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Jazz Chisholm

Jazz Chisholm To Open Season As Marlins’ Second Baseman

By TC Zencka | March 28, 2021 at 2:42pm CDT

Marlins prospect Jazz Chisholm has won the opening day second base job. General Manager Kim Ng made the announcement on the radio, noting that Isan Diaz, Chisholm’s main competition for the role, will begin the year in Triple-A, per Jordan McPherson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald (Twitter links).

Chisholm, of course, was acquired via trade from the Diamondbacks for Zac Gallen at the 2019 trade deadline. Gallen’s spring injury aside, he has generally flourished in Arizona. Chisholm and the Marlins have work to do to make this deal look like a strong one for Miami. After finishing 2019 at Double-A with a .220/.321/.441 line, Chisholm made his Major League debut in 2020 under sub-optimal circumstances. In 62 plate appearances over 21 games, Chisholm hit just .161/.242/.321. He has game-changing speed, but the bat will need to follow to make good on his top prospect status. He is the Marlins’ 4th-ranked prospect, per Baseball America.

Diaz, meanwhile, was a slight favorite to start the year at second, but he struggled this spring going just 4-for-22 with seven walks to thirteen strikeouts. He has 223 plate appearances in the Majors between 2019 and 2020, owning a triple slash of .174/.251/.294. He has struck out in close to 30 percent of his plate appearances while walking at an average 8.5 percent clip. Still just 24-years-old, Diaz will head to Triple-A to await his next opportunity.

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Marlins Promote Jazz Chisholm

By Mark Polishuk | September 1, 2020 at 1:57pm CDT

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.

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The Marlins Are Gambling On Tooled-Up Hitting Prospects

By George Miller | April 25, 2020 at 4:32pm CDT

The Marlins found themselves on the butt end of many jokes when they went from having perhaps MLB’s best starting outfield to a 100-loss team in just one winter. After a 2017 season in which they flirted with contention before fading in the second half, their rebuild got off to a slow start with the trades of its premier outfield trio of Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, and Marcell Ozuna. The organization received its fair share of flak after those three yielded relatively light returns that have provided little payoff to this day while Yelich goes supernova in Milwaukee. The franchise was transitioning to a new ownership group fronted by Derek Jeter, and his orchestration of yet another fire sale—which have become entirely too commonplace in the Marlins’ abbreviated history—did little to ingratiate him to the Miami faithful.

However, over the past year or so, the team’s acquisitions have given rise to a burgeoning minor-league system that is now, by most accounts, one of the ten best farm systems in baseball, a big step up from where they were even after trading away Stanton, Ozuna, and Yelich. The Marlins’ trades in July of last year were illustrative of an organizational preference for physically-gifted, toolsy hitters with a wide range of possible outcomes, both good and bad. Separate deals involving Nick Anderson, Sergio Romo, and Zac Gallen all reflected this thinking, and that’s made it easy to dream on best-case scenario outcomes for the youthful Miami franchise.

Sending Anderson (and Trevor Richards) to the Rays and Gallen to the D-Backs yielded Jazz Chisholm and Jesus Sanchez, respectively, both of whom are consensus top-100 prospects with highly-touted tools. Dealing Romo to the Twins produced Lewin Diaz, a lower-profile prospect but one whose offensive potential is likewise power-dominant.

That said, greater upside is often tempered by uncertainty, and with their revamped farm system, the Marlins are swinging for the fences. Perhaps the front office’s proclivity for energizing talents is just a coincidence, or maybe it’s an organizational recognition that the path to contention is by catching lightning in a bottle—thanks to their notoriously limited monetary resources. Either way, it’s a trend that warrants some discussion.

About those aforementioned prospects: Sanchez, formerly of the Rays, has been lauded for his bat speed and power potential, but those strengths have thus far been mitigated by below-average plate discipline and a groundball-heavy swing path. The thinking is that if he can hone his angle of attack as well as his approach at the dish, his power will start to manifest in games more often. Acquiring Sanchez for Nick Anderson, who hardly fits with the Marlins’ timeline, feels like the kind of move the club should be looking to make, and they’re betting that their player development staff can get the most out of Sanchez’s tantalizing tools.

