After up-and-down 2023, Marlins prospect Jacob Berry wants to ‘get back to my roots’
Playing in the Arizona Fall League is doubling as a homecoming for Miami Marlins prospect Jacob Berry.
The 22-year-old and sixth overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft was born and raised in Arizona and even went to Fall League games when he was in high school, watching the likes of Valdimir Guerrero Jr. take part in the monthlong postseason league for top MLB prospects.
“I’m just excited to play more baseball,” said Berry, a switch-hitting infielder.
This comes after an up-and-down first full season in the minor leagues. Berry is ranked as Miami’s No. 4 overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline and the top position player in the Marlins’ system.
Expectations are high for Berry after the Marlins’ other three first-round position-player picks under this ownership flamed out and were ultimately traded — 2018’s Connor Scott to the Pirates in the Jacob Stallings trade, 2019’s JJ Bleday to the Athletics in the A.J. Puk trade and 2021’s Kahlil Watson to the Guardians in the Josh Bell trade.
Berry admits that this year didn’t go as planned despite making it to Double A Pensacola by season’s end, but he’s hopeful that his strong finish with the Blue Wahoos and a good showing during the Arizona Fall League will help jump-start his 2024 season.
“I didn’t have the year I wanted,” Berry said, “and I think out here I’m just trying to kind of get back to my roots.”
Those roots included having an advanced, patient approach at the plate and the ability to spray the ball to all fields.
He began showing some signs of success once he got to Pensacola albeit in a small sample size.
After hitting just .227 with a .647 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in 79 games with the High A Beloit Sky Carp, Berry’s stats improved to a .248 average and .743 OPS in 28 games with Pensacola before missing the final month of the season with an injury.
Berry hit five home runs in those 28 games in Double A, one more than he did in Beloit despite 51 more games played, and had 22 RBI and 22 runs scored (compared to 37 RBI and 28 runs scored in Beloit with almost two-and-a-half times the amount of games played).
Berry never went more than two games without a hit in Pensacola.
“The first couple of months [in Beloit] were a little bit eye opening, to say the least.” Berry said. “I learned a lot about myself, and I think that’s something that’s going to help me in the future. To be honest with you, I think when I got to Pensacola, it was just just trying to be myself, trying to do the same thing day in and day out. I didn’t really let things affect me as much as they did in the first half and it just allowed myself to play baseball at the level that I know. It really helped me when I got to Double A.”
Through games played Monday, Berry has a .281 average (16 for 57) with four doubles, two home runs and 12 runs scored in the Arizona Fall League. His .805 OPS and .456 slugging are both 26th among 67 qualified hitters.
Defensively, Berry has started at third base in all 14 games he played. The Marlins have also experimented with him playing at first base this season.
“I’m just trying to learn and grasp as much information as possible,” Berry said. “I think I gradually got better as the year went along. Obviously some bumps in the road and I’ll continue to have those, but I’m just trying to learn with every opportunity.”
This story was originally published October 31, 2023 at 12:55 PM.
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