Miami Marlins Prospect Watch: Spotlight on Jeff Brigham

The future of the Miami Marlins has a lot to do with their minor league pitching. Jeff Brigham has been climbing towards the top for five years now, and may be just about to break through.

Brigham is a 6′, 200 lb. right-handed pitcher from Federal Way, Washington. Born on February 16th, 1992, in 2014 he was the fourth round pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers out of Washington University. He underwent TJS in 2012 during his sophomore season.

He played in the Dodgers system for a year and a half, between the Ogden Raptors, the Great Lakes Loons, and the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. At the 2015 trading deadline, the Marlins traded Mat Latos, Michael Morse, and cash to the Dodgers for Brigham, Kevin Guzman, and Victor Araujo. Brigham is the only one of the five involved players to remain active.

Sent to the Jupiter Hammerheads after getting acquired, Brigham would spend the rest of 2015 at the high-A Florida State League team. He put up a 2-2 record with an enviable 1.87 ERA, a 1.28 WHIP, and 22 K’s in 33 2/3 innings.

Brigham was ranked as the Miami Marlins #28 prospect in 2016. He spent the season back with Jupiter again, and went 7-8 over 23 starts. He had a 4.04 ERA, a .246 opp BA, and a 1.32 WHIP with 112 strikeouts in 122 2/3 innings.

2017 was a difficult year for then-#18 prospect Brigham. Although he dropped his opp BA to .226, his WHIP to 1.17, and his ERA to 2.90, he was limited by a right-oblique strain to only 11 starts.

This year, Brigham made seven starts with the double-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, and posted a 4-1 record, a 1.18 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP, 41 K’s in 38 frames, and a .211 opp BA. On June 22nd he was again placed on the DL, but only for three weeks. On July 13th, he was activated and promoted to the New Orleans Baby Cakes.

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In three starts in triple-A, Brigham has gone 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA and 17 whiffs in 18 2/3 innings. In last night’s 8-0 Cakes victory over the Reno Aces, he struck out six in 6 2/3 innings, walking nobody and limiting the Aces to four singles and a pair of doubles.

Not currently a rated prospect, Brigham brings the heat with a 95-98 MPH 70-rated fastball. He colors it with an above average slider and a middling but improving changeup.

Brigham’s injury history is a concern – but if he can stay healthy, he’s a good candidate for a late-season Miami Marlins debut. While not currently on the Marlins 40-man roster, keep in mind that there are going to be some moves in the next few days. Even if Brigham doesn’t get another promotion this season, he should still be able to compete for a rotational start in time for 2019 Spring Training.

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