Evaluating the Miami Marlins 2015 Draft Class

How long is long enough to evaluate how good a draft went?

Three years? Five? 10? It’s really a different answer for every player, with some rising faster and some taking as many as 11 seasons to get to the majors, as Isaac Galloway did in 2018 and Brian Moran in 2019. Today we’re going to take a quick gander through the 2015 Marlins draft class.

1B Josh Naylor

Josh Naylor is a five-foot-11, 250 lb. lefty hitter and Fiedler from Mississauga, ON. After the draft, he joined the GCL Marlins in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League and hit .327 in 25 games of work.

In 2016, Naylor got promoted to the Single-A Greensboro Grasshoppers in the South Atlantic League, where he slashed .269/.317/.430 with nine home runs and 54 RBI in 89 games. Just prior to the trade deadline, Naylor was traded to the San Diego Padres with Jarred Cosart, Luis Castillo, and Carter Capps for Andrew Cashner, Colin Rea, and Tayron Guerrero.

After the deal, Naylor continued to work his way up through the minors until making his major league debut with the Padres this season. He slashed out a .249/.315/.403 line in 94 games, with eight home runs and 32 RBI.

LHP Brett Lilek

Hazel Crest, IL native Brett Lilek was a six-four lefty out of Arizona State. He was 10-8 in 31 starts for the Sun Devils, with a 3.06 ERA and 162 K’s in 182 2/3 innings of Division I ball.

In parts of three seasons in the Marlins system, Lilek never got higher than the Single-A level, with the Grasshoppers. He totaled a 3-3 record in 23 professional appearances, with a 3.70 ERA and 58 K’s in 56 innings of work. The Marlins officially released him on May 29th, 2019.

CF Zeek White

Prior to the 2017 season the Marlins traded Zeek White with Luis Castillo and Austin Brice for Dan Straily. White had just hit .214 for the Short-season-A Batavia Muckdogs in the New York-Penn League. Since then, White got as far as the Single-A Dayton Dragons in the Midwest League, still four levels below the majors before getting released last May.

RHP Cody Poteet

Cody Poteet is a six-foot-one, 180 lb. starting pitcher out of UCLA. In three seasons with the Bruins he was 14-12 with a 3.93 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP over 73 appearances, including 39 starts.

Poteet has more-or-less risen through the minor leagues on schedule, splitting the 2019 campaign between the Double-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp in the Southern League and the Triple-A New Orleans Baby Cakes in the Pacific Coast League. Last season he was 5-2 with a 2.25 ERA over 10 starts with the Shrimp. He’s one of three from the 2015 draft still in the Marlins system.

LHP Justin Jacome

Six-foot-six UC-Santa Barbara alum Justin Jacome was 20-11 with a 3.03 ERA in three seasons for the Gauchos before the draft made him a Marlin. He started 33 games over two seasons between the Grasshoppers and the Muckdogs, going 1-6 with a 3.34 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. Never officially released, Jacome hasn’t appeared in a professional game since early 2016.

C Justin Cohen

Sarasota, FL native Justin Cohen was taken by the Marlins in the sixth round in 2015 out of Riverview HS. In three seasons, he remained at the rookie level with GCL and hit .273/.364/.373 in 50 games. He was released prior to the 2018 season.

RHP Travis Neubeck

Travis Neubeck was a six-foot-two reliever from Maplewood, MN. Retired as of April 1st, 2019, Neubeck got into 76 games across the Marlins four lower levels of the minors. Over 142 1/3 innings, he was 5-13 with a 4.17 ERA and a .280 oppBA.

RHP Chris Paddack

Chris Paddack was the one that got away. At one point in 2016, he authored 15 consecutive hitless innings. Over six starts that year with the Grasshoppers, he surrendered three runs on nine hits and two walks over 28 1/3 innings. Former team owner Jeffrey Loria traded him to the San Diego Padres for the vastly overrated Fernando Rodney.

Rodney put up a 1.80 WHIP and a 5.89 ERA in 36 2/3 innings for the Marlins before leaving, while Paddack went on to make the 2019 MLB All Rookie team. In 26 starts for the Padres, he struck out 153 and held opponents to a 0.98 WHIP in 140 2/3 innings. He was 9-7 with a 3.33 ERA for 70-92 San Diego, with a pitching staff-second 2.6 WAR.

SS Max Whitt

Unsigned

RHP Kyle Keller

Kyle Keller is a six-foot-four reliever from Metairie, LA, and one of four from this Marlins draft class to graduate as far as the major leagues.

