When a group led by Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter bought the Marlins from Jeffrey Loria in September 2017, it made no secret about its plan to tear the franchise down to the foundation. Over the next 17 months, Miami traded Dee Gordon, Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna, Christian Yelich and J.T. Realmuto for big leaguers Jorge Alfaro and Starlin Castro plus 15 prospects.
While it can be debated that the Marlins should have gotten better returns on some of those deals, there's no question that the farm system has improved significantly since Jeter took over control of baseball operations. The Minor League talent has soared from arguably the worst in baseball two years ago to No. 4 in MLB Pipeline's most recent system rankings in August. They haven't been this flush with prospects since Jose Fernandez, Ozuna, Realmuto and Yelich were down on the farm in 2013.
Miami's five best prospects -- right-hander Sixto Sanchez; outfielders JJ Bleday, Jesus Sanchez and Monte Harrison; shortstop Jazz Chisholm -- all have joined the organization in the last two years, as have 23 members of our Marlins Top 30. A number of pitchers who predate the sale of the franchise boosted their stock in 2019, most notably Edward Cabrera and former first-round picks Braxton Garrett and Trevor Rogers.
The influx of prospect talent has yet to be felt at the big league level, where Miami has lost 98 and 105 games in its first two seasons under the new regime. The Marlins graduated Sandy Alcantara, Isan Diaz and Jordan Yamamoto to the Majors this year, but they'll need a lot more help before they return to the playoffs for the first time since their 2003 World Series championship.
TOP FIVE PROSPECTS
- Sixto Sanchez, RHP (No. 22 on Top 100)
- JJ Bleday, OF (No. 29)
- Jesus Sanchez, OF (No. 51)
- Jazz Chisholm, SS (No. 54)
- Monte Harrison, OF (No. 83)
HITTING & PITCHING PROSPECTS OF THE YEAR
Isan Diaz, 2B: Part of the Yelich trade with the Brewers, Diaz struggled in his first season with the Marlins but excelled in his second, batting .305/.395/.578 with 26 homers in Triple-A and going deep five times in his first taste of the big leagues.
Edward Cabrera, RHP (No. 6): He had reached triple digits with his fastball in past years, but in 2019 he improved his secondary pitches and command, going 9-4 with a 2.23 ERA, 116 strikeouts and a .190 opponent average in 96 2/3 innings between high Class A and Double-A. More ?
STOCK UP/DOWN
Jerar Encarnacion, OF (No. 17): Improved plate discipline helped him do a better job of tapping into his plus raw power as he batted .276/.331/.425 with 16 homers between two Class A levels.
Victor Victor Mesa, OF (No. 13): Signed for $5.25 million in October 2018 despite questions about his offensive upside, he didn't answer them by hitting .235/.274/.263 without a homer between high Class A and Double-A.
NOTABLE ADDITIONS
Draft: JJ Bleday, OF, 1st round (No. 2); Kameron Misner, OF, supplemental first round (No. 9); Nasim Nunez, SS, 2nd round (No. 15); Peyton Burdick, OF, 3rd round (No. 28); Evan Fitterer, RHP, 4th round (No. 21); Chris Mokma, RHP, 12th round (No. 30). Complete Draft list ?
International: Jose Salas, SS (No. 20); Junior Sanchez, SS; Ian Lewis, SS.
Trade: Jesus Sanchez, OF (No. 3); Jazz Chisholm, SS (No. 4); Lewin Diaz, 1B (No. 12).
A full third of the prospects on our Marlins Top 30 have joined the organization since June, including three of four best: Bleday, Sanchez and Chisholm.
2020 IMPACT PROSPECT
Sixto Sanchez, RHP (No. 1): The centerpiece of the Realmuto deal, he has electric stuff with a fastball that reaches triple digits, a wipeout changeup and a power breaking ball.
BEST TOOLS
Hit: Jose Devers
Power: JJ Bleday
Run: J.D. Orr
Arm: Will Banfield
Field: Victor Victor Mesa
Best athlete: Monte Harrison
Fastball: Edward Cabrera
Curveball: Braxton Garrett
Slider: Tommy Eveld
Changeup: Sixto Sanchez
Control: Sanchez
HOW THE TOP 30 WAS BUILT
Draft: 14
International: 6
Trade: 10
Miami acquired an MLB-high 10 of its Top 30 Prospects via trade, including four of its top five in both Sixto and Jesus Sanchez, Chisholm and Harrison.
TOP 30 BY POSITION
C: 1
1B: 1
SS: 5
OF: 11
LHP: 3
RHP: 9
The Marlins' 11 outfielders trail only the Brewers (13) and three of their best five prospects -- Bleday, Jesus Sanchez, Harrison -- play the position. Only the Athletics and Giants (11 each) have fewer pitchers than Miami's 12 on their Top 30s.