The Miami Marlins kicked off their 2026 spring training campaign with a tightly contested 2-1 victory over the New York Mets on Saturday at Clover Park, highlighted by a poised performance from left-handed pitching prospect Robby Snelling.
Snelling, a non-roster invitee to Miami’s big league camp for the second consecutive year, took the mound in the Grapefruit League opener facing some of the game’s brightest young stars: Marcus Semien, Juan Soto, and Bo Bichette. Despite initial jitters, the 22-year-old struck a perfect tone in the first inning, retiring the trio in order and setting the stage for the Marlins’ narrow win.
The outing showcased a far more confident Snelling than in his previous spring appearance. After a challenging 2024 season in which his ERA ballooned to 6.01 and his stock slipped, Snelling was sent to Miami as part of a blockbuster July trade. Once in the Marlins’ system, he quickly began to regain form, finishing the year with a 3.64 ERA across eight starts, including a late-season Triple-A appearance that showed he could compete at higher levels.
Carrying that momentum into 2025, Snelling made notable adjustments—elevating his velocity and trusting his pitch mix—which helped him rank fourth in the Minor Leagues in strikeouts (166 in 136 innings) and K/BB rate (23.2%), while placing fifth in ERA at 2.51. His turnaround earned him the Marlins’ 2025 Minor League Pitcher of the Year award. Key to his resurgence was his reunion with assistant pitching coach Rob Marcello, who had first guided Snelling as the Padres’ director of pitching when Miami drafted him 39th overall in 2022. Together, they had previously worked at Triple-A Jacksonville, culminating in a national championship.
While Snelling’s spring performance was encouraging, the 40-man roster is already deep with experienced pitching options, including starters Sandy Alcantara, Eury Pérez, Max Meyer, Braxton Garrett, Chris Paddack, Janson Junk, Adam Mazur, and Ryan Gusto, with Bradley Blalock also available. Given the depth, Snelling is not expected to break camp with the Opening Day roster, but Saturday’s performance certainly sent a message: he is ready for big league opportunities when the time comes.
For now, the Marlins can savor a hard-fought opening day win while keeping a close eye on one of their brightest young arms, whose spring debut suggests that 2026 could be a breakout year.