Similar things can be said for shorstop Jazz Chisholm, though his acquisition was met with more skepticism after the Marlins gave up rookie right-hander Zac Gallen to the Diamondbacks. Gallen, though still far from established, had already pitched in the Majors and, through seven starts, looked like the kind of starter you can build around. Nobody expects Gallen to become a bona fide ace, but you don’t need five aces to win a World Series, and the Marlins could expect to keep him around for at least the next six years. That sounds like a player you want to keep around in a rebuild, but the Marlins saw and seized an opportunity to exchange Gallen, a boring player (in a good way), for one with a little more zest.

Chisholm, a 22-year-old Bahamian shortstop, catches the eye in a way that a command-oriented starter just can’t. Gallen’s high-floor, low-variance profile is contrasted by that of Chisholm, who has a chance to realize an explosive offensive ceiling while playing in the middle of the field. Hey, that sounds an awful lot like Javier Baez! Of course, the caveat is that there’s still too many strikeouts for some scouts’ liking, and there are questions about whether those issues will ever go away. And yeah, that still sounds like Javier Baez circa 2014, but for every Baez, there’s a handful of similarly-built prospects who fizzle out when they swing and miss too much.

J.J. Bleday, the Marlins’ first-round draft choice last June, looks like a good get; he was one of the most polished hitters in last year’s draft class, but supplements that with strong athletic traits. His floor probably isn’t as low as that of Chisholm or Sanchez, and he represents a key draft pick for Miami after missing on top picks in years prior. He should slot into an outfield corner for Miami in the near future—maybe even as soon as the second half of this year, assuming a season is played.

Kameron Misner, Jerar Encarnacion, Osiris Johnson, and Peyton Burdick are lesser prospects that nonetheless deserve a mention. Misner, Burdick, and Encarnacion are all big-bodied outfielders who can hit the snot out of the ball (Misner and Burdick, both 2019 draftees, can run a little bit too) but will need to prove their ability to hit for average and get on base if they’re going to stick in the Majors. Johnson is a versatile infielder who was drafted out of high school in 2018; he’s mired in a lot of uncertainty partly because of injuries, but partly because he doesn’t have a position and he’s still raw as a hitter.

On the pitching side, there’s less evidence for the tools-based approach we’ve described here. The likes of Jordan Yamamoto and Nick Neidert represent a more command- and pitchability-based profile, while on the other hand frontline pitching prospect Sixto Sanchez has run into some speculation about whether he’s ticketed for a bullpen role. Still, Sixto and Edward Cabrera have received a lot of attention as righties who could install themselves in the rotation for the next contending Marlins team.

Of course, not all of the players discussed here will reach their ceiling in the Majors—that just isn’t how player evaluation and prospects work. With that said, the Marlins might only need to hit on a few of their touted minor leaguers to kickstart the MLB team and accelerate the rebuild. The point of inflection for many rebuilds is whether the organization is lucky enough to form a core of players who overlap in their development and ascension to the Major Leagues, allowing the team to invest in those players and construct a roster around them. And if that happens in Miami, their tools-heavy focus in player acquisition could pay off in a big way.

Unfortunately, the only way we’ll see the end of the Marlins story is with time. Farm system rankings can only take us so far, and they mean nothing if the talent doesn’t produce at the Major League level. The Marlins are gambling on their organizational ability to mold talented but raw youngsters into quality MLB players. Their hit rate on those players will determine whether the franchise is ready to move into next phase of its rebuild or if they’ll need to reset and re-evaluate their organizational philosophy.

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Marlins Notes: Rotation, Smith

By TC Zencka | December 11, 2019 at 1:46am CDT

The Miami Marlins haven’t had a lot to feel good about in recent seasons, but the rebuild is beginning to bear fruit. The Marlins rotation has been a talking point since around the All-Star break of 2019, and though they’re not yet a fearsome unit, they’re worth keeping an eye on. They finished the year 16th in the majors by ERA, 20th by FIP, 14th in HR/9, and 22nd by fWAR. They didn’t generate a lot of groundballs, but that’s playing to strength given their ballpark. The biggest area of improvement looking ahead to next season will be control, as they finished second-to-last with 3.50 BB/9. Still, given where the franchise has been in recent seasons, any unit climbing from the cellar is noteworthy.

