Griffin

Conine

Conine, hitting .254/.354/.479 on the season, has been in a mini-funk, hitting .188/.304/.250 over his last 15 games even after this effort. Perhaps this’ll get him turned around. Kyle Stowers’ uncertain status going forward with his hamstring means Conine could get regular playing time against righties as the season winds down.

Conine entered the game after Xavier Edwards (thumb, elbow) left due to injury. He made the most of his opportunity, as he walked and stole second base in the seventh inning but was left stranded there. He also walked and executed a double steal with Esteury Ruiz in the ninth, before scoring on a throwing error. On the season, the 29-year-old outfielder is slashing .249/.354/.492 with 14 homers, 31 RBI and four swipes in 229 plate appearances.

Conine’s home run was his 14th of the year. He hit a solo shot off Zack Wheeler in the second inning. Conine is 15-for-50 with five home runs and 11 RBI in 16 games in August so far. He’s hitting .278 with a .933 OPS and 31 RBI on the season.

While Conine has been a fixture in the middle of the Marlins’ lineup since returning from the injured list, he’ll get a day off in this one with left-hander Nick Lodolo toeing the slab for the Reds. Leo Jimenez will start in his place at the cold corner and will bat sixth for the Marlins.

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.

This could have been a far better night, as Conine’s two outs were hit 400 and 376 feet. The first was caught just shy of the wall in center, but the second would have been a homer if Bryan Reynolds didn’t reach over the wall to catch it in left. All three of Conine’s balls in play were hit 103-105 mph. He’s striking out plenty, but he has an exceptional 57 percent hard-hit rate in his 53 games this season.

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.