Prospecting the Miami Marlins: Colton Hock’s Long-Term Possibilities

Colton Hock spent his 2019 season with the Jupiter Hammerheads.

Throughout this offseason, Marlin Maniac is going over all 274 players to appear at any level of the Miami Marlins through the 2019 campaign. The eighth such of these stories focuses on right-handed reliever Colton Hock. We profiled Hock in last season’s series as well, here.

Colton Jack Hock is a 6’4″, 220 lb. righty out of Stanford University. Born on March 15th, 1996 in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, Hock would be the fifth major leaguer born in the area if he makes it as far as the majors. Most impactful amongst them was fellow right-handed reliever Paul Hartzell, who was 27-39 with a 3.90 ERA over six MLB seasons between the California Angels, the Minnesota Twins, the  Baltimore Orioles, and the Milwaukee Brewers.

In three collegiate seasons with the Cardinal, Hock was 10-8 with a 2.97 ERA over 77 appearances. He struck out 120 while walking 56 over 141 1/3 innings. In his 2017, his junior season of eligibility, he was named a second-team College All-American and a member of the PAC 12 All-Conference Team. The winning ball played a part in his increased draft stock. When the MLB Amateur Entry Draft rolled around, the Miami Marlins chose him in the fourth round, with the 119th overall selection. Although Hock had another season of eligibility, he signed with the Marlins for a $500,000 bonus.

Fourteen members of the “119 Club” have made the majors, led by third baseman Sal Bando (1965, Oakland Athletics, 61.5 career WAR) and right-hander Todd Stottlemyre (1983, New York Yankees, 22.9 WAR).

Hock went 1-4 with a 6.75 ERA in his first professional look after his selection, with the rookie club and the low-A Batavia Muckdogs. Despite that lukewarm introduction, the Miami Marlins promoted him to the middle-A Greensboro Grasshoppers for the 2018 campaign. He responded with a 9-8 record and a 4.45 ERA and 77 K’s in 91 innings. Hock remained with the Hoppers for the duration of the season.

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• Miami Marlins: Farm System rankings part 2
• Miami Marlins: Farm System rankings part 1

Hock joined the high-A Jupiter Hammerheads for the entire 2019 campaign, in the Florida State League. He improved his statistical output despite the higher-level competition, with a 3.16 ERA and 47 K’s in 51 1/3 frames. He walked 20 and finished with a 1.344 WHIP, which, while not world-beating by any means, was at least good enough to start the 2020 season with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.

Hock’s long-range best-case scenario is as a middle-inning reliever at the major league level. He’s only started 12 games as a professional, but has averaged 2.2 innings per appearance over 77 games in total. The earliest we would see Hock is in 2021 Miami Marlins Spring Training, with a likely callup at some point in the season when the injury bug starts to bite.

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