South Florida has produced its fair share of MLB stars.
There’s Hall-of-Famer Andre Dawson. Seven-time All-Star Manny Machado. Silver Slugger Award-winner Trea Turner. And if Xavier Edwards can continue his play throughout the 2026 season, it might be time to add his name to the list.
The Miami Marlins’ infielder finds himself amid the best start to his major league career, leading his team in hits, runs, batting average and on-base percentage. Edwards extended his hit streak to five games during Tuesday evening’s 9-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox, going 2 for 4 with a pair of singles. The Palm Beach native even served as the catalyst for the Marlins’ four-run fourth inning, cracking the first hit of the day as the lead-off and later scoring on Liam Hicks’ double.
“It was good to get on the bases and the floodgates opened,” said Edwards, 26, whose eight hits and .421 batting average rank third and fifth in the National League, respectively. “One guy gets on base, a swing here, a swing there and the game swings in a second.”
Added Hicks: “The guys at the top of the lineup do a really good job of getting on base for the rest of the guys. X has been a table-setter since I got here. Everyone looks to him to start it off.”
The Marlins currently sit atop of National League with a record of 4-1. Edwards has played a major role in that regard, drawing praise from manager Clayton McCullough.
“I love what he’s doing,” McCullough said. “He’s getting hits up the middle and the other way. Now, he’s at the point where he’s continuing to learn the spots and times to let it go a little bit and be able to pull the ball with authority. He’s off to a terrific start.”
That the success has come for Edwards’ hometown team just makes it all the more special — even if he wasn’t the biggest Marlins fan growing up.
“It’s great,” said Edwards who graduated from North Broward Preparatory School. “My wife’s from Miami, born and raised. Her parents live about 20 minutes away so it’s great to have some family here.”
The 38th overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, Edwards has waited quite some time for this moment. He spent the first two seasons of his career with various San Diego Padre minor league affiliates. A 2019 trade subsequently sent him to the Tampa Bay Rays. Then the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the minor leagues for the 2020 season.
Edwards did two years with the Rays’ affiliates before they traded him to the Marlins ahead of the 2023 season. His major league debut came in early May 2023, and he would appear in 30 games that year. Since then, his games played has steadily increased to 70 in 2024 and 139 this past season. One of his goals this year will be to continue to build upon that number.
“Play as many games as I can and just play my game,” Edwards replied when asked what he wishes to accomplish in 2026. “I think at the end of the year, if I look up, I’ll be happy with what I see.”
The key for Edwards, however, will be how he can sustain his triumphs. Baseball is a long, long season — and the Marlins have yet to even play 5% of their games. Edwards just plans to stay present.
“Yesterday doesn’t matter,” Edwards said. “Tomorrow doesn’t matter. All we have is today. I just want to be where I am, get the world in today and be ready for the next game.”
Similarly, McCullough just wants Edwards to weather the highs and lows. Hot streaks happen – but so do cold streaks. How a player deals with both will be the ultimate determinate of greatness.
“Sometimes you do everything right, and you line out and that’s just unfortunately part of things,” McCullough said. “X is just going to continue to mature as a player with just more major league experiences. Those stretches happen during a season but if you stay true to what gives you the best chance to have success then when the season’s over the back of the baseball card will look like what we expect.”
Miami Herald
C. Isaiah Smalls II is a sports and culture writer who covers the Miami Dolphins. In his previous capacity at the Miami Herald, he was the race and culture reporter who created The 44 Percent, a newsletter dedicated to the Black men who voted to incorporate the city of Miami. A graduate of both Morehouse College and Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, Smalls previously worked for ESPN’s Andscape.