If any Miami Marlins fans were still fans of Nick Fortes, they probably aren't anymore after the 28-year-old drilled Ryan Weathers with a throw. And yes, Weathers was the starting pitcher for the Marlins on Saturday.
Weathers was just wrapping up his warmup pitches, and Fortes, as catchers customarily do after warmups are over, threw down to second base. The throw did not get close to the second base bag, though, as it hit Weathers in the head and knocked the hat off of him. Trainers went out to check on Weathers, who, thankfully, was alright after the shocking blow.
Most Marlins fans were already sick of Fortes, and this moment, while obviously accidental, will only push him deeper in the fans' doghouse.
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Marlins fans want Nick Fortes gone yesterday after hitting Ryan Weathers in the head
There isn't much to get excited about when looking at this Marlins team, but the catcher position is one of them. Agustin Ramirez might be the National League Rookie of the Year favorite, and Liam Hicks has really impressed as a Rule-5 pick. Despite Miami seemingly having two capable catchers on their roster, the team has gone out of its way to get Fortes into the lineup for reasons Marlins fans cannot comprehend. Ramirez has DH'd a ton, and Hicks has been playing a lot of first base lately.
Fortes has spent parts of five seasons with the Marlins and has had some good moments, but overall, he has an extremely underwhelming .612 OPS in his career and is hitting .172 with a .524 OPS this season. Despite that, Saturday was his third time in the starting lineup in their last four games.
Another exciting player for Marlins fans to hang their hats on has been Ryan Weathers, who has impressed since returning from injury. The catcher who is taking valuable reps behind the plate from Ramirez and Hicks just drilled the exciting pitcher in the head with a throw. You just can't make that up.
Ultimately, Fortes is 28 years old and has proven he's nothing more than an underwhelming backup catcher at best. Again, this play was an accident, but this will only cause the calls for Fortes to lose his spot on the roster to be even more boisterous.