um, and you know, to be honest, outside of four or five markets in baseball, bad baseball doesn't work anywhere. You know, when the, when the Braves, when the Braves are bad, the people in Atlanta, aren't really showing up to the games, at least not in the same way that they are when they're good. Um, you look at the A's, the A's attendance numbers are miserable. Um, you look at Tampa, Tampa has a fantastic team. They've had a fantastic team for a decade. Um, and, and those fans still don't show up, at least not in the, not in the numbers that you would expect, uh, for a team that has their success. So I just wanted to kind of push back on that narrative as far as, as far as what the Marlins, because, you know, you're starting to see the fan response and it's not just in the, it's not just in the, in the attendance numbers, it's, it's the interaction that you're seeing online, this, you know, the, the team is, is starting to really generate buzz on social media. And it's, and it's starting to, you're starting to see that kind of, kind of come to fruition in the attendance numbers. And I just think that's great. And I think that it's, you know, thumbing their nose at the people that say baseball in Miami is just a dead experiment. It can't work. Um, and I, and I'm all here for it. Um, I'm definitely leading that charge for them. Um, but just, just touching back on Yuri Perez, Craig Mish had some new reporting on it, basically said, you know, this last week, um, Perez was going to make a start against the pirates. He'll likely make a start against the Braves. And then they're going to kind of maybe put them on pause, nothing set in stone. Of course, you know, this guy is constantly, um, shattering and then resetting, uh, expectations of him. So who knows what this is going to look like in a week and a half, but the, the current thinking right now is, you know, you have them start versus Atlanta, and then maybe you put them on pause, uh, through the all-star break and bring them back at some point after the break. And I think, you know, I think a week ago, that might have been a little bit more untenable. Um, but I think that you, as you kind of come to the conclusion that, you know, Hey, I think you'll be fine with Brian Hoeing, um, in the rotation, you know, he's had really good back-to-back starts, you know, four innings of shutout ball, um, against, against the, uh, the Blue Jays. And then he goes out and throws five innings of no hit ball against the pirates. So he's been a really welcome addition to the rotation, um, as Cabrera has gone down and Cabrera by all intents and, uh, by all reports seems to be kind of in line to come back as soon as that 15 days is up for, for his IL stint. So, you know, maybe you slap Cabrera back in there and sit Yuri for a starter to, um, kind of, kind of save up his innings for the stretch run here. And then lastly, the all-star voting, the, I think it's a fun exercise to kind of go through, to look at, to look at who can be an all-star on this team with the position players. Uh, we already know that it's coming down to, to pretty much, uh, a rise or bust, um, on this team because of the fact that, um, Solaire did not make it through to the, to the top two voting, which I think he should have, uh, being in, in the, in, you know, one of the top home run hitters in the league, um, you know, while, while showing off pretty much a, a career best eye at the dish, um, and a higher OPS than, than some of the guys that you're seeing in the DH spot in the NL being talked about. Um, but regardless, I, and now it becomes pretty much an exercise about the pitchers, uh, because I, you know, at eyes is making it there's, there's that's, that's, that's a done deal as, as far as I'm concerned. I think he, you can peg him in to be the starter in the all-star game at second base. Um, you can't say enough good things about him. He's absolutely an MVP candidate. Um, and he's starting to starting to, uh, show off some of the power, uh, in his bat a little bit lately, uh, up to three home runs now on the season. So I think if he finishes somewhere around 10 and he's hitting three 90 plus, you absolutely have to consider him, um, to be an MVP candidate, especially considering the fact that the defense is good. I don't care what anybody says. I don't care what metrics you want to bring up. The defense is good. Uh, the guy plays a really solid, slick second base, and I don't want to hear anything. Otherwise, you know, this, this idea that he's somehow a poor defender at second base, it's just a rehash of the narrative that we saw in the, in the off season that, that has been, and, and will continue to be, uh, squashed throughout the course of the season. So when we're looking at the all-stars, I think that there's, there's really three guys that you can