That said, the first wave of talent often becomes the last wave of prospect-gathering trade bait. At least for the time being, however, the Marlins aren’t overeager to move their starting pitching. Still, that doesn’t stop teams from asking, particularly about Caleb Smith, per MLB Network Insider Jon Heyman. Smith, 28, is the veteran at the front of their young group, and his trade value remains high due to having just over two years of service time. He struggled with the long ball in 2019, but it was an overall successful campaign: 10-11, 28 starts, 4.52 ERA/5.11 FIP, 153 1/3 innings. Smith definitely made strides in securing his spot as a major leaguer, though it would not be surprising were the Marlins to pivot and decide to move him.

Regardless, President of Baseball Ops Michael Hill suggested the Marlins are secure in their starting options heading into 2020, and they’re unlikely to make a major acquisition in that regard, per Wells Dusenbury of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. The current group includes Smith, 2019 All-Star Sandy Alcantara, Pablo Lopez, Jordan Yamamoto, Jose Urena, Elieser Hernandez, and Robert Dugger. Alcantara and Smith are probably the only two with their rotation spots guaranteed. The rest of the group should have no trouble conjuring a sense of urgency, as top prospect Sixto Sanchez finished the year in Double-A, as did Edward Cabrera, perhaps their most promising arm after Sanchez.

The Marlins felt secure enough in this group (and the intriguing group of prospects coming behind them) that they dealt Zac Gallen to the Diamondbacks for young shortstop Jazz Chisholm. The position player side of the ball should soon see an influx of intriguing young talent get their chance in the big leagues. Along with Chisholm, the Marlins added JJ Bleday with the 4th overall pick in the draft and acquired another top prospect in Jesus Sanchez from the Rays. Chishold and Sanchez are likely to reach the majors in 2020, along with centefielder Monte Harrison. Chisholm, Sanzhez, and Harrison are the Marlins #3, 4 and 5 ranked prospect by MLB.com. On both sides of the ball, patience will carry the day for now in Miami. Given the gusto with which their division mates have approached the offseason, Miami is all but assured to finish 2020 in the NL East cellar for the third consecutive season.

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Caleb Smith Elieser Hernandez Jazz Chisholm Jesus Sanchez Jordan Yamamoto Jose Urena Miami Marlins Michael Hill Monte Harrison Notes Pablo Lopez Robert Dugger Sandy Alcantara

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Marlins Designate Wei-Yin Chen, Add Six To 40-Man Roster

By Steve Adams | November 20, 2019 at 7:08pm CDT

The Marlins announced Wednesday that they’ve designated left-hander Wei-Yin Chen for assignment and added six players to their MLB roster: shortstop Jazz Chisholm, first baseman Lewin Diaz and right-handers Sixto Sanchez, Nick Neidert, Humberto Mejia and Edward Cabrera. Miami owes Chen $22MM in 2020 — the final season of a five-year, $80MM free-agent contract.

Chen, now 34, was a steady source of quality innings from 2012-15 in Baltimore, pitching to a 3.72 ERA in the hitter-friendly AL East while averaging 29.25 starts and 176 innings per year. That durability and reliability led the Marlins to invest a whopping five-year, $80MM contract in the lefty when he hit the free-agent market, but the deal went south almost immediately. Chen barely kept his ERA under 5.00 and tossed just 123 1/3 innings in his first year with the Marlins. A UCL injury wiped out nearly all of his 2017 season and much of the 2018 campaign, and he pitched just 68 1/3 innings of ineffective relief work in 2019. Overall, he recorded a dismal 5.10 ERA in 358 innings with Miami.

Of the prospects protected tonight were acquired via the trade market, Chisholm (Zac Gallen), Diaz (Sergio Romo), Sanchez (J.T. Realmuto) and Neidert (Dee Gordon) were all acquired on the trade market under the team’s current ongoing rebuild. Sanchez is considered to be among the game’s premier pitching prospects, while Chisholm has drawn top 100 billing as well despite a rough showing at Double-A in 2019. Diaz was acquired from the Twins amid a huge rebound campaign. Neidert had an injury shortened ’19 season but profiles as a back-end starter. Cabrera reached Double-A as a 21-year-old this past season, while the 22-year-old Mejia turned in similarly impressive numbers and topped out in Class-A Advanced.

