Miami Marlins All-Time Top 50 Players

45. Derek Dietrich (4.8)

Initially drafted by the Houston Astros in the third round of the 2007 draft, Derek Dietrich instead played three seasons with Georgia Tech. After slashing .331/.432/.586 in 182 NCAA Division I contests, the Tampa Bay Rays chose him in the second round in 2010.

Dietrich made his way up through the Rays system over the next three seasons, with stops for the Hudson Valley Renegades, the Bowling Green Hot Rods, the Charlotte Stone Crabs, and the Montgomery Biscuits. After the 2012 season, the Rays traded him to the Miami Marlins for Yunel Escobar.

In 2013 and 2014, Dietrich still wasn’t really a full-time major leaguer, splitting his time between the Marlins, the Jacksonville Suns, the New Orleans Zephyrs, and the Jupiter Hammerheads. For Miami, he appeared in 106 games over that time, slashing .220/.297/.397 with 14 homers and 40 RBI. He also had 17 HBP during that time, showing early promise at a niche talent.

In 2015, Dietrich spent 56 games with the Zephyrs and 90 contests with the Marlins. He slashed an improved .256/.346/.456 with 10 homers and 24 RBI, and his .802 OPS ranked higher than any Marlins player who actually qualified for the leaderboard in that aspect. (Giancarlo Stanton had a .952, but only appeared in 74 games).

In one very specific area, Dietrich may actually be considered a generational talent. 2016 would see him lead the NL with 24 HBP, while slashing a career best .279/.374/.425 in 128 games. The following season would see more of the same with a slight regression in his slashline, at .249/.334/.424. He also hit 13 homers with a career best 53 RBI.

In 2018, Dietrich slashed .276/.340/.441 with a then-career best 16 homers and 45 RBI. He also struck out 140 times, which translates to over a quarter of the time. That’s the first time he has whiffed at such a prolific rate. For all the grief that I’ve heard Dietrich receive for his unnatural left-fielding last year, his .993 fielding percentage ranked fifth in the NL. That spoke directly to Dietrich’s persistence in trying to round his skillset as a ballplayer.

After the close of the season, Dietrich was granted free agency, and quickly found a home with the Cincinnati Reds. After quickly flirting with the National League home run leaderboard, Dietrich cooled off and is ended up hitting just .187/.328/.462, with 19 round-trippers and 43 RBI. He also set a new career-high with 25 HBP despite appearing in only 113 games.