Miami Marlins Review: Connor Scott’s Professional Debut

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 143 of 286. For the first 100, click here.

Connor Bryant Scott is a 6’4″, 180 lb. centerfielder from Tampa, Florida. A left-handed batter, Scott was drafted by the Miami Marlins in the first round in the 2018 MLB Amateur Entry Draft.

As a senior at H.B. Plant High School, Scott hit .526 with five home runs in 20 contests, and led the school to the Region 2 final in the state 8A Championship.

Scott gets has the makings of a five-tool player and receives some comps to Tucker, albeit with less power and more speed. The latter is currently his standout tool, and he uses it to get down the line in a hurry and run down balls in center field. Scott has really good hands to hit and some believe the 6-foot-4 left-handed hitter will add power once he starts incorporating his lower half more consistently. He can defend in the outfield to go along with a plus arm that produced a fastball up to 93 mph as well as a decent curve on the mound as a prep. – MLB Pipeline

Players drafted as Scott was, with the 13th overall selection in the draft, have gone on to major league careers 53 percent of the time, or 29-of-54. If he makes it to the show, he’ll join a fraternity led by Manny Ramirez (1991, Cleveland Indians, 69.4 career WAR), Frank Tanana (1971, California Angels, 57.6 WAR), and Chris Sale (2010, Chicago White Sox, 43.1 WAR).

Scott came to terms with the Miami Marlins relatively quickly, signing for a $4,038,200 bonus. Soon afterward, he joined the GCL Marlins, in the rookie-level, Florida-based Gulf Coast League. In his first 27 games of professional ball, he went 23-for-103 with a double and four triples for eight RBI. He stole eight bases in 13 attempts, with 14 walks and 29 strikeouts in 119 plate appearances. Follow Scott on Twitter @connorscott24.

On July 19th, Scott had his first three-hit game. Batting third, he hit two singles and a triple in a 6-5 loss to the GCL Mets. On August 6th, he was promoted two levels, to the single-A Greensboro Grasshoppers in the South Atlantic League. On August 20th, he hit his first professional home run in a 2-0, seven-inning win over the Kannapolis Intimidators. He earned the game-winning hit in the top of the first inning, and later added a sacrifice fly to provide all of Greensboro’s offense for the day.

Here’s Scott, courtesy of Baseball Corner.

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In 50 games between the two levels, Scott slashed .218/.309/.296 with eight extra base hits and 13 RBI. He struck out 56 times in 208 plate appearances, drew 24 walks, and stole nine-of-17 bases. Defensively, Scott played 354 innings over 44 games in center field, with two errors and a .976 fielding percentage.

The expectation for Scott is understandably high. Currently the Miami Marlins number five ranked prospect, he’s presently rostered with the Clinton LumberKings. Miami recently swapped their single-A affiliate from Greensboro to Clinton, and Scott joined them in the Midwest League. With a little work, Scott will be ready to compete for a roster spot in 2021.

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