Derek

Hill

Hill is 7-for-23 with two homers and four walks this spring. He’s competing with Dane Myers for the starting job in center field, but he should make the team whether he beats out Myers or not. He doesn’t figure to be much of an asset on offense, but he does provide a quality glove, and he can be sort of useful against left-handers.

Hill was placed on the IL on September 7th with a shoulder injury and has seen Griffin Conine step into a starting stop in his absence. Conine will receive yet another start on Thursday, which could imply that Derek Hill fill a short-side platoon role with either Conine or Jesus Sanchez for the remainder of the season. Jose Devers was designated for assignment to make room for Hill on the 40-man roster.

No word yet on how much time Hill is going to wind up missing. The 28-year-old speedy outfielder has posted four homers, 17 RBI and four steals in just 25 contests since arriving in Miami back in early August.

Hill took Rockies starter Bradley Blalock deep for a second-inning solo shot before tagging reliever Noah Davis for a two-run blast a couple frames later to cap off the multi-homer performance. The 28-year-old speedster has bounced around the last few years at the highest level, but he’s shown an ability to pop the occasional homer and steal a couple bases when given regular playing time. He projects as an ideal fourth outfielder on a contending roster moving forward.

Hill led off the second inning with a solo homer off Kyle Freehand to put the Marlins on the board. It was the only hit of the day for the 28-year-old outfielder as Miami would bring just one more run across to score. Hill is up to five homers while slashing .233/.259/.395 across 136 plate appearances.

Hill hit two balls over 101 mph on the day yet knocked in both of his runs on groundouts. The 28-year-old has now started three straight games in the outfield for Miami after being claimed off waivers from the Giants on Saturday. He also has hits in all three of those games. With just Vidal Brujan and his .218/.306/.316 slash line standing in the way of playing time, there’s a good chance Hill could find himself as an everyday starter and a potential add in deeper formats.

Hill increased the Marlins’ early edge to 5-0 with his two-out, 412-foot (103.9-mph EV) four-run blast off of Andrew Abbott. That would be more than enough run support for Valente Bellozo and company in this one. Hill finished the evening 1-for-3 and is now hitting .254/.288/.476 with a career-high four homers and 13 RBI on the season.

The newly claimed Derek Hill is taking Gordon’s spot on the roster, though it’s Cristian Pache who will likely end up with most of Gordon’s at-bats. Gordon has always lacked plate discipline, but he did used to hit the ball hard. Unfortunately, that’s been lacking this season after he missed most of 2023 with a fractured leg. He had a 44% hard-hit rate and a 90.6-mph average exit velocity in his career coming into this season. In 2024, he’s come in at 30% and 86.1 mph.

Hill is headed to his third different organization in less than two weeks after stints with the Rangers and Giants. The 28-year-old speedy outfielder figures to occupy a bench role for the rebuilding Marlins, but might end up playing more than expected over the final two months. He has three homers and two steals in 21 games this season in the big leagues.

The Giants needed a 40-man roster spot after some of the moves they made around the trade deadline. Hill had three hits and two RBI in five games in his time with San Francisco. The 28-year-old outfielder could accept a minor league assignment with the Giants if he goes unclaimed on waivers. He’s hit .255 with three home runs and two steals in 21 games between the Rangers and Giants this year.