Miami Marlins 2021: Second Baseman Riley Mahan

Riley Mahan was a 40th round pick of the San Francisco Giants in 2014, but he instead decided to play for the University of Kentucky Wildcats.

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

Riley Mahan is a 6’3″, 185 lb. second baseman from Milford, Ohio, the same origin as former major leaguer Barry Bonnell (Atlanta Braves 1977-79, Toronto Blue Jays 1980-1983, Seattle Mariners 1984-1986). Mahan was born on New Years’ Eve of 1995, and will be entering his age-23 season in 2019. You can follow him on Twitter @rizzmahan.

In 2014, the San Francisco Giants chose Mahan with a 40th round selection out of Archbishop Moeller in Cincinnati, Ohio. Mahan instead joined the University of Kentucky for three seasons of Division I ball for the Wildcats. In 161 games, he put up a .311/.360/.524 slashline, with 21 homers and 107 RBI. That includes a breakout junior season, where he collected 15 of those round-trippers and 67 RBI in 66 games. In the 2017 MLB Amateur Draft, the Miami Marlins took him in the third round, 89th overall.

Players chosen 89th off the board have gone on to the major leagues 31 percent of the time, or 17-of-54. Most prolific from amongst them are Hall-of-Famer Randy Johnson (1982, Atlanta Braves, 101.1 career WAR), Justin Morneau (1999, Minnesota Twins, 27.2 WAR), Chris Young (2000, Pittsburgh Pirates, 17.3 WAR), and Nick Johnson (1996, New York Yankees, 14.6 WAR). Fellow Miami Marlins prospect Tristan Pompey was also an 89th overall choice.

Mahan has a nice left-handed swing, shows good feel for the barrel and drives the ball across the entire field. After totaling six homers across his first two collegiate seasons, Mahan added some loft to his stroke and finally tapped into his raw power in 2017 to finish with 41 extra-base hits, including a team-high 15 home runs. An above-average runner, he moves well once underway but doesn’t figure to be a stolen-base threat. – MLB Pipeline

After coming to terms with the Miami Marlins for a $525,000 signing bonus, Mahan joined the Greensboro Grasshoppers in the single-A South Atlantic League. He had a very short first season due to an injury before Independence Day, and went seven-for-27 in six games.

Mahan started the 2018 campaign with the high-A Jupiter Hammerheads in the Florida State League, and led the club by a wide margin in most offensive categories. Ranked as the Marlins number 20 overall prospect, his 110 games played were 36 more than second place Aaron Knapp. Mahan also led with 424 at bats, 106 hits, 23 doubles, seven HBP, 144 total bases, 462 plate appearances, 29 extra base hits, and 127 strikeouts. Here’s Mahan last season, courtesy of 2080 Baseball.

Mahan slashed .250/.298/.340 with three homers and a club second 40 RBI (to Joe Dunand‘s 42). He collected multiple hits in 28 contests, including seven three-hit games. On August 6th, in a 7-6 walkoff win over the St. Lucie Mets, he hit two singles and a triple, with two RBI and three runs scored. That includes the walkoff run, scored by Mahan on a wild pitch. On August 16th, in an 8-2 victory against the Dunedin Blue Jays, he hit two singles and a double, with a run scored and three RBI. The Hammerheads went 70-64 for the second best record in the Marlins organization, behind DSL.

Defensively, Mahan has played exclusively at second base, totaling a .972 fielding percentage in 98 contests since joining the system. He’s currently the number 26 Miami Marlins prospect in the system. His performance was good enough to merit a promotion to the double-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp in 2019, although he’s still listed with Jupiter.

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