Miami Marlins: 3 Prospects Next to Make MLB Debut in 2021

The Miami Marlins have had multiple prospects already make their MLB debut so far this season.

One of the most exciting parts of a major league baseball season is when top prospects finally make their much anticipated MLB debuts. We have already seen a few Miami Marlins prospects make their debuts so far this season, with potentially more to come.

Not only are these prospects contributing for the 2021 season, but will be prominent everyday players in the Marlins everyday lineup going forward. As you’ll see, these prospects that could potentially make their debuts this season could all have a massive impact on the remainder of the Marlins 2021 season.

There are still a few Miami Marlins prospect debuts still to come in 2021.

Back around the start of the 2021 season, I put out an article about seven potential prospects that you can see make their full-time big league debut in 2021. You can find that article in full below.

We have already seen a few notable players such as Jose Devers, Jesus Sanchez, and more appear to make their full-time debuts so far this season, but are more on the way? As you can probably tell by now, there are in fact potentially a few more still to come.

Here are three Marlins’ prospects that could potentially be next to make their major league debuts this season.

But first, some honorable mentions.

Honorable Mention (some who could potentially debut this season or next)

• OF Peyton Burdick – Miami Marlins No. 11 Prospect

• OF Jerar Encarnacion – Miami Marlins No. 20 Prospect

• LHP Jake Eder – Miami Marlins No. 23 Prospect

3. RHP Max Meyer – Miami Marlins No. 3 Prospect

Yes, this is only his first season playing professional baseball, but is it too crazy of a stretch to say that we could see Max Meyer at some point in 2021?

After being selected by Miami with the third overall pick in the First Round of the 2020 MLB Draft, Meyer impressed at the Marlins’ alternate training site for the remainder of the 2020 season. In fact, there were a few rumors that we could’ve seen Meyer at some point during the Marlins postseason run a year ago.

Coming off a phenomenal three seasons at Minnesota where Meyer posted a combined 2.13 ERA across 148 innings pitched, the 22-year old right-hander received a Miami-record signing amount when drafted. Starting his professional career this season in Double-A playing with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, Meyer has certainly impressed catapulting himself into the conversation as one of the top young pitchers in baseball.

Entering the year as the Marlins No. 3 prospect, as well as the No. 20 prospect in baseball, Meyer has made nine starts so far posting a 3-1 record with a 2.09 ERA. Posting a 44:23 K:BB, Meyer has flashed an impressive 9.2 K/9, but has also posted a 4.8 BB/9 which will need to go down before a potential call-up occurs.

The 22-year old projects to be a massive part of the Marlins future rotation, partly due to his electric pure stuff. Meyer’s low-90’s slider was considered as arguably the best pitch in the 2020 Draft, while he also displays a consistently upper-90’s fastball with an improving changeup.

We’ve seen numerous players across baseball that have previously made the jump from Double-A straight to the big leagues. While Meyer will most likely see Triple-A at some point, the 2020 First Round Pick may receive the call at some point in 2021 based on the Marlins rotational needs later in the season.

2. OF JJ Bleday – Miami Marlins #2 Prospect

Similar to Meyer, JJ Bleday started the 2021 season in Double-A playing with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. Despite being in Double-A in late-June, is there still a chance we could see Bleday this season?

Selected fourth overall in the First Round of the 2019 MLB Draft, Bleday was coming off a phenomenal three seasons at Vanderbilt which included a career .326/.449/.553 slash line to pair with 33 HR’s and 109 RBI’s. After making his professional debut back in 2019 in A-Ball, the hype surrounding Bleday only continued to build.

After impressing at the Marlins’ alternate training site during the 2020 season, Bleday entered 2021 as the Marlins No. 2 prospect, as well as the No. 14 prospect in baseball. While he has had some impressive moments so far with Pensacola, the 23-year old outfielder has also struggled as well.

Bleday is currently sporting a .204/.302/.357 slash line for the season, which also includes five HR’s and 18 RBI’s. Bleday has also spent time in all three outfield spots this season, and has excelled in each.

Despite his current struggles, an advanced hitter the caliber of Bleday is a player that you know will turn things around at some point. As we talked about earlier this season, Bleday, despite his current struggles, is still the “must-see” Marlins prospect in 2021.

While it would still make sense to keep him down to continue to develop, there is still a chance we could see the highly anticipated debut of the Marlins 2019 First Round Pick this season. If he does debut as well, expect Bleday to slot into a starting role in Miami’s outfield going forward.