Marlins go college heavy to wrap up MLB Draft. Next up: Getting the class signed
Heading into the 2021 MLB Draft, Miami Marlins director of amateur scouting DJ Svihlik referred to himself as essentially a portfolio manager.
With 21 picks over three days in the middle of July, his goal was simple: Acquire as many good players as possible to put the organization in the best position to succeed.
Shortly after the draft concluded on Tuesday, Svihlik felt confident about the group of players the Marlins selected over the past three days.
The Marlins’ draft class, in summary:
▪ 11 position players (four shortstops, three outfielders, two catchers, one third baseman, one first baseman) and 10 pitchers (six right-handers, four left-handers).
▪ 17 four-year college players (including all 10 of their pitchers), three high school players (all within their first four picks) and one junior college player.
“We’re really excited about our class,” Svihlik said about two hours after leaving the war room for the final time this year. “You come in really prepared. It gives you the opportunity to take the best players and execute strategy. It allows you to audible off when things don’t quite go your way. But all in all, I thought this was a really successful draft. I feel really confident, real comfortable with the players we took and excited about a lot of the different players we brought in the organization.”
Day 3 recap
The Marlins took exclusively college players with their final 10 selections — nine players from four-year universities and one from the junior college ranks.
Six of the first seven selections were pitchers — UCLA righty Jesse Bergin in the 11th round, Washington State righty Brandon White in the 12th, Texas A&M lefty Chandler Jozwiak in the 13th, Kentucky righty Holt Jones in the 14th, Connecticut lefty Caleb Wurster in the 15th and Arizona State lefty Justin Fall in the 17th.
They took a pair of University of Texas infielders as well in 16th-round pick Ivan Melendez (a slugger who primarily played as the Longhorns’ designated hitter his lone season with the team in 2021) and 20th-round pick Zach Zubia (a first baseman).
North Dakota State shortstop Bennett Hostetler, an 18th-round pick, and 19th-round selection Noah Williamson, an outfielder out of Everett Community College in Washington, round out Miami’s Day 3 picks.
The final 10 picks join the 11 players the Marlins drafted over the first two days: Wake Forest (North Carolina) High shortstop Kahlil Watson; Williamsville East (New York) High catcher Joe Mack, Boston College shortstop Cody Morissette; Pensacola Catholic High shortstop Jordan McCants; Mississippi State outfielder Tanner Allen; South Carolina outfielder Brady Allen; Alabama catcher Sam Praytor; Indiana right-handed pitcher Gabe Bierman; Texas Tech left-handed pitcher Patrick Monteverde; Wright State University right-handed pitcher Jake Schrand; and Florida State right-handed pitcher Hunter Perdue.
What’s next?
Now that the draft is complete, the Marlins front office turns its priority over to signing the 21 draft picks. The deadline to do so is Aug. 1.
“Once you get the horses in the barn, you’ve got to close the door,” Svihlik said. “I think we’ve done a really good job with our staff building relationships with players. You try to lay the groundwork going into the draft to understand what the signability for all the players are. Obviously, some guys take a little bit longer than others, and iy happens every year for every team ... but because of the groundwork, I’m pretty confident that it’s been laid, and I’m confident that everything should get tied up in the next couple weeks.”
The Marlins have a bonus pool of $9,949,800, the 11th-largest pool this draft and a little more than $1 million above the league average of $8,858,980.
Each team’s bonus pool is determined by the slot values of each pick in the first 10 rounds of the draft. For example, the Marlins’ No. 16 overall pick comes with a slot value of $3,745,500. That’s the signing bonus value MLB gives to a player taken with that pick. Teams are allowed to give a player a signing bonus larger or smaller than the slot value, but the team can’t spend more than 5 percent above its bonus pool — so, for the Marlins, $10,447,290 in total — or else they will lose future draft picks. Also, if a player in the top-10 rounds does not sign, his pick’s value is subtracted from the team’s bonus pool total.
Teams are able to spend up to $125,000 on draft picks in the 11th through 20th rounds without it counting toward their bonus allotment. However, any money above $125,000 for those selections comes out of the team’s bonus allotment.
Marlins general manager Kim Ng said she anticipates the middle and bottom of the draft class to sign “relatively quickly.”
“But,” Ng said, “I think, as with most clubs, the top of the board is going to be a little bit or will take more time.”
The biggest hurdle will likely come with Watson, the Marlins’ first-round pick who dropped to Miami at No. 16 despite being a consensus top-seven prospect in the draft.
Despite that, Ng said she is optimistic first-round pick Kahlil Watson will sign.
”I assume it will take some time,” Ng said, “but hopefully we’ll get it done.”
This story was originally published July 13, 2021 at 5:38 PM.
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