Marlins prospect Eder makes long-awaited return

Jake Eder, the Marlins' No. 5 prospect, made his long-awaited return to the mound in a rehab appearance on Sunday afternoon after a 22-month hiatus.

The 24-year-old southpaw, who underwent Tommy John surgery in August 2021, was full-go for Minor League Spring Training until he sustained a stress fracture in his left foot that set him back.

Across two innings with Single-A Jupiter, Eder allowed three runs (one earned) on one hit and three walks with two strikeouts. He threw 40 pitches (21 strikes) against host Lakeland. In the first inning, Eder allowed a leadoff single and a stolen base before a balk and an RBI groundout. In the second, he was hurt by two walks, a fielding error, a throwing error and a hit-by-pitch.

Eder maxed out at 95.8 mph while mixing in all four of his pitches: four-seamer (65%), slider (23%), changeup (8%) and sinker (5%).

According to director of Minor League operations Hector Crespo, Eder is likely to make three rehab starts for the Hammerheads before being reevaluated and sent to Double-A Pensacola at the end of June. Eder was scheduled for four innings or approximately 50 pitches on Sunday before progressing to five innings and 75 pitches for each of his next two starts.

"The shape of the pitches, the velo on the fastball, the command of the slider to both sides of the plate -- it's looking a lot like the same Jake Eder we had initially before the surgery," Crespo said before Eder's start.

Though Sunday's result wasn't ideal, it's a step forward for Eder, who was on the fast track ever since being selected in the fourth round of the 2020 MLB Draft. He began his professional career at Pensacola, where he was among the Southern League leaders in ERA (1.77), WHIP (0.98) and K/9 rate (12.5) in 15 starts prior to tearing his UCL.

Eder's domination led to an invitation to the 2021 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game and inclusion on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 prospect list.

But Eder's last start came on Aug. 13, 2021, and it has been a long -- and sometimes frustrating -- road to recovery. Had it not been for these setbacks, he likely would have reached the Majors before fellow prospects Max Meyer (July 16, 2022) and Eury Pérez (May 12, 2023). Since Eder couldn't throw, he used the time away from the mound to develop his physical appearance.

"The most interesting thing for him that I saw in his outings here in Jupiter [was] just to be able to flip in a slider for a strike, and then, kind of work inside and outside of the plate for his fastball, then double up on changeups when he throws them," said Crespo, who saw Eder pitch in an extended spring game on Tuesday. "It's been cool to see the maturity on that end, and I think it's just kind of going to pay dividends once he gets back to wherever he goes. I think we're going to see a bigger and better Jake Eder, hopefully."

Here's how Marlins prospects are doing at the Minor League affiliates:

Triple-A Jacksonville: Jacob Amaya (Miami's No.9 prospect)

After the calendar turned to May, Miami's projected shortstop of the future found his groove at the plate. Amaya entered Sunday with a .356/.436/.644 slash line and 18 runs, five doubles, one triple, six homers, 18 RBIs, 12 walks and 15 strikeouts over his past 24 games.

Double-A Pensacola: Patrick Monteverde (No. 29)

The 25-year-old southpaw lowered his ERA to a Southern League-best 2.16 in Saturday's 11-2 victory over Biloxi, allowing just one unearned run over five innings for his league-leading sixth win. Monteverde has given up one run or fewer in all but two of his nine starts.

High-A Beloit: Kahlil Watson (No. 13)

Watson entered Sunday hitless in his last 29 at-bats spanning nine games. During that stretch, he had four walks, two hit-by-pitches, one stolen base, 15 strikeouts and he had grounded into two double plays. Prior to the slump, the 20-year-old middle infielder had a slash line of .272/.419/.420 in 26 games.

Single-A Jupiter: Javier Sanoja (No. 30)

Sanoja entered Sunday with a five-game hitting streak. Named the Marlins' Florida Complex League MVP in 2022, he has gone 8-for-20 (.400) with four runs, one double, two walks, one strikeout and nine RBIs during that span. The 20-year-old Sanoja is facing competition more than one year older than him. He has split time in center field, second base, third base and shortstop.