Miami Marlins

Track Record: Fulton was the second of six pitchers Miami picked in the five-round 2020 draft. The selection was made with an eye toward upside considering Fulton was recovering from the Tommy John surgery he’d had during his senior season of high school. With no minor league season because of the pandemic, Fulton got on the mound at instructional league, then made his official debut in 2021 at Low-A Jupiter.
Scouting Report: Fulton works primarily with a three-pitch mix of a four-seam fastball, curveball and changeup. The first two offerings were his mainstays as an amateur, while the changeup was a work in progress all year long. The fastball averaged around 93 mph and touched as high as 96 and was thrown with good angle. His curveball showed 1-to-7 break in the mid 70s and flashed solid-average depth and bite down in the zone. The changeup will be the key to whether Fulton remains a starter. Fulton used Rapsodo and Edgertronic cameras to help find a grip that got him an ideal combination of movement and velocity separation from his fastball. Fulton is also massive in stature, and scouts were concerned about the lack of athleticism they saw in his movements and wondered if they would lower his ultimate ceiling as a result.
The Future: Fulton and Eury Perez moved in tandem from Low-A to High-A in 2021, and both are likely to return to the level to begin 2022. Fulton has a ceiling of a back-end starter and a floor of a bullpen arm.

Track Record: The Marlins’ early picks in the 2021 draft represented something of a coup. First, they had shortstop Kahlil Watson, whom BA ranked as the No. 6 prospect in the class, fall into their laps with the 16th pick. Then, in the supplemental round, with pick 31, they landed Mack, the No. 22 player in the class based on his blend of skills on both sides of the ball. He signed for $2.5 million to keep him away from a commitment to Clemson.
Scouting Report: Mack burnished his stock on the summer showcase circuit, which was all the more impressive after his high school season was wiped out by the pandemic. The Marlins loved Mack’s hittability and think it could be unlocked further by becoming more aggressive on pitches he can drive. He has plenty of raw power, too, which was on display at the team’s instructional league program in Miami, where Mack drove a ball into the third deck of the big league stadium. Behind the plate, Mack shows the athleticism that helped him play both basketball and volleyball as a high schooler. He’s got a strong throwing arm as well, which scouts project to be plus as he moves through the system. He’s a below-average runner, which is to be expected for a catcher.
The Future: Mack got his feet wet as a pro in the Florida Complex League, where he walked nearly as often as he struck out. He’ll likely make the jump to full-season ball in 2022 at Low-A Jupiter.

Track Record: The cousin of Red Sox star third baseman Rafael Devers, Jose was dealt from the Yankees to the Marlins as part of the package that brought Giancarlo Stanton to New York. He’s shown plenty of potential in his time with his new club, but hasn’t been able to stay on the field consistently. Devers made his big league debut on April 24, but a shoulder injury limited him to just 80 at-bats all season between the majors and minors, and he’s played just 80 games combined between the 2019 and 2021 seasons.
Scouting Report: Devers has the skill set of a player who can hit at the top or bottom of the order while causing havoc on the basepaths. He makes plenty of contact—his career strikeout rate is just 14.1%—and is working to improve his swing decisions. As those improve, he’ll learn to unleash his swing on pitches he can slash into the alleyways before letting his plus speed take over. He also needs to continue to add strength in order to better withstand the rigors of a long season. He’s a surefire shortstop going forward, with potentially plus defense that will help make up for a throwing arm that is just average.
The Future: Devers missed most of the season with an impingement in his right shoulder but should be ready for spring training. If he can return to health, he has table setter skills and the chops to stick up the middle.

Track Record: Garrett was the Marlins’ first-round pick in 2016, then had Tommy John surgery midway through his 2017 season. He missed all of 2018 rehabbing before finally getting a full season’s worth of innings in 2019 between High-A and Double-A. He was at the Marlins’ alternate training site in 2020 and made his big league debut that September. In 2021, Garrett bounced back and forth between Triple-A and Miami.
Scouting Report: Garrett’s stuff has diminished somewhat over the years. He still works with a four-pitch repertoire fronted by a low-90s fastball and buttressed primarily with a pair of breaking balls. His curveball sits in the mid 70s while his slider, which is the more frequently thrown of the two pitches, has an average velocity around 84 mph. The slider also shows above-average spin rate as well as other analytical characteristics that make it the superior breaking ball. Garrett’s changeup sits in the mid 80s and might be more effective with a touch more separation from his fastball.
The Future: If Garrett is to stick in the big leagues, he’ll have to improve his control and command. He walked 5.3 hitters per nine innings in his time with the Marlins, and scouts think he might be better suited as a left-on-left reliever who relies heavily on his breaking pitches.

