Miami Marlins Season in Review: Catching Prospect Jhonaiker Osorio

Throughout the 2018/2019 offseason, Marlin Maniac will devote one article each for every player who appeared in the Miami Marlins system for the 2018 season. Every. Single. Player. This is Part 84 of 286. Stay tuned.

Jhonaiker Enrique Osorio is a 6′, 160 lb. lefty-batting righty-throwing catcher and first baseman from Caracas, Venezuela. 63 major league players have hailed from Caracas, including Ugueth Urbina, Magglio Ordonez, and Andres Galarraga.

Born on September 2nd, 2000, Osorio signed a contract with the Miami Marlins through free agency on July 2nd, 2017, along with higher touted prospects such as Dalvy Rosario and Ynmanol Marinez. Still just 16 at the time of his signing, he didn’t make any appearances professionally until the 2018 Dominican Summer League season.

The Dominican Summer League, or DSL, is a rookie-level institution for non-drafted extra-national free agents, and is usually loaded with long-shot prospects. Less than five percent of DSL players eventually make it as far as the major leagues. That being said, Osorio’s chances of long-term success are long, but players from the DSL make it to the majors every day.

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Osorio joined the DSL Marlins for most of the 2018 campaign, joining the team on June 1st. In 40 games, he went 25-for-118, with one triple and no other extra base hits. He scored 11 runs and knocked 14 in, with nine walks and 20 strikeouts. He stole two-of-four bases attempted, and slashed .212/.268/.229. He had seven multi-hit games, including on June 28th. That day, in a 9-3 win over the DSL Athletics, he hit a two-RBI-single in the second and another two-RBI-single in the fourth for a season high four RBI.

Defensively, Osorio played in 24 games at the backstop, and threw out 22 percent of runners trying to steal, just nine-of-41. In 142 innings, he made just one error in 136 total chances for a .993 fielding percentage. At first base, he played in 19 contests, and made four errors in 117 chances over 107 1/3 innings for a .949 fielding percentage.

Worst case scenario, of course, is that the Miami Marlins do not continue to work with Osorio and his career is over before it really starts. The best case, for Osorio, is that the Marlins bring him back for another season of DSL action. Provided he excels in 2019, then progresses normally through the minors, the earliest we would expect to see him in the majors is sometime in the 2025 season.

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