MIAMI – Marlins No. 10 prospect (per MLB Pipeline) Jakob Marsee felt elation while rounding the bases during his first career round-tripper in Miami's 7-3 loss to the Astros on Tuesday night at loanDepot park. The emotion continued as his teammates greeted him with their customary post-homer celebration.
Then came the uncertainty.
Marsee quickly learned that his leadoff homer in the fifth, which came on Astros righty AJ Blubaugh’s sweeper, caromed off the ribbon scoreboard in right-center field and landed in the visitors’ bullpen. Closer Josh Hader -- the significance of the swing unbeknownst to him -- retrieved the ball and threw it to an Astros fan.
Marlins vice president of public relations & communications Jon Erik Alvarez sprung into action to visit the fan, Cheryl, to negotiate an exchange for the ball.
Cheryl, who was born and raised in Houston, had come to Miami to watch the Astros play like she had done in the past when the club was on the road. After all these years, Tuesday marked the first time she had ended up with a baseball.
“As many games I've been to for the Astros,” Cheryl told MLB.com, “it's like, literally, I sit in the same spot in right field -- first row.”
The Marlins and Cheryl, who would’ve been fine just handing over the ball, accepted a signed bat and ball, a bag of Marlins gear and a meet-and-greet with Marsee.
“It was really cool,” Marsee said. “She didn't want much, and she was really easy to communicate with. So it was really nice of Cheryl to be able to give that up, and it was a good experience.”
With his powerful swing, Marsee became the fifth player to hit his first career homer with the Marlins this season, joining Agustín Ramírez, Heriberto Hernandez, Liam Hicks and Javier Sanoja. Among MLB clubs, the Marlins are tied with the White Sox and A’s for second most, behind the Rockies (six).
It was the highlight of another impressive performance from Marsee, who also produced an RBI single and walked.
Here is where Marsee ranks for OPS through his first five career games in Major League history (same season, minimum 10 plate appearances in the Wild Card era since 1995)
- Brent Clevlen (DET), 2006: 2.200
- Nick Fortes (MIA), 2021: 2.136
- Tyler White (HOU), 2016: 2.067
- Phil Ervin (CIN), 2017: 1.975
- Mike Jacobs (NYM), 2005: 1.913
- Danny Espinosa (WSH), 2010: 1.875
- Jakob Marsee (MIA), 2025: 1.814
The 24-year-old Marsee also became the fifth player in Marlins history to record at least one single, one double, one triple and one homer in his first five career games, joining Griffin Conine (2024), Miguel Cabrera (‘03), Kevin Millar (1999) and Todd Dunwoody (‘97). He tied Osvaldo Martinez (2010) and Jesús Sánchez (‘20) for most walks (four) through his first five career games.
“It's awesome,” said Eric Wagaman, who went deep in the seventh. “I am stoked for him. The guy's been playing unbelievable. I think he was hurt during Spring Training, so I didn't get to see much of him in person, but just knowing what he was doing in Jacksonville. He's a really good player, so it's really cool to be his teammate and see his first one go over the fence. It was a good swing.”
When the Marlins dealt outfielder Sánchez to the Astros ahead of Thursday’s Trade Deadline, it opened up a spot for Marsee on the roster. Miami selected his contract from Triple-A Jacksonville ahead of Friday’s series opener, and he has started in every game since and made the most of the opportunity on both sides of the ball.
In Monday’s series opener, Marsee dove to rob Sánchez of a hit in the fifth. The play had just a 15 percent catch probability, which constitutes a five-star catch (0-15 percent).
On Tuesday, Marsee covered 108 feet with a 28.5 ft/sec sprint speed (95th percentile) to track down Mauricio Dubón’s fly ball to the right-center gap to begin the eighth.
“He's off to a great start in a lot of ways,” manager Clayton McCullough said. “We talked about the at-bat quality in the first few games. Tonight, congrats to him. That's a cool moment. Your first Major League home run, great swing on a breaking ball, and he made a really nice running catch in the outfield.
"So we've seen him make plays on both sides of the ball. He's had really good at-bats. He's a tough kid, so he's off to a great start. It's always nice when you come up and you feel like you're ready, you believe that, but then to come out and get off to a nice start always helps the confidence. He's playing really well.”