Miami Marlins Prospect Watch: Spotlight on Robert Dugger

The Miami Marlins faced the Milwaukee Brewers in the second game of a three-game series last night. The transaction line was quiet, and only three of four scheduled minor league games played as scheduled. In all, a not very eventful night as an organization.

At the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville, the 35-52 Jumbo Shrimp geared up for the Chattanooga Lookouts, themselves with a 41-47 record. Both teams are in last place in their respective Southern League divisions. On the mound for the Shrimp, the Miami Marlins #22 prospect, Robert Dugger. If this whole thing is tl;dr for you, the video below has his entire arsenal for you.

Dugger came into the contest with the Lookouts with a 1-2 record and a. 6.25 ERA in his seven career double-A starts. He had also allowed a .331 opposing batting average and a 1.81 WHIP, with 31 strikeouts in 36 innings. Today was a bright spot for Dugger, who pitched to a 64 GameScore. He struck out six in seven innings, surrendering two runs on three hits and three walks. A quality start, only his second since joining the team.

Dugger had played the first month and a half of this season with the Jupiter Hammerheads. At the high-A Florida State League, he went 3-1 with a 2.40 ERA, a 1.14 WHIP, and 34 whiffs in 41 1/3 innings.

Origin Story

Back in 2016, Dugger was the 18th round pick of the Seattle Mariners. A 6’2″, 180 lb. right-hander, he struck out 100 batters in 133 innings with Cisco Junior College before joining Texas Tech in 2016. Dugger appeared for the Red Raiders 30 times out of the bullpen, going 6-1 with a 2.67 ERA and 54 K’s in 60 2/3 innings. He’s also an active alumni fan:

Dugger came to the Miami Marlins organization in the Dee Gordon deal. The Marlins also got their #15 prospect, Christopher Torres and their #8 prospect, Nick Neidert in the balance. Miami also kicked over some international slot bonus signing money to Seattle.

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Dugger has two fastballs, a two-seamer and a four-seamer. It’s his highest graded pitch, coming in at 55 on the mlb.com pipeline scale, topping out at 93MPH. He also has a changeup which plays well off the fastball, and a decent slider. His curve is his weakest pitch at this moment, but he’s working on it. H/T to the mlb.com prospects page. Also according to the pipeline:

An athletic right-hander, Dugger repeats his delivery well and creates some deception with his three-quarters slot and cross-fire finish. He misses his share of bats but doesn’t project to do so as frequently at higher levels, as many evaluators forecast Dugger as a future back-end starter who relies on pounding the zone and generating weak contact.

The 23-year-old native of Tuscon, AZ is scheduled to make his next Jumbo Shrimp start on Sunday. He should be taking the hill as the Shrimp host the Biloxi Shuckers, starting at 6:35 PM ET.

Next: Spotlight on Daniel Castano

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