Hechavarria prospect haul: Ethan Clark

After several days of speculation, the Miami Marlins finally pulled the trigger on trading shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria. They received two prospects in return, let’s meet the first one.

Ethan Clark, RHP, Crowder College. Selected in the 15th round by the Tampa Bay Rays.

Clark is exactly the type of prospect the Miami Marlins like to go after. What that means to you will depend largely on what you’ve thought of the Miami Marlins prospect scouting in the past. But he possesses the type of high-cieling, low-floor that Miami likes to gamble on.

He could develop into a rotation starter in a few years.

Clark fits the kind of build the Marlins like in their starting pitchers. He’s tall. Standing at 6 foot 5 inches, and he creates a difficult angle for the batter standing at the plate. He tips the scale at 235-pounds.

He’s only 22 years old, and is in his third year of professional baseball. He’s shown considerable improvement, and could develop into a Major League caliber pitcher sooner rather than later. Projectable pitching talent was the main target for Miami in this trade.

With Clark, it appears they got it.

According to Joe Frisario, Clark is able to bring the heat and possesses a wide-range. He’s able to ramp it up to 96 mph when necessary.

Projecting Ethan Clark

After being drafted in the 15th round, Clark has lived up to his reputation as a late-bloomer. Typically prospects who go back to Junior College for a second season tend to fizzle out quickly in their professional career, if they’re lucky to have them.

Clark is showing a similar tendency in the minor leagues. His first year in rookie ball, he was hit hard. He finished the year with an ERA of 6.84 and averaged 1.4 home runs per inning.

His second year, he posted a sub-three ERA and improvements across the board elsewhere.

He’s off to a good start in his first season in A ball.  3-2, 3.11 ERA, and an average game score of 55. In his last start before being traded, he tossed six innings and allowed only one hit while striking out nine and walking one.

That is the performance that the Miami Marlins are hoping he’ll be able to build on.

Next: Trading Hechavarria won't tip Miami Marlins hand

As it stands, Ethan Clark isn’t the type of pitcher that launches Miami’s farm system into the middle. But he is a solid arm that could contribute at the Major League level at some point soon. Clark, combined with outfielder Braxton Lee combine for a surprisingly good haul of prospects for Hechavarria.