The Marlins’ system continues to improve after years of relative neglect under Jeff Loria’s ownership, when the team was nearly absent from the international market and had a long run of less-than-productive draft classes.
To qualify for these rankings, players must still be eligible for the Rookie of the Year Award in 2022, which means they may not have more than 130 at-bats, 50 innings pitched or 45 days on an active roster heading into this season.
Note: Ages as of July 1, 2022.
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1. Edward Cabrera, RHP (Top 100 Ranking: No. 33)
Age: 24 | 6-5 | 217 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
Cabrera reached the majors last year, but we didn’t see the best of him, as he had some clear trouble adjusting to the different baseball even back when he first moved to Triple A. He missed the first month of the minor-league season while recovering from an inflamed nerve in his biceps, then dominated the lower minors, striking out 37 percent of batters between High A and Double A with a 5 percent walk rate. He moved up to Triple-A Jacksonville and continued to miss bats, with a 37 percent strikeout rate again, but he walked three or more batters in every start but one at that level, and his strike percentage dropped again in the majors. It was surprising given Cabrera’s history and the sheer quality of his stuff — he can work at 94-100 mph, and his changeup can be a plus-plus pitch — but he threw a lot of in-between pitches that Statcast coded as changeups but looked and had the characteristics of bad four-seamers. And when he left those middle-middle — surprise, surprise — he got hit-hit. Cabrera has the size (6-5, 220 or so) and delivery to start, and the two weapons, along with a slider that he can bury away from right-handers, to be a starter. I’m not ready to let 55 innings, all with the big-league baseball, tarnish his outlook.
2. Kahlil Watson, 2B (Top 100 Ranking: No. 47)
Age: 19 | 5-8 | 178 pounds
Bats: Left | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 16 in 2021
Watson was a clear top-10 talent in the 2021 draft, but fell all the way to the 16th pick, where the Marlins were more than happy to select him. Watson is a true shortstop with plus running speed and bat speed, and he’s strong for an undersized guy, projecting to at least average power. He’s aggressive in the box, but doesn’t chase out of the zone as much as that might imply. He played just nine games in the Florida Complex League, but hit .394/.524/.606 with more walks than strikeouts before he was shut down with a week or so left in the season. Maybe he slipped because he’s 5-8, but the Marlins might have gotten one of the biggest steals of the draft class, with a potential star if he stays at short in the long term.
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3. Eury Perez, RHP (Top 100 Ranking: No. 64)
Age: 19 | 6-8 | 200 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
Perez might have been the biggest riser among pitching prospects in the game last year, as he went from not even earning a mention on my Marlins list last year — because I’d never heard his name — to a top-100 prospect this year. Perez turned 18 just three weeks before the minor-league season started, and then carved up both levels of full-season A ball, punching out 108 batters in 78 innings against 26 walks, with a 1.96 ERA to boot. The 6-8 right-hander works at 93-96 mph, topping out at 98 mph, with room to add velocity as his body fills out, with a slider and changeup that both flash plus. He’s control over command right now, around the zone but without locating as effectively as he’ll need to as he moves up the ladder. It’s already an uncomfortable at-bat for hitters given his height and his slightly low 3/4 slot, and he could easily pack another 30 pounds on that frame, by which point he might be hitting 100 every start. Without projection, he’s still a future mid-rotation starter; with projection, and considering his youth and inexperience, he could be an ace.
4. Jake Eder, LHP
Age: 23 | 6-4 | 215 pounds
Bats: Left | Throws: Left
Drafted: No. 104 in 2020
Eder was the system’s other breakout starting pitcher last year, and would have landed on the top 100 had he not undergone Tommy John surgery at the end of August, probably keeping him off the mound until instructional league this year. Eder has been a prospect forever; he was a top-three rounds candidate out of high school, then went to Vanderbilt, where he was consistently inconsistent both in stuff and results. He came out throwing harder last year and with purpose, regularly working 95-96 and touching higher, with a better breaking ball and changeup than he’d shown before. He dominated everyone but his plus low-80s curveball, which has good two-plane break and looks like it just keeps spinning faster as it approaches the plate (which it doesn’t, that’s not a thing), helped him hold left-handed batters to a 6-for-63 line with a 46 percent strikeout rate. He’s 6-4 and repeats his delivery well, with a three-quarters arm slot and good hand position at release. He was on the fast track to the majors and if he comes back healthy, we should see him in Miami in 2023.
