2017 Miami Marlins Top 10 Insider
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Talent Infusion: Draft Report Card
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SEASON IN A SENTENCE: A first-half surge that made the Marlins a playoff contender faded with a spate of second-half injuries, with the team finishing below .500, and the season ended in unbelievable sorrow with the death in a boating accident of star pitcher and staff ace Jose Fernandez, whose autopsy revealed he was drunk and had cocaine in his system at the time of his death.
HIGH POINT: The Marlins were above .500 every month through July and finished that month at 57-48, their high-water mark of the year. That July 31 victory, a 5-4 win against the Cardinals, came on a walk-off triple by Derek Dietrich. A week later, Miami hit another high note when 42-year-old outfielder Ichiro Suzuki got his 3,000th major league hit, a triple.
LOW POINT: The low point in franchise history came when Fernandez died early in the morning of Sept. 25 at age 24. That day’s game was cancelled as the team and the sport reeled from the death of one of the game’s biggest stars and most passionate players. Dee Gordon led off the next game on the 26th by taking the first pitch batting righthanded, mimicking Fernandez’s stance, then hit a leadoff homer off Bartolo Colon from the left side, breaking into tears on his way around the bases.
NOTABLE ROOKIES: Miami relied heavily on rookies in the bullpen, as righty Kyle Barraclough led the club with 75 appearances and struck out 113 in a strictly relief role. Nick Wittgren (48 games) and Brian Ellington also pitched enough to exhaust their prospect eligibility.
KEY TRANSACTIONS: With the Marlins in the thick of the wild-card race in late July, they traded 2015 first-round pick Josh Naylor, plus righties Jarred Cosart, Carter Capps and Luis Castillo, to the Padres for righthanders Andrew Cashner, Tayron Guerrero and Colin Rea. When Rea’s arm came up lame in his first Marlins start, Miami was able to trade him back to the Padres for Castillo after the Padres were revealed to have withheld injury information. After the season, Miami ended the one-year experiment of having Barry Bonds as hitting coach, firing him.
DOWN ON THE FARM: No Miami affiliate made the playoffs in the minors; cumulatively Marlins clubs went 311-374, 26th overall in the majors. Castillo emerged as the organization’s top performer, reaching Double-A and going 8-6, 2.26 overall to rank in the top 10 in the minors in ERA and WHIP (1.07).
OPENING DAY PAYROLL: $ 77,314,202 (26th)
| BEST TOOLS | |
| Best Hitter for Average | Brian Anderson |
| Best Power Hitter | Isael Soto |
| Best Strike-Zone Discipline | Brian Anderson |
| Fastest Baserunner | Yefri Perez |
| Best Athlete | Thomas Jones |
| Best Fastball | Luis Castillo |
| Best Curveball | Braxton Garrett |
| Best Slider | Edward Cabrera |
| Best Changeup | Jarlin Garcia |
| Best Control | Dillon Peters |
| Best Defensive Catcher | Roy Morales |
| Best Defensive Infielder | Brian Anderson |
| Best Infield Arm | Brian Anderson |
| Best Defensive Outfielder | Aaron Knapp |
| Best Outfield Arm | Isael Soto |
| PROJECTED 2020 LINEUP | |
| Catcher | J.T. Realmuto |
| First Base | Justin Bour |
| Second Base | Dee Gordon |
| Third Base | Brian Anderson |
| Shortstop | Adeiny Hechavarria |
| Left Field | Christian Yelich |
| Center Field | Marcell Ozuna |
| Right Field | Giancarlo Stanton |
| No. 1 Starter | Braxton Garrett |
| No. 2 Starter | Luis Castillo |
| No. 3 Starter | Adam Conley |
| No. 4 Starter | Tom Koehler |
| No. 5 Starter | Justin Nicolino |
| Closer | Kyle Barraclough |
| TOP PROSPECTS OF THE DECADE | ||
| Year | Player, Pos. | 2016 Org |
| 2006 | Jeremy Hermida, of | Did not play |
| 2007 | Chris Volstad, rhp | White Sox |
| 2008 | Cameron Maybin, of | Tigers |
| 2009 | Cameron Maybin, of | Tigers |
| 2010 | Giancarlo Stanton, of | Marlins |
| 2011 | Matt Dominguez, 3b | Blue Jays |
| 2012 | Christian Yelich, of | Marlins |
| 2013 | Jose Fernandez, rhp | Deceased |
| 2014 | Andrew Heaney, lhp | Angels |
| 2015 | Tyler Kolek, rhp | Marlins |
| 2016 | Braxton Garrett, lhp | Marlins |
| TOP DRAFT PICKS OF THE DECADE | ||
| Year | Player, Pos. | 2016 Org |
| 2007 | Matt Dominguez, 3b | Blue Jays |
| 2008 | Kyle Skipworth, c | Reds |
| 2009 | Chad James, lhp | Did not play |
| 2010 | Christian Yelich, of | Marlins |
| 2011 | Jose Fernandez, rhp | Deceased |
| 2012 | Andrew Heaney, lhp | Angels |
| 2013 | Colin Moran, 3b | Astros |
| 2014 | Tyler Kolek, rhp | Marlins |
| 2015 | Josh Naylor, 1b | Padres |
| 2016 | Braxton Garrett, lhp | Marlins |
| LARGEST BONUSES IN CLUB HISTORY | |
| Tyler Kolek, 2014 | $6,000,000 |
| Braxton Garrett, 2016 | $4,145,900 |
| Josh Beckett, 1999 | $3,625,000 |
| Colin Moran, 2013 | $3,516,500 |
| Adrian Gonzalez, 2000 | $3,000,000 |
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