Trevor Rogers now Miami Marlins top prospect after Garrett surgery

The Miami Marlins can’t catch a break with their first round pitchers. With Braxton Garrett shelved as he recovers from surgery, Rogers steps in.

Tuesday was a mixed bag for the Miami Marlins farm system. While their 2017 first round selection signed his contract to join the organization, last years selection underwent surgery on his pitching arm.

The Sun-Sentinel detailed the goings-on. For the Miami Marlins, their farm system has been forced to take a “next man up” approach. A problematic mentality to have when it concerns players who have yet to log any Major League experience.

For Trevor Rogers, he’s the next man up. He became the Marlins top prospect the instant he put pen to paper.

Tommy John surgery is one of the most devastating blows that a pitcher can attempt to withstand. But as the surgery has become more commonplace, doctors and players have become more fluent in the recovery process.

There are a number of players who underwent the surgery and returned as effective as ever. Fingers crossed, Braxton Garrett falls on that end of the spectrum. Elbow surgery isn’t the career ending blow it once was, and Garrett might still leading the rotation in time.

But his recovery will be a long one. He had only pitched in four games professionally before experiencing elbow discomfort. He was superb in his first three starts, 13.2 innings, 0.66 ERA and 12 strikeouts.

His fourth start was a different story. He felt pain while pitching through 1.2 innings, surrendering four earned runs on six hits. He was removed from the game and underwent examination. Now here we are.

The surgery means that he’ll miss the remainder of the 2017 season, and likely a large portion of the 2018 season. Best case scenario would mean that he is ready for Fall ball in 2018.

The Miami Marlins future rotation

Garrett will be 20 years old this year. His injury, plus the learning curve that he still needs to subject himself to will push back his MLB appearance date. We’re looking at four or five years before he arrives in a Marlins uniform.

That means that Rogers now steps in as the big, left-handed savior of the Miami Marlins rotation. Plenty has been said about the potential that Rogers possess, and if he lives up to it, the Fish have a potential All-Star.

Rogers is a raw prospect and will need a lot of time in the minor leagues before he is ready to make the leap. If everything goes according to plan, Rogers and Garrett would likely be arriving in the Major Leagues at the same time.

Consider Tyler Kolek, the first round selection in 2014 is nearing a return to game action after Tommy John surgery. GM Michael Hill says that he hasn’t been put on the radar gun yet, but that the ball appears to be coming out of his hand well.

If Kolek is able to make a full recovery and be the player the Marlins selected as the second overall pick in the draft, something is brewing in the Marlins farm system.

They’d potentially have three ace-quality pitchers ready to join the Major League team within one or two years of each other.

Next: Miami Marlins top prospect has tear in UCL

Admittedly, this is an optimistic view of the state of things for the Miami Marlins farm system. Braxton Garrett‘s surgery is bad news, but it isn’t the end of his upside as a front-of-the-line starter.