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Edward Cabrera Humberto Mejia Jazz Chisholm Lewin Diaz Miami Marlins Newsstand Nick Neidert Sixto Sanchez Transactions Wei-Yin Chen

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Players Added To 40-Man Roster: National League

By Jeff Todd | November 20, 2019 at 5:18pm CDT

We’re going to see a whole lot of players added to 40-man rosters in advance of tonight’s deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 draft. We will use this post to track those contract selections from National League teams that are not otherwise covered on the site.

NL West

  • The Dodgers announced that they’ve selected the contracts of right-hander Mitchell White, infielder/outfielder Zach McKinstry and outfielder DJ Peters. Both White and Peters are considered to be among the club’s top 15 prospects. McKinstry isn’t generally ranked inside L.A.’s top 30, but the 24-year-old had a big season between Double-A and Triple-A in 2019 while appearing at six defensive positions (shortstop, second base, third base and all three outfield slots).
  • The Diamondbacks announced that they’ve selected the contracts of right-handers Taylor Widener and Riley Smith as well as the contracts of infielders Andy Young and Wyatt Mathisen. Widener, 24, was one of the organization’s best pitching prospects coming into the season but was blown up for an eye-popping 8.10 ERA in 100 innings. He’s only a year removed from 137 1/3 innings of 2.75 ERA ball and an 11.5 K/9 mark in Double-A, however. Smith, 24, was sharp in Double-A before struggling in Triple-A — like many pitching prospects throughout the league (and with the D-backs in particular). Young, acquired in the Paul Goldschmidt trade last winter, hit 29 homers while playing three infield positions between Double-A and Triple-A. Mathisen, 26 in December, hit .283/.403/.601 in 345 Triple-A plate appearances.
  • The Giants, surprisingly, did not add anyone to their 40-man roster prior to tonight’s deadline.
  • The Rockies selected the contracts of infielder Tyler Nevin, left-hander Ben Bowden and right-handers Ashton Goudeau and Antonio Santos (Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post first reported the news on Twitter). Those four moves will fill the team’s 40-man roster. Of the four, Bowden and Nevin draw the most fanfare. Nevin, the No. 38 pick in the 2015 draft and son of former MLB slugger Phil Nevin, posted deceptively solid numbers in an extremely pitcher-friendly Double-A environment in 2019 (.251/.345/.399 — good for a 122 wRC+). Bowden, a second-round pick in ’16, posted gaudy strikeout numbers but struggled in Triple-A after dominating in Double-A in 2019.
  • The Padres selected outfielder Jorge Ona’s contract and designated outfielder Nick Martini for assignment, as outlined here.

NL Central

  • The Cardinals announced the additions of Jake Woodford, Elehuris Montero and Alvaro Seijas while designating righty Dominic Leone for assignment (as detailed here at greater length).
  • Outfielder Corey Ray and right-hander J.P. Feyereisen will head onto the Brewers 40-man, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via Twitter). It’s not yet known if the team will make further roster additions, but it would have five additional spots to work with to do so. Ray was the fifth overall pick in the 2016 draft but is coming off of a rough season. Feyereisen, who was added in a quiet September swap, will have a chance to challenge for MLB relief opportunities. Milwaukee also added infielder Mark Mathias to the 40-man roster after acquiring him in a trade with the Indians tonight.
  • The Cubs announced that they’ve added catcher Miguel Amaya, infielder Zack Short and right-handers Tyson Miller and Manuel Rodriguez to the 40-man roster. Amaya is the most highly regarded of the bunch, ranking second among Chicago farmhands and drawing some top 100 consideration at MLB.com.
  • Four additions to the 40-man were announced by the Reds, who have selected the contracts of catcher Tyler Stephenson and right-handers Tony Santillan, Ryan Hendrix and Tejay Antone. All four rank within the club’s top 30 at MLB.com, headlined by Santillan at No. 4 and ranging all the way to Antone at No. 30. Santillan thrived in a brief Double-A debut in 2018 but struggled there in a larger 2019 sample (4.84 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 4.8 BB/9 in 102 1/3 innings). He’s still just 22, though, and is regarded as a potential big league starter. Stephenson is a former first-round pick who hit well in a highly pitcher-friendly Double-A setting (.285/.372/.410; 130 wRC+). Hendrix posted big strikeout numbers as a reliever in 2019, while Antone displayed sharp ground-ball skills as a starter and reached Triple-A for the first time.
  • The Pirates added prospects Ke’Bryan Hayes, Oneil Cruz, Will Craig, Blake Cederlind and Cody Ponce to the 40-man roster while also designating four pitchers for assignment (as explored in greater length here). Lefty Williams Jerez and right-handers Dario Agrazal, Montana DuRapau and Luis Escobar were cut loose.