With a fair bit of consistency, Keller struck out well over a batter per inning at every level of the Marlins minors, whiffing 11.99 per nine over his five-season minor league career. 9-12 with a 3.54 ERA, Keller totaled 332 K’s in 249 2/3 innings, with a solid 1.18 WHIP. Called up for his major league debut last season, Keller struck out 11 and walked eight in 10 2/3 innings.

Last week, Keller joined the Los Angeles Angels in a trade for minor league catcher Jose Estrada.

RHP Curt Britt

Laurinburg, NC native Curt Britt signed with the Marlins out of the NC State Wolfpack, and pitched in seven games between GCL and Batavia. After striking out 10 in 9 2/3 innings, while allowing four runs on 14 hits and two walks, Britt announced his retirement preceding the 2016 short season.

C Korey Dunbar

Korey Dunbar was a three-year veteran of Tar Heel baseball with the University of North Carolina. In 151 games behind the plate, he hit .252/.343/.384 with nine home runs and 58 RBI.

Dunbar appeared in 44 games in the Marlins system between Greensboro and Batavia, hitting .247/.349/.307 but striking out at a 35.2 percent clip. He retired before the 2017 season got underway.

IF Giovanny Alfonzo

Giovanny Alfonzo was a super-utility infielder that the Marlins chose out of Division 2 University of Tampa, where he hit .328/.382/.476 with 11 homers and 77 RBI in 106 games over two seasons.

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Alfonzo started out well enough, hitting .245 with the Muckdogs after the draft, but hit zero triples or home runs over his 60 contests. In 2016 with the Grasshoppers, he hit .222/.269/.290 in 65 games. He was released by the Marlins prior to the 2017 campaign.

Alfonzo has later played with the Long Island Ducks in the Atlantic League and the Columbia Fireflies in the New York Mets system. He spent 2019 with the High Point Rockers back in the ATL and hit .248 in 112 contests.

RHP L.J. Brewster

L.J. Brewster was drafted by Miami after going 6-5 with a 2.95 ERA in 15 starts for the University of Hawaii. In three seasons in the Marlins system, he was 9-16 with a 4.60 ERA and 102 K’s in 178 2/3 innings. He retired from baseball in July, 2017.

LHP Trevor Lacosse

Trevor Lacosse was a four-season reliever with the Bryant University Bulldogs, where he was 9-8 with a 3.20 ERA in 87 appearances. He joined the GCL Marlins after the draft, and pitched in six games, allowing 10 runs on 11 hits and six walks in eight 2/3 innings. He struck out three, and the Marlins didn’t keep him on into the 2016 calendar year.

RHP Octavio Arroyo

Tijuana, MX native Octavio Arroyo was a six-foot right-hander out of San Ysidro HS in San Diego, CA. After the draft, he appeared in one game for the GCL Marlins, striking out two and allowing no runs on two hits. He was released prior to the 2016 season.

IF Alexander Fernandez

Alex Fernandez hit .310/.405/.571 for Division 2 Nova Southeastern in 2015. After the draft, he made appearances in Miami’s system from GCL to Jupiter, with stops in Batavia and Greensboro. In 102 games over the two seasons he was part of the Marlins, he hit .244/.346/.362 with six home runs and 29 RBI.

After his release before the 2017 season, Fernandez signed with the Washington Wild Things, where he played in 33 games and hit .168 with a pair of home runs.

RHP Obed Diaz

Six-foot-two Rio Grande, PR native Obed Diaz spent parts of three seasons in the Marlins system, between the GCL Marlins and the Batavia Muckdogs. He was 2-6 with a 5.40 ERA in 32 games, with 33 K’s in 50 innings. He was released in June, 2018.

IF Taylor Munden

Lewisville, TX native Taylor Munden was drafted by Miami out of the University of West Virginia. In three seasons with the Mountaineers, Munden hit ..246/.312/.379.

Following the draft, Munden split his time between the Muckdogs and the Grasshoppers over the next two seasons. In 88 games, he hit just .201/.287/.299 with four home runs. They let him go in June, 2016.

LHP Jeff Kinley

Saginaw, MI native Jeff Kinley played five seasons for the Michigan State Spartans, starting in only five of his 93 appearances. He was 12-10 with a 3.19 ERA and 137 whiffs in 161 innings of work.

After the draft, Kinley started with GCL and over the next five seasons appeared at every level of the Marlins system, excepting the DSL Marlins. He’s gone 13-7 with a 3.67 ERA in 167 contests, striking out 234 in 250 innings of work. Solid primary metrics of 1.29 WHIP, 8.03 H/9, and 2.34 K/BB have kept him employed in the system, where he’s still listed with the Jumbo Shrimp.

