Miami Marlins MLB Draft History And Projections

As we approach the 2018 MLB Draft on June 4, we’ll break down each major league team’s recent draft history, picking out tendencies where applicable, highlighting the team’s 2018 draft pool and also touching on the organization’s most successful recent draft picks.

Additionally, each team is listed with potential draft targets. These players either fit the typical modus operandi of the organization or are players who have been specifically linked or rumored as fits with a team throughout the spring. Baseball America will continue to add and subtract players from the potential draft target section as we continue to gather information in the final weeks leading up to the draft. Players are listed with a line of skinny to get a quick idea of who they are, but our full scouting reports will give a more complete picture of a player.

It’s also worth pointing out that while in some cases a team might appear to have a clear tendency with certain demographics (i.e. high school pitchers or college hitters), the sample we are looking at is small enough that teams could simply be following a best player available strategy and the results are showing something that’s not an overarching scouting philosophy. It’s more likely that tendencies can be discovered at the extremes, rather than slight apparent preferences in the last five years.

Here is a breakdown of the recent draft history of the Miami Marlins.

General Manager: Michael Hill (Since 2015)
Scouting Director: Stan Meek (Since 2002)
2018 Bonus Pool (Rank): $8,658,400 (14th)

2018 MLB Draft Order:

1st Round: 13th

2nd Round: 53rd

Supplemental 2nd Round: 69th

3rd Round: 89th

4th-40: 13th in each round.

First Round Picks Since 2013:

2017: Trevor Rogers (13th)

2016: Braxton Garrett (7th)

2015: Josh Naylor (12th)

2014: Tyler Kolek (2nd)

2013: Colin Moran (6th)

Best Recent Pick (2010-2017 Drafts):

RHP Jose Fernandez (No. 14 overall, 2011) was one of the best pitchers in baseball before he died in a boating accident on September 25, 2016. One of the few successful high school righthanders this century, Fernandez won the NL Rookie of the Year award in 2013 and posted a 2.58 ERA throughout his career from 2013-2016. During that stretch only Clayton Kershaw posted a lower mark and Fernandez’ strikeout-to-walk ratios stood up with the best arms in the game.

Recent Tendencies (Last Five Years/Top Five Rounds):

The Marlins have selected the same number of high school prospects as four-year university products in the last five years at the top of the draft, though Miami’s 48.28 percent rate of drafting high school players is tied for the 6th-highest rate among all teams, along with the Brewers.

Miami has also leaned toward position players, selecting 16 hitters (compared to 13 pitchers) during this period, the 7th-highest rate in baseball behind teams like the Mets, Pirates and Mariners.

In the first and supplemental first rounds, however, the Marlins have been extremely high school heavy, selecting six prep players out of the eight first- or supplemental first-round picks the team has had since 2013. Still, in 2017, after taking Trevor Rogers with the 13th pick of the draft, scouting director Stan Meek went with college players for his next five picks and had the most college-heavy top five rounds since 2013.

Potential Draft Targets:

1B/3B Triston Casas — Casas has plus-plus raw power and an advanced, patient approach at the plate with surprising athleticism in the infield

RHP Mason Denaburg — An uber-athletic catcher-turned-pitcher, Denaburg has great arm speed and feel to spin a breaking ball

3B Nolan Gorman — Gorman is a slugging third baseman with near top-of-the-scale raw power and a strong arm, but has some questions about his feel to hit

RHP Ethan Hankins — Previously the top prep player in the class thanks to a potential 80-grade fastball, Hankins has been slowed by injury but is trending in the right direction

OF Jarred Kelenic — Solid in every area, Kelenic is one of the best pure hitters in the prep class and scouts are expecting more power to come

RHP Kumar Rocker — Big, physical and imposing, Rocker has loud pure stuff including a fastball up to 98 mph and a breaking ball that falls off the table

C/3B Noah Naylor — The younger brother of Josh Naylor, Noah is more hit over power with exceptional barrel awareness and track record against professional arms

OF/LHP Connor Scott — A plus runner with good feel for the barrel, Scott is developing power and has a plus arm with good chance to stick in center field—aka toolsy

RHP Carter Stewart — Stewart has the best breaking ball in the 2018 class in a powerful, downer curveball—oh, and he’s touched 98 mph as well this spring

SS Brice Turang — An athletic, lefthanded-hitting shortstop with plus speed and great feel for the barrel, Turang is more polished than most preps