NL East

  • Yesterday, the Braves announced the addition of five prospects to their 40-man roster: outfielder Cristian Pache, catcher William Contreras, right-hander Jasseel De La Cruz and lefties Tucker Davidson and Phil Pfeifer. (More about those moves here.)
  • The Nationals announced that they have selected the contract of southpaw Ben Braymer. They still have a huge amount of 40-man flexibility to work with. Even after this move, the Nats have nine openings. The organization also surely expects to fill many of those slots with free agents and/or trade acquisitions after losing quite a few significant players to the open market. Braymer is a former 18th rounder out of Auburn who had a nice run last year at Double-A before being hit hard in the batter-friendly International League.
  • The Phillies picked up lefty Cristopher Sanchez in a trade with the Rays and added him to the 40-man roster. Philadelphia also selected the contracts of lefties JoJo Romero and Garrett Cleavinger and right-hander Mauricio Llovera. (Details on those moves here.)
  • The Mets announced the additions of Andres Gimenez, Thomas Szapucki, Ali Sanchez and Jordan Humphreys to the 40-man roster and designated righty Drew Gagnon for assignment. (More on those moves here).
  • The Marlins opened some eyes by eating the remaining $22MM on Wei-Yin Chen’s contract and adding six prospects to the 40-man roster: Sixto Sanchez, Lewin Diaz, Nick Neidert, Jazz Chisholm, Humberto Mejia and Edward Cabrera. (More details here.)
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Ali Sanchez Alvaro Seijas Andres Gimenez Andrew Young Antonio Santos Arizona Diamondbacks Ashton Goudeau Atlanta Braves Ben Bowden Ben Braymer Chicago Cubs Cincinnati Reds Cleveland Indians Cody Ponce Colorado Rockies Corey Ray Dario Agrazal DJ Peters Dominic Leone Drew Gagnon Elehuris Montero Garrett Cleavinger J.P. Feyereisen Jake Woodford Jasseel De La Cruz Jazz Chisholm Jordan Humphreys Jorge Ona Lewin Diaz Los Angeles Dodgers Manuel Rodriguez Miami Marlins Miguel Amaya Milwaukee Brewers Mitchell White Montana DuRapau New York Mets Nick Martini Nick Neidert Phil Pfeifer Philadelphia Phillies Pittsburgh Pirates Riley Smith Rule 5 Draft Ryan Hendrix San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants Sixto Sanchez St. Louis Cardinals Tampa Bay Rays Taylor Widener Tejay Antone Thomas Szapucki Tony Santillan Transactions Tucker Davidson Tyler Nevin Tyler Stephenson Tyson Miller Washington Nationals Wei-Yin Chen William Contreras Williams Jerez Wyatt Mathisen Zach McKinstry Zack Short

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NL East Notes: Doolittle, Camargo, Chisholm

By Steve Adams | August 16, 2019 at 9:47am CDT

Sean Doolittle is on pace to finish just enough games to trigger the clause in his contract that turns the Nationals’ $6.5MM club option into a mutual option, and the reliever spoke to Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post about his future this week. “I mean, you play this game for a really long time, and any time you have even a little control over your fate, over the direction your career goes, that’s something that we all hope to have,” said the Washington closer.

It’s a critical clause for the Nationals, as the club has had perennial issues with its bullpen over the past few seasons. Doolittle himself was a midseason upgrade on the trade market and has emerged as Washington’s most reliable reliever since being acquired in 2017. He’ll need to finish 17 of the club’s final 42 games to get there, but he’s already finished 48 of 120, making that a distinct possibility. If his option converts to a mutual option, it’s quite likely that the 32-year-old will enter free agency, as he should be able to top a year and $6.5MM easily on the open market. Doolittle has a 2.65 ERA with 10.7 K/9, 1.9 BB/9 and 73 saves in 125 2/3 innings as a National.

