Robby

Snelling

Snelling gave up five runs to the Phillies last time out, so this is a nice return to form for him. He’s going to be sent down unless the Marlins rotation gets battered by injuries between now and Opening Day, but he might not stay in Triple-A for long.

That the Marlins parted with Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers in trade offers hope that Snelling could make his debut pretty early this season, but he’ll have to earn it. Working against him is that he’s not yet on the 40-man, though that’s not going to be much of an obstacle if he keeps dominating in Triple-A like he did at the end of last year.

Snelling set down Marcus Semien, Juan Soto and Bo Bichette in a flawless 10-pitch opening frame. The 22-year-old southpaw toeing the rubber for Miami’s spring opener qualifies as a notable fantasy storyline. Yet, his path to a spot on the club’s season-opening rotation appears slim after the club brought in former top prospect Chris Paddack as a reclamation project to fill out the rotation. He figures to arrive in the big leagues at some point later this season after compiling an impressive 2.51 ERA and 30.3 percent strikeout rate across 136 innings last year in the upper minors. He’s a name to watch as a potential in-season pickup for fantasy managers.

The trade is now official. Weathers has shown flashes of big-time potential, recording a strong 3.74 ERA — 4.26 FIP — 1.21 WHIP and 117/36 K/BB ratio across 125 innings for the Marlins over the last two seasons. The 26-year-old southpaw has been limited to just 24 starts during that span due to injuries, including forearm and lat issues that cost him nearly five months this past season. He’s an interesting gamble for the Yankees — and a speculative late-round dice roll in fantasy leagues — as a high-upside rotation arm with Gerrit Cole coming off Tommy John surgery and Carlos Rodón working his way back from an offseason elbow procedure. He projects as a high-velocity impact reliever if they decide to move him to the bullpen at some point in the future. Meanwhile, his departure from Miami removes another obstacle from the path of top pitching prospects Thomas White and Robby Snelling.

Craig Mish of the Miami Herald adds that outfielders Dillon Lewis and Brendan Jones and infielders Dylan Jasso and Juan Matheus are heading to the Marlins in the deal. Weathers has shown flashes of big-time potential, recording a strong 3.74 ERA — 4.26 FIP — 1.21 WHIP and 117/36 K/BB ratio across 125 innings for the Marlins over the last two seasons. The 26-year-old southpaw has been limited to just 24 starts during that span due to injuries, including forearm and lat issues that cost him nearly five months this past season. He’s an interesting gamble for the Yankees as a high-upside back-end rotation arm with Gerrit Cole coming back from Tommy John surgery and Carlos Rodón working his way back from elbow surgery. Meanwhile, the Marlins continue clearing the flotsam and jetsam from their rotation mix with top pitching prospects Thomas White and Robby Snelling on the precipice of the big leagues.

Unreal. Snelling continues to look like one of the top pitching prospects in baseball as he’s allowed two earned runs or fewer in 12 consecutive starts stretching back to mid-June. He continues leaning heavily on his outstanding curveball, which he threw a whopping 37 times in this latest outing, and looks ready for a potential cup of coffee with the Marlins over the final three weeks of the season.

Snelling allowed just three hits and threw 66 of his 100 pitches for strikes while registering a 29 percent whiff rate and 34 percent CSW. He pounded the zone with a 95 mph fastball and then got plenty of whiffs on his curveball en route to another tremendous performance. He now has a 1.34 ERA and 43/7 K/BB ratio in his first 33 2/3 innings at Triple-A. We may even see an MLB start or two in September for the talented 21-year-old.

Snelling allowed five hits and one walk while posting a 44 percent whiff rate and 39 percent CSW. He sat 94.1 mph on his four-seam fastball and carved up hitters with his curve. Snelling is just 21 years old, but the 81st-ranked prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, now has a 1.63 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and a 34/5 K/BB ratio in 27 2/3 innings at Triple-A. He has a legit chance to break camp with the Marlins in 2026.

Snelling moved up after posting a 3.61 ERA and an 85/22 K/BB in 72 1/3 innings for Double-A Pensacola. His stock hasn’t recovered to pre-2024 levels, but plus command of average stuff could make him a solid rotation option in time.

Snelling is the third-ranked prospect in Miami’s system, according to MLB Pipeline, and the 81st-ranked prospect in baseball. He has a 3.61 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, and 85/22 K/B ratio in 72 1/3 innings at Double-A this season, but has found his groove of late with a 2.68 ERA and 43/6 K/BB ratio over his last seven starts. He’s just 21 years old, so it’s unlikely that he makes his MLB debut this season, but with Sandy Alcantara and Edward Cabrera on the trade block, it’s possible there is a rotation spot for Snelling in 2026.