Jorge Guzman

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Miami Marlins #22 prospect in 2021
  TRACK RECORD: Guzman signed with the Astros for $22,500 in 2014. He has been traded twice, first to the Yankees in the Brian McCann deal and later to the Marlins in the Giancarlo Stanton deal. Guzman made a brief yet forgettable major league debut in 2020 when he gave up a pair of home runs and walked a batter in one inning of relief.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Guzman has a solid delivery that produces a lot of velocity and a downhill plane, but has struggled with timing issues and thus below-average control. His double-plus fastball is consistently in the 96-98 mph range and tops 100 mph. Guzman learned to locate it better up in the zone at Double-A Jacksonville and developed his slider, which breaks hard and down to the plate. His changeup is an average pitch. Guzman struggled with command and control of all three pitches in his short major league stint and must find a way to achieve consistency.
  
  THE FUTURE: Guzman has a chance to be a hard-throwing reliever but will need to improve his control. He should return to the Marlins at some point in 2021.
• 
  Ranked Miami Marlins #14 prospect in 2020
  TRACK RECORD: Guzman was older than most Latin American signees, inking with the Astros for $22,500 at the age of 18 in 2014. Even more notable, Guzman hailed from Las Matas de Santa Cruz in the northwest Monte Cristi province, one of the more report parts of the Dominican. Guzman has been traded twice already—once to the Yankees as part of the Brian McCann deal, and then to the Marlins in the Giancarlo Stanton trade.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Guzman is strong, physically mature and shows the makings of a solid delivery although his arm action is shorter and more rigid than most. While clean out front, Guzman is prone to rhythm and timing issues. To make up for it, Guzman possesses good downhill plane to the plate and a fastball in the mid-to-upper-90s that tops 100 frequently. Guzman's fastball quality took a step forward in 2019 because he utilized it up in the zone more often. Guzman also has an above-average slider that looks and feels more like a curveball family because of its hard, downer break. The pitch's quality in and out of the zone is still a work in progress despite good shape. Guzman's changeup may be key to his future role. It is often firm due to his arm action and delivery and is more of a timing pitch that needs to be thrown with more conviction.
  
  THE FUTURE: If Guzman can learn to harness his stuff and lower his walk rate, he could have the ceiling of a hard-throwing, mid-rotation starter. However, some scouts believe he's best suited for a role as a highleverage reliever working off his upper-90s fastball and above-average slider.
• 
  Ranked Miami Marlins #7 prospect in 2019
  Track Record: After signing with the Astros out of the Dominican Republic in 2014, Guzman was traded to the Yankees in November 2016 as part of the Brian McCann deal. Less than 13 months later, he was one of three players, along with minor league shortstop Jose Devers and major league second baseman Starlin Castro, traded to the Marlins for 2017 National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton.
  
  Scouting Report: Guzman is one of the hardest-throwing starters in the minors, with his elite fastball consistently sitting in the upper 90s with a peak velocity of 103 mph. His control took a step back in 2018, however, with his walk rate going from 2.4 per nine innings in 2017 to 6.0 per nine in 2018. Guzman's changeup shows plus potential, but he needs to continue refining his slider to become an above-average offering. Improved control and continued development of his slider will go a long way for Guzman. He's hard to square up, but there are scouts who believe his future is in the bullpen.
  
