The Marlins next Top-100 player in MLB

While there are no players listed in the top 100 in Major League Baseball this coming season, the Miami Marlins do have a few contenders for next year.

It’a not a surprise that none of the current Miami Marlins are listed amongst the top 100 players in Major League Baseball this coming season. There is plenty of talent within the organization, but given the youth on hand and the losses of the team over the course of the past 18 months, it will take some time to develop players who will attain such a lofty perch.

There is hope and there are some players who will make up the 25-man roster this season who have a shot to make the list, possibly next season and beyond. Predicting who gets there first isn’t an exact science. As David Schoenfield of ESPN.com wrote, the list of who comprises the hallowed number isn’t exactly an even practice.

"“This won’t shock you if you have last year’s standings memorized, but the premium talent in baseball isn’t exactly spread evenly across the sport,” he adds. “The Yankees had nine players crack the MLB Rank top 100, the Astros had seven (including six in the top 40) as did the Red Sox, and eight other teams had at least five.More from Marlins NewsMiami Marlins news: Another target goneWhy didn’t the Miami Marlins sign JDM?Miami Marlins rejected Boston‘s trade offerMiami Marlins are pursuing Michael ConfortoMiami Marlins need to spend to winMeanwhile, four teams had no players in the top 100 and eight others had just one. That helps explain why we had three 100-win teams and three 100-loss teams.”"

If you are asking, Giancarlo Stanton, (31st), Christian Yelich (7th) and J.T. Realmuto (28th) all made the team. I’m sure there are plenty of you who are fuming over this as it is read.

The Marlins are a long way from approaching 80 wins in a season, let alone 100. Steady progress, as well have discussed all offseason is what the front office wants from Don Mattingly’s troops. If there are improvements on the mound, headed by Jose Urena, and better hitting, led by Lewis Brinson, this team could reach 70-75 wins. I predicted 70 wins last season and was sorely disappointed.

This year, I don’t think I am off in my assessment.

The one player Schoenfield thinks has the best chance to crack the Top 100 first is third baseman, Brian Anderson. The second-year pro looks to improve on a rookie campaign where he finished fourth in the NL Rookie of the Year voting and could show more power at the plate.

Anderson played the hot corner in place of veteran Martin Prado and spent time in right field, showing a versatility for both positions. As he wrote, Anderson is still a work in progress.

"“Anderson had 3.9 WAR as a rookie last year — a higher figure than Juan Soto, Walker Buehler, Gleyber Torres, and Miguel Andujar,” Schoenfield explained. “He’s not flashy, but he hit .273, has doubles power, draws some walks and did well playing two positions.”"

He also has 20-25 home run potential and could hit anywhere from second to sixth in the Marlins batting order. He will need to work on putting together two solid halves of baseball this season. He had over 100 hits before the All-Star break.

"“All he needs to do is improve a little bit across the board. The ZiPS projection has him at 2.7 WAR and not improving at the plate — he does turn 26 in May — but I think there’s top-100 potential here,” Schoenfield wrote."