Marlins prospect Jazz Chisholm feels fine after ‘mentally tough’ battle with COVID-19

Jazz Chisholm never dealt with any symptoms of COVID-19, but it was still difficult after he tested positive for the virus earlier this summer.

Chisholm missed the opening week of summer training camp this month before he finally reported to the Miami Marlins’ alternate training site in Jupiter on July 11. While no reason was given for Chisholm’s absence at the time, the shortstop confirmed Tuesday it was because he tested positive for the coronavirus. Even though he never experienced any symptoms, he had to quarantine until he returned two negative tests.

“Honestly, I was not worried at all. I didn’t have one symptom at all, so, to me, I didn’t even think I had the virus at all,” said Chisholm, the No. 66 overall prospect in the MLB.com rankings. “It’s mentally tough to go through, but you just have to fight through every day and keep working every day, even though you’re not allowed to leave your room or wherever you’re at. It’s just pushing through it and staying mentally stable through everything you do. ... It was a tough time for me, but I got through it and I’m here now, so I’m excited.”

Chisholm joined the team in Atlanta to play two exhibition games against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday and Wednesday, but he’ll return to the alternate site in South Florida on Thursday while the rest of the team travels to Philadelphia to open the regular season Friday against the Phillies.

Although he was always a long shot to make the expanded 30-man MLB roster for Opening Day, Chisholm missed eight days of at-bats at the start of camp. The missed time doesn’t weigh on him too much anymore, though. It was just frustrating at the time to see his teammates working out while he was cooped up in his room.

“You’ve got to stay home and do nothing all day,” Chisholm said, “especially if you want to get back on a baseball field.”

His solution to stay fresh and kill time was to watch a lot of his old at-bats, particularly from the 2018 Arizona Fall League season.

Chisholm still feels those 10 games were perhaps the best stretch of his career. In 47 plate appearances, the infielder batted .442 with a .489 on-base percentage and .767 slugging percentage. He’d pull up video of those at-bats and took practice swings, trying to mimic what he did on the old footage. It kept him fresh for when he was able to finally report to the Marlins’ minor-league facility at Roger Dean Stadium.

He’ll likely spend the full season in Palm Beach County, although the uncertainty of the season and expanded rosters leave open the chance he might be needed at some point this year. In the meantime, he’ll get to work out all summer against Miami’s loaded group of minor-league pitchers.

“You’ve just got to look at it as basically you’re facing guys that can be a big-league reliever, starter at any point in time today,” Chisholm said. “They have big-league stuff, so to me, every day is like I’m facing a big-league pitcher every day, trying to get better, and learning how to see their pitches and face guys that have their pitches.”

Marlins sign more draft picks

The Marlins announced the signings Tuesday of three more pitchers selected in the 2020 MLB Draft, leaving Miami with just two more draft picks left to be signed.

Third-round pick Zach McCambley, fifth-round pick Kyle Hurt and Kyle Nicholas, a selection in competitive balance round B, have all signed, the Marlins announced.

Second-round pick Dax Fulton and fourth-round pick Jake Eder, also both pitchers, remain unsigned. Fulton was at Marlins Park on Monday and talked with both general manager Michael Hill and director of player development Gary Denbo while the team practiced in Miami.

The Marlins already have signed Max Meyer, the No. 3 overall selection, last month. The pitcher has been working out at the team’s alternate site.

More Miami Marlins takeaways

▪ It was an ugly night for Miami’s bullpen. Slugger Matt Adams belted a walk-off home run to beat the Marlins, 10-9, but only after a eighth-inning bullpen meltdown. The Braves scored eight runs in the eighth inning to turn an 8-1 deficit into a 9-8 lead. Pitchers Robert Dugger and Adam Conley took the brunt of the damage, each giving up four earned runs in 1/3 of an inning.

▪ Jose Urena’s final tune-up went well. The pitcher tossed three shutout innings, giving up two hits and two walks with one strikeout. He’s lined up to start Sunday against the Phillies.

▪ Relief pitcher Yimi Garcia was one of Miami’s most impressive pitchers throughout spring training and he continued to impress in competitive action Tuesday, firing a scoreless inning with one strikeout.

▪ Call it the James Rowson effect: The hitting coach is preaching more aggressiveness at the plate and it paid off in the third inning when catcher Jorge Alfaro, shortstop Jorge Rojas and middle infield Jonathan Villar hit back-to-back-to-back home runs on four pitches to give the Marlins an early 3-0 lead.