The Miami Marlins continue to progress and develop through terrific coaching and management throughout their minor league system, but one name in particular sticks out when it comes to what happens on the mound.

Rob Marcello, the Marlins' assistant pitching coach, has a special role with the ball club that is designed to help guide the staff by teaching them literally what pitch to throw in certain situations.

In Miami, the bench calls pitches from the dugout during games, a practice the Fish expanded in 2026. They used to use the practice the majority of the year. But this season, Clayton McCullough and his team employed the tactic for all 162 games. They became the first team in Major League History to do so. Marcello was at the center of the experiment, building on his experience handling the same responsibility with Triple-A Jacksonville in 2025.

The system required constant preparation, communication and evaluation. Early in the season, Miami held approximately 30-minute meetings after every game to review pitch selection and execution. Those sessions eventually shifted to three times per week, involving a 12-member group that included president of baseball operations Peter Bendix, general manager Gabe Kapler and pitching coach Daniel Moskos.

“It was eye-opening in a way,” Marcello said in a recent MLB.com article about the assessment process. ‘‘Is it the right pitch?’ And I think we always would revert back to: Was it his best stuff if we're trying to get a punchout? Is it his best strike pitch? Is it all this in these counts?”

Miami looks to continue the process going forward, as they feel like it's the most effective way to develop the bevy of arms on their way to The Show, like top prospects Thomas White and Robby Snelling.

Evaluating the effectiveness of individual calls presented challenges. A well-selected pitch could still produce a poor outcome because of execution, while a successful result did not necessarily validate the decision.

Marcello emphasized identifying each pitcher's best weapons and determining which offerings were most effective in specific counts and situations.

During games, Marcello generally approached pitch selection one decision at a time. Preparation focused on preventing opponents from anticipating Miami's sequencing, while conversations with coaches helped adjust strategies based on hitters' swings and pitchers' performances.

Building trust with the pitching staff was equally important. Eury Pérez occasionally rejected calls while working to improve his confidence in secondary pitches. Marcello learned that Pérez sometimes interpreted a change in selection after throwing a ball as a lack of confidence in his ability to command that particular offering.

“I'll take all the blame when they do bad, and they took all the positives when they did good,” Marcello asserted. “That’s honestly how I felt at the end of the day. 'Where did I mess up? Where could this have gone wrong?' They do good, it's them. At the end of the day, it comes down to pitch execution. I'm not throwing the ball. Eury’s really good when he throws his offspeed for strikes."

In the end, it's all about giving the Miami hurlers an extra advantage, the right mindset on the mound, and a trusted voice to go to when things don't work out. So for this young team? Marcello plays a big role.

“When they're on a roll, it's enjoyable because there's a rhythm to it. When they do bad, you're just trying to help them through it the best way possible.”