Track Record: Nunez was one of the best infield defenders available in the 2019 draft class, and the Marlins were intrigued enough by his upside to spend $2.2 million to buy him out of his Clemson commitment. His first season as a pro was mostly spent in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, and he was invited to Miami’s alternate training site in 2020. Injuries limited Nunez to just 52 games in 2021.
Scouting Report: Nunez is one of the best defensive shortstops in the minor leagues, with true 80-grade potential. His instincts are so sharp, scouts say, that it appears he is moving toward the ball before it is hit. He has the range to track down balls to his right and left and will go all-out to get fly balls even if it means sacrificing his body. His arm is strong enough to make accurate throws from different angles at any spot on the diamond. Nunez’s bat lags well behind his glove. His average exit velocity in 2021 was roughly 84 mph and he has just nine extra-base hits—and zero home runs—in 454 plate appearances. His saving graces on offense are a keen knowledge of the strike zone and the kind of blazing speed to have swiped 61 bases in 103 games over his career.
The Future: With middle infielders Kahlil Watson, Ian Lewis and Jose Salas coming behind him, Nunez will likely move to High-A Beloit in 2022. He has the upside of a rock-solid defensive shortstop who hits toward the bottom of a lineup.

Track Record: After a knee injury kept him from being drafted out of high school, McCambley put together three strong collegiate seasons to earn the Marlins’ third-round selection in 2020. He was part of a group of six pitchers the Marlins assembled in the shortened 2020 draft.
Scouting Report: McCambley attacks hitters with a three-pitch mix of four-seam fastball, curveball and changeup. The fastball sits in the low 90s, touches up to 96 mph and is accentuated by a near-elite spin rate of roughly 2,700 revolutions per minute and glove-side life. His curveball is an 11-to-5 breaker in the low 80s with excellent spin and horizontal break. The pitch can get a bit out of whack when he throws it too hard. McCambley’s changeup sits in the mid 80s and shows flashes of action but oftentimes comes in too firm. McCambley’s arsenal plays down somewhat by a lack of command—but not control; he put together a strikeout-to-walk rate of better than 4.5 to 1. The issue stems from an inability to repeat his delivery, which is up tempo and can lack rhythm, particularly when he’s forced to pitch from the stretch.
The Future: McCambley reached Double-A Pensacola by the end of the season and should return there to begin 2022. If he can remedy his command problems, he has a chance to fit toward the back of a rotation. If not, he fits in middle relief.

Track Record: Morissette was snapped up by Miami in the second round and signed for $1,403,200. Morissette dealt with a hand injury at multiple points, which made his .895 OPS for Boston College more impressive. He made it to Low-A Jupiter in his pro debut.
Scouting Report: Morissette’s bat will be his calling card as a pro. He did not perform well in his first foray at the next level, and he and the team’s player development staff went to work at instructional league to make Morissette’s swing more connected and compact while making him less vulnerable to pitches at the top of the strike zone. The early results helped him show more power to the pull side while shooting line drives the other way as well. Defensively, the Marlins are going to move Morissette around the diamond in an effort to find the most comfortable spot. He has a strong arm but needs to correct a funky, arrhythmic stroke. He’s an average runner with the instincts to push for extra bases.
The Future: The Marlins hope the work Morissette did at instructional league will lead to better results in 2022, when he’ll likely advance to High-A Beloit. He projects as a hit-over-power utility infielder.

