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By ALANIS THAMES AP Sports Writer
MIAMI (AP) — Robby Snelling was already receiving autograph requests from young Marlins fans 24 hours before his first Major League Baseball start.
The Marlins sure hope that will become a new norm for their No. 2 pitching prospect, who made his MLB debut Friday against the Washington Nationals after being called up from Triple-A Jacksonville.
“It's pretty surreal,” Snelling said in Miami's clubhouse Thursday before walking over to the dugout where fans yelled for his signature. “Still trying to just kind of soak it in and get acclimated with all the guys again that I was around in spring and really take it all in and not let the moment get too big.”
Snelling gave up three runs and six hits over five innings in a 3-2 loss Friday night. He also walked four and struck out two.
“I don’t think there’s any way that you can really prepare yourself for something you haven’t even experienced," Snelling said. “A lot of adrenaline, a lot of emotions out on the mound. I did my best to not let that show externally.”
Washington scored three against Snelling in the first on CJ Abrams' RBI single and Jacob Young's two-run homer to left.
“Obviously, having runners on base as much as I did tonight, it’s not what starting pitchers want," Snelling said. "But being able to continue to attack the zone every hitter that stepped to the box, I’m proud of myself about that.”
The 23-year-old was acquired by Miami from San Diego for reliever Tanner Scott in July 2024. Snelling ascended through the Marlins farm system and became the organization’s second-rated pitching prospect before the club promoted him from Triple-A Jacksonville.
Snelling did not make the Marlins' opening-day roster despite impressing coaches during spring training. He called that both frustrating and motivating.
“I was upset and not necessarily at anybody in general,” Snelling said. "Just being told that you’re not going to get to do what you really had wanted to do as early as you wanted to do is a tough pill to swallow.
“But then you kind of come back down to earth and realize, ‘Alright, what do I need to do to get to that point where I want to be?’”
So he worked on lowering his walks, in part by improving his first-pitch strike rate. In six starts with Triple-A Jacksonville this season, Snelling went 3-1 with the second-best ERA (1.86) among qualified pitchers. He walked more than three batters only twice in those six starts.
“For him to really navigate himself through five – not maybe the cleanest innings – he really grinded," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "He showed a lot of moxie today.”
A spot opened up in the Marlins' rotation after struggling pitcher Chris Paddack was designated for assignment on Tuesday.
There were other experienced options Miami could have inserted there but Snelling's recent performance showed the team he was ready for the opportunity.
“Coming into it we were certainly very high on Robby," McCullough said. “He performed incredibly well last year. This spring, he came into it in competition potentially for a spot in our rotation. Robby’s done well down there and continued to perform.”
The Jumbo Shrimp were coming off a walk-off win on Wednesday when Snelling got the news he was called up. He was summoned to manager David Carpenter's office afterward, where he was praised for his focus throughout the week with the uncertainty on whether his major league shot would come.
“I was like, 'Man, it’s really hard to keep my sanity knowing that potentially it was an option for me to go up,’” Snelling recalled telling Carpenter, who responded with a rather nonchalant question.
“He’s like, ‘Yeah, you’re still good to go on Friday right?'” Carpenter said, referring to Snelling's scheduled Triple-A start. "I was like, ‘Yeah.’ And he goes, 'Well, you’re going to be throwing in Miami.'"
Snelling described the past couple of days as a sort of reunion with players he became close with during the spring, including catcher Joe Mack, another highly-rated prospect who was called up this week. Mack scored the winning run on a throwing error in the ninth inning of the Marlins' win over Baltimore on Thursday.
It has also made Snelling grateful for the journey that brought him here.
“It was always fun competing with those guys (in the minors)," he said. “It didn’t really matter where I was in my mind. Obviously this is the goal — being up here and staying up here is the goal.”
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AP freelance writer Santos Perez contributed to this report.
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