Chisholm makes his 'best play' as outfielder

This story was excerpted from Christina De Nicola’s Marlins Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

MIAMI -- The advanced metrics don’t effuse praise on Marlins center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr., so he has stopped worrying about them. What matters to him is receiving outfield coach Jon Jay’s approval.

When Marcus Semien barreled the first pitch of Saturday’s 7-0 loss to the Rangers at loanDepot park, Chisholm raced toward the left-center-field wall with an elite 30.0 feet-per-second sprint speed. He leapt to snare the 100.4 mph fly ball, then braced for a collision with the fence. In covering 96 feet -- despite a -3.3-foot jump -- Chisholm recorded the first out with a 55 percent catch probability.

“For me, that's the best play he's made in the outfield,” Jay told MLB.com. “He's been working out there and getting more comfortable out there. It was fun to see.”

Last season, Chisholm missed six weeks with right turf toe on a similar play after stepping on the cement block at the foot of the wall. He underwent surgery after the National League Wild Card Series loss to the Phillies.

“I made sure I jumped,” Chisholm said. “That's what I thought about this year, is that when I get close to the fence around there, I'm not going to hit my foot. I'm going to jump. So that's what I did today.”

It was especially rewarding for Chisholm, who came close to robbing extra bases a couple of times on the recent road trip.

Entering Sunday, Chisholm has -2 Defensive Runs Saved (-9 in 2023) and 0 Outs Above Average (4 in ’23). The OAA breakdown is as follows: plays going back to his left (1), back (-2), going back to his right (1) and in to his left (-1). According to Baseball Savant, his fielding run value is 0.

Including Saturday, Chisholm has played just 1,279 2/3 career innings across 150 starts in center field. Chisholm and Jay agree he has looked more comfortable with time. After all, it’s not an easy transition going from the infield to the outfield.

“It's not like this is eighth year in or something,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “He's still learning the position and he's making strides, and I'm glad that they fixed the fence, so he can make a play like that and still be back ready for the next play and not come out of the game like he did last year. He's still learning, and he's getting better every day.”