Luis Mojica’s 2018 Miami Marlins Season Review

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

Luis Manuel Mojica is a 6’1″, 190 lb. right-handed pitcher from Miches, Dominican Republic. Miches has yet to produce a major league player, although there are four currently active in the minor leagues from the town. The Miami Marlins signed Mojica through free agency on July 4th, 2014, while he was only 16-years-old for $275,000.

Born on February 18th, 1998, Mojica was assigned to the DSL Marlins, in the rookie-level Dominican Summer League on May 29th, 2015. In his first professional look, he pitched to a 1.726 WHIP in 48 2/3 innings of work, going 3-5 with a 4.81 ERA. He struck out 37 batters, and walked 21 for the 24-48 DSL Marlins.

Promoted laterally to the rookie-level GCL Marlins, in the Florida-based Gulf Coast League, Mojica appeared in 13 games for the 24-31 team, who finished fourth in the five-team GCL Eastern Division. Mojica struck out 13 batters in 20 innings of work, and by walking only seven, kept his WHIP down to 1.350. On July 3rd, he pitched three one-hit innings, keeping the GCL Mets off the board in an eventual 13-inning, 3-2 loss.

Mojica missed the entire 2017 season due to a non-specified injury, and was activated with the short-season-A Batavia Muckdogs in the New York-Penn League on July 26th, 2018.

Mojica appeared in three games for Batavia in June, and then not again. Never again placed on the DL, he also did not appear after giving up three hits (but no runs) in a third of an inning on June 28th. The Muckdogs lost a 14-9 decision to the Auburn Doubledays in that game.

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Mojica made his season debut with a scoreless inning in a 9-6 victory over the West Virginia Black Bears on June 18th. Four days later, he struck out a pair over two innings of one-hit ball in a 9-7 loss to the Williamsport Crosscutters.

Players who begin their career in the Dominican Summer League have an uphill climb to the majors, and Mojica is no exception. With only 23 innings pitched in the last three calendar years, he still has a lot to prove before getting promoted past the short season level. He’s still just 21-years-old though, and should begin the 2019 season with the Muckdogs.

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