March 28, 2013; Jupiter, FL, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Justin Nicolino (34) delivers to the St. Louis Cardinals during the spring training game at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Marlins have one of the top farm systems in all of baseball and it is a shame that we at Marlin Maniac have not been covering it more extensively. For this reason, I have decided to start a daily minor league report for MM viewers to update them on how the Marlins prospects fare on a game-to-game basis. This will be in the same format as the Miami Marlins Daily Minor League Report on Fishstripes.

Triple-A:

New Orleans Zephyrs (18-19) vs. Tacoma Rainiers (24-16)

Loss 4-2

Box Score

Gorkys Hernandez, CF: 2-for-3, BB, CS

Jordan Brown, DH: 2-for-4, 2B, R

Duane Below, SP: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

David Aardsma, RP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

Duane Below delivered a strong start for New Orleans in a close loss. He was locked in a pitchers duel with Blake Beavan. Bevean got the better of Below, as he pitched one more inning and his team picked up more run support for him in a victory. Below has pitched well enough thus far to earn a potential call-up if a spot open in either the Marlins rotation or bullpen.

Gorkys was in competition for starting center fielder for the Marlins before Justin Ruggiano ran away with it. He has not hit too well in AAA in 2013, as his slash line sits at .245/.307/.295. The Marlins decision to not call up Hernandez when Giancarlo Stanton went down is telling about his future with the organization.

Double-A:

Jacksonville Suns (20-15) @ Mobile Bay Bears (19-19)

Loss 4-3

Box Score

Jake Marisnick, LF: 2-f0r-4, HR (2), RBI, R

Kyle Jensen, RF: 2-for-4, 2B, R, SO

Matt Neil, SP: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO

Edgar Olmos: 1.2 IP, BS, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO

Jake Marisnick hit his second home run of the season in the top of the eight inning to give the Suns a 3-2 lead, but Edgar Olmos could not hold that lead, as he allowed a run in the bottom of the eight inning to allow the Bears to tie it at 3 a piece. Olmos also gave up the walk-off hit for the Bears victory in the ninth inning with two outs.

Marisnick continues to find his hitting stroke as he makes his way back from his broken hand sustained during spring training.  Yelich went hitless, but was still able to draw a walk in four plate appearances

High Class A:

Jupiter Hammerheads (18-19) @ Tampa Yankees (15-21)

Win 7-2

Box Score

Josh Adams, 3B: 3-for-4, 2B, 3 R, HR (1), 4 RBI

Austin Barnes, DH: 0-for-2, 1 RBI, 3 BB

Justin Nicolino, SP: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB,  5 K

Jordan Conley, RP: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Adams was the Marlins 13th round pick in the 2011 MLB draft out of the University of Florida. While Adams has never been an impressive prospect, he was one of my favorite Gators to watch and has a chance to be a utility player in the future. Adams had a huge game as he drove in four runs and collected two extra base hits.

Nicolino enjoyed his best start as a Marlins prospect, as he pitched six shutout innings and was able to strike out a season high five hitters. Nicolino still has some work to do, as he has now just collected 20 strikeouts in 40 innings of work in 2013.

Low Class A:

Greensboro Grasshoppers (16-21) vs. Hagerstown Suns (21-14)

Win 8-7

Box Score

Viosergy Rosa, 1B: 3-for-5, HR (9), 2 RBI, 2 R

Matt Juengel, 3B: 1-for-3, HR (2), 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 SO

Mason Hope, SP: 5 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO

Blake Logan, RP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, SV (8)

Rosa is an interesting prospect, as he has flashed some good power in the early parts of his career, but does not still seem to be an impact prospect at this point. I will have more on Rosa and his prospect standing later on in the week.

Hope is one of my favorite prospects in the Marlins system, but he has had a tough time putting things together in 2013. After last night’s start, Hope’s ERA climbs to 5.63. Part of the issue for Hope in 2013 has been his walk rate of over 5 per nine innings.

29) Miami Marlins: Relatively even balance between hitting and pitching, but not a lot of impact coming up.

With some gradual improvement in the system, especially with the continued emergence of the Marlins top two prospects, Christian Yelich and Jose Fernandez, whom we will get to discussing later on, has dramatically improved. Combined with that and the trades the Marlins made the past few months, the Marlins system has grown to become one of the best in baseball.

This is what Sickels has to say about the Marlins organization on year after ranking it the second worst in baseball:

8) Miami Marlins (29): Quick turnaround here. Strengths: star power at the top with Christian Yelich and Jose Fernandez. Trades have added some depth (Marisnick, Nicolino, Hechavarria, Dietrich, Brantly). Some sleeper pitching arms (Charlie Lowell, Mason Hope). Weaknesses: much of the improvement is due to trades and not internal development, especially on the hitting side.

Even with the 2013 season unlikely to be exciting for the Marlins in terms of fielding a winning product on the field, the fans have a lot to look forward to in terms of young players and top prospects.

Without any further ado, let’s take a look at the Marlins top prospects, starting from #20-16.

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