On Wednesday, Marlins beat reporter Christina De Nicola conducted an AMA (ask me anything) on Reddit. You can read the full transcript here. Here are some highlights, edited lightly for clarity and brevity:
Of the Marlins' young players, who do you think is the likeliest to get an extension? There are a lot of bright prospects currently, but no clear standouts to build the next competitive core around.
Good question since we don't have a precedent yet with this newer front office. Eury Pérez seems like an obvious choice with his frontline talent, plus the cost of starting pitching during arbitration and free agency. Agustín Ramírez could be another possibility. He's someone the organization brought in and believes in. His bat is a game changer, especially at the catcher position.
Why has manager Clayton McCullough not figured out who his closer is now? And is it likely that he will continue picking a name out of a hat and we will have a mystery closer each night for the rest of the season?
It's less about figuring out who the closer is and more about playing matchups -- or as the team calls it, "pockets." You'll notice that Anthony Bender, Calvin Faucher and Ronny Henriquez get the tougher parts of the order during the later innings. The way the club sees it, the key moments in a game could come in the sixth or seventh innings, not just the ninth. Need a strikeout? Turn to Henriquez, who very well could be the club's conventional closer in the future if he keeps trending this way.
The Marlins seem to have a preference for high school players regardless of the rankings on the Draft board. Will it really pain the Marlins to draft an actual blue-chip prospect as their No. 1 overall pick in the Draft? They've seemed to make some questionable choices in the past, one being P.J. Morlando as a reach/slot money saving move, as a contradiction to the front office always preaching "best on the board" mentality.
This will be the second Draft under the current amateur scouting department, so let's see what happens. Last year, Miami might've been caught off guard by the targeted collegiate bats being swiped before the organization's first selection. The Marlins used that extra money to sway prep shortstop Carter Johnson, who is struggling at Single-A Jupiter, away from an Alabama commitment. This time around, the Marlins weren't done any favors by the Draft Lottery. Despite being tied with the Rockies for the highest odds for the No. 1 overall pick, they fell to No. 7.
How would you say the clubhouse energy has been in your experience this year?
The players are young, hungry and competitive. They're putting in the work because they want to solidify themselves in the big leagues, but they're also having fun. You'll see a bunch of card games, Pop-A-Shot, ping pong and pool going on.
What is your prediction on the Marlins catching a Wild Card this year?
What I will say is this: The Marlins are making things much more interesting than anyone could have predicted. At the beginning of June, everyone was in disbelief about the Rockies sweeping the Marlins. Now, they're playing their best baseball at the halfway point of the season, which also means there's a long way to go. Miami is still seven games back of a Wild Card spot with four teams ahead in the standings. If the Marlins continue to trend in this direction, however, they'll be making president of baseball operations Peter Bendix's decision-making at the Trade Deadline more difficult.