Miami Marlins prospects: Amaya’s surge continues, a triple play, an inside-the-park homer

Miami Marlins shortstop prospect Jacob Amaya was sidelined for a week after getting hit by a pitch on May 16, right as he was starting to find his groove at the plate.

He returned to the Triple A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp’s lineup on Wednesday ... and picked up right where he left off.

In his past five games since his return, Amaya has gone 11 for 20 (.55) with four home runs, one double, 12 RBI and six runs scored.

It’s just the latest stint of an extended run of success at the plate for Amaya, ranked as the Marlins’ No. 9 prospect according to MLB Pipeline.

In the month of May overall, Amaya is hitting a staggering .418 (28 for 67) with 11 extra-base hits (five home runs, five doubles, one triple), 16 RBI, 15 runs scored and eight walks against nine strikeouts over 18 games. Amaya has at least one hit in 15 of those 18 games, including multiple hits in eight of those games.

A triple play, a lot of homers

With a combination of Jesus Sanchez’s strong arm in right field and heads-up reaction from catcher Austin Allen, the Jumbo Shrimp on Saturday completed a triple play in the first inning of their eventual 20-4 win over the Charlotte Knights.

After starting pitcher Enmannuel De Jesus allowed four consecutive hits to open the game, the Knights had a 2-0 lead, runners on the corners and no outs trying to extend their early advantage.

Victor Reyes lofted a fly ball to right field to Sanchez, who made the catch and fired a throw home to Allen, who then tagged out Lenyn Sosa trying to score on the play.

Allen then turned around after showing the umpire he applied the tag and noticed Oscar Colas was breaking for second base. The catcher threw to Amaya to start a rundown, with first baseman Jerar Encarnacion getting Colas to run out of the basepath and onto the infield grass for the out to complete the triple play.

That was just the start of big moments for the Jumbo Shrimp on Saturday. The team as a whole swatted six home runs — two from Amaya and one each from Jerar Encarnacion, Jake Mangum, Peyton Burdick and Charles Leblanc, with Amaya and Leblanc each hitting a grand slam.

The 20 runs scored were the most by Jacksonville since at least 2005.

An inside-the-park home run

Outfielder Dane Myers, who the Marlins obtained in the minor-league phase of the Rule 5 Draft in December, hit an inside-the-park home run on Friday for the Double A Pensacola Blue Wahoos.

With two outs in the first inning against the Mississippi Braves, Myers sent the first pitch he saw from Alan Rangel and lifted it into center field. Mississippi’s Jacob Pearson dove for the ball but couldn’t make the play and the ball rolled to the wall. Myers sped around the basepaths, diving head first into home to beat the throw.

On the season, Myers is hitting .285 with an .811 on-base-plus-slugging mark, 12 extra-base hits (six doubles, two triples, four home runs), 15 RBI, 26 runs scored and 10 stolen bases.

This and that

▪ Right-handed pitcher Gabe Bierman, Miami’s seventh-round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, has a 3.18 ERA through seven starts with the High A Beloit Sky Carp, striking out 26 batters and walking just 12 over 39 2/3 innings. Five of his seven outings, including all four in May, have been quality starts, defined as pitching at least six innings and allowing no more than three earned runs.

▪ Right-handed pitcher Evan Fitterer rebounded from a rough outing on May 20 (five runs allowed over 1 2/3 innings) by tossing 5 2/3 shutout innings on Friday for the Double A Pensacola Blue Wahoos. Through six starts since being promoted to Double A, Fitterer has a 2.54 ERA with 29 strikeouts against 22 walks and a .190 batting average against over 28 1/3 innings.