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Miami Marlins Legacy Series: Best Ever Third Basemen

By Kevin Kraczkowski

Florida Marlins third baseman Miguel Cabrera celebrates a home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks August 13, 2006 in Phoenix. The Marlins won 6 - 5. (Photo by A. Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
Florida Marlins third baseman Miguel Cabrera celebrates a home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks August 13, 2006 in Phoenix. The Marlins won 6 - 5. (Photo by A. Messerschmidt/Getty Images) /
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MIAMI, FL – MAY 05: Martin Prado #14 of the Miami Marlinsthrows towards first base after fielding a ground ball in the third inning against the Atlanta Braves at Marlins Park on May 5, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images) /

2. Martin Prado (376 appearances)

Like Cabrera, Prado was also born in Maracay, Venezuela. Signed by the Atlanta Braves through international free agency in 2001, he made his major league debut with them in 2006.

Prado remained with the Braves through the 2012 campaign, earning an all-star invitation in 2010 when he hit .307/.350/.459 with a career best 15 home runs. He then spent a year-and-a-half with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the 2014 stretch-run as a New York Yankee.

After the 2014 season, Prado was traded to the Miami Marlins with David Phelps and cash for Nathan Eovaldi, Domingo German, and Garrett Jones. For more on how we won that trade, big time, check here.

Prado’s first season in Miami would see him slash out a .288/.338/.394 line in 129 games. He played in 124 of those at third base, including 118 starts. He also appeared 11 times at second. As a third baseman, he fielded at a .976 percentage, 21 points better than the NL average at the position. He was eight runs better than average for the season, prorated to 1200 innings.

In 2016, Prado played a career high 1264 2/3 innings at the hot corner, fielding at .972 and finishing with a Rtot/yr of zero – or dead average. His most prolific showing with the Miami Marlins by far, Prado hit .305/.359/.417.

2017 would begin a two-season slog for Prado, who dealt with injuries and spent more time on the injured list than on the active roster. He totaled 91 games for those two years, hitting .246/.284/.326. When healthy, he was again right near the middle in terms of defensive worth – coming in at one run under average per 1200 innings. He fielded at .980 over that time.

This year, Prado has spent more time at first base than third, but still shows average to better-than-average defense when placed there. Still, he’s hitting only .242/.268/.298, and is undoubtedly coming to the end of his major league career. The Miami Marlins would do well to retain Prado in a coaching or managing capacity when he does decide to hang up his cleats.

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