Brian Ellington

Organization Prospect Rankings

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  Ranked Miami Marlins #25 prospect in 2016
  Ellington has taken a long road to being a prospect. He had Tommy John surgery in 2007 and missed his senior season at Oak Hall High in Gainesville, Fla. Set to go to Florida State on a scholarship, Ellington and the FSU coaching staff did not agree on a rehab plan, so he attended two community colleges-- including Chipola (Fla.) JC--and nearly gave up on baseball before applying to NCAA Division II West Florida. A reliever in college, Ellington has made just three starts in 103 minor league appearances since and reached the majors in 2015 after impressing in a stint in the Pan Am Games. Ellington dominates hitters with a 93-97 mph fastball that he can spot well. He learned from the Pan Am Games that he needed to implement his power curveball more and started to double up on the pitch after he gained confidence. He doesn't command the pitch or throw it for strikes enough for it to be a true weapon. Ellington also throws a changeup and slider, but both offerings are below-average. A mechanical tweak he made in 2014 made his delivery more repeatable and helped him smooth out his control. That improvement was noticeable at Double-A Jacksonville in 2015, where his walk rate of 2.7 per nine innings was a career best. He suffered a control lapse when he reached the majors, but Ellington is in line to begin 2016 in the Marlins bullpen.
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  Ranked Miami Marlins #22 prospect in 2015
  Ellington took a circuitous route to pro ball. In September 2007, he had Tommy John surgery and missed his senior season at Oak Hall School in Gainesville, Fla. He had already earned a scholarship to Florida State and was ready to report as a healthy freshman. That scenario didn't materialize when Ellington and the Seminoles could not agree on a rehab plan. He went through two junior colleges in Florida before ultimately landing at Division II West Florida, which won the 2011 national championship. Fast forward to 2014 at high Class A Jupiter, where Ellington in his third pro season featured a power fastball that sat 93-97 mph and regularly touched the upper 90s, with reports of a few stray 100 mph readings. His Achilles heel was holding baserunners. After some initial struggles, his times to the plate improved from about 1.6 seconds to as fast as 1.35 seconds. Ellington throws an average slider, but his best breaking pitch is a power curve in the low 80s that flashes plus with two-plane break. He threw 13 innings in the Arizona Fall League following the 2014 season, putting him on the fast track for 2015. He'll open at Double-A Jacksonville but has a chance to take off with his power arm.