5. Max Meyer, RHP
Age: 23 | 6-0 | 196 pounds
Bats: Left | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 3 in 2020
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Meyer performed well in 2021, but the underlying characteristics that made him the third-overall pick in 2020 weren’t as good, and his projected outlook has dimmed accordingly. Meyer was more 94-96 than the 96-99 he had been in college, and his slider was less consistent, although it was still often plus. Scouts who saw both consistently ranked him below Eder, and all scouts I asked about Meyer thought he’d be a reliever, citing his height (meh), lack of fastball life (fair), and below-average command (also fair). I’m still in the camp that thinks he can start — he’s too athletic to not see some improvement in his command, at least, and I won’t be shocked if his velocity creeps back up in his second full season in pro ball, especially when he’s not coming off a lost season. But for now, there’s enough reliever risk here to move him down to fifth in this increasingly talented system.
6. Jose Salas, SS
Age: 19 | 6-2 | 191 pounds
Bats: Switch | Throws: Right
Signed in 2019 for $2.8 million, Salas made his pro debut last year with a dominant month in the Florida Complex League, followed by a solid showing in a month in Low A for an 18-year-old with so little experience. He’s 6-2 with a good frame that should fill out nicely for future power from both sides of the plate, although it’s probably 60/40 that the same growth pushes him from shortstop to third. He’s an average-ish runner who has some feel for running the bases already. He has good swings from both sides with an idea at the plate already, and even if he moves to third base, I like his chances to hit for average with 20+ homers and a solid OBP.
7. JJ Bleday, OF
Age: 24 | 6-3 | 205 pounds
Bats: Left | Throws: Left
Drafted: No. 4 in 2019
Bleday showed patience and some power in Double A, but he didn’t hit — a .212 average, .250 on balls in play, and a 23-year-old corner outfielder should do a lot more than that against Double-A pitching. He slimmed down a little bit between 2019 and last year, which could have cost him a little strength, although there’s always been a hitch in his swing that gave some scouts concerns about his hit tool, as well. He made some hard contact, just not enough hard contact. He did hit well in the Arizona Fall League, but with so little pitching there and a lot of hitters going off, I wouldn’t read too much into it. He’s a capable right fielder with a plus arm, but he has to hit and hit for power to be even an everyday guy.
8. Peyton Burdick, OF
Age: 25 | 6-0 | 205 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 82 in 2019
Burdick was the Marlins’ third-rounder in 2019, and if you just covered up the strikeouts column on his Baseball-Reference page, you’d think he was a superstar — and he might still be. It’s plus power, plus speed, some patience, a chance to stay in center … and he struck out 29 percent of the time in Double A. He’s not a hacker, as the walks column implies, but has some specific vulnerabilities, especially fastballs up above the zone. If he can have an Austin Riley-like evolution to recognize and lay off those pitches sooner, he’s a regular in a corner and a possible star if he stays in center, with 25+ homer/15-20 steal upside and a chance for an above-average OBP.
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9. Zach McCambley, RHP
Age: 23 | 6-2 | 220 pounds
Bats: Left | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 75 in 2020
The Marlins’ third-round pick in 2020 had a bizarre year in High A and Double A, giving up 21 homers in 97 innings, but striking out 29 percent of batters with a low walk rate. If you just tried to scout the stat line, you’d guess he was a soft-tossing command guy, but he’s not — he throws hard with huge spin on the fastball and on his hammer curveball, with effort to his delivery that you would expect to cause him more issues with control. He does need to develop his changeup to keep hitters on both sides off his fastball, but he missed too often with both of his primary pitches last year, especially in Pensacola where he had issues gripping the ball in the high humidity. If he can’t keep the ball in the park, he has some upside in relief.
