Homer, defense, game-calling -- Fortes a triple threat

MIAMI -- Nick Fortes might have made a nice play behind the dish and hit a home run in Saturday’s 6-2 Marlins loss to the Mets at loanDepot park, but the area of his game that has seen the most growth can’t be quantified.

With Edward Cabrera struggling to find the strike zone, Fortes tried his best to settle the right-hander. Fortes, who caught all but five of Cabrera’s 71 2/3 Major League innings in 2022, recognized the flamethrower was falling behind by trying to be too perfect and working too fast.

Cabrera still walked a career-high six batters, but Fortes helped him limit the damage to two runs across four innings. The game-calling and relationship-building aspects of Fortes’ game have both improved with the mentorship of former MLB backstop and field coordinator Rod Barajas, quality assurance coach Griffin Benedict and veteran backstop Jacob Stallings.

“It was just very positive about Nick,” Cabrera said via interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. “He was always trying to go out there, give me some extra time to breathe, take things easy and try to attack the zone, go back to the strike zone. So I take it very well that Nick was going out there trying to help me and stay positive the whole time.”

The 26-year-old Fortes, who missed a week of Spring Training with mild right knee tendinitis, also got banged up on a collision Saturday. In the aftermath of Omar Narváez’s sac fly in the second inning, Mark Canha scraped Fortes’ inner left thigh with his cleat when Fortes went to tag the runner as Jesús Sánchez's throw home reached the plate.

After being checked on, Fortes brushed it off. He then knocked a go-ahead two-run homer against Tylor Megill in the bottom half of the frame to put the Marlins ahead, 2-1.

“I think my approach is a lot more solid,” Fortes said. “I'm able to stick to it a little bit better, kind of not get myself out as much, dictate the at-bat on my own terms. And then controlling the game defensively, just being more of a leader back there and more of a veteran-type presence even though I'm not even near a veteran.”

Fortes later showed off his defense on Luis Guillorme’s swinging bunt, pouncing on the ball, spinning and making the throw to first base for the first out of the fourth. On Friday, he caught Starling Marte trying to steal second.

Here are some metrics that show where Fortes ranked among MLB catchers in 2022:
• 1.93 average pop time to second (T-11th with the Dodgers’ Will Smith)
• Minus-1 catcher framing runs (T-35th with Gold Glover J.T. Realmuto)
• 1 block above average (T-27th with the Astros’ Martín Maldonado)

That type of play is why Fortes continues to garner more playing time, just like he did in 2022. Saturday marked the third time in Fortes’ MLB career that he made consecutive starts behind the dish; he did so on two occasions last season, when Miami went with Payton Henry as its Opening Day backup catcher.

That didn’t last long, as Fortes received the callup on May 27 and he never relinquished the role. In fact, then-manager Don Mattingly -- who compared Fortes to Smith -- often paired Fortes with his Triple-A battery mates. By season’s end, both Fortes and reigning NL Gold Glove winner Stallings, whom the Marlins acquired in a trade with the Pirates, had consistent playing time.

“It's really tough to stick here, and it tests you day-in and day-out,” Fortes said. “I do kind of give myself a little pat on the back that I've been able to keep a level head and stick with my approach and just try to do the best I can to have success, because it's hard to stick up here. So yeah, I am proud of myself for being able to do that so far.”

Prior to Opening Day, manager Skip Schumaker wouldn’t go as far as to say Fortes and Stallings would be used in a 50/50 timeshare. However, Schumaker said he had no problem starting Fortes in more games this year because he has earned it.

Schumaker went on to commend Fortes for the amount of growth he has shown from the first time they met through the end of Spring Training.

“It's limited at-bats still for me, but it is tough to find offensive catchers,” Schumaker said. “It really is, and the way he's going about it defensively, too. He made a great play on that kind of swinging bunt sliding and threw him out. So it's not just the offensive side. He's doing a really good job. He threw a guy out already. So he's trending up.”