Beneath is an evaluation of the prospects within the farm system of the Miami Marlins. Scouting experiences have been compiled with data offered by business sources in addition to my very own observations. That is the fifth 12 months we’re delineating between two anticipated aid roles, the abbreviations for which you’ll see within the “place” column under: MIRP for multi-inning aid pitchers, and SIRP for single-inning aid pitchers. The ETAs listed typically correspond to the 12 months a participant needs to be added to the 40-man roster to keep away from being made eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Guide changes are made the place they appear acceptable, however we use that as a rule of thumb.
A fast overview of what FV (Future Worth) means could be discovered right here. A a lot deeper overview could be discovered right here.
All the ranked prospects under additionally seem on The Board, a useful resource the positioning gives that includes sortable scouting data for each group. It has extra particulars (and up to date TrackMan information from varied sources) than this text and integrates each workforce’s checklist so readers can examine prospects throughout farm methods. It may be discovered right here.
Different Prospects of Notice
Grouped by sort and listed so as of choice inside every class.
DSL PitchingAdriano Marrero, RHPRamon Sanchez, RHPElier Morillo, LHP
Marrero is a 17-year-old DSL righty with a 3,000 rpm slider and a mean changeup. He’s solely sitting within the higher 80s proper now and is comparatively bodily mature, but when higher mechanical sequencing can enhance his velocity and management, he’ll grow to be very attention-grabbing in a short time. His supply is out of sync lots of the time proper now. Sanchez is a 23-year-old short-striding DSL righty who was launched by the Rays final summer season, however was sitting 94-96 towards the top of final week in his first outing with the Marlins. Morillo is a 5-foot-11 teenage lefty in his second DSL season. He’s sitting 91-94 with flat angle and carry, and bending in a plus-flashing curveball within the 76-79 mph vary with 18 inches of horizontal break. His numbers are absurd, however his command is way more wayward than his stroll charge may lead you to consider, so for now he’s extra of a DSL sleeper than a real prospect.
DSL HittersAnthony Abreu, INFLuis Arana, INFDiwarys Encarnacion, 2B/3B
Abreu is a reasonably bodily 6-foot-1, lefty-hitting infielder with above-average low-ball bat velocity. His swing’s size has his contact charge hovering round 70%, which isn’t nice within the DSL, however there’s sufficient lefty pop right here to make Abreu a notable prospect, particularly if he can keep at shortstop or third base. Arana and his funky, duck-footed batting stance has been the hardest Marlin to strike out within the DSL, as he’s working a 3% strikeout charge and 89% contact charge as of publication. He isn’t a toolsy athlete or something like that, so he’ll must hold hitting close to this degree as he climbs to show it’s actual, and for now, I’m skeptical. One other man whose Ok% has been low sufficient to benefit a scouting double examine, Encarnacion is a barely older DSL infielder with an inside-out swing and powerful arms within the field.
Gamers Traded ForGarret Forrester, C/1B/3BAbrahan Ramirez, 2B/3BEmaarion Boyd, CFEchedry Vargas, 2B/3BJay Beshears, 1BJohn Cruz, OFShane Sasaki, CFBrayan Mendoza, LHP
Forrester was a profession .326/.470/.500 hitter at Oregon State who was traded to Miami as a part of final 12 months’s Bryan De La Cruz swap with Pittsburgh. The Pirates initiated a catcher conversion try right here, which Miami has continued. Forrester is extremely selective and isn’t a foul oppo contact hitter, however he lacks bat velocity. His prospectdom relies on him bettering as a receiver. Ramirez came to visit from the Yankees as a part of final 12 months’s Jazz Chisholm Jr. commerce. He’s a slick third base defender with good hitting arms, however he lacks something near the ability essential to profile there. He’s a smaller-framed 20-year-old who, barring him actually outgrowing the energy projection for an athlete his dimension, realistically has a bench infield ceiling. Boyd was a Phillies highschool draft choose who was traded to Miami as a part of the Jesús Luzardo deal. His early-career contact efficiency was spectacular and his capability to button fastballs (92% contact charge) continues to be so, however Boyd is allergic to spin and has a 62% contact charge towards secondary pitches. That’s an unlimited hole. He has grow to be a greater heart discipline defender over the last two seasons, however he in all probability must grow to be plus or higher on the market to be rostered.
Vargas, who was acquired from Texas in final 12 months’s Jake Burger commerce, is a pull-rate darling whose spray chart appears like a shrunken model of Isaac Paredes‘, with a ton of airborne pull contact towards pitches all around the zone. Vargas is a small-ish athlete with out massive uncooked energy, and he’s additionally been one of many extra chase-prone hitters within the minors the final a number of years. Beshears transferred from Northwestern to Duke for his draft 12 months, was San Diego’s sixth rounder, slugged his option to Excessive-A, then was traded to Miami within the Tanner Scott deal. He has a .750 OPS at Beloit and has roughly common massive league uncooked energy at age 23, however the concern right here is Beshears’ protection. He’s quickly trending towards a primary base-only match and desires work to be good there. Cruz and Sasaki have been acquired as a part of the three-way Ben Rortvedt commerce. Cruz, initially a Yankee, is tremendous projectable 19-year-old outfielder with a protracted swing. He’s struggled to hit above .200 since leaving rookie ball. Sasaki was a Hawaiian excessive schooler initially signed by the Rays who’s now a Double-A middle fielder and good upper-level depth man due to his protection. Mendoza is a soft-tossing 21-year-old lefty starter who got here from Texas within the Burger commerce. He’s in Beloit’s rotation working with a 90-mph fastball and 45-grade secondary stuff.
