Miami Marlins Prospect Watch: Spotlight on Merandy Gonzalez

Merandy Gonzalez arrived in the Miami Marlins system via trade last season for A.J. Ramos with the New York Mets. Ramos has been disappointing in the Big Apple, but what has Miami gained in Gonzalez and fellow tradee Ricardo Cespedes?

Gonzalez is a 6’1″, 175 lb. right-hander out of Cotui, Dominican Republic. Born on October 9th, 1995, he was ranked as the Mets number 15 overall prospect when the Marlins acquired him on July 28th last season.

Signed through international free agency during the 2012 signing period, Gonzalez spent two seasons in the DSL international complex. In 2015, he split his time between the GCL Mets and the Kingsport Mets, going 4-3 with a 2.56 ERA and 64 whiffs in 66 2/3 innings. He also boasted an enviable 1.06 WHIP to go along with it.

Bred as a starting pitcher, Gonzalez graduated to the Brooklyn Cyclones in 2016 for the Mets low-A New York-Penn League team. He struck out 71 in 69 innings, going 6-3 with a 2.87 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP to his credit.

Before his trade, Gonzalez was 8-1 with a 1.55 ERA for the middle-A Columbia Fireflies, then 4-2 with a 2.23 ERA for the high-A St. Lucie Mets. After the trade, he appeared in five games for the Jupiter Hammerheads, going 1-0 with a 1.11 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP over 24 innings. He was immediately Miami’s 16th ranked prospect.

This season, Gonzalez has been slinging for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, where he is 1-6 with a 5.03 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. In limited injury-replacement action for the Miami Marlins, he’s got a 2-0 record and a 5.71 ERA. He started the season as Miami’s ninth rated prospect at Baseball America.

Last night, Gonzalez turned in a more-than Quality Start for the Jumbo Shrimp, lasting seven innings and striking out four. He allowed one run on a walk and five hits, getting 58-of-87 pitches over the plate for a 71 GameScore.

Gonzalez has an effective 93 MPH fastball, but is able to dig down and touch 97 on the gun. He also mixes in a plus-curveball and a slider, with an average changeup. He’s very much in the mix for a 2019 rotation spot on the Miami Marlins.

Other Standouts from Thursday

Manuel Rodriguez

Rodriguez pitched four innings of last night’s 8-7 Batavia Muckdogs win over the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. Going from the fifth through the eighth, Rodriguez whiffed seven and allowed no runs on two hits and a walk. He’s 3-1 in total this season between the Greensboro Grasshoppers and Batavia, with a 2.15 ERA.

Dalvy Rosario

Rosario batted third for the DSL Marlins in yesterday’s 10-2 win over the DSL Athletics. He hit a double and a triple, drawing a walk, scoring three times, and collecting three RBI.

Brayan Hernandez

Hernandez batted leadoff for the Muckdogs in their win over the Scrappers. Although he had five plate appearances, he finished just one-for-two at the plate, with a double, two walks, a HBP, three runs, and an RBI.

Yeuris Jimenez

Jimenez earned the win for the DSL Marlins. He pitched the middle three innings and kept the A’s off the board, striking out four and allowing three singles.

Austin Dean

Dean hit his sixth homer of the season leading off for the New Orleans Baby Cakes in an 11-4 loss the the El Paso Chihuahuas last night Dean is hitting .331 this year between Miami’s top two minor-league levels.

Monte Harrison

More from Marlins Prospects

Harrison batted second for the Jumbo Shrimp last night, and was two-for-four from the plate with a double and a solo home run, his 14th of this season for Jacksonville.