Marlins assess first-rounders; Dolphins’ Grier pleased
The Marlins saw one of their recent first-round picks debut when ballyhooed Max Meyer
pitched on Saturday against Philadelphia. When the next one will appear in the big leagues is anyone’s guess, with JJ Bleday’s play remaining uneven at Triple A and 2021 picks Kahlil Watson and Joe Mack seemingly years away.
Some feedback from Marlins scouting director DJ Svihlik:
On Meyer: “When we selected Max, there was that reliever-starter conversation,” Svihlik said. “I see Max as a playoff starter. Any starter of that caliber with that kind of two-pitch combination can go into the back of a bullpen [as well]. We love his delivery, athleticism. He’s done what we expected him to do, in some regards exceeded it.”
Before Meyer’s debut Saturday, catcher Jacob Stallings said he could tell in spring training that “he’s going to be a good one. His slider stands out and he can throw it for strikes. He’s a bulldog. Good kid, tough guy.”
Bleday, selected
AAfourth overall in 2019, has 19 homers and 48 RBI in 80 games at Triple A Jacksonville (that’s good), and his .361 on-base percentage is adequate. But the .220 average — off last season’s .223 — remains a concern.
“When we took JJ, he had these streaks,” Svihlik said. “He has a really good approach. Sometimes he takes advantage of mistakes and sometimes he doesn’t. When we took JJ, one of the big conversations was is he a hitter with power? Is he a power hitter? What is it? The game is kind of defining that.
“JJ has turned, at least this year, into this high slug, high on-base percentage guy. If we can collect a few more hits, we would have more of a complete hitter. He’s taken his walks and is showing the power we knew he had. He just needs to take that next step.”
The Marlins are in a delicate spot with Watson, who was the 16th pick in the 2021 draft. The shortstop has been removed early from several games and was sent home to North Carolina for two weeks after he pointed his bat angrily at a umpire in a July 1 game, dismayed that a check swing on strike two was called a strike.
“Kahlil Watson is an elite talent,” Svihlik said. “Kahlil Watson is immature on the field sometimes. And he does things that make you scratch
Ayour head sometimes, that young, immature kids do. He’s a good kid. Players like him. Coaches enjoy being around him. It’s player development’s job to take this elite talent and shape it so he can maximize all of his God-given ability.
“It’s like Carl Everett, Daryl Strawberry, Doc Gooden. This is a young man that’s exceedingly talented. We saw him play in the summer; he tore it apart. He’s not going to just slide into home headfirst and play hard. He’s going to do other things that are emotional. I think player development is optimistic that any kind of hiccups that he has are short-lived.”
We’re told Watson’s mother left her job in North Carolina to be with her son in Jupiter last month. The Marlins will send him to Triple A Jacksonville to observe how players closer to the big leagues handle themselves.
Watson, who signed for $4.5 million, is hitting .221 with eight homers and 35 RBI in 59 games at Jupiter.
Mack, picked 31st
(with a compensatory pick) in the 2021 draft, has been sidelined with a hamstring strain and has appeared in four games for Class A Jupiter, going 4 for 13.
“Hopefully, we can get him 250 at-bats so he can salvage the season,” Svihlik said. “We drafted Joe Mack for the bat.”
Among other Marlins’
AAfirst-rounders, Trevor Rogers has regressed, but the Braxton Garrett pick is looking better; his ERA is down to 3.70 after eight starts.
“I’ve been getting my fastball in really good spots this year,” Garrett said, now more than three years past Tommy John surgery. “And my slider is much better than last year.”
If he continues on this track, he could become a steady No. 4 or No. 5 starter or be used as a carrot in a trade package when the Marlins feel emerging Eury Perez is ready for the big leagues, and when Sixto Sanchez and Edward Cabrera get healthy.
Among hitters to keep an eye on for the Marlins with the sixth overall pick in Sunday’s draft: Georgia Tech catcher Kevin Parada, Bradenton IMG Academy outfielder Elijah Green, Cal Poly switchhitting shortstop Brooks Lee and Campbell University shortstop Zach Neto, who attended Miami Sunset High.
The Marlins also have looked closely at righthander Dylan Lesko (a Georgia prep star who underwent Tommy John surgery in April) and Plantation American Heritage left-hander Brandon Barreira, whose stuff they love.
DOLPHINS TALK
General manager Chris Grier can only visualize what Tyreek
AHill will look like streaking down the field, in a Dolphins uniform, in an actual game.
But he already knows this: His practice performance has been scintillating.
“He does something on the field every day that has you shaking his head,” Grier told Sirius XM Radio. “Multiple people in Kansas City told me just wait until you watch him in practice and watch the things he does. That’s what gets you excited.
“His love and passion for how he plays, it’s really impressive watching him work. That has been a catalyst. Jaylen Waddle already has been a very good practice player for us.
“And Cedrick Wilson Jr. [too]. The whole group being around with his energy, work ethic has elevated the expectations. It seeps through to all facets of the team.”
Grier said “even defensive guys said they couldn’t believe the transformation on offense and how they’re doing. … And Mike McDaniel was under the radar [in San Francisco]. It’s so impressive listening to him and his thought process on things.”
Communication between the head coach and the rest of the organization, which owner Stephen Ross said was an issue with former coach Brian Flores, has been fixed.
“We don’t always
AAagree,” Grier said of himself and McDaniel. “But we talk through things and always do what’s best for the Dolphins. The communication throughout the building with everyone has been great. Mike is a really good football mind and he is who he is, and that’s what what I love about him.”
Hill received criticism on ESPN last week after he said this on his podcast last week: “You know in the NFL, they only give you like, two to three years to be a successful quarterback, especially if you’re a first-round draft pick,” Hill said.
“And if you don’t succeed after those years, then it’s kick rocks, man. So, basically, they’ve put Tua [Tagovailoa] into that. It’s basically his last year to show people what he’s got.”
Though Hill has praised Tagovailoa all offseason, ESPN analyst and former NFL safety Ryan Clark — among other ESPN talking heads — said Hill shouldn’t have voiced that view. Clark said he believes Hill was simply trying to draw a bigger audience to his podcast by talking about quarterbacks, and was trying to motivate TV networks to re-air the clip. “Podcaster Tyreek Hill, great job,” Clark said. “Teammate Tyreek Hill, that’s a very dumb move. Be a little bit more aware. But your podcast is now being talked about.”
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