Miami Marlins Prospect Primer: Max Duval

Maxwell Duval is a 6’5″, 235 lb. right-handed pitcher from San Luis Obispo, CA. To say Duval took the long road to professional baseball would be a bit of an understatement.

A non-draftee out of the University of Hawaii, Duval played infield for the Rainbow Warriors in 2012, hitting .186/.255/.271, with 52 strikeouts in 140 at bats. Heck, he already hit like a pitcher, so why not give it a try?

In 2013, Duval pitched in six games for Hawaii, walking six and striking out one in eight innings. with zero interest from affiliated ball, he signed up with the Schaumburg Boomers in the Frontier League. He also played with the Frontier Greys and the Evansville Otters in the three years from 2014 through 2016. He was good enough at Evansville to get a look by the Arizona Diamondbacks. As an Otter, he went 4-1 in seven starts, with 42 strikeouts, a 4.40 ERA, and a 0.98 WHIP in 43 innings.

At four levels of minor league ball in Arizona’s organization, Duval went 4-7 in 15 contests in 2016. He struck out 75 in 79 frames, with a 1.304 WHIP and a 4.10 ERA. Regardless, the D-Backs parted ways with him prior to the 2017 campaign. In one 14-day span during 2016, he played for five different teams.

Back with the Otters again, Duval went 8-2 in 14 starts, with a staggering 113 K’s in 87 innings. He maintained his 0.98 WHIP from his last stint with Evansville, and that’s where the Marlins took notice.

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Duval continued his success after joining the Greensboro Grasshoppers in the South Atlantic League in 2017. In six starts he posted a 4-0 record, a 2.09 WHIP, a 0.85 WHIP, and 38 whiffs in 38 2/3 innings. According to www.sanluisobispo.com, He has a 90-94 MPH fastball, an 86-90 MPH cutter, a changeup, and a curveball.

Already 26 years old at Miami Spring Training in 2018, Duval knows he’s a little old for a prospect. Still, he was a little surprised to be invited to join the Jumbo Shrimp to begin this season.

The roster list had been posted and we were all nervous about where we were placed. I looked for my name and finally found it. I was assigned to AA Jacksonville for the season. That was one of the coolest feelings I’ve had in a while. My highest level of playing to this point had been one game in Advanced Class A when I was with the Diamondbacks so to be able to skip that level and get an opportunity to start in AA was something I didn’t see coming. – Duval

That’s an excerpt from Duval’s blog, by the way. Solid read if you have a minute.

Duval earned no decision in his first start this season, striking out three Jackson Generals in five innings of work. He surrendered two runs on four hits and zero walks. He’s scheduled to make his first start at home in Duval county on Sunday, where the place should be rocking.

Jacksonville already has Duval Pride, and they’ll get to cheer on their namesake, and sell a lot of #43 jerseys.

Next: Prospect Primer: Joe Dunand

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