The Marlins are calling up infield/outfield prospect Connor Norby to make his staff debut, as first reported by Isaac Azout of Fish On First. He’ll presumably obtain common taking part in time down the stretch.
Norby, 24, got here to Miami alongside outfielder Kyle Stowers within the commerce sending left-hander Trevor Rogers to Baltimore. Whereas Stowers went proper onto the large league roster (and has struggled significantly in his first 16 video games), Norby was the extra extremely regarded younger participant of the 2. He’s a bat-first second base/left discipline prospect who’s hit effectively at each minor league cease, together with this yr in Triple-A, the place he’s batting .293/.382/.496 with 17 homers, 24 doubles, a triple, 13 steals (in 16 tries) and a 12% stroll price. His 28% strikeout price in Triple-A this season is admittedly a purple flag, however Norby hasn’t had main strikeout issues up to now.
It’s price declaring that Norby’s manufacturing has dropped off sharply for the reason that commerce, although he’s typically nonetheless holding his personal outdoors of a dip in energy, hitting .271/.338/.373 in 67 plate appearances with the Marlins’ affiliate in Jacksonville. Even nonetheless, Norby’s combination manufacturing in Triple-A between the 2 organizations has been 28% higher than league-average, by measure of wRC+, and the Marlins have little incentive to not see what they’ve in a participant who might be a core piece transferring ahead.
Among the many 30 huge league groups, Miami ranks twenty seventh by way of manufacturing from its second basemen (once more, per wRC+) — and that’s together with the 144 plate appearances Luis Arraez obtained earlier than being traded to San Diego (throughout which he batted .293/.343/.368). Otto Lopez has seen the majority of the taking part in time on the keystone since that commerce, however he’s batting simply .236/.270/.316 on the season, making him one of many least-impactful hitters in the complete league.
Lopez has offered enormous worth along with his glove, however he can nonetheless influence that recreation defensively in a utility position whereas Miami provides a authentic audition to Norby — a former top-100 prospect who’s regarded largely MLB-ready for a while however fell down the Orioles’ depth chart as a result of glut of touted younger infielders current in Baltimore (e.g. Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo). There’s far much less competitors on this stripped-down model of the Marlins, which president of baseball operations Peter Bendix is rebuilding from the bottom up. MLB.com presently ranks Norby third amongst Miami farmhands, whereas Baseball America pegs him sixth.
Norby’s pending promotion provides him almost six weeks to make his case for a 2025 position. It’s a not a real sink-or-swim check, in fact. Norby solely turned 24 in June and is within the first of three minor league choice years. Even with a poor displaying down the stretch, he’d nonetheless be within the combine to earn a spot on the roster subsequent spring. He gained’t lose his place within the staff’s future plans with a so-so staff debut, however he can probably exit and cement himself of their ’25 plans with a productive run. Miami presently controls Norby during the 2030 season, and he’s not presently scheduled to be arbitration-eligible till the 2027-28 offseason.
