The Marlins introduced right now that catcher/first baseman Liam Hicks has made the Opening Day roster, within the type of a video of supervisor Clayton McCullough telling the Rule 5 decide that he made the workforce.
Hicks, 26 in June, was drafted by the Rangers in 2021. Nonetheless, he was flipped to the Tigers in July as a part of the deal that despatched catcher Carson Kelly to Texas. However the Tigers left Hicks unprotected within the Rule 5 draft, which allowed the Marlins to nab him.
His minor league observe report has pluses and minuses. His protection isn’t thought-about particularly robust, which is why he’s performed a little bit of first base along with his work behind the plate. Offensively, he has robust plate self-discipline however minimal energy. He has stepped to the plate 1,097 instances over varied minor league ranges with simply 13 house runs. However his 15.1% stroll charge and 13.4% strikeout charge are each glorious numbers. The general result’s a humpbacked slash line of .274/.405/.374, which interprets to a 124 wRC+.
He got here into camp with a reasonably vast open path to a giant league job. The Marlins solely have two different catchers on their 40-man roster. Nick Fortes has hit simply .222/.275/.344 in his profession however ought to get a giant league job based mostly on his stable glovework. The opposite backstop on the roster is Agustín Ramírez. He’s a high 100 prospect with a powerful bat however questionable protection, so the Fish presumably need him getting common reps in Triple-A. He was optioned earlier this week.
Hicks has stepped to the plate 33 instances in Grapefruit League motion, together with his numbers resembling his earlier minor league work. He has six walks in comparison with simply 5 strikeouts. His solely extra-base hit is a double, resulting in a .208/.424/.250 line.
That’s sufficient for him to get an Opening Day roster spot. The Marlins will roll with a Fortes/Hicks duo behind the plate. The membership isn’t anticipating to compete this yr, so Hicks ought to get a good quantity of rope to show himself. If he struggles, as a Rule 5 decide, he can’t be optioned to the minors this yr. If the Marlins need him off the lively roster, they must put him on waivers earlier than providing him again to the Tigers. Any claiming membership can be certain by the identical Rule 5 parameters because the Marlins at present are.
Photograph courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Photographs