10. Sixto Sanchez, RHP
Age: 23 | 6-0 | 234 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
Sanchez was the Marlins’ No. 2 prospect going into 2021, but his shoulder bothered him from spring training onward, resulting in late-July surgery to repair a capsule tear and “clean out” the back side of the joint. (No word on what they found. I wonder if the key to the batter’s box was in there.) Shoulder surgeries aren’t as routine as Tommy John surgeries — which can still go wrong, just less frequently — and we can’t know how Sanchez’s stuff will be until he’s back on a mound. Before the injury, he would be 96-100 with an above-average changeup, and with a curveball that has improved but isn’t more than average. He also threw strikes without a whole lot of effort in the delivery. He missed time in 2018 with elbow soreness, was healthy in 2019-20, and then this happened, and while there have been questions about his conditioning and whether he was tall enough to hold up as a starter, there just aren’t a lot of guys who throw this hard and never have arm problems. We’ll just have to wait to see if Sanchez’s stuff returns whenever he’s back on a mound.
11. Dax Fulton, LHP
Age: 20 | 6-7 | 225 pounds
Bats: Left | Throws: Left
Drafted: No. 40 in 2020
Fulton was recovering from Tommy John surgery when the Marlins took him in the second round in 2020, so last year was the first time he’d pitched anywhere since late 2019. His stuff crept up as the season went on, to where he was 93-95 in some of his later starts with a plus breaking ball, although he still wasn’t holding the velocity deeper into starts. There’s effort to the delivery that is holding back his command and control, and he needs to work on his changeup for right-handers — he’s such a power guy that adapting to a more touch-and-feel approach with a changeup will be a challenge. There’s some significant reliever risk here, as his delivery can be stiff and he’s not a great athlete, but if you think he can start he has mid-rotation upside.
12. Joe Mack, C
Age: 19 | 6-1 | 210 pounds
Bats: Left | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 31 in 2021
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Mack is a true catcher who projects to stay there, needing work on some finer points but with enough present receiving and throwing skills that nobody is moving him to another position. He showed plus power last spring before the Marlins took him in the comp round in July. Prior to 2021, scouts thought he’d hit but weren’t sure on the power upside; now there’s a good chance he does both. But I guess you didn’t know, as I said the story goes, he could be an above-average regular, but teenaged catching prospects are about as high-risk as any category in the minors.
13. Nasim Nunez, SS
Age: 21 | 5-9 | 158 pounds
Bats: Switch | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 46 in 2019
Nunez is an easy 70 defender at short, one of the best defensive shortstops in the minors, and a plus runner with a good swing when he’s batting right-handed, but he absolutely has to get stronger so that he can just hit for average against major-league quality stuff. He has everything else he’d need to be a regular, but his contact quality isn’t there, and that’s only going to get worse as he faces higher calibers of competition. He’s only 21, so there’s time, but I did think he’d have made some progress in this area by now back when I ranked him as a first-rounder in 2019 (and when the Marlins took him in the second).
14. Braxton Garrett, LHP
Age: 24 | 6-2 | 202 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Left
Drafted: No. 7 in 2016
Garrett was the Marlins’ first-round pick in 2016, and one of the best high school pitchers I’ve ever seen for command and control, but his stuff hasn’t come all the way back after 2017 Tommy John surgery and he’s probably just a back-end starter. He’s averaging just 89-90 now, working with four pitches, nothing plus, although both breaking balls can be 55s on the right day. He has an easy delivery and there’s no reason he can’t become a finesse lefty who succeeds by filling up the strike zone, although so far he’s walked more guys than he should both in the majors and Triple A. He’s already shown he can work to the edges of the strike zone, and I’ll bet on that skill improving as he gets more reps, but his ceiling is probably a fourth starter, someone who’s just a little shy of league-average.
15. Cody Morissette, 2B/3B
Age: 22 | 6-0 | 175 pounds
Bats: Left | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 52 in 2021
The Marlins’ second-round pick out of Boston College last year, Morissette had trouble in the spring as the book on his difficulties with breaking stuff, especially sliders away, got around; he opens his hips up early and swings very hard, so he pulls off those pitches when he doesn’t miss them entirely. He can hit a fastball well enough already, and the Marlins moved him right off shortstop, giving him time at both of the positions (second and third) that he should be able to play going forward. Right now, I’d say he has a utility infielder ceiling, but if the Marlins can help keep him closed through contact and he works to pick up spin, there’s a slight chance he can become an everyday guy.
