JUPITER, FL—Especially when we are still in the early days of spring training, it’s normal for two starting pitchers to get work for the same team in a single game. On Monday, Miami Marlins right-handers Eury Pérez and Max Meyer both took the mound.
Here is a closer look at how they fared against the St. Louis Cardinals, plus more takeaways from the game and a couple injury updates.
Eury Pérez and Max Meyer take the mound
In Pérez’s lone inning of work, he threw 19 pitches (nine for strikes), surrendering one run on one one hit, two walks and struck out one. His lone strikeout victim was Nolan Gorman who swung at a 99.0 mph fastball, which is what Pérez topped out at. He threw his new sweeper as well.
“I think the sweeper looked good,” Pérez said in Spanish. “It’s something that I’ve been throwing and am going to continue working on. There was one swing-and-miss and some others that didn’t land for strikes. Think the weather was not helping me much with the grip.”
Last season, Pérez occasionally suffered from pitch-clock violations and that was once again the issue on Monday. He said that the first violation was due to some miscommunication between the coaching staff and Agustín Ramírez—they were supposed to start with a sweeper, but that was not communicated with Ramírez.
This start also was an opportunity for Pérez to work from the stretch even with the bases empty, something he admitted he is uncomfortable with. He worked on the delivery and holding runners.
Meyer’s debut was as good as you could’ve expected. He threw 11 pitches (seven for strikes) and struck out two, both with his slider. His fastball topped out at 96.7 mph.
“Feels good getting back on top of that pitch,” Meyer said about his slider following his outing. “It was tough getting on that in the past, but yeah, just getting on top of it, playing it in the zone, getting swings-and-misses in the zone. Obviously feels good, but it’s spring training, so can’t take too much out of it.”
This marked Meyer’s first appearance back after undergoing season-ending hip surgery, but there weren’t any nerves despite the long lay-off.
“Just felt good to be back out there, competing and getting in an actual game,” said Meyer. “Not many takeaways, it’s spring, everyone’s working on stuff. Threw strikes, not a lot of pitches, so had to finish up in the ‘pen, but it was good.” He estimates that he threw 15 additional pitches after leaving the game as he gradually builds up to a starter’s workload.
Jakob Marsee goes deep
Leading off the bottom of the first inning, Marlins outfielder Jakob Marsee took Cardinals starter Michael McGreevy 401 feet deep to right field. It marked his first home run of the spring. He later drew a pair of walks.
Marsee was invited to big league camp last spring, but an oblique strain limited him to only one game. After having success with Triple-A Jacksonville, he was called up by Miami a day after the 2025 trade deadline, played in 55 games and slashed .292/.363/.478/.842 with five home runs, 33 RBI, 14 stolen bases and a 133 wRC+.
“He looks great,” McCullough said. “He’s got himself ready to go take down a full season now in the major leagues. Great swing in that first at-bat, caught one elevated to pull side. He showed some power last season that maybe was a little surprising for as how he could impact the baseball.”
Marsee will make two more Grapefruit League starts before reporting to team Italy for the World Baseball Classic.
Pair of relievers make strong impression
Josh White and William Kempner were selected to the 40-man roster in November and they are both in their first big league camp.
White, who has a better chance of making the team’s Opening Day roster, is coming off a dominant Triple-A season, posting a 1.86 ERA in 67 ⅔ innings. On Monday, he topped out at 96.0 mph, striking out two without allowing any runs.
“Unique arm slot and how he can generate a lot of top-to-bottom with his breaking balls,” said McCullough. “Hitters have a tough time picking up the slider and where that ball is going to finish. Good first outing for him. Came as advertised.”
As for Kempner, he was acquired from the Giants for international pool money in January 2025, a move which has aged well for the Marlins. Kempner topped out at 96.7 mph and also struck out two, working around a walk and a hit-by-pitch.
“The stuff we know is going to be great. Now, accessing the strike zone on a regular basis will probably dictate the success, but the stuff is no question,” McCullough said.
Quick notes
– In addition to the pitchers mentioned above, the Marlins also used Michael Petersen, Garrett Acton, Josh White, William Kempner, Patrick Monteverde, Colby Martin and Peyton Fosher. Monteverde made the first multi-inning appearance of any Marlins pitcher this spring. Most of the position players who played were the ones we previously saw up in Port St. Lucie for the Grapefruit League opener on Saturday.
– Matthew Etzel helped himself with a 109.7 mph double in the top of the ninth inning, but in the bottom of the ninth, he misjudged a ball in center field, leading to a double on what should have been the final out of the game.
– Chris Paddack will start for the Marlins on Tuesday against the Philadelphia Phillies. Tyler Phillips will start a bullpen game on Wednesday against the Houston Astros, which will also include Pete Fairbanks‘ 2026 spring debut.
– Graham Pauley is dealing with right forearm tightness and has been shut down from all baseball activities. He went for imaging and no results have come back as of Wednesday evening.
– Andrew Nardi (right finger blister) threw a pitch design session of 15 pitches and is progressing well. “You can tell there’s a whole different vibe and feel around him,” McCullough said. “He’s feeling great.”
– Anthony Bender (right tibial stress reaction) came out of his last pitch design “in a great spot,” per McCullough. Next step is for him to dial up his fastball velo.
– The plan for Janson Junk (Grade 1 right ankle sprain) is to get him on the mound either Wednesday or Thursday
What’s next?
The Marlins will remain in Jupiter Tuesday afternoon as they welcome the Philadelphia Phillies at 1:10 pm. Chris Paddack, who was one of four free agents the team signed this offseason, will make his first start of the spring. It’s expected to be one inning. The game will not be televised, but you can listen on the MLB app.