MIAMI — There's nothing quite like the thrill of a major league debut. Joe Mack stood at his first big-league locker, a wide smile spreading across his face as he admitted, yes, he'd be nervous for his first start. It's the moment he's dreamed about since he first picked up a baseball as a kid.
The call came Sunday in wonderfully chaotic fashion, after a Double-A game in Durham, North Carolina. "My manager brought us all in and yelled at everybody for no reason," recalled the Marlins' new catcher. "Then he said it was because I was going to The Show. It was definitely a shock to hear the news."
He immediately called his mom and dad, then his girlfriend. By Monday night's debut against the Phillies, they had all arrived — along with his brother, sister, his longtime hitting coach and his wife, their child, the hitting coach's brother... the list goes on.
That part never gets old. But the other side of this story? That's a different feeling entirely. Another promising Marlins prospect, Agustin Ramirez, was sent down to the minors after struggling to find his footing at the big-league level.
Ramirez arrived with considerable buzz — he was the headline name in the trade that sent Jazz Chisholm to the New York Yankees a couple of years back. But while the Marlins have done well finding low-cost talent — shortstop Otto Lopez (team-leading 1.9 WAR) off waivers, reliever John King (just three hits allowed in 15 innings) for $1 million, and catcher Liam Hicks, a Rule 5 pick who entered Monday tied for second in the majors with 29 RBI — the investments like Ramirez need to pay off for this rebuild to truly work.
Those low-cost finds, combined with some strong pitching, have the Marlins sitting at a respectable 16-18 entering Monday's game against Philadelphia. That's no small feat for a youth-built roster carrying a league-low $80 million payroll. But Ramirez's story is a reminder of the challenges that come with rebuilding. After showing promise last season with 21 home runs, his defense remained troubling and hasn't improved this year. The hitting has also gone cold — just two home runs so far this season.
"A hard one," manager Clayton McCullough called the decision to demote Ramirez. "Especially the defense, that part of his game needs to continue to improve to be able to catch up here."
The problem runs deeper than just Ramirez. But for now, the spotlight shifts to Mack — a rising hope ready to write his own story, one nervous first start at a time.