MIAMI (AP) — Robby Snelling was already receiving autograph requests from young Marlins fans 24 hours before his first Major League Baseball start.
The Marlins sure hope that will become a new norm for their No. 2 pitching prospect, who was called up this week from Triple-A Jacksonville to make his MLB debut Friday against the Washington Nationals.
“It's pretty surreal,” Snelling said in Miami's clubhouse Thursday before walking over to the dugout where fans yelled for his signature. “Still trying to just kind of soak it in and get acclimated with all the guys again that I was around in spring and really take it all in and not let the moment get too big.”
The left-handed Snelling, selected 39th by San Diego in the 2022 amateur draft, was dealt to Miami in a 2024 package that sent left-hander Tanner Scott and righty Bryan Hoeing to the Padres.
Snelling did not make the Marlins' initial 40-man roster despite impressing coaches during spring training. He called that both frustrating and motivating.
“I was upset and not necessarily at anybody in general,” Snelling said. "Just being told that you’re not going to get to do what you really had wanted to do as early as you wanted to do is a tough pill to swallow.
“But then you kind of come back down to earth and realize, ‘Alright, what do I need to do to get to that point where I want to be?’”
So he worked on lowering his walks, in part by improving his first-pitch strike rate. In six starts with Triple-A Jacksonville this season, Snelling went 3-1 with the second-best ERA (1.86) among qualified pitchers. He walked more than three batters only twice in those six starts.
“It’s exciting because Robby’s a great competitor," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "He’s worked really hard. He’s performing in a manner that he’s very deserving of this opportunity.”
A spot opened up in the Marlins' rotation after struggling pitcher Chris Paddack was designated for assignment on Tuesday.
The 30-year-old Paddack signed a one-year, $4 million free agent deal with the Marlins in the offseason and was targeted for an end-of-the rotation role. But Paddack struggled in his seven starts, posting an 0-5 record and 7.63 ERA and completing six innings in only one of his appearances.
There were other experienced options Miami could have inserted there, including left-hander Braxton Garrett, but Snelling's recent performance showed the team he was ready for the opportunity.
“Coming into it we were certainly very high on Robby," McCullough said. “He performed incredibly well last year. This spring, he came into it in competition potentially for a spot in our rotation. Robby’s done well down there and continued to perform.”
The Jumbo Shrimp were coming off a walk-off win on Wednesday when Snelling got the news he was called up. He was summoned to manager David Carpenter's office afterward, where he was praised for his focus throughout the week with the uncertainty on whether his major league shot would come.
“I was like, 'Man, it’s really hard to keep my sanity knowing that potentially it was an option for me to go up,’” Snelling recalled telling Carpenter, who responded with a rather nonchalant question.
“He’s like, ‘Yeah, you’re still good to go on Friday right?'” Carpenter said, referring to Snelling's scheduled Triple-A start. "I was like, ‘Yeah.’ And he goes, 'Well, you’re going to be throwing in Miami.'"
Snelling described the past couple of days as a sort of reunion with players he became close with during the spring, including catcher Joe Mack, another highly-rated prospect who was called up this week. Mack scored the winning run on a throwing error in the ninth inning of the Marlins' win over Baltimore on Thursday.
It has also made Snelling grateful for the journey that brought him here.
“It was always fun competing with those guys (in the minors)," he said. “It didn’t really matter where I was in my mind. Obviously this is the goal — being up here and staying up here is the goal.”
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