Fortes is the 272nd former Northwoods League player and the first Dock Spider to debut in MLB
Rochester, Minn. – Former Fond du Lac Dock Spider Nick Fortes, made his Major League debut for the Miami Marlins on Saturday, September 18, 2021. Fortes is the 272nd former Northwoods League player and the first Dock Spider to reach the Major League level.
Fortes, who played collegiately at the University of Mississippi, played for the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders in 2017. He was drafted in the 4th round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Marlins.
In 2017 with the Dock Spiders, Fortes played in 54 games and hit .292 with two home runs, a triple and 12 doubles. He drove in 34, stole four bases and scored 32 times.
Fortes began his professional career in 2018 with the Marlins Rookie level team in the Gulf Coast League. After 11 games he was promoted to the Batavia Muckdogs of the Short-Season A New York-Penn League. He played three games in Batavia before a promotion, to end the season, to the Greensboro Grasshoppers of the Lo-A South Atlantic League. For the season he played in 19 games and hit .226 with two doubles and 11 RBI.
Fortes spent the entire 2019 season with the Jupiter Hammerheads of the Hi-A Florida State League. He played in 76 games and hit .217 with three home runs, 11 doubles and two triples. He drove in 29, scored 22 times and had 25 walks.
Fortes was hitting .245 prior to his call-up to the Marlins. He had started the year with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos of the AA-South League and then was promoted to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp of the AAA-East League. Between the two clubs he had seven home runs, 17 doubles and five stolen bases. He had scored 37 times and driven in 44.
In his Major League debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Fortes started the game at catcher and went 2 for 3 at the plate with two RBI and a run scored. In the bottom of the third inning, he singled to center for his first Major League hit in his first at-bat. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Fortes homered on the first pitch he saw for his first Major League home run.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 28th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, over 270 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (LAD), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove finalist and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TOR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website at watchnwl.com. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.