For 1st time in 657 days, Fulton takes hill for Marlins

JUPITER, Fla. -- Marlins left-hander Dax Fulton had grown so used to watching games over the past 657 days that he got caught napping in Wednesday¡¯s long-awaited return to the mound.

When first baseman Jonah Bride bobbled a grounder to open the second inning, Fulton didn¡¯t get over in time to cover the base. But Fulton bounced back, inducing a double play and a flyout in the second inning of a 4-1 Grapefruit League win against the Mets at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.

¡°I¡¯ve been out of the game for a little bit, and I feel like oftentimes people forget,¡± said Fulton, who needed 11 pitches (eight strikes) to retire the side in his first action since May 11, 2023. ¡°I feel like I was doing really well before I got hurt, and I want to show people that I¡¯m still that same person I was before. I¡¯m still confident, I¡¯m still going to get guys out. I¡¯m still going to go out there and do my job. Just excited to be back out there. I really don't have any words other than that.¡±

Three years ago, Fulton ranked as one of the organization¡¯s top prospects after finishing the season at Double-A Pensacola, where he posted a 2.57 ERA, 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings and a 0.762 WHIP in four appearances (three starts).

For his efforts, Fulton received an invitation to his first big league camp in 2023 and appeared to be on the fast track to the Majors. But seven lackluster regular-season outings for the Blue Wahoos made it clear something wasn¡¯t right.

¡°I didn't have a good camp, but I felt like I was getting really close to the big leagues, and I was really excited for the year,¡± Fulton said. ¡°And then whenever that happened, I was kind of devastated. It was a big blow to me, because I was like, ¡®Wow, I've got to wait another year or whatever until I can pitch again.¡¯¡±

Fulton, who was a senior in high school when he first underwent Tommy John surgery, had the procedure again in June 2023. After rehabbing in Jupiter through the end of September, he returned to the complex in January 2024, started playing catch a month later and threw his first live batting practice in October before a normal offseason. Fulton escaped snowy Oklahoma for South Florida in early January.

In between, there was some uncertainty as to whether Fulton would remain with Miami. The Marlins needed to decide whether to protect him and other prospects ahead of the Rule 5 Draft deadline in November. They did so three days after his wedding.

With it came an automatic invitation to MLB camp, which brings us to Wednesday. Not much has changed with Fulton¡¯s arsenal since the last time he pitched. His four-seamer maxed out at 95 mph and he introduced a gyro slider to get batters off his slurve and changeup.

¡°I felt like last time I was kind of walking on eggshells a little bit, trying to not make mistakes, and this time, I know a lot more of the guys,¡± Fulton said. ¡°I'm way more comfortable.¡±

The 6-foot-7, 235-pounder¡¯s resilience is acknowledged by everyone in the organization, including right-hander Max Meyer. Miami selected Fulton, who was the top prep southpaw of the 2020 MLB Draft, in the second round, after Meyer (No. 3 overall). It was fitting that Fulton¡¯s return to game action followed Meyer¡¯s scoreless spring debut.

¡°I'm super proud of Dax for everything he's been going through,¡± Meyer said. ¡°Two Tommy Johns is crazy. I know how hard it is to get back. He double knows how hard it is. His first time he's pitched in a couple years since '23, so yeah, I'm super proud of the work he's put in and what he does. He looks good. He looks really confident. I'm excited to see what he's got.¡±

Now 23, Fulton won¡¯t factor into the Marlins¡¯ Opening Day plans, but he certainly adds to the organization¡¯s starting pitching depth.

¡°I haven't put expectations on Dax just yet because I just want to see him get to pitch and have fun and do the thing that he loves to do,¡± pitching coach Daniel Moskos said. ¡°It's been taken away from him too much, so I don't want to put more internal pressure on him. I just want to get to see him play. That's the thing that's going to make me happy for Dax this year is he truly loves baseball, and he's going to get to do it.¡±