Inbox: Will Marlins send down Brinson?

Beat reporter Joe Frisaro answers questions from Marlins fans

April 13th, 2018

Do you think will get sent down to the Minors? -- @Ant7016
Hitless in his last 25 at-bats entering Friday, Brinson's batting average has dipped to .140. The organization is paying close attention to how he is handling the slump. On Wednesday, manager Don Mattingly made it clear that the club is sticking with its top prospect per MLB Pipeline. Brinson has a strong work ethic, and after Tuesday's game, he was in the batting cage with hitting coach Mike Pagliarulo working on his swing. Part of this season is about development, and that is continuing -- to some degree -- in the big leagues. Brinson has already been a standout at Triple-A, last year hitting .331. So as long as he's working hard and adjusting, and not showing signs of losing confidence, he likely will stay. Clearly, off-speed pitches are giving him trouble. Teams are constantly testing him with breaking balls. According to Statcast™, 46.67 percent of the pitches Brinson has seen have been off-speed, the second-highest percentage among any player on the club.
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Who has impressed you the most up to now from the new young Marlins players? -- _ @rla1999
No surprise here, because rookie third baseman thus far is arguably the team's most productive hitter. Ranked as Miami's No. 9 prospect, Anderson has a slash line of .295/.436/.455 with a home run, four doubles and nine RBIs. He's off to the kind of start that will get him some early mention as a National League Rookie of the Year Award candidate. Something to watch with Anderson is where he plays when returns, which could be in a couple of weeks. Prado has been on the disabled list with a left hamstring strain. There is a chance Prado and Anderson split time at third, or Anderson plays some left field, with going to right. Or Prado could play some first or second base.

When comes back from the disabled list, is he going to be in the rotation or the bullpen? -- @danzyl66
The hope has been to get the 22-year-old right-hander into the rotation, but he keeps having bizarre injury setbacks. Hernandez missed almost all of Spring Training due to a tooth infection, and he opened the season on the 10-day DL. Recently, in a rehab assignment game with Class A Advanced Jupiter, Hernandez split a fingernail on his third finger, so he will miss even more time.
The Baby Cakes have a pitcher, Ben Meyer, who was drafted in 2015 and had a good year at Class A in 2017. He started at Triple-A on Sunday and did pretty well. Have you heard anything on this kid?
-- @drguava

Glad to see someone is paying attention to an under-the-radar-type of player. Yes, I'm aware of Meyer, who definitely is catching people's attention. Listed at 6-foot-5, the 25-year-old right-hander is a presence on the mound, and he opened eyes in Spring Training. If he makes it, he will be a good story. The Marlins selected him in the 29th round out of the University of Minnesota in '15, and he made big strides in '17 -- starting off at Class A Greensboro and striking out 40 in 29 1/3 innings before being promoted to Jupiter, where he fanned 94 in 82 innings. Meyer allowed one run in five innings with five strikeouts in his first start in the Triple-A rotation.
Any chance we'll see and get called up this summer?
-- @DanielShikhman

Harrison and Alcantara are the organization's Nos. 2 and 3 prospects, respectively. Alcantara, already on the 40-man roster, is the closest to being ready. His day may come in May. Right now, he's at Triple-A New Orleans, and he saw limited time in the big leagues last September with the Cardinals. The 22-year-old right-hander gave up four runs on four hits and five walks with four strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings for the Baby Cakes on Thursday at Colorado Springs. The Marlins also are closely monitoring his innings. He threw a combined 125 1/3 in the Minors, 8 1/3 with the Cardinals, 15 in the Arizona Fall League and 1 2/3 in the Dominican Winter League. He could get to around 150 this year. Harrison, who is not on the 40-man roster, is currently playing outfield at Double-A Jacksonville. In the second half, if he shows he is ready, he could be an option for a callup, perhaps in September. Otherwise, I think Harrison's likely time of arrival is 2019.