JUPITER, Fla. -- Marlins right-hander Sixto Sánchez threw 26 pitches and his fastball velocity sat at 96 mph during batting practice on Thursday morning. MLB Pipeline's No. 15 overall prospect faced JJ Bleday (MLB Pipeline's No. 20 prospect) and Jerar Encarnacion (Miami's No. 17 prospect) on a back field at the Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium complex.

The 22-year-old S¨¢nchez, who was delayed getting to camp from the Dominican Republic because of visa issues, also had a false COVID-19 positive test that set him back a couple of days waiting for results. He returned to camp last Saturday and threw a bullpen session on Sunday.

"I thought it was really good," manager Don Mattingly said during a Zoom call. "He was throwing strikes. ... The reaction of the hitters was his stuff was crisp, his changeup was good. He threw some good cutters, so he looked good. And like I said, we'll see where he's at. Coming in tomorrow, that tells you a lot, and then we'll move forward from there."

S¨¢nchez made seven regular-season starts, then another two in the postseason as a rookie in 2020. He entered Spring Training projected to make the Marlins' Opening Day rotation, and Thursday marked three weeks until Miami opens the regular season against the Rays. Marlins pitchers are going through their third turn of the spring, with Sandy Alcantara pitching 3 1/3 scoreless innings in Thursday's 1-1 tie with the Nationals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.

With two off-days through the regular season's first nine days, the Marlins could open with a four-man rotation. Following that stretch, the club is slated to play on nine consecutive days.

"Definitely the four is possible," Mattingly said. "That's just a decision you make because you know we've talked so much about innings and things like that. Do you want to go early right away or staying on term?"

In a Zoom call with media members on Tuesday, pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. noted that guys like S¨¢nchez would have an inning cap on their workload, but the plan was for them to pitch in the month of September. To achieve this, the plan could include skipping a start or pulling a pitcher earlier in a game.

Latest on Alcantara

Scheduled to go four innings against the Nats, Alcantara struggled with his command (61 pitches, 31 strikes) and went 3 1/3 scoreless and hitless frames instead. But he issued five walks, struck out four batters and induced five groundouts.

"I don't want to walk anybody, but I was missing a lot down in the plate, sometimes my arm side," Alcantara said during a Zoom call. "Those things are going to happen in the game; the only thing you have to do is keep getting better, keep working hard and be ready for your next one."

Prospect watch

? Monte Harrison (Miami's No. 10 prospect) recorded his first hit of the spring -- a solo homer in the fourth off Luis Avil¨¢n. According to Statcast, Harrison recorded a game-high 108.7 mph exit velocity on the drive to left-center, with a projected distance of 409 feet.

• Jos¨¦ Devers (No. 13) finished 1-for-3 with a single.

• Several prospects among Wednesday's camp cuts, including Kameron Misner (No. 14), appeared in Thursday's game. With Wednesday being a night game, Mattingly kept the regulars out of the lineup because of the quick turnaround. Misner picked up his first hit of the spring, a double to center in the eighth.

Up next

Marlins right-hander Pablo L¨®pez will face the Mets on Friday in Port St. Lucie, Fla., for the second straight start. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. ET. The game can be streamed on MLB.TV.