Although not listed on the Marlins 40-man roster, Kinley remains an option to fill a spot at some point in the 2020 campaign.

RHP Ben Meyer

Six-foot-five right-handed starter Ben Meyer was chosen by Miami out of the University of Minnesota. Four seasons with the Golden Gophers would yield a 13-17 record and a 3.06 ERA in 59 games, including 39 starts.

Meyer worked his way up through the Marlins system over the next few seasons, making his debut with the major league parent club in 2018. In 13 relief appearances, Meyer landed with a 10.42 ERA, by allowing 14 walks and 26 hits in 19 innings. He struck out nine and finished with a 2.11 WHIP.

Meyer was released from the New Orleans Baby Cakes in June, 2019, and he soon after was signed by the Colorado Rockies and assigned to the Hartford Yard Goats. He also appeared with the Albuquerque Isotopes last season, and remains on their roster.

2B Joe Chavez

Infielder Joe Chavez played four seasons with UC-Riverside, and hit .299/.393/.436 in 172 Big West Conference contests. After the draft, he split his next two seasons between GCL, Batavia, Greensboro, and Jupiter, working out a .243/.345/.312 line in 55 games. He announced his retirement halfway through July, 2016.

RF Griffin Conine

Griffin Conine

Jeff Conine‘s son, Griffin, went unsigned out of the draft and played three seasons for Duke. He’s since been chosen out of the second round in 2018 by the Toronto Blue Jays.

3B Kris Goodman

Kris Goodman was a four-year letterman with the University of Iowa Hawkeyes, where he slashed .262/.354/.356 in 194 games.

Post-draft, Goodman played in 30 games for the GCL Marlins, and went 17-for-72. In 72 games in total, between GCL, Batavia, and Greensboro, he hit .223/.329/.257 before getting released in August, 2016. He later played for the Gary Southshore RailCats in the American Association, and in 2018 resurfaced as a pitcher for the Traverse City Beach Bums, in the Frontier League.

RHP Ryley MacEachern

Ryley MacEachern played two seasons with the Stony Brook Seawolves, a Division 1 team in the American East Conference. He was 5-3 with a 4.76 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 83 innings.

MacEachern played three seasons in the Marlins system, from GCL to Batavia to Greensboro. In 55 games, he was 6-3 with a 3.58 ERA, a 1.37 WHIP, and 76 K’s in 83 innings. He’s been a free agent since mid-2017.

OF Brandon Rawe

In three seasons at Morehead State, righty outfielder Brandon Rawe hit .351/.405/.548 over 163 contests, with 26 home runs and 126 RBI. After getting selected by the Marlins, Rawe appeared in 40 games between GCL and Batavia, going 25-for-118 with 12 RBI. He was released after 2016 Spring Training.

OF Cameron Newell

Left-handed batting, righty throwing Cameron Newell was a six-one outfielder from Roseburg, OR. He lasted 35 games in the Marlins system between GCL and Batavia, going 22-for-102 at the plate. He was last seen with the Lake Erie Crushers in 2018, in the Frontier League, where he was 29-for-111 in 34 games.

LHP Gunnar Kines

As part of the Division 2 Mount Olive Trojans for two seasons, left-handed starter Gunnar Kines was 16-3 with a 3.39 ERA over 29 appearances, including 26 starts. He struck out 172 in 159 1/3 innings, enough anyway for the Marlins to take a flyer on him.

Kines only finished the 2015 season as part of Miami’s organization, splitting it between GCL and the Grasshoppers. In 23 games, including five starts, he was 5-5 with five saves, a 2.38 ERA, and a 1.06 WHIP.

Later on, Kines spent four seasons as part of the Schaumburg Boomers in the Frontier League, going 22-17 with a 2.96 ERA.

OF Ruben Cardenas

Ruben Cardenas didn’t sign, and instead went to Cal State Fullerton. He was later drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 16th round of the 2018 draft.

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OF C.J. Newsome

C.J. Newsome remained unsigned, and hit .340./.426/.494 in 43 games for the Jackson State Tigers, in Division 1, 2017.

3B Bucket Goldby

Bucket Goldby was drafted out of Yuba City HS in his hometown, but never signed, and didn’t appear anywhere after that either.

C Matt Foley

Matt Foley spent parts of two seasons in Miami’s system, hitting 12-for-58 between GCL and Batavia. He later spent time in the systems of the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets. In 2019, he caught 20 games in the Canadian American League for the Ottawa Champions, going 12-for-52.