The Marlins’ recent surge has featured plenty of familiar names, but Liam Hicks has been one of the quieter forces helping drive it. While Max Meyer and Otto Lopez have drawn their share of attention, Hicks has kept showing up with timely production and steady at-bats that have given Miami another reliable bat in the middle of its push.
At 27, Hicks has put together a strong 2026 season for the Marlins. He is hitting .289 with nine home runs and 58 RBI in 301 at-bats, and his .827 OPS reflects just how much value he has brought to the lineup.
For a catcher, that kind of offensive output stands out. He has not needed to be the face of the team to matter; he has simply kept delivering when Miami has needed it.
That has been the story of Hicks all year, and it has come with a little extra satisfaction given the path he took to get here. Scouts once had questions about his size, and at 5'9', he was viewed as a smaller backstop.
That helped lead to him being selected in the ninth round, leaving him with a longer climb to The Show. Since then, though, his bat has answered just about every doubt.
“He has the ability to get hits to all parts of the field,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “Liam’s been phenomenal. Early on, it was the power that was a little bit surprising with how he was hitting so many home runs out of the gates; recently, it’s been getting him back to shooting some balls all over the field.”
“His bat quality is high. He’s come back from injury and picked up right where he left off,” McCullough said.
“He controls the strike zone very well and makes a lot of contact. And he just doesn’t miss a whole lot.”
That combination has made Hicks a valuable piece for Miami, especially during this hot stretch. The Marlins will try to get back in the win column in the second game of their series against the Milwaukee Brewers.
In Other News...
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Meyer had been coming off a career-long 10-day break between starts, and Saturdays effort never really settled in. The right-hander labored through three innings, allowed two runs and issued three walks, which only sharpened the questions around how the Marlins will handle him going forward. For a team trying to balance immediate innings with a long season, the next steps around Meyer now matter as much as the results he was giving them. [Read more 🡒]
Why Charles Johnson Still Means So Much To Marlins Fans
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He was also the clubs first Gold Glove winner, a distinction that helped define the early identity of a young franchise trying to build something lasting. Johnsons value went beyond the box score, too, with a hand in the Marlins first three no-hitters and a rsum that still connects him to some of the most memorable days in team history. [Read more 🡒]
Marlins Bullpen Gamble Looks Worse After Another Pete Fairbanks Meltdown
Pete Fairbanks has been one of the more frustrating pieces of Miamis bullpen this season, the kind of late-inning arm whose track record and availability made him an appealing offseason bet even as the results have gone sideways. He has stayed healthy, which matters in a market where closers often come with warning labels, but the production has not matched the role the Marlins hoped he would fill.
Through 33 games, Fairbanks has a 7.42 ERA and has been tagged for multiple runs in several outings, including four games with three earned runs. Even so, he has blown only three of 16 save chances, a reminder that the surface numbers and the damage in individual appearances do not always line up neatly. The bigger question now is whether Miami keeps running him out there in the same spots, or starts looking for a different way to use him before another rough night turns into a bigger problem. [Read more 🡒]