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 – In the early going of Wednesday’s game at loanDepot park, the Cardinals ran wild with three stolen bases against Marlins right-hander Yonny Chirinos in his club debut.

So, with the score tied at 3 in the eighth inning, St. Louis kept being aggressive on the basepaths. But when pinch-runner José Fermín tried to steal second on a 2-1 changeup from righty Huascar Brazoban, catcher Nick Fortes threw out the potential go-ahead run for the first out of the frame with an 83 mph throw – his fastest of the season – and a 1.83 second pop time -- his third fastest.

Over the past two years, Fortes has been one of the best in the Majors when it comes to blocking. Controlling the ground game, however, had been an issue.

After finishing 2023 tied for the second-highest stolen-base percentage allowed (85%), Marlins catchers entered Wednesday permitting the seventh-lowest rate (74%) in MLB. Several things factor into that improvement, and it begins with the pitchers.

“If they're 1.7 [seconds] to the plate, it doesn't matter if Yadi Molina's back there,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “It started in the offseason, started in Spring Training of getting the times right, mixing stuff up, because the reality is: The rule changes [make it] tough to navigate a really good offense that has guys that can run.

“… If they are on first base, Nick and Christian [Bethancourt] have done a great job with [fielding coordinator] Rod [Barajas] and [third-base coach] Griffin [Benedict] throwing guys out being on the left side of the bag, which is always the key. They’ve done a nice job so far this year.”

Once the pitchers handle their business, it’s up to Fortes.

Entering Wednesday, his average arm strength had gone from 80.3 to 81.5 mph. He had shaved off time on his exchange (0.70 to 0.62 seconds) and pop time (2.01 to 1.94 seconds). In doing so, Fortes ranked in the 95th percentile in caught stealing above average (4) compared to the 21st percentile (-2) in 2023.

“I've never really had the strongest arm,” Fortes said. “Like Christian has one of the strongest arms, and I wasn't blessed with a super strong arm, so I try to get rid of it quick, and I try to be accurate with it. I think I've done a good job of that so far this year of just getting rid of it as quickly as I can and putting it on the bag as quickly as I can. So that's kind of what I prioritize.”

During the offseason, Fortes worked on improving his game in this capacity. He would send videos to Barajas and receive feedback. Crucial to success is being more consistent with his arm stroke and release point and getting more carry on his throws.

“A lot of it is the anticipation, his footwork, his direction,” Barajas said. “That's one of the bigger keys is him getting really good direction towards second base instead of kind of going around, having that energy to go to third base or the third-base dugout. He's got better direction to second base, so that's going to give him a little bit more carry on the arm and the mechanics [are] going to be free.

“In between innings, you watch him throw, and he is working on it every single time. He doesn't take an inning off, which is really impressive.”