Harrison, NBA brother make sports history

Monte Harrison made his MLB debut on Tuesday night, and after the game, the 24-year-old outfielder took to social media to note that he and his brother are now part of history.

Harrison’s older brother, Shaquille, is a guard for the Chicago Bulls. In a tweet, Harrison noted that he and Shaq are “1 of 4 sets of brothers to play Professional Basketball (NBA) & Baseball (MLB).”

In recent years, the Thompson brothers -- Trayce (MLB) and Klay/Mychel (NBA) -- are another set of siblings.

“We had initially talked about this in 2018 when he made his debut in the NBA,” Monte said on Wednesday. “That always sat in the back of my mind. When that actually finally happened, he didn’t know I was going to make that tweet and make it be known. That was kind of my surprise to him.

“He was happy about it. Just to know that we’re one of four brothers to be able to do what we do, and we’re blessed to do it. It definitely is a blessing.”

Harrison is Miami’s No. 10 prospect, and he has the chance to become a dynamic center fielder with speed and power.

“We just worked our [butts] off every single day,” Harrison said. “We were always those kids that got in trouble, got made fun of and little stuff like that. People thought that we weren’t going to really be anything. We both sat down and were like, ‘We can be whatever we want to be, we’ve got to work for it.’ We started working.”

Joyce’s COVID-19 battle
About a month before the Marlins’ recent COVID-19 outbreak that led to 18 players and two coaches testing positive, veteran outfielder Matt Joyce had his own experience dealing with the coronavirus.

Joyce, 36, publicly revealed that his testing positive for the virus is the reason he was placed on the injured list on July 15, leading him to miss all of Summer Camp. He was finally reinstated on Tuesday, and he continues to build up to game speed.

“It’s been a whirlwind, for sure,” Joyce said Wednesday during a Zoom call. “I feel amazing right now.

“Obviously, a lot of people don’t really want to speak about it, but I did have the virus for a little bit there. I had symptoms for six days. I was much more fortunate than somebody like [Braves first baseman] Freddie Freeman, where it wasn’t as bad for me.”

In combating the virus, Joyce said he felt lethargic and dealt with headaches. It took him about a week to start feeling better. According to MLB protocols, players with positive results must test negative twice at least 24 hours apart to be reactivated.

“It was just a little bit frustrating of a process because it took so long for me to get a negative test,” Joyce said. “It took me about a month to get a negative test.”

With so many players currently dealing with the virus, Joyce has been a sounding board, offering his insights to his teammates.

“I told the guys about my experience and what I went through,” Joyce said. “I wish the best for them, and hopefully they have a much better experience than I did with the testing results.”

Joyce faced living pitching just twice before being called in for the series vs. the Orioles.

“It’s a different time, for sure,” Joyce said. “We are really going through all the protocols every single day, and it’s a totally different world right now. Testing, masks all the time.

“The only part of normalcy we are having is to get on the field and play the game. And even that, not having the fans out there feels completely different. We’re doing the best we can to play and to win.”

Six prospects in Top 100
MLB Pipeline released its new Top 100 Prospects list Tuesday, and six Marlins are on it -- right-hander Sixto Sánchez (No. 24), outfielder JJ Bleday (No. 30), right-hander Max Meyer (No. 42), shortstop Jazz Chisholm (No. 74), outfielder Jesús Sánchez (No. 90) and right-hander Edward Cabrera (No. 96).

On Miami’s new Top 30 prospects list, five of the six pitchers taken in the 2020 MLB Draft have cracked the rankings -- Meyer (No. 3), left-hander Dax Fulton (No. 12), right-hander Kyle Nicolas (No. 20), right-hander Zach McCambley (No. 21) and lefty Jake Eder (No. 22).

Sixto Sánchez, the Marlins’ top prospect, has impressed at Miami’s alternate training site in Jupiter, Fla. Once he is built up, the organization is open to promoting him to the big leagues.

“We’ve got some arms,” outfielder Lewis Brinson said. “I had the chance to face Sixto, he is very good. I’m amazed at how relaxed and how confident he is in his ability to throw strikes and throw whatever pitch in whatever count, no matter who’s at the plate.”