Miami Marlins rookie shortstop Xavier Edwards became the third player in Major League Baseball to hit for the cycle this season, accomplishing the feat in Sunday’s 6–2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Edwards started his breakout day with a flourish, hitting the first pitch of the game for a home run off Tobias Myers. That was the first home run of his major-league career (and only his 14th in professional baseball).
He followed that with a double in the fifth inning and a triple in the seventh before completing the cycle by beating out a ninth-inning infield single. Add in a third-inning walk, and Edwards reached base five times Sunday.
love seeing Xavier Edwards getting regular run as MIA’s everyday shortstop — he’s a fun player and personality that should be a fixture moving forward
now hitting .379/.462/.494 in 105 PA and just completed the second cycle in Marlins franchise historypic.twitter.com/jYjfIamOd5 https://t.co/zbxUjJKUPu
— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) July 28, 2024
Edwards is the third player — and second rookie — to hit for the cycle this MLB season, following the Texas Rangers’ Wyatt Langford and Yordan Álvarez of the Houston Astros. Edwards is also the second Marlins player to do so, joining Luis Arraez in an exclusive club for the franchise.
After the 4-for-4 day, Edwards is batting .379 with a .956 OPS. In June, he took over as Miami’s starting shortstop from the disappointing Tim Anderson, who was batting .214 with a .463 OPS. Anderson was designated for assignment in July, making Edwards the clear starter. He became the team’s leadoff hitter after Jazz Chisholm Jr. was traded to the New York Yankees on Saturday.
Still a rookie after playing 30 games with Miami last season, Edwards began this year on the injured list due to a foot infection. He played 26 games for Triple-A Jacksonville before rejoining the Marlins.
Edwards was the San Diego Padres’ 2018 first-round selection (No. 38 overall) out of North Broward Preparatory School in Coconut Creek, Florida. He was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in 2019 and played two seasons in that organization before being dealt to the Marlins in 2022.
