Miami Marlins Prospect Watch: Relief Pitcher Dylan Cyphert

Throughout the 2018/2019 offseason, Marlin Maniac will devote one article each for every player who appeared in the Miami Marlins system for the 2018 season. Every. Single. Player. This is Part 145 of 286. For the first 100, click here.

Dylan Reed Cyphert is a 6′, 186 lb. left-handed relief pitcher from Clarion, Pennsylvania. Born on September 10th, 1996, Cyphert played for the Gulf Coast State College Commodores in 2017, at the junior college level. He started 13 games, going 5-3 with a 4.57 ERA while getting 71 batters to miss in 63 frames. You can follow Cyphert on Twitter @drcyphert.

In the 2017 MLB Amateur Draft, Cyphert was chosen by the Miami Marlins with their 17th-round pick. Selected 509th overall off the board, Cyphert would be the ninth player chosen at that spot to make it to the major leagues. The only draftees to have achieved a positive WAR are Mike Rowland (1975, San Francisco Giants, 0.6 WAR), Branden Pinder (2011, New York Yankees, 0.5 WAR), and Sam McConnell (1994, Chicago White Sox, 0.1 WAR).

After coming to terms with the Miami Marlins, Cyphert joined the rookie-level, Florida-based Gulf Coast League’s GCL Marlins on June 28th. He struck out five and walked 13, allowing a 1.63 WHIP over 16 innings of work. He also threw four wild pitches in his 11 appearances, posting a 4.50 ERA along with a 1-1 record.

Promoted a level to the short-season-A Batavia Muckdogs in 2018, Cyphert made 18 trips out of the bullpen for the New York-Penn League club. Although still somewhat wild, with 25 walks in 28 innings, Cyphert also whiffed 33 batters for a 10.61 K/9 rate. He again posted a 1-1 record, while his ERA and WHIP rose to 5.46 and 2.11, respectively.

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Cyphert’s best outing of the season was probably on July 13th. Cyphert pitched the sixth and seventh inning of an eventual 2-1, 11-inning loss to the Connecticut Tigers. He struck out four and finished with two scoreless innings.

Through the 2018 season, Cyphert’s opponents managed a .293 average against him, but more damage was done by their collective .421 OBP. Although his already unwieldy BB/9 rate rose last season from 7.31 to 8.04, he also showed flashes of what attracted the Miami Marlins attention in the first place. Currently still attached to the Muckdogs, the Marlins could start him in the NYPL one more time, or promote him to the single-A Clinton LumberKings in the Midwest League in 2019. Continued progression through the Marlins system would see him get a crack at the major league roster in 2022 or 2023.

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