Marlins Second Round Pick Showed Some Flashes in Big League Debut
In this story:
Right-handed reliever Dax Fulton made his dream come true on Wednesday night when he made his major league debut with the Miami Marlins.
Fulton came into the game in the bottom of the sixth inning against the Baltimore Orioles. Fulton is the sixth Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp alumnus to make his debut this season (Deyvison De Los Santos, Joe Mack, Josh Ekness, William Kempner, and Matt Pushard).
Fulton Pitches Four Innings Out of Relief
Although the Marlins didn't come out with a win, losing to the Orioles 7-4, the highlight of the night was the sixth inning, when the 24-year-old Fulton entered the game. His family was in the stands, smiling brightly. It's been a long journey for the Fulton family.
His performance wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either. Fulton recorded three strikeouts, but he also gave up two runs and three hits. He's one of four Marlins in history to make their MLB debut and pitch four innings out of the bullpen.
#Marlins pitchers to throw 4+ IP in relief in an MLB debut:
— Fish On First Prospects (@FOFProspects) May 7, 2026
Jeff Lindgren - 5 IP, 2023
Enmanuel De Jesus - 4.1 IP, 2023
Brandon Leibrandt - 4 IP, 2020
𝗗𝗮𝘅 𝗙𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗼𝗻 - 𝟰 𝗜𝗣, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 pic.twitter.com/bjEmnC4x9b
First MLB strikeout for Dax Fulton comes on his bread and butter curveball.#Marlins pic.twitter.com/JQW8wi6ibm
— Fish On First Prospects (@FOFProspects) May 7, 2026
Fulton never gave up on his potential to reach the big leagues. The odds were stacked against him. 2023 and 2024 were tough seasons for Fulton. In June 2023, he had to get his second Tommy John surgery. The first one came when he was an amateur, and the second one was to fix his left UCL. It was tough for Fulton as he had to miss the entire 2024 season.
When he made his comeback in the 2025 season, he struggled on the mound. Fulton finished the season with a 5.38 ERA with a 5-11 record and gave up a career high 62 earned runs.
As for this season, he got off to another rocky start. In 20 innings of work, he gave up 23 hits, 17 earned, and recorded 24 strikeouts in seven games at Jacksonville.
His time in the minors is over now. It's time to open a new page and make his mark at the bullpen for Miami. The Marlins selected Fulton in the second round of the 2020 MLB Draft out of Mustang High School. Fulton is from Oklahoma. After five seasons in the minors, he finally got a taste of being part of a big league club in a big league stadium. He's capable of being a strong strikeout pitcher out of the bullpen. It's about him letting the game come to him and trying not to do too much.
The Marlins will play at home for the next four games. Fulton can put up a better outing, and his family can witness it from the stands again. Having a few strikeouts in your debut resume rather than zero is a positive step toward the next outing.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
After graduating from City College of New York in 2014, Miguel created his own blog. Since 2021, he has written for FanSided, where he covered the Toronto Blue Jays, College Football and Utah Mammoth hockey team. He also wrote for Miami Heat on SI and Cleveland Sports Talk. Miguel is the creator and host of his podcast, Baseball Heat Podcast with Mike.