How Marlins’ top catcher prospects are faring, with feedback from team executives
Part 4 of a 4-part series
Eight Marlins trades during the past three months have infused the organization with sorely needed young talent. Over the past week, we’ve been looking at where the Marlins’ top prospects stand, with feedback from two team executives.
In Part 4 today, we examine the Marlins’ top prospects at catcher, a position that has been an organizational weakness for five years but might now be a strength:
▪ Agustin Ramirez, acquired from the Yankees with infielders Jared Serna and Abrahan Ramirez in exchange for Jazz Chisholm Jr.:
Some view Ramirez as one of the best catching prospects in baseball; the Marlins hope he solves a perpetual problem for the organization since J.T. Realmuto was dealt to Philadelphia in 2019.
“The bat for Agustin is great, with his K rate and walk rate,” said Rachel Balkovec, the Marlins’ director of player development. “Great zone discipline, which he worked really hard at.”
And there’s this: “At Double A, he was hitting 23 percent of balls over 105 mph in 250 plate appearances,” Balkovec said. “That power is pretty special. The combination of strikeout rate and power is pretty special. He can grow behind the plate. It was rough in rookie ball; to see the progression behind the plate gives me confidence.”
Since the trade, he’s hitting .239 in 19 games at Triple A Jacksonville, with a .333 on-base percentage, two homers and 10 RBI.
For the season, he’s hitting .264 with 22 homers and 79 RBI for three teams in 106 games; most of the power and run production came at Double A Somerset in the Yankees system.
“It’s impressive how he impacts the ball,” Marlins director of minor-league operations Hector Crespo said. “You could see 15 plus homers” per year in the big leagues.
For his career, he has thrown out 21 percent of base-stealers (88 of 414).
“On the receiving end, he does well,” Balkovec said. “His work ethic and ability to grow and mindset is going to get him there.”
Ramirez, 23, who was ranked by Baseball America as the Yankees’ No. 3 prospect, “might be like a generational player,” Yankees Double A hitting coach Kevin Martir told The New York Daily News earlier this year. “Not many guys at his age can make contact as much as he does and also hit the ball as hard as he does with that elite bat speed. He’s an outlier for sure.”
MLB.com ranks Ramirez fourth among Marlins prospects, with this assessment:
“Ramirez garnered the highest bonus paid to a Dominican catcher in the 2018-19 international class, signing with the Yankees for $400,000. He spent three years in Rookie ball and lost 2020 to the pandemic shutdown, so he didn’t arrive in full-season ball until 2023, when he slammed 18 homers while rising from Single A to Double A and claimed a spot on New York’s 40-man roster.
“He mashed 20 homers in 87 games at the upper levels of the minors this year before the Yankees shipped him to the Marlins as the headline prospect in a July trade for Jazz Chisholm Jr. With his short right-handed stroke, bat speed and strength, Ramirez makes consistent contact and produces impressive exit velocities. He showed more discipline and did a better job of using the entire field in 2023, fueling optimism that he’ll be able to tap into most of his plus raw power.
“He struggled in his initial taste of Triple A this summer, chasing too many pitches and producing a lot of rolled-over grounders to his pull side. Ramirez stands out much more for his offensive upside than his defensive prowess. He lacks agility and soft hands, so his receiving,framing and blocking all need plenty of work. He has solid arm strength but a slow release that led to 104 steals in 132 attempts (79 percent) in 80 games last year, and some scouts believe he’ll wind up at first base.”
▪ Will Banfield: In terms of “what catching entails — and leadership skills — he’s still at top in my purview,” Crespo said of Banfield, who has improved offensively the past 1 ½ seasons. “I’m happy with the last couple months with the offensive output. He’s a guy we are still very high on.”
Banfield is hitting .245 (.297 on base) with nine homers and 39 RBI and 12 doubles in 77 games at Jacksonville. He has thrown out only 21 percent of basestealers this season but 30 percent in his career.
The fact he has improved offensively over the past two years creates hope that he could be a big-leaguer at some point. But he will need to be very good defensively to give himself a chance. He’s no longer rated among the team’s top 30 prospects, at least by mlb.com.
▪ Joe Mack: The former 31st overall pick in 2021 has caught 36 percent of baserunners this season and is hitting .245 (.323 on base) with 21 homers and 61 RBI in 97 games at Pensacola.
He has 35 homers and 127 RBI in 293 minor-league games — promising power for a 21-year-old backstop who is continuing to improve.
“With high school catchers, it takes a couple of years to adjust to the pros,” Crespo said, praising Mack for his “maturity level and sticking to an approach and being a pro… I can definitely see 15 home run potential.”
MLB.com ranks Mack 10th among all Marlins prospects with this assessment:
“One of the top catching prospects in the 2021 Draft, Mack went 31st overall and signed for an over slot $2.5 million. He has struggled much more at the plate than expected, though the Marlins didn’t do him any favors by sending him to High A at age 20 last year after he missed much of 2022 with a hamstring injury. He batted just .218/.295/.287, with all six of his homers coming in the final seven weeks.
“As an amateur, Mack looked equipped to hit for average and power with a quick left-handed swing, projectable strength and a disciplined approach. In his first three years as a pro, he was overly passive at times and hapless against non-fastballs.
“He still struggles with breaking ball but is compensating by doing a better job of attacking heaters in early counts while tapping into more power by turning on more pitches than ever. There still are scouts who believe that Mack has to be better than he has shown in his first three years as a pro, and he has made strides with his defense. He’s more athletic than most catchers and moves well behind the plate. He has improved his receiving and his focus and combats the running game with plus arm strength.”
With Ramirez, Mack and Banfield, “we feel really good about catcher,” Crespo said. “We’ve had our struggles the last couple of years, but we are excited where these three stand and the talent at the position.”
Here’s Part 1 of the series on the Marlins’ top infield prospects.
Here’s Part 2 of the series on the Marlins’ top outfield prospects.
Here’s Part 3 on the Marlins’ top pitching prospects.
This story was originally published August 27, 2024 at 9:56 AM.
