Xavier Edwards
Xavier James Edwards
- Bats Both, Throws Right
- Height 5' 10", Weight 175 lb.
- High School North Broward Preparatory School
- Debut May 2, 2023
- Born August 9, 1999 in Mineola, NY USA
Biographical Information[edit]
Infielder Xavier Edwards was the #38 choice in the 2018 amateur draft, by the San Diego Padres in Competitive Balance Round A from a preparatory school in Florida.
Edwards played for two teams in his first professional season, 2018, the AZL Padres 1 and the Tri-City Dust Devils of the Northwest League. He had a great start, going a combined .346/.453/.409, with 40 runs scored in 45 games. In 2019, he again received a mid-season promotion, this one taking him from the Fort Wayne TinCaps of the Midwest League to the Lake Elsinore Storm of the California League. He continued to hit very well, with a combined slash line of .322/.375/.396 in 123 games, with 76 runs scored and 34 stolen bases in 45 attempts.
In the 2019 Premier 12, he backed up C.J. Chatham at second base and Jake Cronenworth at shortstop for Team USA. He was 2 for 6 with two runs and handled five chances error-free; his hits came off Jim Ploeger and Carlos Sanó. He was then forced to remain idle in 2020 by the cancellation of the minor league season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was then traded with Hunter Renfroe and a player to be named later (Esteban Quiroz) to the Tampa Bay Rays for Tommy Pham and Cronenworth on December 6, 2019. While in the Rays organization, he was named to the American League squad for the 2021 Futures Game. Following the 2022 season, he was traded again on November 15th, heading to the Miami Marlins alongside J.T. Chargois in return for minor league pitchers Marcus Johnson and Santiago Suarez.
Edwards made his major league debut with the Marlins as a pinch-hitter for Luis Arraez in the 9th inning of a 6-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves on May 2, 2023. He lined out against Joe Jiménez. He played 30 games in the majors that first season, hitting .295 with no homers and 3 RBIs. He was on the postseason roster for the Marlins and got a hit in his only at-bat in the Wild Card Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. In spite of that promising beginning, he only made his 2024 debut with the Marlins on June 7th after missing some time with a foot infection, then returned to the minors after just 3 games. It was only in July, with the Marlins already eliminated from contention, that he got a longer look. After replacing Tim Anderson as the team's starting shortstop he got at least one hit in 12 of his first 13 games after his second call-up on July 2nd, pushing his average to .345. On July 28th, he put his name in the team's record books when he became the second player in franchise history to hit for the cycle, after Luis Arraez the year before. Unfortunately, the feat came in a 6-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. He hit both his first career triple and his first career homer in that game, the long ball coming off Tobias Myers on the first pitch of the game. He also had to beat out an infield hit against closer Devin Williams with two outs in the 9th to complete the feat. On September 27th, he became the first player in Marlins history to hit three triples in one game, doing so in a 15-5 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. He had four hits and four RBIs in the game.
Further Reading[edit]
- Christina De Nicola: "After hitting 1st MLB HR, Edwards caps memorable day with cycle", mlb.com, July 28, 2024. [1]
- Steve Megargee (The Associated Press): "Xavier Edwards becomes second Marlins player ever to hit for the cycle", Yahoo! Sports, July 28, 2024. [2]
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