Miami Marlins Q&A: Xavier Edwards talks his baseball clinic and reflects on first MLB season

You would have been hard-pressed to find Xavier Edwards without a smile on his face Saturday.

It was the second day of his sixth-annual baseball skills camp at North Broward Preparatory School, his alma mater. Edwards, who made his MLB debut with the Miami Marlins last season at 24 years old, has been holding the camp every winter since he was selected with the 38th overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft and has seen participation increase nearly 10-fold since that first camp.

The camp was free and open to kids between ages 8 and 17. A couple of Luzardo’s Marlins teammates, including pitcher Jesus Luzardo and outfielder Jazz Chisholm Jr,, as well as Cleveland Guardians pitcher Trison McKenzie made appearances over the two days.

They were divided into groups based on age and practiced a slew of drills fundamental to success in baseball, including hitting, fielding and baserunning. Edwards roamed around to each site to check in on each group throughout both days.

During a brief break in action Saturday as groups rotated stations, Edwards spoke to the Miami Herald about hosting this annual event and reflected on his first season in the majors, in which he played second base and center field and hit .295 in 28 games.

Below is a Q&A of that interview, lightly edited for length and clarity.

How much as the event grown since Year 1 and what does it mean to be able to host a camp like this?

“It’s grown quite a bit. The first year, I had 18 kids. It has steadily grown since then. The year after that, I had about 50. It eclipsed 100 about three years back in 2020 and now we’re at about 150 to 170. So it’s grown a lot over the years. It’s a lot of fun to be able to hold this event. This place is special. I loved my two years here at the school and they’ve been gracious enough to let me use the facilities for the last six years. I’ll have it here as long as I can. I’ll keep giving back to this place and this community. It means a lot for these kids to enjoy this time. It’s Christmas time. I just really enjoy this time.”

For you, what’s the importance of being able to use your platform to give back and help the next generation of baseball players?

“Yeah. I’ve been doing for a while now. And I think there’s a misconception with kind of waiting until your name gets bigger and waiting to get to the big leagues to have a camp. I don’t believe that. I think there’s always somebody you can help and give back to. Me and my dad came up with this idea my first offseason and we ran with it. I’m glad to see the progress that was made and hope to make it better even better next year.”

What has your message been to the kids over the two days?

“Keep going. Have a lot of fun. Stay safe. Ask questions. It’s not every day that you get to be around these kind of baseball players. And we’re all pretty young. There’s stuff that we can teach them and even ways that they can teach us some things. But mainly have fun. It’s a cool group of kids. I really love spending time with them.”

What are some of the best questions they asked?

“What was it like in the big leagues? What was like playing in the postseason? How much do I like it? Where do we stay? That kind of stuff. It’s good to answers to those questions.”

And that gave you a chance to reflect last season, too, right?

“Absolutely. Really reflected on what kind of year it was. It was a crazy year, starting in Triple A Jacksonville and being there most of the year then ending in the playoffs in Philadelphia in front of almost 50,000 people. It was a crazy year how it ended and how it began. Excited for next year and to get going again.”

What was your biggest takeaway from last year after making your MLB debut and learning what it takes to stay at the big-league level?

“Continue play my game continue to be myself. I’m at my best when I’m being myself and I’m true to myself. I just have to show up like that every day and be confident knowing that I belong there and I can play there. And I truly believe so. I’m excited for next year to get going with the guys again and make another push for the playoffs.”

What has your offseason been like? Did you have a chance for any down time?

“I took about a month off and then got back to work and back in cage. I’ve been throwing a few times a week. Definitely increasing the arm strength. So I’m excited to show the guys what I’ve got when spring training comes around.”

And you’re practicing a lot of shortstop, right?

“Yes, strictly working at shortstop this offseason. If you can play at short, you can play anywhere. Getting back to my roots and excited about it.”