kind of zero in on maybe four, but non closer relievers don't really tend to get that much love. Um, the first guy is Braxton Garrett. I don't think he's going to get it just because of the fact that he's probably not, um, as much of a household name as, as some of these other guys are, um, you know, in terms of, in terms of pitching, although I do think that he absolutely deserves an all-star nod aside from that one, you know, really bad blow up starting as the Braves. He's been absolutely fantastic this year. Um, you know, it's really rare to see a pitcher that throws in the low nineties, have the strikeout numbers that he does. Um, but Braxton Garrett, I mean, the off-speed stuff is just so incredible with him and he's got a really great chemistry with Nick Fortes behind the dish. Um, you know, he's got a handful of starts to continue to, uh, to prove his case over the next, uh, couple of weeks or so leading into it. I'd love to see him there. I think he deserves to be there. Um, but I don't think ultimately we will. Uh, URI is a different case altogether. I think URI gets in just on the, on the, on the, on what he's done. I mean, you've got a guy who over the course of his first nine starts is pitching to a one 34 ERA five and one. I know it's just 41 innings. Uh, maybe by the time he's done with Atlanta, it'll be 46 or 47. Who knows? Um, but I think that just, just what he's represented to this ball club. Um, even if he doesn't pitch in the all-star game, I wouldn't want him to pitch in the all-star game. I know skip doesn't want him to pitch in the all-star game. Um, but I think that he, he should be there just symbolically for what he's meant to the organization and, and really on the merit of what he's done since he's been, um, you know, up in the big leagues, he's absolutely, you can make an argument that since he's been up in, in the big leagues, he's been the best pitcher in the national league. And I, and I don't think that that would be an exaggeration. Um, and then for your, your other all-star nods, you know, AJ pucks, uh, candidacy probably took a little bit of a ding giving up three runs the other day against Pittsburgh. Uh, but I do think that he, he would still be a worthy choice. Um, he's been one of the best, one of the best closers in baseball this year, no doubt about it. Um, and then Andrew Nardi and Steven Okert, I think both of those guys deserve all-star nods. Neither of them are really going to get it non-closer relievers don't typically. Um, but I do think that those guys are absolutely deserving. And I just wanted to take some time to give them their flowers and say that I really do believe that they should be, um, pitching in that mid-summer classic because they've really been the focal points, uh, of a bullpen that's really kind of carried the Marlins all year long. Cause you look at what it takes to win these close games and you just have to have a bullpen that's absolutely nails. I mean, you look at the Mets now who they lost a brutal game leading six, three in the eighth inning last night. Um, and they blow it and buck show Walter and, and the team is getting killed up there, um, for their bullpen. So, you know, it really just does serve as a reminder of, of how fortunate the Marlins are to have this bullpen. Um, and how much that that really can propel a team and kind of keep them in these closed games for when the, that, that kind of, you know, sparky, you know, offense, pesky, pesky offense kind of eventually works out for them. But that is all we have today. Um, you know, we're looking forward to it, a really tough six game stretch, uh, on the road, three at Boston, three at Atlanta should be fun as the Marlins continue, uh, this magical run, uh, right now to be 11 games over 500. Um, hopefully after the course of this, of this week, you know, we're looking at a team that's still at least, at least 11 games over 500, maybe more. Um, you know, I think that that series against Atlanta is going to be a really good litmus test for them to see, you know, if they're really, if they're really on that level as of yet, and we will be here to cover it every Monday. We will see you guys next week. Thank you guys for watching. Do not forget to like comment and subscribe helps grow the channel helps grow the show. Uh, you can find me on Twitter at Eric Wiedeke. Um, and you can follow five reasons sports on Twitter at five reasons sports. Um, so make sure to follow like comment, subscribe, do all that good stuff. And we will see you guys next week as the Marlins continue, uh, their run. If any, any roster moves, any, anything that happens over the course of the week, uh, we will be back with an emergency with an emergency show. Um, but in the meantime, we will see you guys next week. Thank you so much for watching and we'll see you then. Bye.