Track Record: Though he was eligible to sign in 2019, Cappe chose to wait until teams’ bonus pools reset in order to maximize his value. Ultimately, Cappe inked with Miami for roughly $3 million and spent his first pro season in the Dominican Summer League.
Scouting Report: As an amateur, Cappe drew raves for his projectable body, quick feet and light actions at shortstop. He has a quick transfer and a plus throwing arm as well. Those factors will likely lead to him sticking at shortstop in the long term. His long levers might lead to holes in his swing, but he showed strong strike zone knowledge in his first pro test (a strikeout rate of just 16.2%), and internal evaluators praised his barrel accuracy. He’s gained good weight over the past year but still has a long way to go to fully grow into his body. His average exit velocity in his first pro season was just shy of 82 mph, so adding strength will be a focal point of his early-career development. Cappe is an above-average runner now but could lose a step or two as he matures and adds the needed muscle.
The Future: Cappe is part of a glut of talented middle-infield prospects that includes Top 10 talents Kahlil Watson, Jose Salas and Ian Lewis. Cappe will likely move to Low-A Jupiter in 2022.

Track Record: McCants was Miami’s fourth pick in 2021 and ranked as the No. 88 prospect in the class. He signed for $800,000 and started in the Florida Complex League.
Scouting Report: McCants is blessed with skills of a table-setter, including potentially 70-grade speed. The Marlins acknowledge that McCants is unlikely to stick at shortstop because of fringe-average arm strength, but he should wind up at either second base or center field for the long term. In the batter’s box, the Marlins see plenty of potential because of McCants’ ability to get the barrel to the ball. There’s a long way to go in terms of McCants learning how his body works and getting himself in the best positions to make the most of his abilities, but Miami is willing to invest the time.
The Future: There was a bit of concern with McCants’ age, given that he was already 19 on draft day, but he’s shown already that he’s not done growing and has added 15 pounds of good weight to his frame. He’ll join a cavalcade of young middle-diamond prospects clustered in Miami’s lower levels next season.

Track Record: The road to the big leagues hasn’t been easy for Holloway, who had Tommy John surgery in 2017 and didn’t make it past High-A until his major league debut, which came on July 26, 2020, as the Marlins churned through arms during the tumultuous pandemic season. He dealt with a groin injury in 2021, which he split mostly between Triple-A and the big leagues.
Scouting Report: Although he is primarily a relief prospect at this point, Holloway works with a five-pitch mix fronted by four- and two-seam fastballs which each sat at roughly 95 mph. He backs the fastballs chiefly with a hard, high-80s slider which got swings and misses at a rate of nearly 38%, as well as a low-80s curveball which plays up due to its excellent depth. Holloway rounds out his repertoire with a low-90s changeup which lags behind both of his breaking balls.
The Future: Holloway started four games this season, but his injury history makes it unlikely he re-emerges from the bullpen on a full-time basis. More likely his role is as a power arm in the middle innings.

Track Record: Fortes was the Marlins’ fourth-round pick in 2018 and had largely gone unsung in the system until 2021, when he showed enough on both sides of the ball to earn his first big league callup.
Scouting Report: Fortes has raised his profile in an organization largely bereft of catching talent at the upper levels. His bat speed is on par with some of the system’s higher-profile prospects, and he’s long had the bat-to-ball skills to keep his strikeout totals low. He’d also had a reputation as a player who could marry that bat speed, discipline and barrel malleability, and in 2021 those skills came together for a peek at his potential. Fortes drew raves for the way he worked with the system’s high-end pitching prospects. He also showed improvements in the way he received and blocked, and threw out 27% of potential basestealers during his time in the minor leagues. He’s a surprising athlete for a catcher and an average runner.
The Future: The catcher position is muddled in Miami behind Jacob Stallings, so Fortes should get plenty of chances to build on his outburst toward the end of the 2021 season. He has the ceiling of a backup catcher who develops strong rapports with his pitching staffs.

Track Record: A second-round pick of the Mariners in 2015, Neidert was traded to Miami in the deal that sent Dee Strange-Gordon to Seattle. He missed most of the 2019 season after having surgery to repair a torn meniscus, then made his big league debut in the truncated 2020 season. He spent 2021 shuttling back and forth between Triple-A and the big leagues.
Scouting Report: Neidert has a full four-pitch complement but works most frequently with a four-seam fastball that averaged 93 mph in the minor leagues but touched as high as 97 and a mid-80s slider with sharp downward break at its best. His changeup sat around 84 mph in the minor leagues and showed a solid separation from his fastball of roughly nine mph. Neidert also has a seldom-used curveball, thrown in the low 80s. The solid control he showed in the minor leagues evaporated in the big leagues, where he walked 23 hitters in 35.2 innings. Neidert’s delivery is stiff and rigid, with a stabbing action in the back which does not typically lend itself to precision around the strike zone.
The Future: Neidert’s likely role is the one he played in 2021: a starter who fits at the back of a rotation for a second-division club. If he improves his command and control, he could have a touch more ceiling.

