Miami Marlins Place Six Prospects on Baseball America’s Top 100

Baseball America released their annual top 100 preseason prospect rankings earlier today, and as expected, the list was full of Marlins.

"5. Jose Fernandez, rhp, FLA15. Christian Yelich, of, FLA43. Andrew Heaney, lhp, FLA64. Jake Marisnick, of, FLA75. Marcell Ozuna, of, FLA86. Justin Nicolino, lhp, FLA"

The Marlins placing six players on the top 100 prospect lists is pretty significant when thinking that the team was only able to place two players in the mid-season top 50 listreleased by Baseball America, last July.

Jose Fernandez is the Miami Marlins top prospect, according to Baseball America. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

I think the best part of this list though, is that four of the six players on the list are Marlins homegrown prospects. That is something the team has not been able to boast about a lot lately.

The Marlins top 3 prospects were all first round picks in the past three seasons, Yelich in 2010, Fernandez in 2011, and Heaney in 2012. That is some great much needed news for a team that has struggled through a dry spell drafting as of late.

Jake Marisnick and Justin Nicolino were the players that the Marlins acquired in the blockbuster fire sale trade with the Toronto Blue Jays back in November. Marcell Ozuna was signed as an international free agent in 2009, out of the Dominican Republic.

Here is a quick look at Baseball America’s top 10 prospect list for the Miami Marlins in 2013:

"1.Jose Fernandez, rhp2.Christian Yelich, of3.Andrew Heaney, lhp4.Jake Marisnick, of5.Marcell Ozuna, of6.Justin Nicolino, lhp7.Adeiny Hechavarria, ss8.Jose Urena, rhp9.J.T. Realmuto, c10.Adam Conley, lhp"

As I said before, the on-field product for the Miami Marlins profesional team might not be pretty in 2013, but beyond that, if these Marlins prospects work out, the Marlins have a very bright future.

It of course would only be brighter with a new owner, but that isn’t happening anytime soon.

I will have more coverage on all of these prospects as I continue to unveil my top 15 Marlins prospect list. Earlier today, I looked at the 15th best prospect: Alfredo Silverio.