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16. Yiddi Cappe, SS
Age: 19 | 6-3 | 175 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
It seemed like the Marlins were rumored to be signing Cappe, a Cuban shortstop who never played in his native country’s Serie Nacional, for two or three cycles in the international market, but they did sign him in January of 2021 for a $3.5 million bonus and he debuted in the DSL last summer. He’s tooled out, physically gifted with bat speed and a frame that should produce plus power, with above-average or better speed and the footwork for shortstop, although his arm is a little light for the left side of the infield. There’s some physical development to come here, but if he fills out like his body looks like it will, he could be a 20-homer second baseman with high averages and maybe 60 defense there. His DSL debut wasn’t anything special, but that league’s stats aren’t that meaningful and we’ll get a better read when he goes to Low A this year at age 19.
17. Ian Lewis, 2B
Age: 19 | 5-10 | 177 pounds
Bats: Switch | Throws: Right
Lewis is a switch-hitting second baseman from the Bahamas who’s friends with Marlins shortstop Jazz Chisholm. He showed an advanced feel to hit already in the Florida Complex League last year along with above-average to plus speed. He has the arm for the left side of the infield but his footwork is better suited to second, where he played most of last summer. It’s still mostly projection, as Lewis just turned 19 earlier this month, but he might end up with a plus hit tool between the bat speed, present strength (for average power down the road), and idea of the strike zone, and if that happens I don’t think anyone will mind that he’s at second base.
18. Victor Mesa Jr., CF
Age: 20 | 6-0 | 195 pounds
Bats: Left | Throws: Left
Mesa Jr. signed for less than his highly touted (and highly overrated) brother Victor Victor Mesa, but he’s the far better player. Mesa Jr. can play centerfield, possibly a 60 defender with a 60 arm out there even though he’s more a solid-average runner. He’s a good hitter for contact without much power, as he has to gain a good bit of strength even just to improve his contact quality. He also didn’t do much against lefties last year, although he was 19 and it was his first experience outside of the complex league. He’s more likely a fourth outfielder but the bat could surprise.
19. Jose Devers, 2B/SS
Age: 22 | 6-0 | 174 pounds
Bats: Left | Throws: Right
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Devers played in just 33 games last year between Triple A and the majors before he hurt his shoulder, eventually undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum. His 2019 was also interrupted by injuries, with a forearm strain and a sore hand, so he’s had fewer than 300 PA since his one full pro season in 2018. It has looked at times like he could hit, at least for average, and he can play a number of spots around the infield. He needs to play, for the experience and to prove he can hit actual pitching.
20. Jordan McCants, SS
Age: 20 | 6-1 | 165 pounds
Bats: Left | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 88 in 2021
McCants was the Marlins’ third-round pick in 2021, a bet on tools and physical projection for a player whose present baseball skill level is on the raw side. He’s a plus runner with quick hands and a slashing stroke for contact, but he’s pretty slight and definitely lacks the strength right now to handle pro pitching, so there’s some urgency to starting that process of filling out for him as he heads to full-season ball this year. He’s athletic enough for shortstop with enough arm strength, but the speed of the pro game is going to challenge him there as well, and he could end up in centerfield, where his speed would be more of an asset. Taking someone like McCants, who has some first-round tools but not the present skills, is a great gamble in the third round, where the opportunity cost is low. I’d really like to see him come back from his first pro offseason with some added strength so he isn’t overmatched in full-season ball.
Others of note
Lefty Jefry Yan pitched for the Angels’ DSL team in 2015-16, got released, and ended up pitching in a men’s league in Arizona. The Marlins found him there when he was 91-92, signed him, and now he’s sitting 95-96 with good spin on his breaking ball. He hasn’t thrown a lot of strikes — 25 walks in 31 pro innings last year, with 51 strikeouts — but it’s wow stuff and a hell of a story if he makes it.
2022 impact
Cabrera should be in the rotation to start the year. Garrett could be as well. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Meyer debut in some role by the end of the year.
The fallen
Remember all that hype over Victor Victor Mesa, whom the Marlins signed for $5.25 million back in 2018 when every scout I asked thought he was a fourth outfielder? He went 8 for 91 in Double A to start 2021, so the Marlins demoted him and he spent most of the year repeating High A as a 24-year-old. He can play center and I wouldn’t be floored if he ended up getting a cup of coffee in the majors, but his brother turned out to be the real prospect in that deal.
Sleeper
I can’t wait to see what Salas does this year in full-season ball.
(Photo of Edward Cabrera: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
