PHOENIX -- The Fightin' Fish are heating up with the summer temperature and playing their best baseball. With Saturday's comeback victory over the D-backs, the young Marlins have won 12 of 17 and six in a row for the first time since 2023. They are 36-45 and fourth in the National League East at the season’s halfway point, defying external expectations with their exciting play. President of baseball operations Peter Bendix spent some time chatting with MLB.com before Saturday’s dramatic win about the culture, pleasant surprises and more. MLB.com: How much is buy-in on the pitching side, we hear the term “out collector,” part of the success of the organization moving forward?
Bendix: The buy-in with our pitching group has been really impressive, and it's a testament to the pitching coaches, but it's a testament to [manager] Clayton [McCullough] and [bench coach] Carson [Vitale] and the whole culture that our group is building here of trust, but also proving it. And I think we're seeing a lot of the benefits of that starting to happen with the improvements that we're seeing in our pitchers. MLB.com: Has the team met expectations? Exceeded? Or is it more than wins/losses? How do you assess this halfway point?
Bendix: We’ve seen a lot of guys getting better, and that's been one of the primary focuses is ‘Player development doesn't stop in the big leagues,’ and we're seeing that in action with some of our more established guys that are showing another level of performance, like Edward Cabrera, and then some of our younger guys that are starting to establish themselves. We're seeing what [Agustín Ramírez] can do, what [Kyle] Stowers can do, what Liam Hicks can do, what Heriberto Hernandez can do. These guys that haven't really established themselves or had even that much of an opportunity in the big leagues, we're seeing them get better on a daily basis. |
MLB.com: How are you balancing trying to win a game but also, for example, seeing whether Cabrera can get those last outs? How does the organization see moments like those?
Bendix: I don't know that there's necessarily a trade off between the development aspect and the winning aspect. And the example that you referenced about taking Cabbie out, Cabbie also pitched deeper into that game [6 1/3 innings on June 19] than he would have in the first place, and I don't remember who we brought into that game, but that's also an opportunity for them to live through a really important high-leverage situation. So I think that we're seeing a lot of those development opportunities across the whole roster, and pushing guys, and seeing what they can handle. MLB.com: Who has been the most pleasant surprise?
Bendix: I'm smiling because it's hard to choose just one. I've been very impressed with Liam Hicks, a guy who skipped Triple-A entirely, Rule 5 pick, to come in here and not just hold his own, but be a legitimate offensive force and a legitimately solid defensive catcher and also take up time at first base. That's hard for anybody to do, let alone somebody who skipped Triple-A. |
MLB.com: Where do you need to see more progress?
Bendix: I think the strike-throwing for our pitchers across the board is something they know needs to get better. To credit them, it's gotten a lot better since the beginning of the season, and we've seen when we throw strikes, we are really hard to hit, and a lot of our success recently has come in games where we're walking zero guys, one guy. That's not a coincidence. Our guys have very good stuff, and they don't need to be fine in the zone. They just need to be around the zone, in the zone, and good things happen, even against really good offenses, which is what we saw in San Francisco, what we saw against the Braves, even against the Phillies. We pitched really well against a very good offensive team. MLB.com: What are you most proud of?
Bendix: Let me think for a moment on this one. I am proud of how well we are competing day in and day out. We are in every game. We're playing well against good teams, and we're showing improvement and progress in individual players at the same time. That is something I'm really proud of. MLB.com: How much of that is the coaching staff you brought in, the behind-the-scenes staff and even the players?
Bendix: It really is a team effort. It's a cliché, but it's true. It starts with the staff setting the tone every day, coming in to compete every day, pushing our guys, challenging our guys to get better, and our whole organization providing the resources: the little things, the big things, the technology, the day-to-day touches that are so important that really help these guys be in the best position to succeed. |
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MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
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Reliever Anthony Bender joined MLB Tonight to talk about his emergence at the back end of the bullpen, his mindset on the mound and more. |
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“I'm very happy the way that we've been playing the game. Six wins in a row, that's amazing. We haven't done that since a couple years, but right now, we feel comfortable and confident that we can compete out there.” – Sandy Alcantara |
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