<img alt="Miami Marlins v Milwaukee Brewers" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vYIoo8XjgWCkOmAVeQY0Y_kU4nk=/0x96:2000x1429/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73494607/2164216409.0.jpg">
Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images
The Braves return home to face a Marlins team that is in full rebuild mode. After ending their road trip on a good note, the Atlanta Braves will return to Truist Park on Thursday to begin a four-game series against the Miami Marlins. The Braves enter the series with a little momentum, as they have won four of their last five games. Atlanta is 58-49 for the season and currently lead the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres by a single game for the top Wild Card spot. They also trail the Philadelphia Phillies by 6.5 games heading into the series, which is the closest they have been to the division lead since they were six back on June 21.
The Braves pulled off one trade at the deadline, acquiring Jorge Soler and Luke Jackson from the San Francisco Giants. Atlanta is hoping that Soler can help spark a lineup that has been riddled with injuries and offensive underperformance. The bats have started to wake up somewhat, especially in the home run department. The Braves homered four times in Wednesday’s win and now have 18 homers over their last six games.
Atlanta also got some good news on the injury front for a change. An MRI exam came back clean on Reynaldo López, who exited his last start after just three innings due to soreness in his forearm. Lopez isn’t on the Injured List and could start as soon as Saturday, although the Braves have not made that official. Max Fried has been on the Injured List since July 21 with what was termed forearm neuritis. He recently completed a bullpen session and reported no issues. He is eligible to return from the injured list on Friday and could start one of this weekend’s games if Atlanta decides he doesn’t need a rehab start. Alex Anthopoulos went on the TV broadcast during Wednesday’s game and indicated that Fried would likely start this weekend, while the team would make a decision on Thursday on whether or not to place Lopez on the IL to give him a breather.
The Braves optioned rookie infielder Nacho Alvarez Jr. back to Gwinnett on Wednesday. Veteran Whit Merrifield made his first start at second base in Wednesday’s game and figures to see regular playing time there until Ozzie Albies is ready to return from a fractured wrist.
The Marlins are going in the opposite direction. Miami comes into the series with a 40-68 record. New General Manager Peter Bendix engineered a fire sale at the Trade Deadline, making six trades that brought in a total of 11 prospects. Over the last week, Miami parted ways with closer Tanner Scott, outfielders Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Bryan De La Cruz, as well as first baseman Josh Bell. They also moved five other pitchers, including Trevor Rogers and A.J. Puk, in separate deals. Naturally, their roster is in a state of flux and will probably be that way through the remainder of the season.
One player that is performing well for the Marlins is shortstop Xavier Edwards. Miami began the season with Tim Anderson as their starter at short but eventually moved on and handed the job to Edwards on a full time basis. He has played well and has produced a .935 OPS through 27 games. Edwards doesn’t have a ton of power, but he’s getting on base at a .459 clip and is the player to watch in what is a depleted lineup.
While the Marlins went 10-14 in July, they’ve actually played reasonably well amid selling off the roster. They haven’t lost a series since the All-Star Break, which has involved taking sets from the Orioles and Brewers. Though they lost nine of eleven to start the month, they are 8-5 since.
Season stats won’t really do whatever roster the Marlins cobble together to send into Atlanta justice, but prior to the selloff, the Marlins had MLB’s second-worst position player unit, the third-worst wRC+, and the second-worst xwOBA. The pitching has been better, but still bottom ten, with MLB’s worst rotation but its second best bullpen... before the fire sale. Their top position player (Chisholm), as well as two of their top five and four of their top ten pitchers are no longer with the club.
Thursday, August 1, 7:20 p.m. ET (Bally Sports Southeast)
Max Meyer (4 GS, 21.0 IP, 21.0 K%, 6.2 BB%, 3.00 ERA, 4.25 FIP)
Young right-hander Max Meyer will get the start for the Marlins in Thursday’s series opener. Meyer made three starts with the Marlins and pitched well enough but was ultimately sent back to the minors. He returned to the Major League rotation last week and allowed three runs in four innings against the Brewers. Meyer faced the Braves back on April 13 in his final start before his demotion and was impressive, striking out seven while allowing just one run over six innings in what was his best career start to date.
Charlie Morton (19 GS, 106.0 IP, 23.2 K%, 9.0 BB%, 4.16 ERA, 4.43 FIP)
Veteran righty Charlie Morton will get the start Thursday for Atlanta and will try to bounce back from a rough outing. The Braves need some consistency from Morton, who has been all over the place for the last couple of months, and really, the season as a whole. He cruised through the first two innings in his last start in New York, but things unraveled in the third as he allowed three homers in a start for the first time in his career. He ended up allowing seven runs (five earned) in just 2 2/3 innings. Morton faced the Marlins back on April 14 and struggled, allowing six runs in 5 2/3 innings.
Friday, August 2, 7:20 p.m. ET (Bally Sports Southeast)
TBD
The Marlins haven’t announced their starter for Friday’s game and it appears that they will need to make a roster move or go with a bullpen game. Shaun Anderson, who was acquired for cash in a minor deal earlier this season and made a couple of spot starts for the team earlier this season, could be recalled from Triple-A to make this start.
