As Marlins fight for playoffs, two of their minor-league teams prepare for their postseasons

The Miami Marlins remain in the thick of the National League’s playoff race, entering Monday’s series opener against the Milwaukee Brewers just a half-game back of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the NL’s third and final playoff spot.

Down in the minor leagues, however, two of the Marlins’ four full-season affiliates have already locked in their postseason spots with the Single A Jupiter Hammerheads and Double A Pensacola Blue Wahoos both advancing to the playoffs.

Jupiter, which is in the playoffs for the first time since 2012, plays the Palm Beach Cardinals, the Single A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, in a best-of-3 series at West Palm Beach’s Ballpark of the Palm Beaches this week, with Game 1 on Tuesday, Game 2 Thursday and Game 3 (if necessary) Friday. First pitch for all three games is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

Pensacola, which won the Southern League last year in its second season as a Marlins affiliate, has one more week of regular-season games before its playoff run begins against a to-be-determined opponent.

Here’s a quick look at both of those teams.

Players to watch at Jupiter

Seven of the Marlins’ top 30 prospects according to MLB Pipeline play for Jupiter: Pitchers Noble Meyer, Thomas White, Jacob Miller and Juan De La Cruz; outfielder Kemp Alderman and infielders Brock Vradenburg and Ian Lewis.

Four of those seven players were Marlins selections in the 2023 MLB Draft: first-round pick Meyer (Marlins No. 1 prospect, MLB No. 55), competitive balance pick White (Marlins No. 2), second-round pick Alderman (Marlins No. 9) and third-round pick Vradenburg (Marlins No. 10).

In three starts with Jupiter, Meyer has pitched to a 3.86 ERA, giving up three earned runs on nine hits and four walks with nine strikeouts in seven innings. White has pitched 3 2/3 innings over two starts with Jupiter, giving up three runs on three hits and four walks with five strikeouts.

Alderman, a right-handed-hitting outfielder out of Ole Miss, is hitting .205 overall since making his professional baseball debut on July 26, but is hitting .247 with nine extra-base hits (seven doubles, one triple, one home runs) and 12 RBI in 21 games since Aug. 12. He has primarily played right field for the Hammerheads.

Vradenburg, a left-handed-hitting first baseman out of Michigan State, is hitting .236 with three doubles, one home run, 10 RBI, 22 walks and 15 runs scored in 34 games with Jupiter.

As for the three non-2023 draft picks...

▪ Miller (Marlins No. 13), Miami’s second-round pick in 2022 whose top pitch in his four-pitch arsenal is his curveball, has a 4.36 ERA with 55 strikeouts against 27 walks and a .209 batting average against in 64 innings over 16 appearances (15 starts).

▪ De La Cruz (Marlins No. 24), just 18 years old with a fastball that touches 97 mph, has a 4.57 ERA with 42 strikeouts in 43 1/3 innings with the Hammerheads.

▪ Lewis (Marlins No. 30) has hit just .225 in 115 games with Jupiter this year, but 30 of his 95 hits have gone for extra bases (19 doubles, six triples, five home runs) and he has stole 33 bases and scored 70 runs.

Players to watch at Pensacola

Six of the Marlins’ top prospects play for Pensacola: pitchers Patrick Monteverde (No. 16) and Evan Fitterer (No. 27), catcher Will Banfield (No. 29), infielders Jacob Berry (No. 5) and Nasim Nunez (No. 18), and outfielder Victor Mesa Jr. (No. 7).

Berry, Miami’s first-round pick in 2022, is on the minor-league injured list but showed strides offensively in his time with the Blue Wahoos after being promoted to Double A midseason. Through 28 games at Pensacola, he’s hitting .248 (28 for 113) with a .743 on-base-plus-slugging mark with five doubles, one triple, five home runs, 22 RBI and 22 runs scored.

Mesa has set single-season career-highs this year in home runs (18, previous high of 5), RBI (73, previous high of 71) and runs scored (72, previous high of 66) while hitting .244 with a .728 OPS.

Monteverde and Nunez were the Marlins’ All-Star Futures Game representatives. Monteverde has a 2.97 ERA in 20 starts for Pensacola, striking out 110 batters while walking 43 in 112 innings. Nunez, known for his speed and slick defense at shortstop, is hitting .225 with 45 stolen bases in 51 attempts to go along with 11 doubles, two triples, four home runs, 40 RBI and 77 runs scored.

Fitterer has a 4.40 ERA over 102 1/3 innings in 22 Double A starts. He has struck out 97 while walking 68 and has a .234 batting average against.

Banfield has had a breakout season offensively, belting out 22 home runs and logging 73 RBI and 68 runs score while hitting .264 with a .785 OPS — all single-season career-highs.