Marlins go big in MLB Draft, select 6-5 shortstop from Oregon State with No. 7 overall pick
The Miami Marlins have been focused on Aiva Arquette for quite some time.
So much so, that the day after last Christmas, one of their scouts cut his vacation short to go see the Oregon State University shortstop at his home in Kailua, Hawai’i.
Arquette was a priority, and Sunday night, the Marlins made the 21-year-old their first selection — the No. 7 overall pick in the 2025 MLB First-Year Player Draft.
“Very excited right now because we just drafted the best college position player in the draft,” Marlins’ president of baseball operations Peter Bendix said on a Zoom video call with reporters after the pick.
“He’s a guy who can do a lot of different things — somebody that really is exactly what we were looking for and hoping for in this draft.”
With the 43rd pick, the Marlins selected Cam Cannarella, a 6-foot, 185-pound junior outfielder from Clemson University. Three picks later, they chose Brandon Compton, a 6-foot-1, 225-pound junior outfielder from Arizona State University.
With the 78th overall pick in the third round, the Marlins selected Florida State junior outfielder Max Williams (6-2, 207). Rounds 4 through 20 are scheduled for Monday.
“I think we were happy, surprised, thrilled that they were still available,” Piliere said. “These were the best guys on our board.”
The Marlins’ top choice, Arquette (6-5, 220), is ranked the No. 5 overall prospect by Baseball America and the No. 6 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline.
He was selected by Arizona in the 18th round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of high school.
After two seasons at the University of Washington, he transferred to Oregon State and delivered a breakout junior year — batting .354 (90 for 254) with career highs in runs (73), doubles (17), home runs (19), and RBI (66) — to help the Beavers reach the College World Series.
The right-handed hitter also posted a career-best 16.5 strikeout rate (15 in 310 plate appearances) while recording a 12.6 walk rate (39 in 310 plate appearances).
“This is a player we’re extremely excited about that has both performance presently in college and upside,” Marlins’ director of amateur scouting Frankie Piliere said of Arquette via Zoom. “This is going to present a lot of fun opportunities for the Marlins. All of us here just couldn’t be more thrilled. I’ll echo what Peter said. Our scouting staff did an unbelievable job on this player.”
Wearing a vibrant lei around his neck, a smiling Arquette said he celebrated the draft with close friends and family at his home in Hawai‘i.
“We’re all grateful to be drafted by the Marlins,” he said during a Zoom video call with team media. “I’m just so excited to get my career started.”
Arquette grew up playing football and basketball as well as baseball, and that shows in his athleticism. He said his favorite player growing up was Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith. Arquette is seven inches taller than Smith, but he moves with much more fluidity than you’d expect from a player of his height. And the Marlins aren’t looking to move him to another position.
“Where he ends up ultimately, we’ll see, but we’re drafting him as a shortstop,” said Piliere, adding that Arquette’s combination of “physicality” and “athleticism” is especially impressive. “That’s a rare combo, and I’ll probably end up saying that a lot over the next few days, a few weeks here, but it’s rare, and that’s why we’re so excited.”
Said Arquette: “I’m just excited to get to work, to continue playing the game I love, and just continue my development.”
Cannarella, 21, is ranked as the No. 27 overall prospect by Baseball America and the No. 36 prospect by MLB Pipeline. The left-handed hitter has a career slash line of .360/.453/.551 in three seasons at Clemson, including a .353 batting and 1.010 OPS this past season. He started all but one of 169 career games in center field.
Compton, 21, is ranked as the 41st-best overall prospect by Baseball America and the 47th-best overall prospect by MLB Pipeline. Over two seasons with the Sun Devils, the lefty slashed .310/.401/.568 with 35 doubles, 23 home runs, and 105 RBI in 111 games.
“Anyone who watched the combine knows what kind of power he has,” Piliere said. “He has a chance to have special power. But he’s not a one-trick pony.”
Williams, 20, is ranked as the 81st-best prospect by MLB Pipeline and the 92nd-best prospect by Baseball America. The left-handed hitter has posted a .314 average and .970 OPS over three college seasons at Alabama (2023) and Florida State (2024–25). In 57 games with the Seminoles this past season, he slashed .316/.383/.598 and recorded a .991 fielding percentage while playing exclusively in center field.
“Max Williams is someone we’ve been on for a long time,” Piliere said. “Sneaky defender. I think people will be a little surprised by how much defensive value he has.”
The Marlins were drawn to the fact that all four of their Sunday draft picks came from major programs and faced top-tier competition.
“That’s certainly the appeal in it because to me it’s they experienced it and they thrived,” Piliere said. “We’ve taken guys that have real track records. We can really hang our hat on. These have been excellent players at high levels of college baseball.
“That’s it’s hard to acquire. That’s why these guys end up going so high in the draft. And so, year after year, especially in recent years, you see college bats go so high because they’ve proven a lot. We’re seeing these guys ascend to the major leagues pretty quickly. And when you can go get the combination of upside and untapped potential, and that track record, it’s why we’re so excited about today. I think we were able to get both with experienced guys and real tools.”
This story was originally published July 13, 2025 at 9:06 PM.