Hicks is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Brewers.
Hicks will sit for the second time in the past three games, even though the Marlins have faced a right-handed starter in all three contests. The 26-year-old has a .708 OPS with a 5:6 BB:K in his past 10 games and should continue to see at least semi-regular starts, though his grip on a strong-side platoon role appears to be slipping.
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Marlins' Liam Hicks: Sitting again Friday
Rotowire
Hicks is not in Miami's starting lineup against Arizona on Friday.
Hicks will be out of the Marlins' lineup for a second consecutive game while Kyle Stowers serves as the designated hitter and bats fifth. Hicks has slashed .289/.396/.378 with four doubles and four RBI in 53 plate appearances since the beginning of June.
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Marlins' Liam Hicks: Idle Thursday
Rotowire
Hicks isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game versus San Francisco.
Hicks will get a chance to catch his breath Thursday after going 5-for-16 with an RBI and a run scored across his last five games. His absence will put Agustin Ramirez in the DH spot while Nick Fortes starts behind the plate.
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Marlins' Liam Hicks: Sitting against lefty
Rotowire
Hicks is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals.
Hicks will hit the bench for the fourth time in five games, with the Marlins having faced three left-handed starters during that stretch. The Rule 5 pick will see plenty of action between catcher, first base and DH when the team faces right-handed pitching, as he's slashing a magnificent .302/.374/.500 over 107 plate appearances in that split this season.
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Marlins' Liam Hicks: Not in Tuesday's lineup
Rotowire
Hicks is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Pirates.
Hicks started the previous four games but will head to the bench Tuesday after going 3-for-14 with a double, two RBI and a run during that stretch. Nick Fortes will step in behind the plate while Agustin Ramirez serves as the designated hitter versus Pittsburgh righty Mitch Keller.
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Marlins' Liam Hicks: Idle against lefty
Rotowire
Hicks is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rockies.
The left-handed-hitting Hicks will take a seat with southpaw Kyle Freeland on the bump for Colorado, but the rookie Rule 5 draft pick should have a clearer path to playing time versus righties after the Marlins recently dropped Matt Mervis from the 40-man roster. Hicks -- who started in three of the Marlins' previous four matchups with right-handers -- is slashing .276/.351/.469 with four home runs and 22 RBI across 113 plate appearances on the season.
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Marlins' Liam Hicks: Getting work at first base
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Hicks made his season debut at first base Sunday, and Marlins manager Clayton McCullough hinted that he's likely to see more action at the position, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports. ""It was good that he got his feet wet, and his comfort level will continue [to increase] if he gets more opportunities over there," McCullough said after the contest.
Hicks has experience at first base in the minors, playing 61 games at the position last year at Double-A, and with Matt Mervis removed from the 26-man roster, Miami has a lot of available at-bats there. Hicks' bat is what's forcing the team to find ways to get him into the lineup -- including a 2-for-4 performance as the DH on Monday against the Rockies, he's slashing .316/.381/.658 over 42 plate appearances since the beginning of May with six of his 12 hits going for extra bases (two doubles, a triple and three homers). Agustin Ramirez and Nick Fortes may wind up seeing the bulk of the playing time behind the plate, but Hicks should still get plenty of work against right-handed pitching between catcher, first base and designated hitter.
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Marlins' Liam Hicks: On bench for second straight
Rotowire
Hicks is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cubs.
Over the past month, Hicks has slashed .372/.413/.744 over a stretch of 13 games and has earned a larger role as a result, but he's still not locked into a full-time role while the Marlins have Agustin Ramirez and Nick Fortes on hand at catcher and a number of other options available to handle designated-hitter duties. Hicks will remain on the bench for a second straight game with Ramirez handling catching duties Wednesday and with Matt Mervis getting the nod at DH.
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Marlins' Liam Hicks: Pops third homer
Rotowire
Hicks went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in Friday's loss to the White Sox.
Starting at DH and batting seventh, Hicks took Caleb Freeman deep in the seventh inning, briefly tying the game at 2-2 before Max Meyer faded in the bottom of the frame. Hicks is still seeing semi-regular playing time even with Agustin Ramirez in the majors and Nick Fortes back from the IL, and the Rule 5 pick has gone yard in back-to-back starts while starting in three of the first seven contests in May. On the season, Hicks is slashing .254/.338/.433 with three homers, eight runs and 18 RBI in 79 plate appearances.
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Marlins' Liam Hicks: Losing work to Ramirez
Rotowire
Hicks will start at catcher and bat seventh in Wednesday's game against the Reds.
Though Hicks is back behind the dish for the series finale, his recent run as the Marlins' primary backstop seems to have come to an end after Miami promoted Agustin Ramirez from Triple-A Jacksonville on Monday. If Ramirez performs well enough to earn a permanent stay in Miami, Hicks -- a Rule 5 selection -- could end up being offered back to Tigers if the Marlins don't have a spot on the roster for him once Nick Fortes (oblique) returns from the injured list.
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Marlins' Liam Hicks: Hitting bench Thursday
Rotowire
Hicks is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Diamondbacks.
Hicks will take a seat for the day game after a night game, opening up a start behind the dish for Rob Brantly. While Nick Fortes is on the injured list due to a Grade 1 oblique strain, Hicks should see the bulk of the starts at catcher. The Rule 5 pickup is batting .194 with no home runs, seven RBI and four runs over 43 plate appearances on the season.
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Marlins' Liam Hicks: Drives in three runs Tuesday
Rotowire
Hicks went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts and three RBI in Tuesday's 10-5 loss to the Mets.
Hicks got the scoring started Tuesday with a two-run single in the first inning, and he added a third RBI in the sixth when his groundout to first brought Griffin Conine across home plate. After starting the season 0-for-8, Hicks has logged a hit in four of his last five outings and has gone 5-for-14 with one double and four RBI across that span.
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Marlins' Liam Hicks: Returning to bench
Rotowire
Hicks is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Mets.
After starting the last three games while top backstop Nick Fortes dealt with a stiff neck, Hicks will retreat to the bench now that Fortes has seemingly moved past the issue. A Rule 5 draft pick over the winter, Hicks has appeared in six games so far this season and has gone 4-for-17 with an RBI.
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Marlins' Liam Hicks: First big-league start Friday
Rotowire
Hicks is starting at catcher and batting seventh in Friday's contest versus the Pirates.
After Nick Fortes got the call behind the plate in Thursday's opener, Hicks will do the catching Friday in what will be his major-league debut. The 25-year-old was the second pick in the Rule 5 draft over the offseason.
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Marlins' Liam Hicks: Set as No. 2 catcher
Rotowire
Hicks is expected to begin the season as the Marlins' backup catcher behind Nick Fortes, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.
That's no real surprise, especially after top prospect Agustin Ramirez was optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville on Sunday. Hicks, a Rule 5 pick from the Tigers' system, has shown some good plate discipline with a 5:5 BB:K in 11 Grapefruit League appearances this spring, but he's batting just .227 (5-for-22) with a double as his only extra-base hit. The Marlins remain in a seemingly never-ending rebuild, so Hicks will likely get as much playing time as he shows he can handle until Ramirez pushes his way onto the big-league roster.
