Bill Ladson’s Q&A With Miami Marlins Star Xavier Edwards: ‘We Want To Be Popping Bottles All The Way To The World Series”

Marlins second baseman Xavier Edwards has been one of baseball’s hottest hitters. Entering Monday’s action against the Reds, Edwards has a slash line of .471/.500/.647 with nine runs scored and two RBIs.    

In a recent interview with MLBbro.com at Yankee Stadium, Edwards, 26, answered a few questions about the 2026 Marlins, his success in the batter’s box, and married life.      

 

MLBbro.com: You are off to a great start. What is the reason for your success in the batter’s box?   

Xavier Edwards: I’m having good at-bats, seeing the right pitches, kind of letting my swing go and sticking to that swing. It’s a combination of that.   

 MLBbro.com: Is there anything you did during the offseason to make sure that everything is OK with the stick?   

Edwards: I’m focused on health and being in the best shape. On the offensive side of the ball, I’m making sure the swings show up in the game. It’s good to do it in practice, but it’s even better when I have those good swings throughout the game. It’s been a big deal for me.           

MLBbro.com: After you hit the home run on Friday against the Yankees, your manager, Clayton McCullough, believes you can hit a few more home runs like that this year. I know you are not a home run hitter, but how do you feel about that possibility?        

Edwards: I appreciate Clay saying that. Yeah, it was a good swing. Yeah, for sure I could do that more. I’m focused on taking good swings. What comes from that will be good results.         

 

MLBbro.com: Is there a stat that you are paying attention to?   

Edwards: Actually, no. I just keep my head down, get my work in and treat each at-bat as its own and look forward to that.  

MLBbro.com: I know you want the team to win, but do you have an individual goal that you would like to accomplish this year? 

Edwards: I really want to allow myself to enjoy the freedom of just playing the game. It’s easy to put goals in your head. You feel like, OK, this week I’m kind of on par with my goals or this week, I fell short. It’s easy to get wrapped up in numbers. I won’t allow myself to do that. 

I remember as a kid, I just played. When you get to the pros, you go, “Ok, I need to do this and I need to do that.” I need to simplify, just play the game I love and play the best that I can.                   

MLBbro.com: You have that look on your face that tells me that 2026 is going to be even better than last year. Why do you think I’m right saying what I said?    

Edwards: That’s the goal to make each year better than the last. I’m determined to do it this year. You hope our team can win as many games as it can. We are a fun group [to watch] every day. … We hope to play meaningful games at the end of the year, get to the playoffs and do some damage there.         

MLBbro.com: Since the All-Star break of last year, the Marlins have been mostly winning. What turned it around for the club?   

Edwards: It’s the kind of culture that we have and the style of baseball that we play. It’s clean sound baseball, aggressive style baseball. That’s what we want to be known for. We play hard every day and play each game to win. I think we have done a good job with that. This new staff, starting last year, has done a great job of pressing that upon us. We bought into that philosophy. 

MLBbro.com: Do you remember when you said, Hey, we can win? A lot of people point to that sweep to the Yankees last August.    

Edwards: I think that first game against the Yankees last year, where they were up for most of the game, we never gave up. We kept our heads down, having good at-bats, tacking runs across. They answered, and we answered back. That hit us. That’s where we want to be as a team. We were never out of the game and out of the fight until the last out was made. I think we bought into it.      

WATCH: Xavier Edwards Is Hitting Over .300 For Miami Marlins

MLBbro.com: How far can the Marlins go this year?

Edwards: We believe in each other. We believe in the staff. At the end of the year, we want to be popping bottles and going all the way [to the World Series] …    

MLBbro.com: You have more motivation to do well. You recently married Emily in South Florida this past January. Tell me the feeling about being married.    

Edwards: I’m super excited. She is here in New York. My grandmother lives in New York. My aunt and uncle live in Long Island. My parents flew up for this trip. This is a homecoming for everybody. We are all New Yorkers. It’s great to have family and loved ones with you for a series like this. You are back home where I was born. It’s great to have my wife, that’s for sure.           

MLBbro.com: What does Emily mean to you?

Edwards: She is everything to me. My parents were married for 36-plus years. As long as I’ve been alive, I’ve always looked up to them. The love they have shown for each other, I know I always wanted that. To find someone like Emily that is worthy of love, … she shows up for me every single day. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it. It’s unlike anything I could ever imagine. I couldn’t be more grateful to someone like that.