Miami’s second-ranked prospect brings his dominant Triple-A numbers to the mound, looking to translate a 1.86 ERA into big-league success against a division rival.
MIAMI — Right on schedule.
Instead of making his scheduled Friday start at Triple-A Jacksonville, Robby Snelling will make his Major League debut with the Miami Marlins against the Washington Nationals.
Snelling, the Marlins No. 2 prospect, posted a 1.86 ERA, a 0.90 WHIP, and 44 strikeouts in six starts for the Jumbo Shrimp this season. He is in the top 3 in the International League in all three categories.
Snelling told reporters on Thursday he hopes to “replicate to as nearly and closely as I can to what I was doing in Jacksonville.”
“I’m a big believer in the proponent of being where your feet are and performing wherever you’re at,” Snelling said.
Snelling said he found out about his call-up on Wednesday after the Jumbo Shrimp won their first walk-off win of the season, courtesy of a double by Heriberto Hernandez, who is back with the Marlins. He said the Jumbo Shrimp were “super excited in the clubhouse when we all came in” but it was quiet leading up to Jacksonville manager David Carpenter’s announcement.
“Carp came in, had a team meeting, just told us ‘really focus on playing a full nine innings of baseball’ and then he left,” Snelling said. “Everybody was kind of looking around like ‘what’s going on?’ We’re still waiting to hear who’s throwing on Friday.”
Eventually, Snelling was called to Carpenter’s office and then told him he was going to Miami.
“They sat me down and were like ‘We know you’ve been stressing the last couple of days. It’s pretty awesome that you haven’t let it affect your routine. It’s very professional of you.’ I told them it was really hard to keep my sanity knowing that potentially it was an option for me,” Snelling said.
Snelling was a star high school football and baseball player in Nevada before the San Diego Padres drafted him with the 39th pick. From three different levels in the minor leagues, he posted an 11-3 record and a 1.82 ERA with 118 strikeouts in 103.2 innings through 22 starts in his first professional season as a 19-year-old.
Snelling, 22, was one of four players acquired from the San Diego Padres in the trade for relievers Tanner Scott and Bryan Hoeing in 2024. The Marlins were in the process of shedding a 2023 postseason team for another rebuild under a new front office.
Snelling takes the place of veteran starting pitcher Chris Paddack, who was designated for assignment on Monday after posting a 7.63 ERA. The Marlins signed Paddack for $4 million but replacing him with a rookie because as manager Clayton McCullough said on Tuesday, “it came down to a performance thing.”
“Just felt that, even after seven starts, that now was the best time for us to look to try to make a change in that spot,” McCullough said during his pregame press conference on Tuesday. “This does become a performance-based environment. I think we feel like we have a good team. We feel like we have a lot of really solid depth that’s not here right now.”
How long will Snelling last in his big league debut? Can’t expect a long outing, as McCullough has demonstrated a propensity to pull starters after five innings, even if they have plenty of pitches to spare.
“The data certainly plays a factor into it,” McCullough said. “It’s hard to argue against that every pitcher, it doesn’t matter who they are, the third time through (the batting order), their numbers worsen. Now to what degree? Probably just depends on how good the individual is.”
The Nationals, coming off a home series win over Minnesota, will send Foster Griffin (3-1, 2.27 ERA) to the mound.
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