Jakob Marsee shattered expectations last season, stealing bases and hitting for average. Can he prove his success wasn't a fluke in a full season?
Jakob Marsee played in 55 games for the Miami Marlins last season and was the team's fourth-most valuable position player.
There's a glass-half-empty and glass-half-full way of looking at this.
The glass-half-empty way would wonder how a guy who barely played in a third of the team's games managed to be more valuable than most of the starting lineup.
In those 55 games, Marsee stole 14 bases, putting him on pace for around 40 in a full season.
His .292 batting average was higher than anybody's except Rob Brantly, a 35-year-old catcher who only had seven at-bats over three games.
His .363 on-base percentage was only .5 points behind All-Star Kyle Stowers for the team lead (again, not counting Brantley), and his .478 slugging percentage trailed only Stowers and Brian Navaretto, a 30-year-old catcher who logged 14 at-bats over eight games.
Marsee is the latest subject of "Getting to Know the Fish," a Marlins Roundtable series profiling each Miami player.
Height: 6-foot
Weight: 180 pounds
Hometown: Dearborn, Michigan
Before the Fish: Marsee had been with the San Diego Padres organization, which drafted him in the sixth round out of Central Michigan in 2022. In May 2024, the Padres traded him to Miami in a deal that sent three-time batting champion Luis Arráez to San Diego.
In 98 appearances with the AAA Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, Marsee had a slashline of .246/.379/.438, with 14 homers and 37 RBI. But where Marsee stood out was on the basepaths.
He stole 47 bases for the Jumbo Shrimp, finishing second in the International League.
The Marlins called Marsee up on the first day of August, and he didn't disappoint. Marsee's first game in Miami was a wild one.
The Marlins beat the New York Yankees 13-12 in walk-off fashion, and Marsee played a big role.
In the seventh inning, Marsee doubled off Yankees reliever David Bednar and ended up scoring the go-ahead run.
In the ninth, with New York ahead 12-10, Marsee drew a walk and then scored the tying run.
The Marlins will be hoping for more magic like that in 2026.
Outlook: Fair or not, until Marsee proves himself over a full season, the word "fluke" will follow him.
But if Marsee is the real thing, the Marlins could have an elite base-stealer with sneaky power and solid plate discipline at the top of their lineup.
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