The Marlins will improve their chances of catching the top Joe Mack ahead of tomorrow’s game with the Phillies, SportsGrid’s Craig Mish reports. Agustin Ramirez will be optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding 26-man draft, and Mack is already on Miami’s 40-man roster.
Mack was the 31st overall pick in 2021, and after steadily working his way up the Marlins’ minor league ladder, the 23-year-old is now set to make his Major League debut. Baseball America ranks Mack as the 50th best prospect in the sport, and experts such as The Athletic’s Keith Law (52nd), MLB Pipeline (54th) and ESPN.com (61st) have also included Mack in their top 100 rankings.
The consensus is that Mack is a good fit for the big team on defense alone, as he has earned praise for his composition, blocking, and strong throwing arm. There have been few questions about his hitting ability since Mack bounced back from a bad 2023 season to post league-best numbers over the last three campaigns, hitting .249/.334/.444 with 21 runs scored over 515 plate appearances with Triple-A Jacksonville.
Mack’s approach is little to nothing as he primarily looks to catch the ball in the air, but even if this leads to his share of hits, Mack has enough power to capitalize on contact. Over 103 PA in Jacksonville this season, Mack’s walk rate increased to 19.4% (up from 8.5% in 412 Triple-A PA in 2025) and he lowered his strikeout rate from 27.9% to 21.4%.
It seemed like only a matter of time before Mack got a call from the Show, even if the Marlins chose to resist Mack on their Opening Day roster. Miami went on to hold Ramirez’s tandem once Liam Hicksand Hicks has hit .309/.366/.557 with seven homers over 112 PA while splitting time between catching, first base, and DH.
Ramirez, however, is hitting .230/.318/.345 with two home runs over 129 PA, making him the odd man out of the catcher picture. Ramirez went 21 yards in 2025 while hitting .231/.287/.413 in 585 PA, but his decline in power took away his most powerful weapon. Since Ramirez is also arguably the worst catcher in baseball, there wasn’t much case for continuing to give him at-bats while Mack was ready to go to Triple-A, as MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald argued earlier this week.
Since Hicks is also nothing special in terms of glove work, putting Mack behind the plate should have an immediate impact on the Marlins from a defensive standpoint. While the hope is obviously that Mack can adapt quickly as a big league hitter, producing even an average offense in his first MLB appearance would be a bonus and the negative impact Mack’s defense brings to Miami’s run prevention efforts.
Because Mack is only coming up now, the Marlins will not receive a bonus draft pick using the Prospect Promotion Incentive if he finishes in the top two in NL Rookie of the Year voting (or has a top three MVP finish before he is eligible for arbitration). However, Mack himself would receive a full year of major league service time if he were able to finish in the top two for ROY, and is currently in the process of earning Super Two status and an additional year of salary cap eligibility if he remains on Miami’s active roster.
