Baseball America’s Top 10 Marlins Prospects

Not many surprises here.

"1. Mike Stanton, of2. Logan Morrison, 1b3. Chad James, lhp4. Matt Dominguez, 3b5. Gaby Sanchez, 1b/3b6. Ryan Tucker, rhp7. Kyle Skipworth, c8. Isaac Galloway, of9. Scott Cousins, of10. Jhan Marinez, rhp"

This is one the best and probably most important groups coming up to from the Marlins organization for a while. Not much in the way of homegrown prospects has come up the pipelines for some time, and the Marlins are really going to need players like Mike Stanton, Logan Morrison, and Matt Dominguez to pan out for them to compete in the future.

Here are some thoughts I had on the list:

– Isaac Galloway really jumps out at me as odd. From the limited amount of stuff I’ve read about him, he’s a tools guy with crazy speed but hasn’t done anything with the bat. He went up to low-A this year and put up a .303 wOBA after looking average in rookie ball last year. That being said, he’s young (just turned 19), so he’s got time.

– Scott Cousins however does not. He held his own in his first extended stint in Double-A, but he’s 24 years old, so he seems a bit old for his level. Whenever I need additional takes on the Marlins in the minors, I drop by Future Fish. Here’s Nomaaaaah’s take:

"Ending strong. The strikeouts are a big concern, and you’d like to have seen an extra 15-20 BB on the year, but this was an OK year. Not the breakout we hoped, but he still holds his own and shows enough promise to potentially turn into a longterm starter. Look at the huge quantity of XBH, the speed, and remember he is the second best defensive outfielder we have next to BC. He will be going to the AFL, and probably promoted to AAA next year. He will have to go on the 40 man roster before the Rule5 draft too."

John Sickels mostly agrees, and that’s never a bad thing. Given what the Marlins have at the major league level and in Stanton in the minors, there’s a good chance Cousins won’t have to start in his career as a Fish. I think the Marlins will go ahead and protect him, as he can also provide outfield depth in case of injury. Hopefully he gets a cup of coffee this upcoming year. Good news is, apparently according to his time over at center field this year, Cousins may be able to handle the position (+16 runs in 380 career chances, though all I’ve ever heard from him is that he’s a ‘tweener).

– Boy, do we need Kyle Skipworth to step it up. He had an awful season, but he’s so young that you hope he’ll bounce back. I’ve heard good things about his defense, and that’s always important as a catcher, but that bat needs to wake up. If he repeats in low-A, it might be beneficial, though I NEVER like to hear that a player needs to repeat at such a low level.

– Here’s hoping Gaby Sanchez gets his shot at being the first baseman/third baseman for next year. That will give us one in-house option to use to fill a position vacated by Jorge Cantu.

Not the best analysis, I’m not the minors scouting guy. As always, read John Sickels, BA, and Kevin Goldstein for the good stuff. And if you see anything good, point it out to me here on Marlin Maniac. I love to hear about juicy minor league news from the readers.