Marlins GM Kim Ng talks plan for Lewin Diaz, Cabrera’s ‘tremendous arsenal’ and more
There’s about a month left in the 2021 MLB season, and Miami Marlins general manager Kim Ng still has a lot to see in this short amount of time.
The Marlins are still getting a look at prospects they envision as part of their future, and these final 27 games of the season will be more of the same.
Here are a few updates and thoughts from Ng regarding some of those top players, as relayed to the Miami Herald and MLB.com earlier this week.
▪ On the plan with first baseman prospect Lewin Diaz, whose path to everyday at-bats at the MLB level is blocked by Jesus Aguilar: “I think that’s always something that we’re going to have to balance. I hope to see him later this month. On September 1, we just felt like when you take the number of games that are left, it adds up to almost 100 at-bats. Again, we’re trying to do the best thing for the player. You know, we’ll probably get to a point here where we feel that we can get him back.”
Diaz, the Marlins’ No. 11 overall prospect, is hitting .255 with 20 home runs and 51 RBI for Triple A Jacksonville this year.
Also of note: Diaz has begun getting sporadic reps in left field with Triple A.
Ng said “the more versatility any player can have, the better off he’s going to be in his career and the better off we will be as a team” but also mentioned there’s “not necessarily any number of at-bats or number of games we’re going to put him out in the outfield. The plan was just let’s see.”
▪ On if she anticipated rookie outfielder Bryan De La Cruz’s impressive first month at the MLB level (.330 batting average with two home runs, 10 RBI and six runs scored in 31 games): “No, I mean I think to this level, not really. It’s great to see him be up here and thriving. He’s fit right in and I think you know we’ve purposely put them in center field to get a look at him out there and know that he can play all three outfield spots well. I think that was a nice check mark for him.”
The Marlins acquired De La Cruz from the Houston Astros in the Yimi Garcia trade.
▪ On Edward Cabrera’s first two MLB starts (5.23 ERA with four strikeouts, three walks, three home runs and five double plays in 10 1/3 innings): “In terms of what he brings to the table, it’s a tremendous arsenal. The fastball is 97-98, great changeup, great slider. Obviously he’s a rookie. He’s 23 years old. We saw that the other day. His first outing was great. We couldn’t have been written the script any better than that. But clearly just based on his stuff, he’s special.”
▪ On Jake Eder undergoing Tommy John surgery, which will sideline him for the 2022 season: “He opened a lot of people’s eyes across the industry. I think we as a group as the Marlins knew that he was a pretty interesting player and I think he proved that on a fairly consistent basis this year. Again, it really opened up the eyes of a lot of people in the industry. So disappointed for him that this happened, but I think in terms of the timing, we just wanted to make sure that we did it in a way that we could get him out there as soon as possible.”
Eder, the Marlins’ fourth-round pick in the 2020 MLB Draft out of Vanderbilt, posted a 1.77 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 71 1/3 innings through 15 starts for the Double A Pensacola Blue Wahoos. He was one of two Marlins prospects named to MLB’s Futures Game, a showcase of top prospects during the All-Star Game weekend, along with 2020 first-round pick Max Meyer.
His success vaulted him up to being the sixth-ranked prospect in Miami’s system and the No. 81 overall prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline.
This story was originally published September 4, 2021 at 11:04 AM.
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