Here is an analysis of the prospects in the Miami Marlins Farm System. The scout report compiles information provided by industry sources and my own observations. This is the fifth year we divide between two expected relief characters, the abbreviation we see in the “Position” column below: MIRP for multi-set relief pitchers and SIRP for single-set relief pitchers. Listed ETAs are usually associated with years that must be added to the 40-player lineup to avoid being eligible for Rule 5 draft. Manual adjustments were made where it looked right, but we took it as experience.
A quick overview of what FV (future value) can be found here. A more in-depth overview can be found here.
All ranking prospects below also appear on the board, and the website provides each organization with a resource for sortable reconnaissance information. It has more detailed information than this article (as well as track and field data from various sources) and integrates a list of each team so readers can compare potential customers across farm systems. Can be found here.
Other prospects to note
Grouped by type and listed in order of preference for each category.
DSL pitching
Adriano Marrero, RHP
RAMON SANCHEZ, RHP
Elier Morillo, LHP
Marrero is a 17-year-old DSL right with a 3,000 rpm slider and average replacement. He is now sitting only above the 80s, his body is relatively mature, but he will soon become very interesting if better mechanical sequencing improves his speed and control. His delivery is currently out of sync. Sanchez, a 23-year-old sprint DSL Righty, was released by the rays last summer but beat the Marlins 94-96 last weekend. Morillo was a 5-foot-11 teen left-handed in his second DSL season. He was 91-94 at a flat angle and carrying and bent in a range of 76-79 mph, breaking through 18 inches horizontally. His numbers are ridiculous, but his commands are likely to make you believe much more than his walking rate, so now he is more like a DSL sleeper than a real prospect.
DSL batsman
Anthony Abreu, inf
Luis Arana, inf
Diver Lights – Nkanachion, 2b/3b
Abreu is an infielder with a height of 6-foot-1, with a height of up to low ball bats. His swing length link speed hovers around 70% and isn’t good in DSL, but there’s enough left-handed pop here to make Abreu a significant prospect, especially if he can stay at shortstop or third base. Arana and his stylish, duck-footed batting stance are the toughest marlins in the DSL as he strikes out at 3% and has an 89% contact rate. He is not a tool athlete or a similar athlete, so he needs to stay close to that level on climbing to prove that he is real, and for the moment, I doubt it. Another K% is low enough to be worth a double check on reconnaissance, while Encarnacion is a slightly older DSL infielder with swings and strong hands inside and out.
Player trading
Garret Forrester, C/1B/3B
Abrahan Ramirez, 2b/3b
Emaarion Boyd, see
Echedry Vargas, 2b/3b
Jay Beshears, 1B
John Cruz
Shane Sasaki, see
Brayan Mendoza, LHP
Forrester is an .326/.470/.500 batsman at Oregon State University, he was part of a swap with Pittsburgh’s Bryan de la Cruz last year. The Pirates started a receiver switch attempt here, and Miami continued. Forrester is incredibly selective and is not a bad Oppo contact batsman, but he lacks bat speed. His prospects depend on his progress as a receiver. Ramirez came out of the Yankees as part of the Jazz Chisholm Jr. trade last year. He is a sleek third base guard, and he has a nice hand, but he lacks anything close to the strength he needs to be there. He is a smaller 20-year-old yard and he actually has a bench infield ceiling unless he really goes beyond the power projection of the athlete’s figure. Boyd was a Philadelphians high school draft pick and was traded to Miami as part of the Jesús Luzardo deal. His early career contact performance was impressive, and his button fastball ability (92% contact rate) was still the case, but Boyd was allergic to spin and had a 62% contact rate on the secondary court. That was a huge gap. He has become a better midfield defender over the past two seasons, but he may need to cheer there or better to be on the roster.
Vargas, who acquired from Dexas in last year’s Jake Burger deal, was a rat-rate babe whose spray map looks like a shrinking version of Isaac Paredes, with a load-loaded tension contact to pitching air throughout the area. Vargas is a small athlete without strong primitive power and has also been one of the more prone batsmen among minors in the past few years. The Beshears’ draft year from Northwest to Duke was San Diego’s sixth round, where he went down to High-A and was traded to Miami in the Tanner Scott trade. He has .750 OPS in Beloit and has about average Big League Raw Power at 23, but the concern here is the Beshears defense. He quickly tends to do his job there with just the first base. Cruz and Sasaki were acquired as part of the tee-trade Ben Rortvedt. Originally Yankee, Cruz was a super predicted 19-year-old outfielder with a long swing. He has been struggling to hit .200+ since leaving rookie Ball. Sasaki, a Hawaiian high school student who was originally signed by the Rays, is now a dual center fielder and has become a high-level deeper person due to his defense. Mendoza is a soft 21-year-old left-handed starter from the burger industry in Texas. He is in Beloit’s rotation, using 90 mph fastballs and a secondary thing in grade 45.
