Fresh Fish News, 6/16/19: Injury updates, draft pick negotiations, attendance, importance of player versatility

[January]

The Miami Marlins have come down hard from the terrific stretch of games they had over the last couple of weeks. The pitching staff is bitten by the injury bug and the offense has frequently gone silent. Here are the best stories, highlights and analysis for the week regarding your Marlins. Marlins Game RecapsThe Marlins lost the series finale to the Atlanta Braves in extra innings, went on to lose the first two games in a series against the St. Louis Cardinals and won the last game, and split the first two games with the Pittsburgh Pirates. For the week, they went 2-4 and overall for the season, they are 25-43.June 9—Braves 7, Marlins 6; Pablo  López got the ball against the Braves and did not disappoint going 6 innings allowing 1 run on 4 hits and 1 walk with 7 strikeouts. Austin  Dean got the offense started by hitting a lead-off Solo HR. Dean ended up with 3 RBIs. Starlin  Castro, Martín  Prado and Bryan  Holaday each recorded 2 hits and an RBI. Sergio  Romo gave up 4 runs with the Marlins leading 5-1 which ultimately cost the Marlins the game in the later innings. June 10—Cardinals 4, Marlins 1; Sandy Alcantara went to the mound against the Cardinals and had control issues early on as he only went 5 innings allowing 4 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits and 4 walks but with 6 strikeouts. The Marlins outhit the Cardinals 7-4, but could only score 1 run on a Jorge Alfaro RBI ground-out. June 11—Cardinals 7, Marlins 1; Elieser  Hernandez got his first start this year for the Marlins going 5 plus innings allowing 3 runs on 5 hits and a walk with 7 strikeouts. The Marlins again couldn score many runs, only getting 1 run on a Miguel  Rojas RBI single. June 12—Marlins 9, Cardinals 0; Jordan  Yamamoto had a stellar big league debut for the Marlins. Recalled from Double-A Jacksonville on very short notice, the right-hander went 7 innings, only giving up 3 hits and 2 walks with no runs scored and 5 strikeouts. Your browser does not support HTML5 video.The offense showed up for the Marlins getting 9 runs on 12 hits on a Garrett  Cooper grand slam and a three-run HR by Curtis  Granderson late in the game. June 14—Pirates 11, Marlins 0; Trevor Richards got the start against the Pirates and was not able to keep the Pirates offense down. He allowed 11 hits (career worst) and 5 runs in 5 innings with only 1 strikeout (career low). The Marlins managed 9 hits, but were not able to score a run against the pitching. June 15—Pablo hoped to continue his string of good starts against the Pirates and went 7 innings allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and 1 walk with 4 strikeouts Derek Dietrich T-Shirt. Pablo López realized he was facing a Pirates team that had an aggressive, put-the-ball-in-play approach. So he tried to take advantage of that. "The pitch count will take care of itself." : TheRealACoN pic.twitter.com/S9SUiNL944— Fish Stripes  June 16, 2019The Marlins managed to score 4 runs on 10 hits with Harold  Ramírez and Cooper getting 3 hits each and Ramirez getting an RBI https://www.marlinsteeshop.com/Jeff_Locke_T_shirt. Roster Updates/InjuriesUpdated Marlins rosterBlue is LHP/LHB, Red is switch-hitter, below the line is injured list   pic.twitter.com/mVIOLOSnXM— Fish Stripes  June 14, 2019The Marlins have been busy lately, modifying their roster after a couple of injuries. INF Martín Prado was placed on the 10-day IL with a hamstring strain and RHP José Ureña is sidelined for at least two months with a herniated disc, removing any hope of him being traded prior to the July 31 deadline.Thankfully, reinforcements are coming Jose Urena T-Shirt. Peter O’Brien, Neil  Walker and Chad  Wallach each took batting practice on Saturday and ace Caleb  Smith has been cleared to begin a throwing program. Rule 5 Draft pick Riley  Ferrell is all the way up to Triple-A New Orleans on his rehab assignment Hunter Cervenka T-Shirt.On the minor league side, outfielder Monte  Harrison was activated from the injured list, although shortstop José  Devers is reportedly out of action until August.Marlins Relying on Player Versatility      With their depth being tested, the Marlins are lucky to have players who can play more than one position and fill out the lineup in various combinations. Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald has more insight into the mixing and matching of defensive alignments on the field. Draft Pick SigningsThe most notable Marlins draft signing so far has been second-round pick Nasim Nuñez. The 18-year-old shortstop got to tour the park, participate in BP and take grounders in the infield the day he signed Javy Guerra T-Shirt. It official, Nasim Nuñez is a Miami Marlin. #JuntosMiami pic.twitter.com/Av2eWJlg4q— Miami Marlins  June 10, 2019Overall, the Marlins have signed 20 of their draft picks with another wave to come after the College World Series. Up to date #Marlins #MLBDraft signings pic.twitter.com/YseWQJ8ldR— Joe Frisaro  June 13, 2019Attendance Down even after Enhancements to Park Drawing fans to #Marlins Park has always been an issue, but this season it's been even worse.Despite spending $15 million on ballpark enhancements, attendance is down 7.5% from last year.