Jakob Marsee scores twice in victory over Mariners

Marsee was a true pest as the Met and Marlins played one of the wildest games of the year. Twice the Mets pulled away with huge leads and both times the Marlins made them sweat it out. Marsee was a central reason as to why with a single to start their rally when down 8-0 in the third, a two-run, two-out single to knot this game at eight in the sixth, and a single to cut the lead to 15-14 in the ninth. It would wind up as too little too late, but Marsee has hit a groove lately. Over his last 30 games, he has a .314/.421/.480 slash line with three home runs and three stolen bases as he tries to salvage his poor season.

Marsee has a nice .281/.379/.474 line this month, though that comes with just two RBI (both on solo homers). Still, the big news is that he finally stole his 20th base of the season today. He had been stuck on 19 since July 10, going 0-for-2 on his only attempts of the second half. If Marsee starts running again, he’d have some value in mixed leagues.

Marsee was restored to the leadoff spot Thursday and stayed there tonight despite going 1-for-8 the last two games. He’s batting a fine .278/.358/.431 since the break, which would make him pretty interesting for fantasy purposes if he was stealing bases. Marsee, though, has been stuck on 19 steals since July 10, having been caught on his only two attempts during the second half.

Miami continues to mix things up with their leadoff spot, going back to the well with Marsee after he spent the majority of the past few months hitting towards the bottom of the order. He’s been seeing the ball well of late, hitting .294 (10-for-34) with one homer and three RBI over his last 15 games.

The Marlins mustered just three total hits in this one and Marsee was responsible for the lone extra-base hit of the bunch. His season has been a massive disappointment thus far with just a .199 batting average, six home runs, and 19 stolen bases. Strong defense in center field keeps him in the lineup everyday, so there’s a chance he can still turn things around.

At this point, you have to wonder how much longer Marsee can hold off Esteury Ruiz, and he could be in line for a trip to Triple-A when Owen Caissie (calf) is back from the injured list. Marsee is hitting .195/.315/.288 on the season with five home runs and 19 steals in 410 plate appearances. He does have an Outs Above Average of 5 in center field, which is likely saving his job right now, but his Defensive Runs Saved is -12, so not all metrics are convinced that he’s a good defender.

Even though he’s the Marlins’ best defensive center fielder, Marsee could be at some risk of getting demoted when Owen Caissie comes off the IL. He’s currently in a 1-for-18 slump and is hitting just .192/.313/.287 overall. He’s also turned into a non-factor on the basepaths of late, going just 1-for-2 in steals in his last 24 games. He had 18 steals in his first 74 games, which kept him semi-relevant in fantasy leagues in spite of his struggles.

Marsee ended a bizarre back-and-forth affair at loanDepot park by depositing a fly ball deep to right field to send the red-hot Marlins to an extra-inning victory in walk-off fashion. The 25-year-old outfielder finished 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI in the contest as Miami reached the 50-win threshold. They’ve gone 24-8 since the end of May to climb within three games of Atlanta for the NL East division lead.

Marsee returns without missing any additional time following an early exit from Sunday’s game against the Athletics with a right knee contusion. He’s back patrolling center field and hitting seventh during Tuesday’s series opener at loanDepot park.

Marsee has already undergone x-rays on the knee after he was hit by a pitch, and they returned negative. The 25-year-old is considered day-to-day, and he’ll have a chance to return to the Marlins’ lineup after an off-day against the Mariners on Tuesday.