Miami Marlins Prospect Watch: Outfielder Yeral Encarnacion

Free-swinging Yeral Encarnacion racked up 10 outfield assists in only 49 games in the outfield in 2018.

This offseason, Marlin Maniac is going over they Miami Marlins system with a fine toothed comb and looking at every player in the entire system. Encarnacion is the 257th of 286 players that is getting reviewed. Stay tuned, Spring Training is right around the corner.

Yeral Luis Encarnacion, tracked by some baseball stat websites as Jerar, is a 6’4″, 219 lb. right fielder from Bayaguana, Dominican Republic, population 34,786. If Encarnacion makes it to the major leagues, he’ll be the first from the Monte Plata municipality to get there.

Born on October 22nd, 1997, Encarnacion is a right-handed batter and fielder. He signed his first professional deal with the Miami Marlins prior to his 18th birthday, on September 18th, 2015.

Encarnacion’s first professional assignment was with the rookie-level DSL Marlins, in the Dominican Summer League in 2016. In 14 games, he went 12-for-55 at the plate, with a home run and seven RBI. Encarnacion drew only one walk in 56 plate appearances, while striking out 11 times. Defensively, he made two errors in 27 chances in the field for a .926 fielding percentage, with one outfield assist.

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For the 2017 campaign, Encarnacion was laterally promoted to the Florida-based rookie-level GCL Marlins, in the Gulf Coast League. He played in 42 games, starting 17 in right field and 14 times in left field while fielding at a .949 clip with three outfield assists. At the plate, Encarnacion led the club with five home runs and 26 RBI while slashing .266/.323/.448. His 15 extra base hits and 69 total bases also paced the team, although he struck out 51 times while drawing only 10 walks.

In 2018, Encarnacion was reassigned to the short-season-A Batavia Muckdogs in the New York-Penn League. Through his first 11 games, he went 23-for-48, hitting safely in each contest and collecting multiple hits eight times. He ended up slashing .284/.305/.448 over 43 contests, with 14 doubles, two triples, and four homers with 24 RBI. He drew only four walks in 190 plate appearances, and struck out 57 times. For his efforts, he was named to the NYPL midseason All Star team. Here he is in the postseason instructional league in Jupiter, courtesy of 2080 Baseball.

Encarnacion really showed his value in the field for the Muckdogs, with seven outfield assists in only 37 games, along with six errors for a .941 fielding percentage. After a late-season promotion to the full-season-A Greensboro Grasshoppers in the South Atlantic League, he made another three assists in 12 games in right field.

Encarnacion finished with multiple hits in 14 contests, including four times where he collected three or more. Currently rostered at the full-season-A level with the new Miami Marlins Midwest League affiliate, the Clinton LumberKings, expect him to remain there for at least three months before consideration for the next higher level, the Jupiter Hammerheads in the high-A Florida State League.