One of the Marlins’ key acquisitions of the 2019 trade deadline is now set to make his Major League debut just after the 2020 trade deadline. The Marlins have called up star shortstop prospect Jazz Chisholm in time for tonight’s game against the Blue Jays, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports (Twitter link). The club has officially announced the promotion as well as some other transactions, including outfielder Jesus Sanchez being optioned to the Marlins’ alternate training site and left-hander Josh D. Smith being outrighted to the training site.
Chisholm came to Miami from the Diamondbacks in a one-for-one deal for right-hander Zac Gallen on July 31, 2019. With Gallen already looking like a very solid starter at the MLB level, there will certainly be some extra expectation placed on Chisholm, though the 22-year-old has shown a lot of promise in his pro career.
Signed out of the Bahamas during the 2015-16 international signing window, Chisholm has gained attention on top-100 prospect lists in recent years, though his pre-2020 rankings covered rather a wide range. The Athletic’s Keith Law (who ranked Chisholm 15th) and Fangraphs (33rd) were the most bullish, with Baseball Prospectus (52nd), MLB.com (66th), and Baseball America (88th) not quite as enthusiastic.
Law was impressed at how Chisholm’s strikeout rate dropped after some adjustments made once he joined the Marlins’ farm system, and noted Chisholm’s “elite tool package at a premium position right now,” with “the hands, footwork, and arm to” remain at shortstop over the long term. To provide slight contrast, BA’s scouting report feels Chisholm is too “overly aggressive” at the plate, and won’t be a solid hitter unless he “improves his approach, uses the entire field and puts the ball in play more often.”
Chisholm hasn’t played above the Double-A level, where he combined for 458 plate appearances for the Diamondbacks and Marlins affiliates in 2019. As noted earlier, Chisholm improved once coming to Miami’s farm system — Chisholm hit .284/.383/.494 with three homers in 94 PA with Double-A Jacksonville, as opposed to .204/.305/.427 over 364 PA for Arizona’s affiliate in Jackson. While a small sample size in a Marlins uniform, it does show promise that Chisholm has unlocked something in a new environment.
He will now add some infield depth to what is suddenly a revamped Marlins infield in the wake of Jonathan Villar’s trade to the Blue Jays. Chisholm has played shortstop almost exclusively in his career, though Miami manager Don Mattingly told McPherson and other reporters that Chisholm has been playing second base at the team’s alternate training site. Chisholm could handle second base until Isan Diaz is fully ready to return to the Fish, and then some combination of Chisholm, Diaz, and utilityman Jon Berti (who is a right-handed hitter, unlike the two youngsters) could conceivably juggle second base duties for the remainder of the season.
Ya like jazz?
You win comment of the day.
Phil? Phil Hughes?
It’s all about the plays he *doesn’t* make.
Ever seen a shortstop make plays with jazz hands?
I’ve seen one make em with spirit fingers.
lotta buzz around Chisholm
Any good?
Taking the red eye from Salt Lake City
Wow I wasn’t expecting him to get promoted this season! I guess he will be our second basemen until Diaz gets back? Or for the rest of the season. Exciting times in Miami!
I wonder if there is going to be an (albeit, cringey) wordplay gimmick when he comes up. Like when he hits a homer, everybody does jazz hands.
the comments are already full of bad puns so i’m guessing so
Snake jazz
walk up music needs to be Snake jazz!
Someone Jazzed all over Miami. Clean that up.
That must have been Chaz.
A name reversal makes it sound like a SiriusFM channel.
I was wondering when we’d see Jazz. This team’s getting fun to pay attention to.
I agree, but I say as an mlbtv subscriber who doesn’t pay for local tv I’m forced to entertain myself with everyone else’s teams and wait for Oakland and SF recaps at the end of the night.
Exciting but I would really like some of these position player prospects to actually perform though. Jesus Sanchez, Brinson, Harrison and Isan Diaz have not exactly lit the world on fire in their MLB time. The only prospect that seems to have been as good as advertised so far, is Lewin Diaz. Hopefully Jazz will be a good and make Miggy Ro a utility man.
Lewin has been great defensively but he’s still hitting below .200. To their defense, all those players you named have had such a small sample size. Even Brinson, he’s only had 1 years worth of at bats over a span of 3 years. It looks like he’s made adjustments, he’s hitting .280 over the past 2 weeks. Giving the kids playing time, consistent playing time, would be a better indicator of who is going to be here long term.
Lewin has only had 31 at-bats. On the Mets telecast, Keith Hernandez kept mentioning how impressed he was with Lewin’s tools and approach. He was also impressed with a heads-up play Lewin made on a line-drive double-play. Lewin caught the low liner. But since the umpire didn’t make the outcall, he stepped on the bag and threw to second. Well-schooled player. How many times have we seen the defensive not finish the play in such a scenario?
I can’t wait to see him struggle lol
like your mets have all season?
The Mets have missed most of their rotation. Yankees have to pay cole 300 mil to be a a borderline 2 lol. Have fun with that.
The Yankees have had far-more injuries than the Mets, and to better players. Yet they will be in the post-season while the Mets are struggling to make an expanded field. And don’t tell the Braves, Marlins, and Nationals about your injury excuses. The Mets won’t miss the post-season because of injuries. They will miss it because they stink. Brutal on defense and anemic hitting with men on base. Those guys tense up when the chips are down.
a Mets fan laughing at how the Marlins will struggle as they aim to reach contention?
Yes you could criticize them for lacking direction and looking desperate in what they gamble on, but….
Everyone know who would finish 1st between the two teams in a 162 game season. I’m just looking forward to next year. One that actually counts you know.. most teams are not healthy. This is competition to see who’s backups are better lol. Unless you’re some teams like the Phillies who are healthy and still can’t finish 1st lol.
After this season, the Marlins will make the playoffs before the Mets will. Miami has made positive strides in their rebuild, while the Mets still haven’t started theirs. Terrible big-league roster and no organizational depth.
Send my congratulations to Amed Rosario for drawing his first walk (against 25 K) yesterday.
Amed Rosario is our worst starting hitter. Who would probably still finish with 770 ops.:. Should I talk about the marlins worst hitter???? Fun fact nobody on the marlins would start for Mets.
The Marlins are better at catcher, shortstop, third base, and centerfield. And Aguilar-Alonso at 1B is pretty much a push. Miami better defensively at every position, have better pitching, and a deeper farm system. Think about this: The Mets start Brandon Nimmo in center field. The Marlins just traded for the way-better Starling Marte, who the Mets wouldn’t trade Nimmo for.
Fun fact: the Marlins (a team that is rebuilding and has hardly made an effort to compete this year) are 2.5 games ahead of the Mets (a team that threw away their farm system to open their window of contention last year).
Why are you trolling a marlins post?
Brilliant roster management by the Marlins this year. Instead of going into hiding like the Cardinals, they worked the phones, found temporary replacements, and stayed competitive until the troops returned. As of today, their roster is quite deep in useful players. It will be a great story if they make the post-season.
MetsFan22 –
You’re obviously a class act
I still can’t believe Miami traded Gallen.
For a SS with 30-30 potential to go along with great defense…I believe it.
I get a kick out of people who evaluate prospect trades immediately. Chisholm has a chance to be all-star excellent.
Gallen is a No 3 starter for a playoff team, at best. A solid No 5 for a World Series contender.
I’m sorry, but I can’t not read his first name with an “i” in my head.
Even trade.