Braxton Garrett, Robby Snelling dominate Triple-A, Marlins weigh promotions

Braxton Garrett and Robby Snelling have given the Marlins two different kinds of Triple-A pressure. Garrett, the veteran coming back from a second Tommy John surgery, has pitched like a starter who is ready to leave Jacksonville behind. Snelling, Miami’s No. 2 prospect, has looked like a fast-moving arm forcing the club to decide whether its big-league pitching depth can wait any longer.

Garrett’s latest statement came in the form of six no-hit innings against Norfolk, a 6.0-inning outing with six strikeouts and one walk that earned him International League Pitcher of the Week honors. At that point, he had worked 15.1 innings in 2026 and allowed just one earned run, four hits and five walks while striking out 17. For a pitcher who missed all of 2025, that is not merely a rehab line. It is a rotation claim.

His path back matters because Miami built its opening rotation around a staff already under strain. Offseason trades sent Edward Cabrera to the Chicago Cubs and Ryan Weathers to the New York Yankees, leaving the Marlins to sort through Sandy Alcantara, Eury Pérez, Max Meyer, Chris Paddack and Janson Junk on Opening Day, with Garrett in Jacksonville after losing the fifth-starter competition to Junk. The club opted for the safer timeline, but Garrett’s early Triple-A work has narrowed the gap between caution and need. His slider has replaced his curveball as his primary putaway pitch, and his first three starts produced a 0.59 ERA with a 17-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 15 1/3 innings.

Snelling’s case is more about force than recovery. The left-hander, who won the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year award after a breakout split between Double-A Pensacola and Jacksonville in 2025, has kept rolling at the highest level of the minors. He struck out 12 over five innings against Norfolk on April 11, then followed with nine strikeouts across six scoreless innings against Jacksonville on April 18. Through his first four starts, he logged a 1.89 ERA, 31 strikeouts and a 0.95 WHIP in 19 innings.

That is the kind of performance that turns a prospect into a roster conversation. Garrett’s numbers suggest a pitcher ready to cover innings and stabilize a bullpen-leaning staff. Snelling’s numbers suggest something more aggressive, the kind of promotion that would signal Miami is willing to lean on upside to solve big-league pitching problems now.