Down on the Farm Miami Marlins Daily Report: May 14th

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.