One Marlins youngster thrust into the big leagues is showing signs of growth in the second half:?No. 24 prospect George Soriano.
In?Friday's 6-1 loss to the Rockies?at loanDepot park, Soriano took over for starter Braxton Garrett and pitched four scoreless and hitless innings, striking out a career-high eight batters and walking one. The eight Ks in a relief appearance matched the franchise record set by Kevin Slowey on June 8, 2018, in a seven-inning outing.
The 24-year-old Soriano has allowed two unearned runs in seven innings with 11 strikeouts and two walks in two games since the All-Star break. Because of Soriano's efficiency on Friday, the Marlins didn't have to burn their bullpen in the series opener.
According to MLB Pipeline's scouting report, Soriano emerged as one of the Marlins' better lower-level starting pitching prospects in 2021, but they declined to place him on the 40-man roster that winter. As a full-time reliever in '22, he found another gear with his stuff and the organization protected him last November. At Triple-A Jacksonville in '23, he posted a 5.33 ERA with a 5.0 BB/9 rate in 17 games (five starts). Through nine MLB outings, he has a 1.99 ERA with a 3.5 BB/9 rate.
In shorter stints, Soriano's fastball jumped to 96-98 mph and reached 100 mph without losing any of its riding action. It maxed out at 95.8 mph in Friday's multi-inning outing. He tallied four strikeouts on his mid-80s slider, two on the four-seamer and two on the changeup.
In what role might the Marlins use Soriano if he continues to put up zeros? Could he start if someone needs a break or isn't producing? Might he be thrown into a leverage situation with Andrew Nardi and Matt Barnes sidelined?
"He's building up like he could start, and the way he's acting, his changeup was really good, the fastball was playing, he made some really good hitters not look real great on that slider," manager Skip Schumaker said. "You can feel the confidence building also. I'm not thinking that this guy's not going to be able to start one day, and it might even be this year. I'm not sure, but the way he's been built up with his pitch count and four ups now, back to back, three or four off-days in between, it's definitely something we have to take a look at."
Here's a look at one prospect from each Minor League affiliate (stats entering Sunday):
Triple-A Jacksonville: UTL Xavier Edwards (No. 11)
Edwards, who went 2-for-4 on Saturday, is batting .408 in July with nine multihit games, including a stretch of seven in a row earlier this month. The 23-year-old has four doubles, one homer, 11 RBIs and 14 steals, with more walks (seven) than strikeouts (two).
Double-A Pensacola: LHP Jake Eder (No. 4)
The 24-year-old continues to shake off rust after 21 months away from game action. On Saturday night, Eder gave up two runs on three walks and five hits over five innings. He struck out eight -- his most since June 25, 2021.
High-A Beloit: OF Tanner Allen (NR)
The 25-year-old is hitting .359 with five doubles, four homers and 11 RBIs in 15 games in July. He has nearly as many walks (eight) as strikeouts (11).
Single-A Jupiter: INF Ian Lewis (No. 14)
The 20-year-old is batting just .193 in 16 games this month, but he went 3-for-6 with three runs and a career-high five RBIs on Friday.