The 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) season gets underway this coming Thursday and the top 100 MLB player rankings have made the rounds. Bahamian Jasrado ‘Jazz’ Chisholm Jr. sits at number 60 on ESPN’s list.
The Miami Marlins second baseman turned centerfielder has been making an impression, particularly in the time he played last season which was cut short due to a stress fracture in his back. He is one of three Marlins players on the ESPN list along with second baseman Luis Arráez (83rd) and starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara (11th).
The Bahamian was named as a starter for the MLB All-Star game for the National League last season but did not play due to the injury he sustained. He was the first Bahamian to be selected to an all-star team in MLB and the fifth player in Marlins history to be voted in as a starter.
Chisholm, who was recently moved to center field by the Marlins after they acquired American League batting champion and all-star infielder Arráez, said that he is working hard every day and is looking forward to the switch. In 2022, he was among the best defensive second basemen in the National League, but for the immediate future, he will man center field for the Marlins.
The left-handed hitter is looking to improve his performance from the 60 games he played in last season. Last year, he had a batting average of .254 with 14 home runs, 45 RBIs (runs batted in) and 39 runs scored. He had 12 stolen bases, finished with an on-base percentage (OBP) of .325 and an on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of .860. He was initially set to be out for a few weeks with a lower back strain, but, on July 21, after a CT (Computerized Tomography) scan, it was revealed that he had a stress fracture in his lower back and was forced to shut down his 2022 season.
In his first full season in 2021, Chisholm finished with a slash line of .248/.303/.425, with a decent 42 percent hard-hit and nine percent barrel rate.
The Marlins finished with a 69-93 win/loss record in 2022 – 32 games behind the National League East winning Atlanta Braves. It was the Marlins’ 12th losing season in the last 13 years. The only time they finished over .500 during that span was the COVID-19 shortened season of 2020 when they advanced to the postseason for the first time in 17 years.
The 25-year-old is also the cover athlete for popular video game “MLB The Show 23”.
