Giancarlo Stanton, the Marlins top slugger and number three hitter, was struck in the back of the helmet yesterday by a fastball from Jose Fernandez during a live batting practice session.
According to the Palm Beach Post, Fernandez said a tremendous amount of sweat caused his grip to slip on the 95 mile-per-hour pitch that plunked his teammate. Stanton said that the hit didn't make him dizzy but did cause "grayness and fuzziness" on the outside of his eyes. Stanton indicated he was recovering well and treated it as a minor issue. "It's OK. It's baseball. It happens."
Fernandez was a bit shaken up by the incident. "He's a good teammate and a great person. It's not a good feeling, I promise you that. I feel like (crap) right now." Signs of a concussion were not obvious and Stanton told reporters he does not expect to miss time due to this incident.
Stanton is the best player on the Marlins, and the only star remaining from last season's spending splurge that brought shortstop Jose Reyes, starting pitcher Mark Buehrle, and closer Heath Bell to Miami last season. A disappointing season and last place finish in the National League East, though, led them to trade away not only their new free agents, but also stalwarts Hanley Ramirez and Josh Johnson. Last year, Stanton hit the seventh-most home runs in baseball (37) as a 23-year-old, and is projected on fangraphs.com to exceed 40 this year.
Fernandez, 20, was the Marlins top pick in 2011, and according to Yahoo! Marlins manager Mike Redmond is concerned about the mental aftermath for his young pitcher. Fernandez will start the year in Double-A, but is a candidate to reach the major leagues at some point during the season. In High-A ball last season, Fernandez compiled a 7-1 record with a sparkling 1.96 ERA, and 1.00 WHIP. He hit five batters in 134 innings in Single-A and High-A ball.
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