Bahamian two-way player highlights Miami Marlins’ 2023 international signing class
It was hard for Miami Marlins senior director of international operations Adrian Lorenzo not to gush about the team’s top acquisition from the 2023 international signing period, which opened on Sunday.
“This is just the kind of guy you can dream on,” Lorenzo said.
The guy he speaks of: 17-year-old Janero Miller, a two-way player out of the Bahamas.
Miller, who stands at 6-2 and is still growing, is both a switch-hitting outfielder and a left-handed pitcher with the potential to excel at both spots. Lorenzo said the plan for now is to allow Miller to play both roles as he begins his professional baseball career before deciding if he should transition to one position full-time.
“If I had to carve it up right now,” Lorenzo said. “I think it would probably be a 70-30 or 60-40 split leaning heavier toward the position-player side because there is real offensive upside. He defends exceptionally well for somebody as big as he is and runs exceptionally well for somebody as big as he is. I think we really want to find out if the bat’s going to play. I think it will.”
If it doesn’t, he has a pretty good arm to work with on the mound.
According to MLB Pipeline, which ranked Miller as the No. 16 prospect in this international signing cycle, Miller’s fastball sits in the 92-93 mph range and he also has a curveball, slider and changeup in his arsenal. The outlet said Miller “has a chance to be a middle-of-the-rotation type of hurler.”
Baseball America wrote that Miller has “generated buzz with his potential both as a pitcher and an outfielder. Some scouts liked his speed and defense in center field, though it seems like his future could be on the mound with his stuff from the left side. His athleticism translates well as a pitcher.”
Lorenzo simplified Miller’s potential into one overarching thought: “He just has a lot of really attractive things going for him. High upside and high projectability. This is one I’m very excited about.”
Miller, who will receive a $950,000 signing bonus, is one of 32 players the Marlins have agreed to terms with so far in the cycle. The club announced 29 of those signings on Sunday. Three Bahamian players — Miller, third baseman Breyias Dean and outfielder Daniel Gaitor — are formally signing in a ceremony in the Bahamas on Tuesday.
Overall, the Marlins’ class includes 19 players from the Dominican Republic, nine from Venezuela, three from the Bahamas and one from Japan.
Among some of the other signings:
▪ Right-handed pitcher Hiroshio Takahashi: He has one of the more interesting backstories of the group. The 16-year-old was born in Japan, raised in Venezuela with a Bolivian passport and signed in the Dominican Republic.
“He’s the kind of guy who popped right away after a few pitches from a fastball movement-quality standpoint,” Lorenzo said. “He also checks the additional scouting boxes — arm action, projectable, good delivery, repeatable delivery. ... I wouldn’t be surprised to see him be a pretty quick mover in terms of the [Dominican Summer League] just because I think there’s a high degree of flexibility and an effectiveness and efficiency in his pitches.”
▪ Shortstop Fabian Lopez out of the Dominican Republic: “This is a true shortstop profile,” Lorenzo said. “I think he’s one of the better defenders in this class, period. There’s not many guys that you can say ‘this is a slam dunk shortstop’ with conviction, and he’s one of those guys for me. Just the grace and fluidity with which he does everything, the natural feel for the defensive side of the ball, the internal clock and the feet, the fluidity of the arm strength. ... And then you flip it over to the offensive side, and it’s a really interesting offensive profile, too. It’s a true switch-hit balanced approach with sneaky pop.”
▪ Outfielder Jancory De La Cruz out of the Dominican Republic: “An exceptional athlete with top-of-the-scale raw power,” Lorezno said, adding that the left-handed hitter has the potential to remain in center field.
▪ Outfielder Andres Valor out of Venezuela: “This is a guy who is a stronger type, kind of like an Avisail Garcia body type,” Lorenzo said of the right-handed hitter. “But this guy is a 6-2, 6-3 runner at that size with strength and physicality.”
▪ Adrian Bello out of Venezuela: The switch hitter was showcased as a catcher, but Lorenzo said Bello is morphing into an “all-positions type of player.”
“We’re going to have to make a decision on where we want to go with him positionally,” Lorenzo said, “but the fact that he has the capability to do all of these things that look right at all of those positions is really intriguing.”
▪ As for pitchers, Lorenzo noted three from the Dominican Republic in righty Manuel Genao as well as lefties Keyner Benitez and Luis Porfirio.
“These are all guys that we are very, very high on,” Lorenzo said, “for both the scouting purposes as well as the way we feel their pitches are going to project into professional baseball.”
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