Miami Marlins Prospects: Nic Ready Steady Through Minors

Somewhere between the second and third wave of Marlins prospects, Nic Ready is waiting.

Miami Marlins prospect Nic Ready is a six-foot-three right-handed corner infielder from Poway, CA, He hit .410 in 39 games as a senior with Dallas Jesuit HS. He was also named the team’s offensive MVP and was a second team all-state selection. But there was a lot more to come from Ready.

Ready went on to attend the Air Force Academy, and play four seasons of Division I level ball for the Falcons. He was the Co-Winner of the Midwest Conference Freshman of the Year in 2016. He also ranked on the leaderboard in a lot of offensive categories during his run in the MWC, including a league-leading 35 extra base hits in 2017. In 2018, he led the MWC with a .699 SLG, a 1.099 OPS, 160 total bases, 20 home runs, 74 RBI, 40 extra base hits, and a .358 ISO. He also won the collegiate home run derby, hitting a total of 55 homers in the competition, which he describes as a highlight of his sporting career.

Over the course of his collegiate career, Ready appeared in 216 games, with a .327/.365/.593 slashline, 76 doubles, 50 home runs, 224 RBI, and 19 stolen bases in 26 attempts.

Ready, a right-handed hitter and fielder, is the son of Randy Ready, himself a 15-year major league veteran. In his latter-day baseball career, Randy managed the Jupiter Hammerheads in the High-A Florida State League in 2016 and the Double-A Southern League’s Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp in 2017 and 2018. Brother Mark is an infielder in the Atlantic 10 with the University of Richmond Spiders.

Ready graduated from the Academy in early-June and was called up onstage to meet President Donald Trump.

"He went freestyle on us but it was an honor of a lifetime to be recognized by the President and my boss quite frankly. It’s something I’ll never forget. – Ready"

"I wanna feel this guy’s muscles. – President Trump"

Less than a week later, the Marlins chose him in the 23rd round, with the 681st selection off the board overall. He was the 10th Air Force alum to ever get drafted, and the fourth highest in school history. Ready is currently enrolled in the military’s World Class Athlete Program, which allows him to serve his term of service while concurrently training to compete in the 2020 Olympics.

After his selection, Nic signed with the Marlins for a $2.5K bonus and reported to the Batavia Muckdogs in the Short-season-A New York-Penn League. He tied an NYPL record with 30 doubles in only 67 games (that translates to 73 doubles over a 162-game season, ijs). Overall, he hit .263/.311/.508 with 10 homers and 47 RBI.

From June 26th through July 3rd, Ready doubled in seven consecutive games, going 12-for-30 with eight doubles and four RBI. He eventually collected 10 multi-hit games through the season, with two three-hit affairs.

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Ready seems bound for bigger and better things in the near future. I’m looking for him to begin the season at the Single-A level with the Clinton LumberKings in the Midwest League. Since he’ll be 23-years-old at the start of the 2020 campaign, he could be a candidate for a quick promotion to the High-A Jupiter Hammerheads in the Florida State League. When asked about his next assignment, he was suitably military-like:

"I really couldn’t tell you but I’m happy to go wherever the organization sees that I’ll be the most beneficial."

As a veteran, it was the only answer that I should have expected from the exceptional Mr. Ready.

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