Miami Marlins Past 10 Drafts: Breaking Down the 34th Pick

The Marlins have participated in 28 drafts through their history.

No player selected by the Marlins have made it to the majors after getting selected in the 34th round, at least not yet. It’s not impossible though. Nine players chosen in the 34th round through the past 10 drafts have made it that far, led by right-handed pitcher Julio Lugo.

Here’s the Marlins haul during that time.

2010

Steven Dennison was a six-foot-seven lefty from Centennial, CO. Picked 1037th overall, he was 10-7 with a 5.95 ERA for the Division 3 Wheaton College Thunder. Unsigned by the Marlins, Dennison joined the Houston Astros organization in 2011, and pitched in 14 games for their rookie level affiliate in the Gulf Coast League, the GCL Astros.

2011

John Schultz was a five-foot-11 outfielder for four seasons of Division I ball with the University of Pittsburgh Panthers. In 192 games, he hit .351/.458/.488 with 11 home runs and 114 RBI. He also led the Big East in 2010 with a .523 OBP. Taken by Florida with the 1033rd overall selection, he joined the GCL Marlins to close out 2011.

In 46 games for the rookie club, Schultz put up a .383 OBP by hitting .278 with 29 walks. Pushed up a level in 2012 to the Greensboro Grasshoppers in the Single-A South Atlantic League, he hit .309 at the higher echelon in 51 games.

Schultz later played five seasons for the Frontier League’s Evansville Otters, hitting .292 in 433 games. He then spent 2018 with the Sussex County Miners, going five-for-27 in 13 contests.

2012

3B Patrick Claussen played four seasons of Pac10 ball with the Washington State Cougars, graduating with the Class of 2012. A six-foot-one lefty hitter from Bellevue, WA, he joined the GCL Marlins after they picked him with the 1037th overall choice. He played in 31 games and hit .213, but didn’t appear above the rookie level.

2013

Edward Cruz was a six-foot-two right-handed pitcher from the Bronx when the Marlins took him out of Western Oklahoma State College with the 1012th choice. He was 7-2 with a 4.10 ERA over 12 starts for the Pioneers, striking out 74 in 52 2/3 innings.

After the draft, Cruz appeared in 14 games in relief for the GCL Marlins, going 1-3 with a 7.59 ERA and 21 K’s in 21 1/3 innings. Since then, Cruz has appeared in several independent leagues, most recently spending the 2019 campaign with the Cleburne Railroaders in the American Association. In 19 contests, he struck out 30 in 21 innings, but also walked 20.

2014

Taylor Lehman was chosen by the Marlins 1007th off the board out of Keystone Oaks HS in his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA. A six-foot-seven left-handed pitcher, he instead attended Penn State for four seasons. First as a starter, then as a swingman, he went 5-23 with a 5.91 ERA in 66 games, with 157 K’s in 204 1/3 innings.

Lehman has since joined the Philadelphia Phillies organization, appearing in 22 minor league contests over the past two seasons between the GCL Phillies and the Single-A Lakewood BlueClaws. This year with Lakewood, ht struck out 21 over 32 1/3 innings, holding the opposition to a 1.21 WHIP and going 2-2 with a 2.78 ERA.

2015

Six-foot-two outfielder Brandon Rawe was chosen out of Morehead State with the 1016th overall choice by the Marlins. In three collegiate seasons, he hit .351/.405/.548 with 26 round-trippers and 126 RBI in 163 games.

After signing, Rawe went one-for-10 with the GCL Marlins. He also hit .222 in 37 games for the Short-season-A Batavia Muckdogs in the New York-Penn League. He didn’t again appear in affiliated ball after 2015, but did appear with the Windy City ThunderBolts in the Frontier League in 2018, going five-for-32 in 10 games.

2016

Trenton Hill is a six-foot-two lefty that the Marlins got out of Division 2 Lee University with the 1013rd pick in 2016. Over two collegiate seasons, he was 14-7 with a 2.83 ERA and a heady 156 whiffs in 143 1/3 frames.

In 17 games for Batavia after his selection, Hill was 3-1 with a 2.05 ERA, 25 K’s in 26 1/3 innings, and a 1.25 WHIP. He then allowed four earned runs in one inning of work for the Grasshoppers, and didn’t make another affiliated appearance. In 2018, he pitched 4 2/3 innings for the Joliet Slammers in the Frontier League.

2017

Karl Craigie is a six-foot-one left-handed pitcher from Austin, TX. In two seasons throwing for the University of Texas at San Antonio, he was 10-3 with a 4.01 ERA. Taken by the Marlins 1019th off the board in 2017, he closed the season with the GCL Marlins, and split 2018 between GCL and the Muckdogs. In total, he was 5-2 with a 3.87 ERA, 41 strikeouts in 37 2/3 innings, and a 1.40 WHIP.

In 2019, Craigie pitched for the Florence Freedom in the Frontier League, where he was 5-3 with a 0.93 ERA, 48 K’s in 38 2/3 innings, and a 1.03 WHIP.

2018

Joe Strzelecki is a six-foot-four right-hander the Marlins chose out of Nova Southeastern, where he was 0-3 with a 2.73 ERA over 29 2/3 innings. 1017th off the board, Strzelecki went 1-2 with a 6.60 ERA in 15 innings for GCL to close out 2018. He struck out 12 and walked eight. 2019 would see him spend the entirety of the season on the injured list. He remains part of Miami’s organization.

2019

RHP Brock Love played four seasons with the Alabama Crimson Tide, where he was 8-7 with a 4.30 ERA in 38 games, including 20 starts. He also struck out 135 in 115 innings of Division I play, with a 1.36 WHIP.

After getting chosen by Miami 1011th overall this past June, Love spent most of the year with the Muckdogs, where he struck out 30 in 24 2/3 innings, while allowing only 10 hits and a 0.84 WHIP. Opponents managed a .120 average against Love. At his best, in a 4-1 Batavia win over the West Virginia Black Bears on August 30th, he struck out three and earned the win over 2 2/3 perfect innings of relief.

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Miami Marlins Past 10 Drafts: Breaking Down #34

By Kevin Kraczkowski | Dec 28, 2019