Xavier Edwards promotion was ‘well deserved,’ Schumaker said. How will Marlins use him?

When Major League Baseball rosters expanded at the start of September, it was only natural that utility player Xavier Edwards would be one of the Miami Marlins’ additions.

As Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said Friday, “this was well deserved.”

“It wasn’t just out of need,” Schumaker said. “He earned it.”

The numbers tell the story.

Edwards, Miami’s No. 4 prospect according to MLB Pipeline who was acquired this offseason along with JT Chargois in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, posted a .351 batting average, .429 on-base percentage and .457 slugging mark 93 games with Triple A Jacksonville this season.

The switch-hitter has also drawn 52 walks while striking out just 30 times in 433 plate appearances and has 32 stolen bases.

“I felt pretty good all year,” Edwards said. “There are points in late August where it becomes a grind. The days are long, but I’m just trying to play my game. That’s it. That’s been kind of the motto or mantra for me this year. Just keep playing my game, whether it’s here or in Triple A. Just play and do what I know I do well.”

Defensively, he has primarily played second base and center field with Jacksonville but recently began playing third base and shortstop as well.

Edwards played in two of three games against the Washington Nationals after being called up. He was a pinch-hitter in the 10th inning on Friday, helping Miami manufacture a run in its eventual 8-5, 11-inning win and then went 2 for 5 with a double, a bunt single and a run scored while starting at second base in the Marlins’ 11-5 win on Saturday to clinch the series.

The Marlins now need to figure out exactly how to deploy Edwards throughout this September push for a playoff spot. Edwards’ defensive versatility gives Schumaker the option to play him at multiple spots and give players occasional off days. He can be a pinch-runner with his speed and a pinch-hitter to maximize matchups when he’s not starting.

“He’s a winning player,” Schumaker said. “We’ll see how much we’ll utilize him because we have a little bit of that mold with [Jon] Berti and [Garrett] Hampson, but he’s earned a spot on this team.”

A no-hitter in Jacksonville

Left-handed pitcher Devin Smeltzer, who has made 42 career MLB appearances (20 starts) including eight this year with Miami, threw the first-ever no-hitter in Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp history on Friday in Game 2 of a doubleheader against the Charlotte Knights.

Smeltzer, who turns 28 on Thursday, allowed just three walks over his seven innings of work while striking out four.

It’s the first no-hitter of the Jumbo Shrimp era of Jacksonville minor-league baseball (2017-present) and the first for a Jacksonville player since Aug. 15, 2010, when Elih Villaneuva tossed a rain-shortened five-inning no-hitter against the Carolina Mudcats when Jacksonville was the Double A Jacksonville Suns and in just its second season as a Marlins minor-league affiliate.

Troy Johnston continues to rake

First baseman Troy Johnston’s streak of consecutive games safely reaching base to begin his tenure with Triple A Jacksonville came to an end on Friday after a staggering 31 games.

But Miami’s No. 23 prospect continues to excel with the Jumbo Shrimp.

In 34 games with Jacksonville, Johnston is hitting .356 with 17 of his 47 hits going for extra bases (10 doubles, one triple, six home runs). He also has 27 RBI and 20 runs scored.

20 home runs for Banfield

With three home runs this week, catcher Will Banfield is up to 20 home runs this season with Double A Pensacola.

He is on a 10-game hit streak overall and is hitting .271 with a .790 OPS, 24 doubles, 69 RBI and 64 runs scored in 104 games on the season.