Miami Marlins draft spotlight: Dylan Cyphert, 17th round

With their 17th round selection in the 2017 MLB Draft, the Miami Marlins selected a left-handed pitcher out of Gulf Coast Community College.

The Miami Marlins selected their third consecutive pitcher in the final day of the Major League Draft. After selecting right-handers Brady Puckett, and Gavin Fritz ahead of him, they took a lefty with in the 17th round.

Dylan Cyphert has had a winding road to the ranks of professional baseball. He’s committed to three Division I colleges, attended one, but didn’t pitch at any. Miami gambled taking him on the final day of the draft, as he had a standing commitment to attend Alabama.

They liked his upside enough to gamble on selecting him in the 17th round. It paid off, Cyphert signed and has appeared in four games for the GCL Marlins.

The 2015 Cranberry High School graduate originally committed to Penn State out of high school. However, he changed his commitment to Pitt shortly after. He remained at Pitt for a semester before deciding to transfer to Gulf Coast State College. He pitched there for two years.

In his time as a Commodore, Cyphert worked primarily as a starter, logging 28 appearances, 24 of which were starts. He showed flashes of dominance for stretches of time, and an ability to bounce back from poor outings.

His sophomore season saw him appear exclusively in a starting capacity. Cyphert recorded a 5-3 record in 63 innings pitched. His 4.57 ERA is inflated by a few bad starts that skew an otherwise impressive stint in junior college. He’s also shown a penchant for the strikeout pitch, picking up 71 K’s and notching a 10.12 SO9.

As a professional

Cyphert has already started pitching in the Miami Marlins system and is showing promise.

He features a fastball that sits in the low 90’s, and two serviceable change of speed pitches. Cyphert relies on mixing his pitches to get outs.

He’s made four appearances for the Gulf Coast Marlins, and the team has used him exclusively in a relief role. Through his first three appearances, he faced the minimum en route to a perfect 2.2 innings.

He was rocked in his fourth appearance, though. In 1.2 innings of work, Cyphert allowed four earned runs on four hits. He still managed to strike out two batters, but faced a total of 11, his highest as a pro.

Development will take some time for for the 6-foot, 186-pound lefty. It will be interesting to see how he responds to his first setback pitching as a professional baseball player.

Next: Miami Marlins draft spotlight: Gavin Fritz, 16th round

Dylan Cyphert could develop into a player that appears in Major League games. However that will be a long road. He possesses the tools to get there, but as a 17th round selection, the Marlins won’t give him an infinite amount of chances to prove his worth.

Cyphert is a wildcard who is difficult to predict. But if he is able to live out his upside, he could develop into a Taylor Tankersley type.