Miami Marlins: 2018 MLB Draft Breakdown

The Miami Marlins got a lot of pieces in a really short time in the 2018 MLB Draft. What the draft can’t tell us is the future, but we can paint a picture.

(“Where Will He Start” and Arrival dates are based on next-to nothing, or “Kentucky Windage.”)

First Round: OF Connor Scott

The Miami Marlins picked Connor Scott with their first round selection. He’s a 6’4″, 180 lb. 18-year-old lefty out of H.B. Plant High School. Read more about him here.

Where Will He Start? 

With the GCL Marlins, with a possible arrival date in Miami of 2022.

Second Round: SS Osiris Johnson

Osiris Johnson went to the Marlins 53rd overall. He’s a 6′, 181 lb. 17-year-old shortstop from Encinal High School in California. You can read all about him here.

Where Will He Start? 

With the GCL Marlins, with a possible arrival date in Miami of 2023.

Competitive Balance Round B: C Will Banfield

With the highest defensive ceiling of any catcher in the draft (h/t to mlb.com draft tracker), the Miami Marlins were blessed with Will Banfield at pick number 69. Prior to the draft, he was ranked 34th in the draft class, overall. Banfield is a 6′, 200 lb. 18-year-old right-handed hitter out of Brookwood High School in Georgia.

Where Will He Start? 

With the Batavia Muckdogs, with a possible arrival date in Miami of 2022.

Third Round: OF Tristan Pompey

Tristan Pompey was a 31st round pick back in the 2015 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays, but he instead decided to play ball with the University of Kentucky. He was ranked 51st out of all prospects, pre-draft. He fell to the Miami Marlins with the 89th pick, and we couldn’t be happier.

Pompey is a switch-hitter, and is projected to be a 15-homer guy in the majors. He’s a 6’4″, 200 lb., 21-year-old outfielder. He projects long-term as a left-fielder, due to a few doubts about arm strength.

Pompey goes by @lavsav_ on Twitter, which is short for “Lavish Savage.” He’s also long been enamored of Marlins Park:

Where Will He Start?

With the Greensboro Grasshoppers, with a possible arrival date in Miami of 2021.

Fourth Round: C Nick Fortes

Nick Fortes was a college junior with Ole Miss when the Miami Marlins picked him in the fourth round, 117th overall. He’s a 6′, 210 lb., 21-year-old catcher, and by all accounts a natural-born leader. He’s also played at first base and in right field, so there’s a lot of options open for the right-hander.

Where Will He Start?

With the Greensboro Grasshoppers, possibly ready for the Marlins by 2022.

Fifth Round: RHP Chris Vallimont

Chris Vallimont is a 6’5″, 220 lb. right-handed pitcher from Mercyhurst College. Now 21-years-old, the big guy finished 2018 with a 10-3 record, a school-record 147 strikeouts and a 2.58 ERA in 80 1/3 innings. He averaged 16.5 whiffs per nine innings pitched.

Where Will He Start? 

I’d start this guy with the Jupiter Hammerheads, but the Marlins will probably put him in Greensboro. He could be ready for the bigs as early as 2020.

Sixth Round: C Cameron Barstad

Miami’s third catcher in the draft, Cameron Barstad is a 6′, 160 lb., 17-year-old backstop from Junipero Serra High School in California.

Where Will He Start?

Barstad will start with the GCL Marlins, and if brought along properly, should be ready for the Marlins in 2023.

Seventh Round: RHP Cason Sherrod

Cason Sherrod is a 6’4″, 215 lb. 21-year-old right-handed-pitcher out of Texas A&M University. The Marlins got him in the seventh round with the 207th overall selection.

Where Will He Start?

Sherrod will probably start with the Grasshoppers. We could see him with the Miami Marlins by 2021.

Eighth Round: RHP Peyton Culbertson

Peyton Culbertson is a 6’1″, 180 lb. right-handed-pitcher out of Arkansas State University. Drafted as a junior, Culbertson is now 21-years-old. Scouting reports have him between 98 and 100 MPH with heavy sink and life on his fastball.

Where Will He Start?

Probably with Greensboro. If he progresses normally, he’ll be major-league ready by 2021.

Ninth Round: RHP Jake Walters

Jake Walters is a 6′, 190 lb. 22-year-old right-hander out of the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. Do you think he’s happy to be here?

Walters’ fastball clocks out at 88, but that’s not his money pitch. He made 14 starts as a senior, with 82 K’s and a team-best 2.89 ERA in 62 1/3 innings.

Where Will He Start?

I would start him in Greensboro, but he may begin the year with the Muckdogs.

10th Round: RHP Tanner Andrews

Miami’s final pick on day two of the draft, Tanner Andrews is a 6’3″, 220 lb. 22-year-old Boilermaker out of Purdue University.

Andrews fastball tops out at 97 MPH. He was third-team All-Big Ten in his senior year, going 7-5 with a 2.94 ERA and 78 strikeouts in 16 starts.

Where Will He Start?

Andrews should start with the Batavia Muckdogs. With a normally progressing career, he would be with the Marlins in 2023.

Day Three

11th Round: CF Davis Bradshaw

12th Round: RHP Zack Leban

13th Round: C Keegan Fish

14th Round: RHP Eli Villalobos

15th Round: RHP Zach Greene

16th Round: RHP Sam Bordner

17th Round: LHP Alex Vesia

18th Round: RHP Zach Wolf

19th Round: RHP Justin Evans

20th Round: RHP Cam Baird

21st Round: RF Connor Grant

22nd Round: CF Milton Smith Jr.

23rd Round: RHP Giovanni Lopez

24th Round: RHP Nathan Alexander

25th Round: SS Luke Jarvis

26th Round: RHP Tyler Jones

27th Round: LF Harrison Dinicola

28th Round: SS Gunnar Schubert

29th Round: RHP C.J. Carter

30th Round: LHP Garrett McDaniels

31st Round: OF Steve Scott

32nd Round: RHP Jake Norton

33rd Round: SS Andrew Martinez

34th Round: RHP Joe Strzelecki

35th Round: RHP Jackson Rose

More from Marlins Draft

• Miami Marlins draft retrospective: 2003
• Miami Marlins draft retrospective: 2002
• Meet the 2022 Miami Marlins Draft Picks
• Miami Marlins draft preview: Brooks Lee
• Miami Marlins draft preview: Jackson Holliday

36th Round: RHP Riley Egloff

37th Round: RHP Robby Martin

38th Round: RHP Bryce Miller

39th Round: 3B Andrew Turner

40th Round: LHP Andrew Miller

Extremes

Some facts from today:

Tallest Draftee: Chris Vallimont and Sam Bordner are both 6’5″.

Shortest Draftee: Zach Wolf is 5’8″.

Oldest Draftee: Luke Jarvis is 23-years-old.

Youngest Draftee: Cameron Barstad is 17-years-old.

Lightest Draftee: Barstad is also the lightest, at 160 lbs.

Heaviest Draftee: Zack Leban comes in at 245 lbs.

Next: See What We Had To Say Before the Draft

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