Miami Marlins Past 10 Drafts: Breaking Down the Past Ten 39th Round Picks

The Miami Marlins (including two seasons as the “Florida” Marlins) have chosen 410 players over the past 10 drafts.

Held annually in early-June, most of these selectees become minor leaguers, some become major leaguers, and one or two become MVP’s. Most of them, however, also don’t last more than a few years in professional baseball. Yesterday, we broke down what the Marlins have done in the past 10 years in round number 40. Today, we check in with #39.

2010

The Marlins picked first baseman Sam Bates with the 1,187th overall choice in 2010, out of Crowder College. Bates instead went on to play two seasons with the Arkansas Razorbacks, where he hit .241/.338/.398 over two seasons.

In 2012, the Kansas City Royals spent their 28th round pick on Bates, and he played parts of two seasons in their organization. Between the Rookie-level Idaho Falls Chukars and the Burlington Royals, along with the High-A Wilmington Blue Rocks, Bates hit .267/.338/.500 in 71 overall contests.

2011

Right-handed pitcher Travis Huber was drafted three times in total, including twice by Florida. They picked him in the 47th round in 2010 and in the 39th in 2011. He elected to remain in college, where he was a combined 9-7 with a 3.26 ERA over two seasons with the College of Southern Idaho and one season with the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

In 2012, Huber didn’t last as long, coming off the board in the 23rd round to the Minnesota Twins. He pitched nine games for their Rookie-level affiliate, the Elizabethton Twins in the Appalachian League, where he went 1-0 and struck out 10 in 14 innings.

2012

Marcus Greene, a catcher from Moreno Valley, CA, was the 1,187th pick overall, by Miami in 2012. Just 18 at the time, he went to Junior College at New Mexico JC instead, and slashed out a solid .384/.465/.727 line with 10 homers and 16 stolen bases.

Draft stock thus improved, Greene was chosen by the Texas Rangers in 2013, and signed with them. He spent three seasons in the Rangers organization followed by three more in the San Diego Padres system. In 322 contests, he hit .247/.357/.394, with 30 home runs and 132 RBI. He last played for the High-A Lake Elsinore Storm in the California League.

2013

RHP Daulton Jeffries was another swing-and-miss for the Marlins, 1,162nd off the board in 2013. The six-foot Atwater, CA native then joined the University of California Golden Bears for three seasons of Division I ball, going 15-13 with a 2.72 ERA and 185 K’s in 221 innings pitched.

In 2016, Jeffries was picked in the first round, 37th overall by the Oakland Athletics, where he’s currently their number 14 prospect as rated by the MLB Pipeline. Over parts of four professional seasons, he’s gone 2-2 with a 3.42 ERA and 121 whiffs in 99 innings of work. The A’s moved him to their major league roster a few weeks ago to protect him in rule 5.

2014

Six-foot-six right-hander Matt Pope was another player thrice drafted. First by the Pittsburgh Pirates in round 38 in 2012, then by the Marlins, 1,157th overall in 2014. The San Francisco Giants were successful in getting him to sign after drafting him in the 13th round in 2015.

Pope played in the Giants system for three seasons, between the Rookie-level Arizona Giants, the Short-Season-A Salem Keizer Volcanoes, and the Single-A Augusta GreenJackets. In 59 relief appearances, he was 2-4 with an 8.12 ERA and 69 K’s in 77 2/3 innings.

2015

Third-baseman Bucket Goldby (not a nickname) was taken by the Marlins with the 1,166th overall choice in 2015 out of Yuba City HS, in the town of the same name in California. He didn’t sign, didn’t get selected elsewhere, and didn’t play college ball either. He still gets in the strange-name Hall of Fame, though.

2016

Centerfielder Caleb Scires was the Marlins 39th rounder in 2016, 1,163rd off the board out of Fairfield, TX. He then hit .234/.414/.393 in 37 games with the Navarro College Bulldogs in 2017. Later that same year, he was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in the 17th round.

Scires has since played for the Angels first at the Rookie-level with the Arizona Angels and later with the Orem Owlz, in the Pioneer League. In 55 games, he’s hit .238/.362/.443 with eight home runs and seven stolen bases. He’s still active on the Owlz roster.

2017

Brandon Boone is a six-foot-three right-handed pitcher from Georgetown, TX. Selected by the Marlins in the 39th round in 2017 with the 1,169th overall choice, he signed with the organization for a $1,000 bonus.

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After totaling an 8-2 record with a 3.53 ERA over 47 collegiate appearances, with 134 K’s in 125 innings, Boone joined the Rookie-level GCL Marlins in the Gulf Coast League. He pitched a total of 2 2/3 innings, throwing two wild pitches, striking out four, allowing three walks, one run, and zero hits.

2018

Third baseman Andrew Turner was picked by the Marlins out of Long Island University in the 40th round in 2017. They failed to lock him down, so chose him in the 39th round in 2018, 1,199th off the board.

Since signing for a $1,000 bonus, Turner has split his time between the GCL Marlins and the short-season-A affiliate in the New York-Penn League, the Batavia Muckdogs. In 81 games, he’s hit .229/.348/.298, and is still listed on the active Muckdogs roster.

2019

Then-20-year-old Evan Justice, a lefty, was chosen by Miami with the 1,161st overall choice in June out of North Carolina State. In two collegiate Division I seasons with the Wolfpack, the six-foot-four fireballer has gone 3-0 with a 5.17 ERA, a 1.49 WHIP, and 49 strikeouts in 46 1/3 innings.

Next. Marlins Last 10 Drafts: The 40th Round. dark

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Miami Marlins Past 10 Drafts: Breaking Down #39

By Kevin Kraczkowski | Dec 18, 2019