After a coffee run, Burdick notches first MLB hit

CHICAGO -- Peyton Burdick, the Marlins’ No. 10 prospect, has had an eventful couple of days. He got the call on Wednesday that he was being called up to the big leagues, then he made his MLB debut on Friday.

But Saturday was a day the rookie will never forget. He notched his first Major League hit in the third inning of the Marlins’ 4-0 loss against the Cubs at Wrigley Field and also took part in a team tradition before the game.

“It’s pretty wild,” Burdick said of his week. “Yesterday, obviously there’s emotion and stuff. Your head’s kind of everywhere. I felt today I was more grounded, [I] felt my feet were on the ground. So it was definitely better today, and I'm looking forward to keep striving going forward.”

Burdick and his rookie teammates made their annual coffee run before Saturday’s game, a tradition in Miami’s clubhouse for years. After last year’s rookies made the same coffee trip outside Wrigley Field, it happened at the Friendly Confines once again.

Eleven players with under one year of service time -- Burdick, Anthony Bender, Huascar Brazoban, Edward Cabrera, Braxton Garrett, Nick Fortes, Lewin Díaz , Charles Leblanc, Luke Williams, JJ Bleday and Bryan De La Cruz -- walked across the street in their uniforms and got Miami’s veterans their coffee.

“It was fun,” Burdick said. “Everybody was taking pictures and stuff with us. ... It’s kind of fun doing stuff with all the other guys.”

As the players started to make their way to the coffee shop, they had a big list of what drinks to get. This is a tradition, though, the young guys like Burdick love to be a part of. It’s just another way to get to know the rest of the team.

“It was fun that we were all in our uniforms, just walking over there with each other,” Burdick said. “We’re all just like, ‘All right let’s go.’”

But that was only the start of Burdick’s memorable day. Though Burdick went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts in his Major League debut on Friday, he saw 26 pitches and worked an impressive eight-pitch walk.

There was more of that patience at the plate on Saturday. In his first at-bat, Burdick connected with a low curveball, waiting back before hooking the first hit of his young career into left field.

“Feels pretty good,” Burdick said. “Just getting that first one out of the way. I kind of blacked out at the plate, so it was pretty nice.”

Wasting no time to collect his first MLB hit was fitting for Burdick, who moved through the Marlins’ Minor League system quickly. After being drafted in the third round of the 2019 MLB Draft, he played just one full season in the Minors before being called up. He hit .308 with 11 home runs in his first taste of the pros, most of which was spent at Single-A Clinton. With COVID-19 resulting in the cancellation of the 2020 season, Burdick moved up to Double-A Pensacola in 2021, then earned a late-season promotion to Triple-A Jacksonville.

In 88 games with the Jumbo Shrimp this year, he hit .229 with 14 home runs, 51 RBIs and eight stolen bases.

“I’ve had a pretty good eye on him the last couple of years,” manager Don Mattingly said pregame on Friday. “[He] just started off so well from the very first year we get him, tears it up right away. Those guys kind of catch your eye, they’re having success right out of the gate. You know that there’s going to be the possibility of having some bumps in that road.”

Burdick will have his opportunities this year for the Marlins. With Miami 11 games under .500 at 48-59, the rookie will get plenty of chances to show what he has at the plate.

“We just got to give him a chance to play,” Mattingly said. “Let him get comfortable and see what happens. But obviously [to] get his first hit, that’s a good thing. Get that monkey off your back. Don’t let that thing grow game after game. So to be able to do that, I think is going to be big for him.”

Seeing that first ball drop on Saturday is something that Burdick will always remember. And to have his family in the crowd was even better.

“They’re pretty happy,” Burdick said. “That’s the first thing they said when they came down to the field. They told me, ‘Congratulations on the first one. And 2,999 more to go.’”