Spencer Schwellenbach (10 GS, 57.2 IP, 25.5 K%, 4.3 BB%, 4.06 ERA, 3.38 FIP)
Rookie right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach will make his 10th start of the season and will look to build off the best start of his career. Schwellenbach set a new career high with 11 strikeouts over seven scoreless innings in his last outing against the Mets in New York. He’s allowed a total of five runs over his last three starts combined (20 innings). Friday’s game will be his first career start against the Marlins.
Saturday, August 3, 7:20 p.m. ET (Bally Sports Southeast)
Kyle Tyler (6 G, 5 GS, 24.2 IP, 18.9 K%, 11.3 BB%, 4.74 ERA, 4.17 FIP)
The Marlins will go with righty Kyle Tyler, who will make his sixth start of the season, in Saturday’s matchup. He allowed four runs in four innings in his last start against the Brewers and has only made it out of the fifth inning once in his last four starts. Tyler has a career 89/106/119 line in 41 career innings spanning parts of three seasons, but has been surprisingly decent so far this year at 115/105/106 (ERA-/FIP-/xFIP-).
TBD
I mentioned it above, but the Braves haven’t announced their pitching plans for the weekend. There is a chance that these starts go to Max Fried and Reynaldo López in some order. If another starter is needed, then it would likely go to Grant Holmes.
Sunday, August 4, 1:35 p.m. ET (Bally Sports Southeast)
Edward Cabrera (10 GS, 43.1 IP, 28.6 K%, 13.3 BB%, 6.65 ERA, 5.58 FIP)
Right-hander Edward Cabrera will get the call for Miami on Sunday. Cabrera exited his last start due to some knee discomfort after allowing two runs over five innings against the Rays. Tests came back negative, though, and he is penciled in to start Sunday.
Cabrera’s season has been really weird, as he has a horrendous ERA and FIP, but a 95 xFIP-. His 27 percent HR/FB rate is the culprit. He’s allowed a homer in seven of his ten starts this year, but has only had two starts with a poor K/BB ratio. The HR/FB issues were also with him in 2021-2022, and while it seemed like he got a handle on them in 2023, they’ve come back with a vengeance once more.
Cabrera has a 4.85 ERA in three career starts against Atlanta. His most recent outing against them came last season where he allowed four runs, including a pair of homers, in 4 1/3 innings.
TBD
See above. Max Fried, Reynaldo Lopez, and Grant Holmes could all be options here.
<img alt="Miami Marlins v Milwaukee Brewers" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vYIoo8XjgWCkOmAVeQY0Y_kU4nk=/0x96:2000x1429/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73494607/2164216409.0.jpg">
Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images
The Braves return home to face a Marlins team that is in full rebuild mode. After ending their road trip on a good note, the Atlanta Braves will return to Truist Park on Thursday to begin a four-game series against the Miami Marlins. The Braves enter the series with a little momentum, as they have won four of their last five games. Atlanta is 58-49 for the season and currently lead the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres by a single game for the top Wild Card spot. They also trail the Philadelphia Phillies by 6.5 games heading into the series, which is the closest they have been to the division lead since they were six back on June 21.
The Braves pulled off one trade at the deadline, acquiring Jorge Soler and Luke Jackson from the San Francisco Giants. Atlanta is hoping that Soler can help spark a lineup that has been riddled with injuries and offensive underperformance. The bats have started to wake up somewhat, especially in the home run department. The Braves homered four times in Wednesday’s win and now have 18 homers over their last six games.
Atlanta also got some good news on the injury front for a change. An MRI exam came back clean on Reynaldo López, who exited his last start after just three innings due to soreness in his forearm. Lopez isn’t on the Injured List and could start as soon as Saturday, although the Braves have not made that official. Max Fried has been on the Injured List since July 21 with what was termed forearm neuritis. He recently completed a bullpen session and reported no issues. He is eligible to return from the injured list on Friday and could start one of this weekend’s games if Atlanta decides he doesn’t need a rehab start. Alex Anthopoulos went on the TV broadcast during Wednesday’s game and indicated that Fried would likely start this weekend, while the team would make a decision on Thursday on whether or not to place Lopez on the IL to give him a breather.
The Braves optioned rookie infielder Nacho Alvarez Jr. back to Gwinnett on Wednesday. Veteran Whit Merrifield made his first start at second base in Wednesday’s game and figures to see regular playing time there until Ozzie Albies is ready to return from a fractured wrist.
The Marlins are going in the opposite direction. Miami comes into the series with a 40-68 record. New General Manager Peter Bendix engineered a fire sale at the Trade Deadline, making six trades that brought in a total of 11 prospects. Over the last week, Miami parted ways with closer Tanner Scott, outfielders Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Bryan De La Cruz, as well as first baseman Josh Bell. They also moved five other pitchers, including Trevor Rogers and A.J. Puk, in separate deals. Naturally, their roster is in a state of flux and will probably be that way through the remainder of the season.
