Miami Marlins fail to land player on midseason MLB top 100

The Miami Marlins have been making strides towards revamping their farm system. Despite improvement, they lack a can’t miss star.

The month of May largely derailed the Miami Marlins season. After struggling mightily through the second month of the year, the team was never able to get back on track. In many ways, their struggles that month led to the departures of David Phelps and AJ Ramos.

Miami has already started selling at the deadline. In return, they’ve gotten good, but not great prospects. Players that are promising, and could conceivably become Major League contributors, but probably not stars.

You need to look to further than their notable absence on the MLB top 100 list for evidence.

In the last month, the Miami Marlins have done well to bring new faces to their top 30 list. Of the players that MLB ranks among the best in the Miami Marlins system, 11 of them were added since the June MLB draft.

Of those 11, six are recent draftees, four were acquired in deadline trades, and one was an international signing. The team is making inroads towards getting out of the basement of MLB farm system arms race.

It might not be enough to lift them out of the bottom third of the rankings, though. As it stands, the Marlins organization is without a single prospect on the MLB top 100 list. Trevor Rogers, taken 13th overall in the 2017 draft, and Miami’s top prospect fails to rank.

Most upsetting is the fact that the list contains players that were taken after the Marlins selected Rogers. Notably, outfielder Jeren Kendall and pitcher J.B.Bukauskas appear as 85th and 86th on the list. They were taken 23rd, and 15th in the draft respectively.

Bleak, but getting better

In regards to Rogers, he’ll make the top 100 list before too long. He’s yet to make an appearance with the GCL Marlins, and once he does, he’ll likely see his stock rise. The young lefty is largely projection at this point, but the club appears confident he can develop into a bonafide ace.

Miami hopes that the string of top selections getting bit by the injury bug is over. In addition to promotions and trades depleting the system, Tommy John surgery to consecutive first round selections Tyler Kolek and Braxton Garrett have seen their stock plummet.

Kolek has started to pitch again after undergoing the necessary year-long recovery process. Garrett had his surgery earlier this season, and likely won’t pick up a baseball in a game again until 2018, possibly later.

Right now, the Miami Marlins have a farm system with a lot of depth, rich with toolsy outfielders, but no outstanding star. They hope that Trevor Rogers can become that player, but that remains to be seen.

Next: Marlins prudent in Ramos trade

A lot of the depth that the Miami Marlins had in the minor league system has made its way to the Major Leagues. Going around the horn, their catcher, shortstop (JT Riddle), and all three outfielders all came through the system.

The Miami Marlins aren’t all the way back in terms of rehabilitating their farm system, but they appear committed to the process.