  The Future: Guzman challenges fellow righthander Sandy Alcantara for best pure stuff in the Marlins' system, and if everything clicks he could become a future frontline starter. After skipping the low Class A level entirely once he joined the Marlins' organization, he will likely begin 2019 with Double-A Jacksonville, where improving his control and reducing his walk rate will prove vital.
• 
  Ranked Miami Marlins #2 prospect in 2018
  The Astros signed Guzman out of the Dominican Republic in 2014 on the strength of his lightning-quick arm and projection for a massive fastball. He was then traded to the Yankees in December 2016 for Brian McCann before spending his 2017 season improving his walk rate at short-season Staten Island. The Marlins acquired Guzman in December 2017 as the headline prospect in the trade that sent Giancarlo Stanton to the Yankees, allowing the Marlins' new ownership to clear $265 million of the $295 left on Stanton's 10-year contract. Just as the Astros hoped back in 2014, Guzman has developed a big-time fastball, exceeding even the highest of expectations. He averaged 99 mph with his four-seamer in 2017. To put that in perspective, Yankees righthander Luis Severino was the hardest throwing starter in the majors in 2017 with an average fastball velocity of 97.6 mph. Guzman paired his top-of-the-scale fastball--which has peaked at 103 mph--with a developing slider and a third-pitch changeup. Guzman's slider, which sits in the high-80s, can be inconsistent but has flashed above-average potential. His 90-93 mph changeup is seldom used but can show true fading action. Guzman has had trouble keeping his slider in the zone early in games before finding his feel later, but overall his walk rate of 2.4 per nine innings in 2017 suggests he has above-average control. Guzman led the New York-Penn League with 88 strikeouts in 66.2 innings in 2017 and is ready for low Class A Greensboro in 2018. He could become a future No. 2 or No. 3 starter, though some Marlins officials believe he has front-of-the-rotation potential.
• 
  Ranked New York Yankees #26 prospect in 2017
  The Astros signed Guzman out of the Dominican Republic in 2014 and sent him to the Dominican Summer League to begin his first professional season. They moved him to the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League later in the season and returned him there to begin 2016. He struck out 12.2 hitters per nine innings between the GCL and the Appalachian League in 2016, and was sent to the Yankees with righthander Albert Abreu in the offseason in the deal that sent catcher Brian McCann to Houston. Guzman's calling card is his lightning arm speed and corresponding velocity, which has peaked at 103 mph and normally sits in the high-90s. He is working on a slider to complement the fastball, but the pitch is below-average. He drops his arm slot and slows his arm down when he throws the slider. Guzman also has a changeup, but it is in its developmental stages. Despite his premium velocity, Guzman's delivery isn't particularly violent. He has a three-quarter slot and can get a little bit stiff and across his body, but it's not as high-effort as most triple-digit-throwers. Guzman is likely a reliever down the line, but he could have a big-time impact if everything develops as planned. He's likely to begin the year at low Class A Charleston.

Minor League Top Prospects

• 
  Ranked New York-Penn League #2 prospect in 2017
  Guzman can stand toe-to-toe with Michael Kopech and Luis Severino as the hardest-throwing starters in pro baseball. Acquired from the Astros in last offseason's Brian McCann trade, Guzman sat at 97-100 mph as a starter for Staten Island, touching 101-102 on a pretty regular basis and impressing scouts with the limited effort he needed to reach such lofty heights. Guzman has had that high-octane fastball for a long time, but the 21-year-old took a big step forward as a pitcher this year. In the past, scouts often had viewed him as a pure reliever. He mixed in his curveball and changeup more regularly, which only made his plus-plus fastball more effective. He led the league with 88 strikeouts and the highest strikeout rate in the league (11.9 K/9).

Top 100 Rankings

• Ranked Baseball America's #87 prospect in 2018

• March, 2021 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Guzman signed with the Astros for $22,500 in 2014. He has been traded twice, first to the Yankees in the Brian McCann deal and later to the Marlins in the Giancarlo Stanton deal. Guzman made a brief yet forgettable major league debut in 2020 when he gave up a pair of home runs and walked a batter in one inning of relief.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Guzman has a solid delivery that produces a lot of velocity and a downhill plane, but has struggled with timing issues and thus below-average control. His double-plus fastball is consistently in the 96-98 mph range and tops 100 mph. Guzman learned to locate it better up in the zone at Double-A Jacksonville and developed his slider, which breaks hard and down to the plate. His changeup is an average pitch. Guzman struggled with command and control of all three pitches in his short major league stint and must find a way to achieve consistency.
  