Depth bat
Troy Johnston, 1B
Johnny Olmstead
Fenwick Trimble,
Carlos Sanchez, c
Jesus Hernandez, Util
Victor Mesa Jr., CF
Gage Miller, 2b/3b
Johnston has been wandering around this part of the Marlins list for years, a too small but soldier, left-handed first baseman. He is at his peak and there may be a window here that is imminent, he is a substitute. Olmstead, a senior signing at the University of Southern California (USC) in 2023, has reached a double A. He can play very well shortstop (he is third base). Trimble is James Madison’s fourth round last year, a large, right hit outfielder, some call it “an easy and comfortable look” while others may call it “slow” in terms of bat speed. Trimble hits the benefit at Beloit and was soon promoted to Pensacola, where he adjusted his hamstrings and was placed on the IL. He hasn’t competed since mid-May. Sanchez, 20, is a 5-foot-9 Venezuelan switch receiver with a bat speed above average left hand. His hands brought fair power to the catcher by tearing from that side, but his swing also made him vulnerable to the fastball. His throws were not consistent enough to allow him to lock in the catcher. Hernandez, a 21-year-old Venezuelan third baseman (and 2b/ss/lf), has posted above-average hard speeds so far this year and hit Beloit. His peak exit Velos and visual reconnaissance appearance does not indicate that there is actually above average power here. MESA is a solid average center defender and therefore a viable depth option, but nothing on his offense is average. Miller has had a lot of strikeouts at Beloit so far this year in the third round at Alabama, but I’m skeptical of his long-term swing. Even if the contact part is partly established, it won’t produce the features you’re looking for in part-time 2B/3B.
More relief workers
Anderson Pilar, RHP
Freddy Tarnok, RHP
Matt Pushard, RHP
Michael Perez (RHP)
Dameivi Tineo, LHP
Jhon Cabral, RHP
Jesse Bergin, RHP
Samuel Carpio, RHP
Pilar was originally Rockie, but was elected as a free agent after the 2023 season, signed a minor league contract with Miami, moved to the bullpen, and attracted the attention of the brave in the Rule 5 Draft last year. Instead of becoming a team, Pilar returned to the Marlins. He is a clumsy depth reliefer, accounting for 93 years old. Tarnok was originally a brave man and made his debut in 2022. He was traded to Oakland in part of the Sean Murphy deal, but worked hard to break out there, partly due to injuries. Last year, he was a minor league for the Phillies and is now with Miami. Violent deception and deep repertoire (his curveball is great) defines Tanoke’s ability. Pushard is a formerly unsigned free agent for Maine, a large triple reliefer with a speed of 95 mph, fastball and two repairable play balls, but rough commands. Perez, 22, is a physical Dominican, flickering with curves and changes in Jupiter. His fastball and commands are below average. Tineo is a long trek left-handed man with arm movements. He sat in Jupiter’s 93-94 with one plus slider, which is the look of a left-handed expert. Cabral is a nearly 20-year-old FCL with big stuff (up to 98, seat 94-97), but he has been away for a few years, has been away for a few years and is now entering his third complex season. Bergin is a 25-year-old reliefist for Pensacola, and his average slider and curveball sits 93-94. Carpio is a 22-year-old A-ball cushioner sitting in the mid-90s but almost walked one batsman in each inning.
System Overview
This is one of the deepest systems in the game, partly because the Marlins prioritize the depth of the deals made during the early reconstruction phase of the Peter Bendix era. Looking at last year’s trade failure, you’ll see the Marlins get two, three or more players in basically all the trades they make. Many of these prospects are lower role-player types, but when you collect enough people and give them extended game time in the early stages of the reconstruction, you can open the club so that several of them may exceed your expectations and stick to it long enough to be part of the young core. Loading rebuilds with such acquisitions makes these opportunities roll immediately over these opportunities. You will have the vacuum cleaner of future players still under the team’s control, and they may be Cedric Mullins of your team. This applies to players who aren’t on this list, of course, people like Kyle Stowers (my favorite prospect), Connor Norby (I’m not primarily), Xavier Edwards and Otto Lopez, who are all huddled on other rosters, have a chance now, and have a chance to show that they shouldn’t do it. It feels a lot like the general approach of turbocharged versions of the ray snowball talent. The Marlins should continue to be active on the edge of the roster during the year, when more talent surfaced on exemptions.
Miami also has the most interesting DSL groups I have studied in this list cycle. It’s a really talented group of people, and if you told me how far this city is from the Dominican Republic is for their competitive advantage in that market, I’d buy it. The Marlins’ high-end pitching there was amazing. It’s rare to see anyone sitting at 95 at this level, but the Marlins have several pitchers.
The Marlins should aim for the upside in two amateur markets, taking this opportunity to get a player who will never be able to sign on the open market. They will take the stars to compete with the Mets and Phillies, and the only way Miami has is to draft and develop them. Their last few drafts were tailored this way, with the world’s PJ Morlandos and Thomas Whites getting stuck.