Track Record: The Marlins spread around their bonus pool money for a high-volume international class in the 2021-22 signing period that opened on Jan. 15, 2022. The most exciting player from that group is Peguero, who signed out of the Dominican Republic for $575,000.
Scouting Report: Peguero has a promising foundation of athleticism, power and explosiveness, with the ability to translate that power in game situations. His quick-twitch actions are evident at the plate, where he takes a simple swing with fast bat speed to generate impressive raw power for his age. Against live pitching, he performed well as an amateur with consistent contact. He’s around an average runner with the defensive instincts and actions to start his career in center field, though he most likely will end up in right field. Peguero has the power for a corner and his throwing grades out at least plus with a chance for a 70 arm as he gets stronger.
The Future: Peguero is still years away from being ready, but the mix of athleticism, tools and hitting ability make him one of the Marlins’ top prospects to watch in 2022 in the Dominican Summer League.

Track Record: Henry was the Brewers’ sixth-round pick in 2016 and reached High-A in 2019. He was dealt from Milwaukee to Miami in the summer of 2021 for John Curtiss. He made his big league debut on Sept. 17.
Scouting Report: For one scintillating turn in big league spring training, Henry looked like the Brewers’ catcher of the future. He’s largely failed to hit since then, and is now viewed as more of a glove-first backup. He still hit the ball fairly hard in the minor leagues and doesn’t strike out an exorbitant amount, but he doesn’t get the ball in the air enough to turn his positive traits into assets. He had four passed balls in 511 innings in the minor leagues and caught runners at a 36% clip as well, seemingly giving him the chops needed to stick in the big leagues.
The Future: Scouts are not bullish on Henry’s bat, but his defensive prowess gives him a chance to be the kind of glove-first catcher who carves out a career as a backup and hits toward the bottom of a lineup.

Track Record: Encarnacion vaulted up prospect boards in 2019 with a big year, then was cost a shot at an encore by the pandemic. The 2021 season, too, didn’t go as planned. Hand and leg injuries limited Encarnacion to just 65 games, spent mostly at Double-A Pensacola.
Scouting Report: Extremely tall players are always likely to have plenty of holes pitchers can exploit, and Encarnacion is no different. When he was on the field, he had trouble getting to his massive raw power because of extreme swing-and-miss issues that led to a 38.3% strikeout rate. As a player with big power at the expense of hittability, his skill set is not unlike that of fellow Marlins prospects Griffin Conine and Peyton Burdick. Encarnacion plays surprisingly good defense for a player his size, and his throwing arm is the best in the organization. He’s an average runner who would fit just fine in right field, but the Marlins also exposed him to first base a bit this season.
The Future: Encarnacion is likely headed back to Double-A Pensacola to begin next season, when he’ll work on unlocking the raw power he’s shown in the past. He fits best as a powerful backup outfielder.

Track Record: When Mesa Jr. and his brother, Victor Victor Mesa, signed with the Marlins in 2019, Victor Victor was viewed as the prize. As their careers have played out, Mesa Jr., who got a $1 million bonus, has performed better. Being the younger of the brothers, Mesa Jr. spent his official first full year as a pro exclusively at Low-A Jupiter.
Scouting Report: Mesa Jr. showed hints of his potential in 2021, but the Marlins believe there’s plenty more to come if he can tighten up his swing mechanics. Outside scouts noticed a significant bat tip, and internal evaluators worked with Mesa Jr. to correct the way he stepped in the bucket and alter the way he loads his hands. Before the changes, Mesa Jr.’s mechanics cost him balance and minimized the barrel accuracy he’s displayed in games. His average exit velocity of roughly 89 mph was among the best in the organization. On defense, scouts see a player who can still fit in center field despite speed that has diminished slightly as he’s gotten older and stronger. He got exposure to both outfield corners in 2021 as well, and his above-average arm strength would fit well in right field.
The Future: Mesa Jr. will move up to High-A Beloit in 2022, when he’ll try to build on the improvements he’s made since joining the Marlins. He has a ceiling of a second-division regular.