  THE FUTURE: Guzman has a chance to be a hard-throwing reliever but will need to improve his control. He should return to the Marlins at some point in 2021.
• December, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Guzman signed with the Astros for $22,500 in 2014. He has been traded twice, first to the Yankees in the Brian McCann deal and later to the Marlins in the Giancarlo Stanton deal. Guzman made a brief yet forgettable major league debut in 2020 when he gave up a pair of home runs and walked a batter in one inning of relief.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Guzman has a solid delivery that produces a lot of velocity and a downhill plane, but has struggled with timing issues and thus below-average control. His double-plus fastball is consistently in the 96-98 mph range and tops 100 mph. Guzman learned to locate it better up in the zone at Double-A Jacksonville and developed his slider, which breaks hard and down to the plate. His changeup is an average pitch. Guzman struggled with command and control of all three pitches in his short major league stint and must find a way to achieve consistency.
  
  THE FUTURE: Guzman has a chance to be a hard-throwing reliever but will need to improve his control. He should return to the Marlins at some point in 2021.
• July, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Guzman was older than most Latin American signees, inking with the Astros for $22,500 at the age of 18 in 2014. Even more notable, Guzman hailed from Las Matas de Santa Cruz in the northwest Monte Cristi province, one of the more report parts of the Dominican. Guzman has been traded twice already—once to the Yankees as part of the Brian McCann deal, and then to the Marlins in the Giancarlo Stanton trade.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Guzman is strong, physically mature and shows the makings of a solid delivery although his arm action is shorter and more rigid than most. While clean out front, Guzman is prone to rhythm and timing issues. To make up for it, Guzman possesses good downhill plane to the plate and a fastball in the mid-to-upper-90s that tops 100 frequently. Guzman’s fastball quality took a step forward in 2019 because he utilized it up in the zone more often. Guzman also has an above-average slider that looks and feels more like a curveball family because of its hard, downer break. The pitch’s quality in and out of the zone is still a work in progress despite good shape. Guzman’s changeup may be key to his future role. It is often firm due to his arm action and delivery and is more of a timing pitch that needs to be thrown with more conviction. BA GRADE 50 Risk: High BA GRADE 50 Risk: High
  
  THE FUTURE: If Guzman can learn to harness his stuff and lower his walk rate, he could have the ceiling of a hard-throwing, mid-rotation starter. However, some scouts believe he’s best suited for a role as a highleverage reliever working off his upper-90s fastball and above-average slider.
• February, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Guzman was older than most Latin American signees, inking with the Astros for $22,500 at the age of 18 in 2014. Even more notable, Guzman hailed from Las Matas de Santa Cruz in the northwest Monte Cristi province, one of the more report parts of the Dominican. Guzman has been traded twice already—once to the Yankees as part of the Brian McCann deal, and then to the Marlins in the Giancarlo Stanton trade.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Guzman is strong, physically mature and shows the makings of a solid delivery although his arm action is shorter and more rigid than most. While clean out front, Guzman is prone to rhythm and timing issues. To make up for it, Guzman possesses good downhill plane to the plate and a fastball in the mid-to-upper-90s that tops 100 frequently. Guzman's fastball quality took a step forward in 2019 because he utilized it up in the zone more often. Guzman also has an above-average slider that looks and feels more like a curveball family because of its hard, downer break. The pitch's quality in and out of the zone is still a work in progress despite good shape. Guzman's changeup may be key to his future role. It is often firm due to his arm action and delivery and is more of a timing pitch that needs to be thrown with more conviction.
  
  THE FUTURE: If Guzman can learn to harness his stuff and lower his walk rate, he could have the ceiling of a hard-throwing, mid-rotation starter. However, some scouts believe he's best suited for a role as a highleverage reliever working off his upper-90s fastball and above-average slider.
• July, 2018 Scouting Report
  Miami acquired the hard-throwing Guzman from the Yankees in the Giancarlo Stanton trade. The 6-foot-2 righthander sits in the high 90s and can reach triple digits. While Guzman’s walk rate is high, opponents struggle to square him up. He complements his fastball with a potentially plus slider and developing 89-91 mph changeup. Improved command and additional refinement of his changeup are Guzman’s two most pressing areas to address.