Marlins Hit List

[LocoMarlinFan]

My thoughts on today's Greensboro game.

- Chad James didn't pitch and every pitcher we had out there got absolutely rocked by the Hickory Crawdads (TX Rangers affiliate).

- Skipworth struck out on his first at-bat on an off speed pitch that was a bit high and outside. Looked completely fooled by it.

- In his 2nd AB, Skipworth had a very nice HR. It was hit to right-center around the 350 ft. mark. The ball hit a higher part of the scoreboard, so I'd estimate it to be about a 360-375 ft. shot. If I recall, it was a first pitch swing and it was an absolute no-doubter.


- Third at-bat, he singled right up the middle. That at-bat, he had some questionable plate discipline. He worked the count to 3-0 and then swung at ball 4 on the next pitch. Fouled off a sharp line drive on the next pitch to bring the count to 3-2. Then, he hit that nice single.

- As for Skipworth's defense, he was pretty solid blocking pitches in the dirt. He got a lot of work today because the pitching staff was throwing garbage and there were a lot of wild pitches.

- He had some good instincts with throwing to try to pick off runners. He made two throws (once when a runner on 1st and another to a runner on 3rd). Both plays were very close and hurt by the poor tags the 1B and 3B put on the throw. Skip's delivery is a little too long; a quicker delivery would've likely nailed both runners, bad tag and all. He definitely needs to shorten his throw, but that'll likely develop some once his body begins to fill up more. He's quite lanky.

I'll post again if there's anything I remember or if anyone has any questions about a particular prospect who was playing that game.

Oh, funny note. There is an in-between-innings game called "Are you Smarter than a Grasshopper" where one of the players competes against a fan in a single elementary school trivia question. The question was: "What bodily system are the lungs part of?" Grasshopper resident-genius, Chad James answered, "The Body System."

Can you give us a mini scouting report on Ramon Benjamin? Like FB velocity, his repertoire, etc.

[wanks1212]

Well, James isn't really wrong. I guess the body is a system. But that's probably not the answer they were looking for.

Did the kid involved at least get it right? And how old was the kid?

[Ramp]

Chad James is coming off the DL on Saturday I believe

[CrimsonCane]

Can you give us a mini scouting report on Ramon Benjamin? Like FB velocity, his repertoire, etc.

I didn't get to see much of him. The game was 11-3 before Benjamin came in. I left after they took out Skipworth. The rest of our batters did not look good. We weren't playing very good defense, and the pitching before Benjamin was absolutely awful. I saw him for an inning and that inning, the guy in front of me was taunting the opposing batters in full force before he left. I was getting annoyed and didn't pay much attention by then.

[lou]

Not sure if this posted elsewhere, but Tank's headshot on the Zephyrs site is pretty awesome.

[DropkickAlex]

According to Baseball-reference, Skipworth was 21 for 41 in catching base runners.

[Mainge]

As in caught stealing? That's pretty good.

[Ralph]

Skip is hitting .290/.340/.543!!

Now cut down on the K's and walk some more. Thanks

[Miamarlin21]

Skip is hitting .290/.340/.543!!

Now cut down on the K's and walk some more. Thanks

I'm very happy he's starting to get it, I was worried. We're still not out of the woods yet but still, it's a good sign.

[kylekash]

Wow way to go skip! Hopefully he can keep it up. I like the fact that he is also starting to show some nice pop in his bat. At this rate he should be able to make it A+ at some point this season.

[kosmo kards]

I had high hopes for Skipworth, hopefully he can figure it out. Paulino and Baker aren't terrible though either.

[lou]

• Remember the name Osvaldo Martinez. He has become a strong Marlins shortstop prospect eight months after being shot. Batting in front of Mike Stanton, Martinez, 22, leads the Double A Southern League in on-base percentage (.458) and is second in hitting (.370). In September, his head was grazed and he was shot in the ribs and back as an innocent bystander in a drive-by shooting in Puerto Rico. ``Very good player having a breakout year,'' Marlins executive Jim Fleming said. Although Florida is set long-term at shortstop, he also can play second and third. Florida likes his defensive skills, too.

Blurb in the Herald. Pretty cool.

[Mainge]

Depth is nice.

[MiamiHomer]

Yeah, he's been extremely impressive. Awesome BB:K ratio, I wonder how much of the fact that Stanton hits behind him plays into how pitchers attack him?