Worst First? Miami Marlins Biggest First Round Mistakes

4. Colin Moran

Colin Moran is another pick that wasn’t exactly bad, but is rated in hindsight as a poor turn of events based on what we got back in trade for him.

Moran was taken sixth overall in 2013 out of the University of North Carolina. In three seasons with the Tar Heels, Moran hit .346/.452/.531 in 179 games in total, with 25 home runs and more walks (131) than strikeouts (82).

Moran, a six-foot-three, 180 lb. third baseman form Port Chester, NY, He hit .295 in parts of two seasons with the Marlins minor league system, between the 2013 Grasshoppers and the 2014 Hammerheads. At the 2014 trade deadline, the Marlins traded Moran with Jake Marisnick, Francis Martes, and a competitive balance pick to the Houston Astros for Austin Wates, Jarred Cosart, and Enrique Hernandez.

Moran made his major league debut with the Astros in 2016, and was seven-for-34 in a few brief appearances over the next two seasons. Flipped to the Pirates in the Gerrit Cole deal, Moran has hit .277/.331/.419 in two full major league seasons with the Bucs, with 24 homers and 138 RBI.

In a bit of a postscript to the Colin Moran story with the Marlins, he never did appear in the majors with Miami, but his brother Brian Moran did make his debut last season. In a case that is maybe stranger than fiction, the Brian struck out Colin in his first ever major league appearance as mom & dad watched from the stands.