Griffin Conine reaches twice in win over Pirates

Conine is unstoppable right now. This home run was his 13th of the season and 10 of those have come in his last 28 games. His .944 OPS is also the third-highest among all players with at least 150 plate appearances trailing only Yordan Alvarez and Juan Soto. That’s right, Alvarez, Soto, and Conine. Since Kyle Stowers went on the injured list earlier this week, Conine has started consecutive games at first base and hit third in the Marlins’ lineup. It’s wheels up for him right now, just be aware that he’ll likely still sit against many left-handed pitchers.

Conine’s first homer was a two-run shot that left the bat at 115 mph, the hardest-hit ball by a Marlin this season. His second came off a 40-mph eephus with the game well out of reach. He’s a platoon player with a strikeout rate hovering around 30 percent, but his profile has some strong batted-ball metrics. Conine has hit 2-5 in the lineup in every game against right-handers this month, increasing his fantasy value in daily lineup leagues.

There was some expectation that this would happen after Liam Hicks was traded to Tampa Bay, but it’s still a bit of a surprise. Hicks was being used primarily as a designated hitter with Joe Mack entrenched as the catcher, so Ramírez will either be a short-side platoon at catcher or the designated hitter, or a little bit of both. The consequence of that would be that one of Griffin Conine, Heriberto Hernandez, or Owen Caissie will no longer be penciled in as the full-time designated hitter in the wake of Hicks’ trade.

The lefty-hitting outfielder was out of the lineup as Philadelphia started southpaw Jesús Luzardo. He still made his presence felt and now has a .563 slugging percentage in 127 plate appearances on the year. Conine has been starting against every right-hander the Marlins have faced recently. His Statcast metrics suggest a career-best season, though the sample remains small. He’s someone to keep an eye on in deeper leagues when the team has several righties on the schedule.

Conine’s home run was his eighth of the season. He hit a solo shot off Zack Wheeler in the second inning. In the ninth inning, Conine hit a walk-off single in a tie game with the bases loaded and one out. Conine is hitting .266 with an .887 OPS and 18 RBI in 109 at-bats.

The homer off Craig Yoho came in his second at-bat after he replaced Esteury Ruiz. It’s his third straight game with a homer, which is especially impressive because he’s had exactly two at-bats in all three of those games; he also came off the bench Sunday before the break and he was removed for a pinch-hitter in the seventh last night. He has seven homers in 95 plate appearances on the season. The Marlins face nothing but righties next week, so a red-hot Conine wouldn’t be a bad streaming play.

Conine’s solo home run in the fifth inning stood firm as the Marlins’ only run here. It looked like he’d have another chance in his next at-bat, but was lifted for a pinch-hitter with left-handed Aaron Ashby on the mound. The Marlins have been steadfast with their lefty, righty decisions all season and Conine was a casualty of it here. Alas, he has six home runs and a .909 OPS in 93 plate appearances on the season, almost entirely against right-handed pitchers.

Conine got the Marlins on the board with a 373-foot (106.5-mph EV) solo shot off of Bryce Miller to lead off the second inning. He then smacked a one-out double in the seventh inning and scored on Jakob Marsee’s RBI single. With his three-hit night, the 28-year-old outfielder is now hitting .264/.369/.486 with four homers and 11 RBI through his first 84 plate appearances on the season.

It sounds like a precautionary move since Caissie was replaced by Griffin Conine in right field to open the second inning. The 24-year-old rookie has hit .239/.297/.459 with 12 homers, 50 RBI and four steals in 246 plate appearances over 79 games in his Miami debut. He’s delivered borderline top-50 value among fantasy outfielders this season.

Hernández hit two home runs on Sunday and then was not in the lineup on Tuesday as the Marlins struggle to deal with their outfield surplus. Hernández has started mainly against lefties, with Griffin Conine and/or Owen Caissie heading to the bench, which makes sense because Hernández has been far better against lefties, with an .870 OPS compared to a .739 mark against righties. On Wednesday, it will be Conine on the bench despite the Marlins facing right-haner George Kirby.