The Marlins’ season has gone off the rails, but Joe Mack has kept giving Miami something to hang onto.
While the club has dropped 12 straight and watched a promising stretch evaporate, the 23-year-old rookie has carved out a real role behind the plate. His overall line isn’t eye-popping - .239 with 10 home runs and 30 RBIs in 60 games and 180 at-bats - but the trend line is moving in the right direction. Since June 1, Mack has hit .265 with an .883 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.
“Joe really has turned it on,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said to the Miami Herald (subscription required). “He’s shown that he can get to velocity when he’s laying off the pitches down in the strike zone and getting himself into good counts. He has that type of impact and ability.”
Mack’s growth has become part of the larger picture in Miami, where the future now looks a lot more crowded than it did not long ago. From Otto Lopez in the infield to Max Meyer on the mound, the Marlins have pieces that suggest something sturdier could be taking shape.
Mack is right in the middle of that conversation now. He said his biggest adjustment has been mental, and that he’s stopped treating every trip to the big leagues like a test.
“I’m being more aggressive,” Mack said to the Herald about his improvement throughout the year, “It was just getting out of my own head of like, Oh, I’m in the big leagues. This is a way different game."
A competitive balance pick, Mack went No. 31 overall in the 2021 MLB draft out of Williamsville East in Williamsville, NY. Miami earned that selection in part because of its struggles, and even with the current skid, the organization looks better positioned for the long haul than it did six months ago.
That’s where Mack matters most. He’s no longer just another young player trying to stick. His emergence has changed the depth chart, to the point where Agustin ramriez, who had a great rookie season at the plate in 2025, can’t get back up to the Majors after once blocking Mack’s path.
Now the roles have flipped. If Mack keeps producing like this, Ramirez may have to find another position to work his way back to Miami.
In Other News...
Cam Cannarella Is Suddenly Forcing A Bigger Marlins Question
Cam Cannarella has gone from intriguing name to unavoidable conversation piece in a hurry, and the Marlins have every reason to keep watching closely. The top prospect flashed real thump during a nine-game burst at Double-A Pensacola, then carried that momentum into Triple-A Jacksonville, where the bat and the glove have both looked like they belong on a faster track than most young outfielders get.
What makes the rise more interesting is how quickly it has come after a stop-start spring and summer, with Cannarella moving up on July 17 after only 34 games in Double-A. He opened in Jacksonville 3-for-19, then snapped out of it with his first career four-hit game on Friday, a reminder that the bigger question around him is no longer whether he can handle better pitching, but how soon Miami might have to decide what to do with a center fielder who keeps answering every test. [Read more 🡒]
Marlins Suddenly Face A Tough Griffin Conine Deadline Decision
Griffin Conine has become one of the more interesting names in the Marlins summer conversation, and not just because he has hit well when healthy. In a season where Miami is weighing present-day roster fits against a longer rebuild, the outfielders combination of upside and team control makes him the kind of player other clubs would want to ask about, especially with playing time not exactly guaranteed in a crowded picture.
Conines appeal is obvious enough: he has produced when on the field, and the Marlins can still keep him around for years. But that same mix of value and uncertainty is what makes the deadline decision tricky, because Miami has to decide whether his upside fits its next competitive window or whether this is the moment to turn a useful young bat into more future pieces while the market is there. [Read more 🡒]
Marlins Deadline Direction May Finally Reveal Everything About This Front Office
The Marlins deadline posture is starting to look less like a simple sell-off and more like another test of how this front office sees its own timeline. Craig Mish said Miami is unlikely to go all-in as a buyer, but also does not appear headed for a fire sale, with any moves seemingly aimed at helping the future rather than chasing a short-term push. In that framing, the names that matter most are the ones the club expects to keep building around, including Eury Prez, Max Meyer and Joe Mack.
What makes the next few days worth watching is the gray area around the rest of the roster, where Miamis intentions can reveal a lot about how aggressive it wants to be in reshaping things. Otto Lopez has surfaced in outside chatter, which is enough to keep him on the radar even without anything concrete, and the broader question is whether the Marlins use this deadline to quietly rework the edges of the roster or simply stand pat and preserve their core. [Read more 🡒]