Miami Marlins 2025 International Signings Review

Top Of The Class

While nearly every international prospect—even the top signings—will make their pro debut this year in the DSL, Andrew Salas is an exception. The Marlins skipped Salas over not just the DSL, they had him bypass the Rookie-level Florida Complex League, as well, and started him in Low-A Jupiter, where he has piled up walks and posted one of the highest OBPs in the league despite being just 17. Salas followed in the footsteps of his brothers, Padres catcher Ethan Salas and Twins infielder Jose Salas, who were all born and raised in Florida but signed seven-figure bonuses as international free agents out of Venezuela. Andrew signed with the Marlins for $3.7 million, behind only Dodgers righthander Roki Sasaki and Mets shortstop Elian Peña among the highest international bonuses this year. 

Salas comes from a baseball family, and it shows in the maturity of his game. He’s a high baseball IQ player with a fundamentally sound game and a good clock for the game, both at the plate and in the field.

An athletic but still slender 6-foot-2, 180 pounds, Salas is a switch-hitter who does a great job of staying balanced at the plate, recognizing spin and controlling the strike zone. There was a split camp among scouts about Salas’ pure hitting ability and overall offensive impact as an amateur, but he’s a patient hitter who piles up walks, works himself into favorable counts and has good hand-eye coordination to make frequent contact. Salas goes with where the ball is pitched and can back-spin balls to the opposite-field gap. He doesn’t have much power yet, but he has more room to layer on strength and develop more over-the-fence juice, though his offensive value will likely come more from his on-base skills than his slugging.

Salas isn’t the quick-burst athlete some teams prefer at shortstop, but his instincts, body control and internal clock allow him to handle the position well. He reads the ball well off the bat, has fluid actions, soft hands and a solid-average arm that could get stronger as he fills out. On the same Jupiter team as shortstops Starlyn Caba and Carter Johnson, Salas has spent time this year at shortstop, second base and center field to keep him in the lineup every day and get him some exposure to the outfield, but his value is highest in the middle infield. 

Names To Know

Kevin Defrank, RHP, Dominican Republic: Defrank might be the best Latin American pitcher signed in 2025. He signed for $560,000, the No. 3 bonus in the class for a Latin American pitcher, and his stuff has gotten better since then. He’s 6-foot-5, 205 pounds with a tall, strong build and wide shoulders, fast arm speed and projection that has already started to come through. He signed with a fastball that was up to 95 mph and has since reached 100 mph. It’s outstanding velocity for a pitcher who will pitch nearly the entire DSL season as a 16-year-old. Defrank can overpower hitters right now with his velocity, but he also has an advanced changeup for his age that projects to be plus with heavy sink and run. His slider is a pitch he shows feel to spin and should give him a power breaking ball with more refinement. Between his explosiveness, pitch mix and impressive body control for his age and size, it’s a starter look if he can prove durable enough to handle a starter’s workload. 

Adrian Peña, RHP, Dominican Republic: If Defrank might be the best pitching prospect signed out of Latin America this year, Peña has a case to challenge him for that title. Signed for $400,000, Peña is a towering 6-foot-7, 195 pounds with long limbs and ample physical upside for a pitcher who just turned 17 last month. After touching 94 mph coming into the year when he signed, Peña has added strength and velocity, with velocity up to 99 mph that plays up because of the life on the pitch and great extension out front. He has innate ability to spin a pair of breaking balls that project to be bat-missing weapons—both a curveball and sweeping slider—that are ahead of his changeup. He does a good job controlling his body and mechanics for a young pitcher his size, but like most teenage pitchers with ultra long limbs, he’s still learning to consistently sync everything up to throw consistent strikes. If he can do that, the upside is there to be a high-end starter. 

Anthony Abreu, SS, Dominican Republic: Abreu, who signed for $550,000, has been the top offensive performer at the Marlins’ academy in preseason work. Since signing, he has grown a little taller and added significant strength to 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, standing out as an amateur for his ability to hit from the left side of the plate. He’s a 17-year-old with good balance, a fluid swing and a knack for recognizing pitches, staying within the strike zone and putting balls in play. As he’s gotten stronger, he has started to drive the ball with more impact as well. Abreu is a shortstop for now, with hands, feet and arm strength that should fit on the left side of the infield, but his body type and range could lead him over to third base. 