Depth BatsTroy Johnston, 1BJohnny Olmstead, SSFenwick Trimble, OFCarlos Sanchez, CJesus Hernandez, UTILVictor Mesa Jr., CFGage Miller, 2B/3B
Johnston has been hovering on this part of the Marlins checklist for years as an undersized, however hitterish, lefty-hitting first baseman. He’s in his prime and doubtless has a window looming right here the place he’s an above-replacement participant. Olmstead was a senior signal out of USC in 2023 who has already reached Double-A. He can play a fairly good shortstop (he’s plus at third base). Trimble was final 12 months’s fourth rounder out of James Madison, a big-framed, righty-hitting outfielder with a swing that some name “straightforward and cozy trying” and others may name “gradual” in a bat velocity sense. Trimble was hitting properly at Beloit and promoted to Pensacola not lengthy earlier than he tweaked his hamstring and was placed on the IL. He hasn’t performed since mid-Might. Sanchez, 20, is a 5-foot-9, Venezuelan switch-hitting catcher with above-average lefty bat velocity. The best way his arms rip by contact from that facet generates honest energy for a catcher, however his swing additionally leaves him weak to fastballs up and away. His throwing isn’t constant sufficient to make him a lock at catcher. Hernandez is a 21-year-old Venezuelan third baseman (and 2B/SS/LF) who has posted an above-average hard-hit charge to date this 12 months and hit his option to Beloit. His peak exit velos and visible scouting look don’t point out there’s really above-average energy right here. Mesa is a stable common heart discipline defender and subsequently a viable depth choice, however nothing about his offense is common. Final 12 months’s third rounder out of Alabama, Miller has as many walks as he does strikeouts at Beloit to date this 12 months, however I’m skeptical about his swing taking part in long-term. It’s not going to provide the form of energy you’re on the lookout for in a part-time 2B/3B, even when the contact portion holds up.
Extra RelieversAnderson Pilar, RHPFreddy Tarnok, RHPMatt Pushard, RHPMichael Perez, RHPDameivi Tineo, LHPJhon Cabral, RHPJesse Bergin, RHPSamuel Carpio, RHP
Pilar was initially a Rockie however elected free company after the 2023 season, signed a minor league take care of Miami, moved to the bullpen, and had sufficient of an uptick in stuff to draw the eye of the Braves in final 12 months’s Rule 5 Draft. Pilar didn’t make the workforce and was returned to the Marlins. He’s a cutter-heavy depth reliever who sits about 93. Tarnok was initially a Courageous and made a one-outing massive league debut in 2022. He was traded to Oakland as a part of the Sean Murphy deal however struggled to interrupt by there partially resulting from damage. He was a Phillies minor leaguer final 12 months and now’s with Miami. Violent deception and a deep repertoire (he has a terrific curveball) outline Tarnok’s skills. Pushard is a former undrafted free agent from Maine, a big-bodied Triple-A reliever with a 95-mph fastball and two serviceable breaking balls, however crude command. Perez, 22, is a bodily Dominican righty flashing a plus curveball and changeup in Jupiter. His fastball motion and command are under common. Tineo is a long-levered lefty with a whippy arm motion. He’s sitting 93-94 in Jupiter and has a plus slider, the look of a lefty specialist down the road. Cabral is an almost 20-year-old FCL righty with massive stuff (as much as 98, sitting 94-97), however he’s walked over a batter per inning for a number of years and is now in his third advanced season. Bergin is a 25-year-old reliever at Pensacola who’s sitting 93-94 with a mean slider and curveball. Carpio is a 22-year-old A-ball reliever sitting within the mid-90s however strolling practically a batter per inning.
System Overview
This is likely one of the deepest couple of methods within the sport, partially as a result of the Marlins have prioritized getting depth again within the trades they’ve made in the course of the early rebuild section of the Peter Bendix period. Take a look at final 12 months’s rundown of transactions and you’ll see the Marlins getting two, three, or extra gamers again in principally each commerce they made. Plenty of these prospects are lower-ceiling’d position participant sorts, however while you gather sufficient of these guys and provides them extended taking part in time in the course of the early phases of the rebuild, you open your membership as much as the likelihood that a few them will exceed your expectations and stick round lengthy sufficient to be a part of the younger core. Entrance-loading the rebuild with acquisitions like this will get the ball rolling on these alternatives immediately. You fill the vacuum of your departed gamers with younger gamers nonetheless below workforce management who is perhaps your workforce’s Cedric Mullins. This is applicable to gamers who aren’t on this checklist, in fact, guys like Kyle Stowers (who I appreciated as a prospect), Connor Norby (who I largely didn’t), Xavier Edwards, and Otto Lopez, who have been all crowded off of different rosters and now get a possibility to indicate that they need to not have been. This feels lots like a turbo-charged model of the Rays’ basic strategy to snowballing expertise. The Marlins ought to proceed to be lively on the margins of the roster in the course of the occasions of 12 months when there’s extra expertise floating round on waivers.
Miami additionally has probably the most entertaining DSL group I’ve studied throughout this checklist cycle. It’s such a gifted bunch that I’d purchase it in the event you informed me that town’s proximity to the Dominican Republic gave them a aggressive benefit in that market. The high-end pitching the Marlins have down there’s superb. It’s uncommon for that degree to see anybody sitting 95-plus, however the Marlins have a number of pitchers who’re.
The Marlins ought to be focusing on upside in each newbie markets, taking each alternative to amass a participant who they’d by no means be capable of signal on the open market. It’s going to take stars for them to deal with the Mets and Phillies, and the one method Miami goes to have these is to draft and develop them. Their final couple of drafts have been tailor-made this manner, with the PJ Morlandos and Thomas Whites of the world introduced into the fold.
