Miami Marlins position prospects get some love from MiLB

It used to be the Marlins minor league system was all about depth with their pitching staff. Now, everyday players are getting recognition for their prowess on the diamond.

Even if you take away the pitching depth from the Miami Marlins farm system, there is still plenty of talent on the rosters at all four stops along the way to build for the future of this organization.
Miami’s front office has taken plenty of time to establish a feeder program that from the bottom up looks like it helped this franchise re-establish itself as a contender in the next few seasons.

Thanks to a plan that Derek Jeter, Michael Hill, Dick Scott, and other personnel have followed, the Marlins are no longer a laughing stock, rather a team on the rise, although the organization is not “there” yet.

In a recent story written by Joe Bloss of MiLB.com, the Marlins from a positional standpoint, have the 10th best farm system in all of the Majors. And that could improve as players develop this season and beyond and the team makes more moves to help its future through trades, free agency, and the MLB Draft this coming year.

“Miami wasn’t shy about embarking on a rebuild when it dealt nearly all the top talent on its Major League roster. The trades haven’t stopped and the club’s depth has benefited. Jesús Sánchez, MLB.com’s No. 80 overall prospect, arrived from Tampa Bay at last summer’s deadline and immediately became one of the strongest bats in Miami’s system, despite posting career lows in 2019. Jazz Chisholm (No. 66) came over from the D-backs that same day, hoping to rediscover the swing that led all Minor League shortstops with 25 homers in 2018,” Bloss wrote.

The Marlins, by design, took apart the team’s depth piece by piece once Jeter took over the day-to-day operations of the team as CEO. He traded key stars to make sure the future – five years down the line – was full of potential and minor league teams that would continue to flourish.

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“Shortstop Jose Devers, acquired from the Yankees for Giancarlo Stanton, missed nearly three months with a forearm strain but hit .322/.391/.390 in 47 games when healthy. The Marlins have worked more than just the phones to replenish their system,” Bloss added.

One of the main fundamentals of the plan Jeter implemented was built with young pitchers before adding more outfielders with power and infielders who were still developing. Pitching takes longer to develop, so the front office for the Marlins wanted to make that the priority while determining which puzzle pieces – which were scarce – from the Jeffrey Loria era worth keeping around.

The strategy paid off and looks to have an impact now and in the next few seasons. Miami also dipped into the international pool, something that was unheard of from the former management and ownership group.

“They signed outfielder Víctor Víctor Mesa for $5.25 million in 2018, and his brother Victor Mesa Jr. already may have passed him as a prospect. JJ Bleday — last year’s fourth overall pick and MLB.com’s No. 28 overall prospect — began his career with an ambitious assignment to the Class A Advanced Florida State League and has plenty of power potential from the left side,” Bloss wrote.“Kameron Misner, the 35th pick, should rise through the system alongside Bleday. Together, this litany of names is why Miami moved up from 25th on last year’s version of this list.”

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