Track Record: Mokma was set to go to Michigan State before the Marlins signed him for $557,000. He got his feet wet in the Gulf Coast League in 2019 before spending all of 2021 with Low-A Jupiter.
Scouting Report: Mokma was a projectable arm coming out of the draft, and there’s still a considerable amount of rawness to his game. He works with a full four-pitch mix fronted by a low-90s fastball that peaked at 94 this past season. Scouts who saw Mokma believe that he should add more velocity as he continues to get stronger, and also noted that his heater plays well when thrown up in the zone. His best offspeed pitch in scouts’ eyes is his changeup, which is also the least frequently thrown of his secondary pitches. The changeup is a mid-80s offering which got swings and misses roughly a quarter of the time it was thrown. Scouts preferred his mid-70s curveball to his low-80s slider, seeing the former as potentially average and the latter as more of a fringy offering.
The Future: Given his Michigan roots, Mokma will likely be just fine in the early-season climate he could face in 2022 at High-A Beloit. He has a ceiling in the back of a rotation.

Track Record: Conine was drafted by Toronto in 2018, then traded to Miami in 2020. Conine is best known for his power, and he spent all summer battling with Royals prospect M.J. Melendez for the minor league home run lead.
Scouting Report: Obviously, Conine has a ton of power. His raw juice grades as nearly double-plus, and his maximum exit velocity of 116 mph was the second-highest in the organization. The next step will be to add some hittability to that immense power. Marlins player development staff acknowledge that Conine has holes he needs to close at the top of the strike zone and against offspeed pitches away so he can be more than a player who pulverizes fastballs. Defensively, he needs to improve his routes, jumps and angles to the ball and also needs to do better when it comes to setting his feet before throwing to bases. He’s a below-average runner.
The Future: Conine is likely to return to Double-A Pensacola to continue working on becoming a more complete hitter while also sharpening his outfield defense. His power is alluring, but there’s a long way to go before it will play at the highest level.

Track Record: Venezuela has been the go-to destination for catching prospects in recent years, and the Marlins snapped up one of the best available in the most recent crop when they signed Hernandez once the pandemic-delayed international period opened on Jan. 15, 2021. Hernandez spent his debut season in the DSL, where he showed impressive command of the strike zone.
Scouting Report: As an amateur, Hernandez showed off quick feet, plus arm strength that produced sub-2.0 second pop times and the quick footwork that should help keep him behind the plate in the long run. In the DSL and again at the Marlins’ postseason instructional camp at their big league stadium, Hernandez showed a strong sense of plate discipline. During the regular season, that skill allowed him to have nearly as many walks (31) as strikeouts (32). As an amateur he showed doubles power that was expected to amplify as he matured, as well as the strong hand-eye coordination to translate into bat-to-ball skills. Hernandez is also bilingual and has already shown a strong baseball aptitude for a player his age.
The Future: After debuting in the DSL, Hernandez should move stateside in 2022, when he’ll begin to show exactly what kind of ceiling he has going forth.

Track Record: Gerardo wasn’t one of the bigger bonus players for the Marlins when they signed him out of the Dominican Republic after the 2021-22 international signing period opened on Jan. 15, 2022, yet he has quickly emerged as one of the most promising signings from that group.
Scouting Report: At 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, Gerardo has a strong but lean, lively frame with a lot of flexibility and quick-twitch athleticism that stands out quickly. His athleticism and mobility is evident in the way he swings and his ability to whip the barrel through the zone to drive the ball well for his age with a chance to develop above-average power given the physical projection remaining. Gerardo is a tick above-average runner who has a chance to stay in center field, though some scouts think he might ultimately outgrow it and end up in right field. His best tool is an outstanding arm that has been clocked up to 102 mph from the outfield, drawing 80 grades from some scouts and giving him a fallback option as a pitcher.
The Future: The early returns on Gerardo’s ability to hit in games have been encouraging, but he has yet to get his first official at-bats in pro ball. That will come this year in the Dominican Summer League.