The Arizona Fall League is back. What to know about the 8 Marlins prospects participating
The Arizona Fall League is back.
After not taking place in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the six-week prospect showcase begins Wednesday and features a slew of baseball’s up-and-coming talent.
The Arizona Fall consists of six teams, each of which includes prospects from multiple MLB teams.
Eight Marlins prospects will play for the Mesa Solar Sox, a team that will also feature prospects from the Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs and Baltimore Orioles.
Since each team is limited to seven or eight prospects, Marlins general manager Kim Ng said it took the front office “weeks” to decide which prospects would go out west.
“It’s deciding who’s got innings left in them — that’s a big part of this — and who’s ready for it,” Ng said. “A lot of different factors go into it. It generally takes a long time, but we hash through it. There have been numerous conversations about who the right guys were to go.
Outfielder JJ Bleday, the No. 5 overall prospect in Miami’s system and the No. 71 overall prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline, highlights the Marlins’ group.
And the Marlins are hoping for a good performance from him in Arizona after coming off a disappointing year with Double A Pensacola. Bleday, Miami’s first-round pick in 2019, posted a .212 batting average with 12 home runs, 54 RBI and a .695 OPS in 110 games for the Blue Wahoos.
He closed on a mini high note with a .311 batting average and .826 OPS in 13 games, but it’s worth noting had a batting average below .235 every other month of the season and only had one full month with an OPS above .800 (.812 in July primarily because he walked 20 times).
The Marlins have two other prospects among the top 30 in their system heading to the fall league in outfielder Kameron Misner and right-handed pitcher Evan Fitterer.
Misner, Miami’s No. 22 overall prospect, was a revelation at the plate during the final two months of the season. The lefty hitter had a .326 batting average combined between August and September with 13 doubles, 4 home runs, 27 RBI and 24 runs scored in that span while receiving a promotion from Class A Advanced Beloit (Wisconsin) to Double A Pensacola in the middle of it. Add that newfound success to his ability to be an above-average defender at all three outfield spots, a strong fall league could help Misner with his ascension through the Marlins’ system.
Catcher Will Banfield and first baseman Troy Johnston round out the position players.
Banfield was fine defensively but once again struggled at the plate, hitting .180 with a .567 OPS in Beloit. He also hasn’t played in a game since Aug. 10.
Johnston, Miami’s 17th-round pick in 2019, had a breakout season in the lower minors, hitting .300 between Jupiter and Beloit with 15 home runs, 85 RBI and an .867 OPS.
Fitterer, Miami’s 24th-ranked prospect, is the only top prospect among Marlins pitchers in Arizona this fall. He was their fifth-round pick in 2019, but a back injury limited him to just 30 1/3 innings this minor-league season. Playing in the fall league will help him make up some of the innings he lost this year while sidelined. Fitterer’s fastball sits around 91-93 mph but touches 95 at times, and his curveball is his best secondary pitch. He also has a slider and changeup in his arsenal.
Josh Simpson, Jefry Yan and Justin Evans are the other three Marlins pitchers heading to Arizona.
Simpson, Miami’s 32nd-round pick in 2019, is a 6-2 lefty reliever; spent the year in Beloit. He made 18 appearances there, pitching to a 5.61 ERA with 58 strikeouts against 19 walks in 43 1/3 innings.
Yan signed with the Marlins as a minor-league free agent in late April. He split time between Jupiter and Double A Pensacola, throwing 31 innings over 21 total appearances and producing 51 strikeouts against 25 walks and a .205 batting average against. It’s worth noting that his numbers in Double A, albeit in a small sample size, were solid: A 1.93 ERA and a .167 batting average against in 14 innings.
Evans, Miami’s 19th-round pick in 2018, made his pro ball debut this season and made 34 appearances across three levels.
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