One player that is performing well for the Marlins is shortstop Xavier Edwards. Miami began the season with Tim Anderson as their starter at short but eventually moved on and handed the job to Edwards on a full time basis. He has played well and has produced a .935 OPS through 27 games. Edwards doesn’t have a ton of power, but he’s getting on base at a .459 clip and is the player to watch in what is a depleted lineup.
While the Marlins went 10-14 in July, they’ve actually played reasonably well amid selling off the roster. They haven’t lost a series since the All-Star Break, which has involved taking sets from the Orioles and Brewers. Though they lost nine of eleven to start the month, they are 8-5 since.
Season stats won’t really do whatever roster the Marlins cobble together to send into Atlanta justice, but prior to the selloff, the Marlins had MLB’s second-worst position player unit, the third-worst wRC+, and the second-worst xwOBA. The pitching has been better, but still bottom ten, with MLB’s worst rotation but its second best bullpen... before the fire sale. Their top position player (Chisholm), as well as two of their top five and four of their top ten pitchers are no longer with the club.
Thursday, August 1, 7:20 p.m. ET (Bally Sports Southeast)
Max Meyer (4 GS, 21.0 IP, 21.0 K%, 6.2 BB%, 3.00 ERA, 4.25 FIP)
Young right-hander Max Meyer will get the start for the Marlins in Thursday’s series opener. Meyer made three starts with the Marlins and pitched well enough but was ultimately sent back to the minors. He returned to the Major League rotation last week and allowed three runs in four innings against the Brewers. Meyer faced the Braves back on April 13 in his final start before his demotion and was impressive, striking out seven while allowing just one run over six innings in what was his best career start to date.
Charlie Morton (19 GS, 106.0 IP, 23.2 K%, 9.0 BB%, 4.16 ERA, 4.43 FIP)
Veteran righty Charlie Morton will get the start Thursday for Atlanta and will try to bounce back from a rough outing. The Braves need some consistency from Morton, who has been all over the place for the last couple of months, and really, the season as a whole. He cruised through the first two innings in his last start in New York, but things unraveled in the third as he allowed three homers in a start for the first time in his career. He ended up allowing seven runs (five earned) in just 2 2/3 innings. Morton faced the Marlins back on April 14 and struggled, allowing six runs in 5 2/3 innings.
Friday, August 2, 7:20 p.m. ET (Bally Sports Southeast)
TBD
The Marlins haven’t announced their starter for Friday’s game and it appears that they will need to make a roster move or go with a bullpen game. Shaun Anderson, who was acquired for cash in a minor deal earlier this season and made a couple of spot starts for the team earlier this season, could be recalled from Triple-A to make this start.
Spencer Schwellenbach (10 GS, 57.2 IP, 25.5 K%, 4.3 BB%, 4.06 ERA, 3.38 FIP)
Rookie right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach will make his 10th start of the season and will look to build off the best start of his career. Schwellenbach set a new career high with 11 strikeouts over seven scoreless innings in his last outing against the Mets in New York. He’s allowed a total of five runs over his last three starts combined (20 innings). Friday’s game will be his first career start against the Marlins.
Saturday, August 3, 7:20 p.m. ET (Bally Sports Southeast)
Kyle Tyler (6 G, 5 GS, 24.2 IP, 18.9 K%, 11.3 BB%, 4.74 ERA, 4.17 FIP)
The Marlins will go with righty Kyle Tyler, who will make his sixth start of the season, in Saturday’s matchup. He allowed four runs in four innings in his last start against the Brewers and has only made it out of the fifth inning once in his last four starts. Tyler has a career 89/106/119 line in 41 career innings spanning parts of three seasons, but has been surprisingly decent so far this year at 115/105/106 (ERA-/FIP-/xFIP-).
TBD
I mentioned it above, but the Braves haven’t announced their pitching plans for the weekend. There is a chance that these starts go to Max Fried and Reynaldo López in some order. If another starter is needed, then it would likely go to Grant Holmes.
Sunday, August 4, 1:35 p.m. ET (Bally Sports Southeast)
Edward Cabrera (10 GS, 43.1 IP, 28.6 K%, 13.3 BB%, 6.65 ERA, 5.58 FIP)
Right-hander Edward Cabrera will get the call for Miami on Sunday. Cabrera exited his last start due to some knee discomfort after allowing two runs over five innings against the Rays. Tests came back negative, though, and he is penciled in to start Sunday.
Cabrera’s season has been really weird, as he has a horrendous ERA and FIP, but a 95 xFIP-. His 27 percent HR/FB rate is the culprit. He’s allowed a homer in seven of his ten starts this year, but has only had two starts with a poor K/BB ratio. The HR/FB issues were also with him in 2021-2022, and while it seemed like he got a handle on them in 2023, they’ve come back with a vengeance once more.
Cabrera has a 4.85 ERA in three career starts against Atlanta. His most recent outing against them came last season where he allowed four runs, including a pair of homers, in 4 1/3 innings.
TBD
See above. Max Fried, Reynaldo Lopez, and Grant Holmes could all be options here.
Link to original article
