Miami Marlins Spotlight: The Captain, Martin Prado

Martin Prado is one of the Miami Marlins most important and underrated players.

Martin Prado is the starting third baseman for the Miami Marlins. He is 33-years-old and is from Maracay Venezuela. He first signed to the MLB as an Atlanta Brave as a non-drafted free agent in 2001.

Due to his age at the time, he was under the Braves international program until he was 18. Prado made his major league debut for the Braves in 2006 against the Washington Nationals.

He went 1-2, recording his first major league hit. Prado, the 12 year veteran spent his first seven seasons with Atlanta. Then went to Arizona for a year and half where he would be traded to the Yankees to finish out the 2014 season.

The trade to the Fish

Before the 2015 season, Prado was traded to the Marlins with David Phelps in a trade that the Marlins have supremely benefited from.

More from Marlin Maniac

• Why didn’t the Miami Marlins sign JDM?
• Miami Marlins rejected Boston‘s trade offer
• Miami Marlins are pursuing Michael Conforto
• Miami Marlins need to spend to win
• Miami Marlins One-Year Wonder 1B

Since then Prado has had a huge impact on the Fish. Younger guys are constantly around him and talking to him trying to pick his brain. Prado isn’t the biggest guy or the fastest guy but he is considered one of the smartest guys.

You can see his high baseball IQ in his daily at bats. Prado is always trying to stay behind the ball and make good contact.

The best example of this is his scissor kick swing that usually results in a single to the opposite field. It’s different, yet simple and effective because he lets the ball travel allowing him to see it better.

Prado is also exceptional with the glove. He’s a career .977 %. To put this in perspective, in 2015 he led all third baseman with a .976 fielding %.

The captain

Prado is only a one time all-star though which fits in with his personality. Very quiet and humble. He usually keeps his emotions in check throughout a game and season.

A very important moment in his status as a Marlin though was after the tragic death of Jose Fernandez.

When the team held a press conference he was the speaker of the team solidifying what everyone has said about him as the captain of the club.

Every team in the league would take a Martin Prado to insert into their ball club. He has a career slash line of .293/.342/.424 with a whopping 29.1 WAR.

Next: Miami Marlins Beat Padres as Martin Prado Saves the Day

The best move the Marlins made last year was resigning Prado to a contract extension. His consistency and reliability cannot be taken for granted.