Adriano Marrero, RHP, Cuba: The Marlins signed Marrero for $350,000. He’s 6-foot-3, 185 pounds at 17, pitching off a fastball that reaches 93 mph and should be into the mid 90s in the near future given the room he has to add weight to his projectable frame. It’s a good fastball for his age that he pairs with an advanced, hard slider with sharp lateral break to project as a bat-missing pitch at higher levels and is ahead of his changeup. 

Johan Machado, SS, Venezuela: Signed for $330,000, Machado projects as a true shortstop. He’s 6-foot-1, 140 pounds with an extremely skinny frame for a 17-year-old and clean, fluid actions, good instincts and game awareness in the field. He has an above-average arm, as well, that could tick up as he fills out. Machado is a defensive-oriented player and switch-hitter who shows feel for contact but will have to get significantly stronger to develop his offensive game. 

Isaac Prince, RHP, Dominican Republic: The Marlins signed Prince for $230,000. He’s 6-foot-1, 170 pounds at 17 and stands out for his control and pitchability. His fastball will reach 90 mph, he shows feel to spin his curveball and does a good job mixing and locating those pitches. 

Diego Martinez, C, Venezuela: Martinez signed with the Marlins for $200,000, but a torn meniscus in his knee will keep him out of games this season. Before the injury, Martinez had flashed promising power for a 17-year-old catcher. He’s 6-foot-1, 200 pounds with the strength and bat speed to drive the ball well from the left side of the plate while showing the intangibles that managers love to have in a young catcher. 

Edelson Canelon, RHP, Venezuela: Canelon is another Marlins pitcher whose stuff has improved since signing. He’s a bigger-bodied 6-foot-4 righthander who signed throwing 93 mph and is now up to 96 mph as a 17-year-old with improved strength and conditioning. A $200,000 signing, Canelon has shown feel for a slider that has developed into more of a sweeper, as well. When he’s throwing strikes, Canelon is difficult to square up, but corralling his stuff in the strike zone with more frequency will be key for his development. 

Santiago Linares, RHP, Venezuela: Linares has a strong build (6-foot-1, 190 pounds) for a 17-year-old righthander with a smooth, well-coordinated operation on the mound. Signed for $170,000, Linares doesn’t have huge physical projection, but it’s a good blend of present stuff and pitchability. It’s a starter look with feel for a three-pitch mix, working off a fastball up to 93 mph and showing the ability to manipulate both his curveball and changeup. 

Steven Herrera, SS, Dominican Republic: Herrera, signed for $125,000, offers tantalizing bat speed and power potential from the right side of the plate. He’s a 17-year-old whose swing can get big and is prone to expanding the strike zone, so it can be a feast-or-famine approach, but he can launch deep home runs already with the strength projection and explosiveness that could make him a dangerous hitter if he can reign in his selectivity. 

Sleeper Watch

The Marlins have a slew of exciting arms to watch this year in the DSL. Yet another one is Dominican righthander Pedro Montero, who could be a bargain for $35,000. Montero was previously eligible to sign in 2024 but was on the younger end of the class, so he’s still 17. He has been under the radar but might not stay that way for long, with his stuff already ticking up since signing.

A quick-twitch athlete with a wiry 6-foot-1 build, Montero came into the year with a fastball up to 94 mph and has since reached 97 without much effort to his operation and still has more physical upside to keep adding velocity. Everything he throws has good movement, including his sweeper and changeup that he shows feel to manipulate, and the early signs of pitchability have been promising, giving him a starter look if he can prove durable enough to handle the workload.

Luis Arana, a switch-hitting shortstop from Venezuela, signed for $30,000. His 5-foot-10 frame doesn’t jump out immediately or lend itself to big physical upside, but he has uncanny explosiveness to his game. He’s a ball of quick-twitch athleticism and a plus runner with well above-average arm strength.

Arana had trained as an outfielder but moved to shortstop before signing and should continue to develop at shortstop, where he shows the ability to make highlight-reel plays. Whether he stays there or goes to center field down the road is still to be determined, but he projects to play somewhere in the middle of the field. At the plate, Arana has shown promising contact skills from both sides of the plate, and while he’s not that big, he does have good bat speed to produce quality contact.