More from the NL East…

  • The Braves plan to stick with infielder Johan Camargo despite his considerable struggles at the plate and with the glove, writes Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Camargo’s playing time has increased with Dansby Swanson shelved, but the 25-year-old has turned in a career-worst .222/.268/.344 batting line through 236 plate appearances this season. And while he’s previously rated as a standout defender at third base and a passable option at shortstop, he’s had some glaring defensive miscues this season (including six errors in 320 total innings of defense after making just 13 in nearly 1100 innings a year ago). Camargo’s hard-hit rate, exit velocity and launch angle have all dipped in 2019 — so much so that Statcast doesn’t feel he’s been the victim of much poor luck. (His .262 wOBA only narrowly trails his .268 xwOBA.) Both manager Brian Snitker and GM Alex Anthopoulos acknowledged the struggles. “I don’t know that anyone knows what the answer is,” said Anthopoulos when discussing the root of Camargo’s struggles.
  • Marlins CEO Derek Jeter plans to travel to meet recently acquired shortstop prospect Jazz Chisholm in the near future, he told reporters this week (link via David Wilson of the Miami Herald). However, it won’t be the first time that Jeter gets to see Chisholm play in person. Jeter saw the 21-year-old play in last year’s Arizona Fall League and said that Chisholm immediately caught his eye. “…[I]t took about three innings when I said, ’Who is that?'” Jeter recalled. “He’s someone that stood out on the field and obviously he has all the tools to be successful.” The Marlins made the risky play of dealing a Major League starter who can be controlled all the way through 2025, Zac Gallen, in order to acquire Chisholm from the Diamondbacks. Jeter, though, explained that the Marlins felt they were dealing from positions of depth when trading away Gallen, Trevor Richards, Nick Anderson, Sergio Romo and prospect Chris Vallimont. Those deals netted Chisholm and prospects Jesus Sanchez (Anderson, Richards) and Lewin Diaz (Romo, Vallimont) — adding some power upside to the organization.
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Diamondbacks Acquire Zac Gallen From Marlins For Jazz Chisholm

By Jeff Todd | July 31, 2019 at 1:48pm CDT

2:10pm: The deal is now official.

1:48pm: The Diamondbacks and Marlins have reportedly struck a deal involving two intriguing young players. Righty Zac Gallen is going to Arizona and shortstop Jazz Chisholm heading to Miami in return, according to reports from Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link) and Craig Mish of MLB Network Radio (via Twitter).

Both of these players have gone in different directions in 2019, evidently meeting in the middle in a sense. Gallen, who’ll soon turn 24, was seen as a solid but unspectacular prospect. Chisholm was widely regarded as a top-100 pre-MLB player leaguewide.

Gallen, acquired as part of the Marcell Ozuna swap, opened eyes with a dominating romp through the International League to open the year. Even as others were mowed down by a opposing hitters, buoyed by a newly long-flying baseball, Gallen carried a 1.77 ERA with 11.0 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 through 14 starts.

It was still fair to wonder whether the relatively un-hyped hurler would find success at the MLB level. On the whole, his first seven starts have been a big success. He has allowed just 11 earned runs on 25 hits while recording 43 strikeouts and 18 walks. It seems Gallen’s stuff is playing just fine, as he’s generating a 12.1% swinging-strike rate.

As they sell at a relative high point on Gallen, the Marlins will buy at a low point on Chisholm. It’s not all that surprising to see the Miami club moving an arm for a position player, as the team has had greater success at transitioning its young hurlers to the majors. But taking a risk on Chisholm represents an interesting move.

Chisholm, a 21-year-old from the Bahamas, is lauded for his ability to stay at shortstop in the long term along with his upside at the plate. But he hasn’t quite followed upon his 25-homer 2018 campaign, which he polished off with a big run through the Arizona Fall League. Through 364 plate appearances this year at the Double-A level, Chisholm carries a .204/.305/.427 slash. While his walk rate is up to 11.3%, and he has popped 18 home runs and 13 steals, he’s also striking out at a worrying 33.8% clip.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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