The encouraging development with Marlins’ hitting prospects. And draft reaction
Marlins minor-league and draft chatter heading into the All Star break:
▪ Despite the three straight losses to Cleveland over the weekend, so much positive has happened during a first half that ended with Miami at seven games over .500 and holding a National League wild card spot.
And that extends to the minors.
One particularly positive development has been the growth in several of the position prospects/bats at the upper level of the minors. Even with catcher Joe Mack and now-injured outfielder Owen Caissie already in the majors, the Marlins still have at least three high end hitting prospects doing intriguing things in Double A and Triple A and seven or eight others who have a real chance:
1). Outfielder Cam Cannarella (No. 7 among MLB. com’s top 30 Marlins prospects). A natural center fielder, the Clemson product and 43rd pick in last July’s draft has been unstoppable since his promotion to Double A Pensacola, hitting .344 with a .453 on-base average, nine homers and 23 RBI in 34 games.
He hits the ball hard to all fields, is solid defensively and now has a very real chance to unseat Jakob Marsee at the Marlins’ starting center fielder next season.
2). Shortstop/second baseman/third baseman Aiva Arquette (No. 3 among MLB com’s top 30 Marlins prospects). For the third time in a year, his young career has been temporarily derailed by an injury — this time, a thumb ailment that will sideline him into August.
He hit just .221 (.297 on base) in his first 27 games at Pensacola, but smacked seven homers and drove in 22 runs. The No. 42 overall prospect in baseball (per mlb.com) remains very much a blue-chip prospect, despite the core muscle, wrist and now thumb injuries that have shelved him for stretches since Miami drafted him seventh overall a year ago.
3). Right fielder Kemp Alderman (No. 8): Despite missing time with an injury, he continues to put up very good numbers at Triple A Jacksonville: .297 average, .374 on base, 13 homers, 37 RBI in 58 games. The Marlins would need to clear out a spot on the 40-man roster to promote him. Strikeouts remain something of an issue (76 in 246 at bats).
4). Center fielder Dillon Lewis (No. 9). Considered the jewel of the offseason Ryan Weathers trade with the Yankees, Lewis is second in the Southern League with 17 homers. His 43 RBI are 17th, but only one Southern League player who has played in as few games (66) has more RBI. Throw in 10 doubles, three triples and 14 steals (in 16 attempts) at Pensacola, and you can understand why the Marlins believe his ceiling is higher than most in the organization. He still needs to get on base more (.240 average, .315 on base).
5). Outfielder Fenwick Tremble (18th). The Marlins’ fourth-round pick in 2024 out of James Madison continues to do good work at Pensacola (.262, .342 on base), 13 homers, 43 RBI, 20 doubles.
6). First baseman Deyvison De Los Santos. His strikeouts are down (19.7% compared to 26.5 career) and he’s getting on base more (.274 average, .333 on base compared with .241, .311 last season). Though he hasn’t matched the 2024 power numbers when he was more undisciplined at the plate, his numbers at Triple A aren’t bad (11 homers, 47 RBI, 15 doubles, 13 for 16 in steals).
He will merit another look at some point.
7). Outfielder Brandon Compton (11th). Picked 46th overall last July (three spots after Cannarella), the Arizona State prospect is off to a rollicking start at Pensacola (.349, .391 on base, six homers, 12 RBI in just 11 games and 46 at bats). Another very high-upside bat, like Cannarella.
8). Shortstop/second baseman Christian Hernandez (14th). He was the fifth-ranked international prospect when the Cubs gave him $3 million in 2021. Acquired with Caissie in the Edward Cabrera deal with the Cubs, Hernandez has shown growth offensively (.266, .354 on base, 8 homers, 30 RBI, 19 doubles, 19 steals in 26 attempts). He projects as an above-average defender at second.
▪ Other Double A/Triple A bats: Third baseman and former first-rounder Jacob Berry (.375 on base), outfielder Matthew Etzel (.351 on base, 11 homers) and center fielder Andrew Pintar (.348 on base, seven homers) have all had their moments at Jacksonville this season.
And the Marlins aren’t ready to give up on Agustin Ramirez, who has hit .250 (.327 on base) with seven homers and 27 RBI with 43 strikeouts in 47 games and 195 at-bats since his demotion from the Marlins.
The organization has discussed moving Ramirez to first base (where he played 27 minor-league games a few years ago), but he has played only catcher and designated hitter since being optioned to Jacksonville.
Draft tidbits
▪ Here’s more reaction on first round-pick Jacob Lombard, the MiamiGulliver prep shortstop selected 14th by the Marlins in this past weekend’s draft:
MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo: “He offers premium athleticism with raw pop from the right side of the plate, and he can play shortstop for a long time. There were some questions about swing-and-miss in his game over the summer, which he mostly answered this season, but that might have been part of the reason he lasted to this stage of the draft.”
The Athletic’s Keith Law: “He’s shown an alarming propensity to swing and miss at showcases and even against high school competition this year, and cutting down on that is a bigger ask than merely adjusting a swing or getting someone to add 10 pounds of muscle. That said, the Marlins aren’t going to sign a player with this kind of upside in free agency at any point, and it makes sense for them to take someone with superstar ceiling even with this high level of risk.”
MLB Network’s Carlos Collazo: Lombard has “plus raw power, plus speed, probably better than plus speed. Plus defense at shortstop. He swung and missed more than scouts would like to see in the summer circuit, and those numbers in the summer circuit carry a lot of weight for teams. That’s probably why he was available here. But if he does hit, he has as much upside as any player in the draft “
▪ Per MLB.com, one of the most intriguing picks in the draft is Stanford first baseman Rintaro Sasaki, selected by Miami in the 12th round.
“Sasaki has been famous for years as the Japanese high school home run record-holder (140). That power is legit, as he showed off top-of-the line exit velocities at the MLB Draft Combine found more over-the-fence power in his second season at Stanford. That is currently his only average tool, though, as he’s a questionable defender with limited speed at 6-foot-1, 270 pounds. If he can consistently make contact, he could be a dangerous left-handed slugger.”
Frankie Piliere, the Marlins’ director amateur scouting, said Sasaki has “enormous power potential. There are very few players in this class who can hit the ball like Sasaki can.”
More from Piliere
▪ On third-round pick/Arkansas shortstop Cam Kozeal (who was a third-team All-American this year after hitting .318 with 20 home runs, 71 RBI): “Really interesting bat. He’s continued to hit. The interesting thing about Cam that we like about him is there’s a lot of defensive value there. His first step to the ball is very underrated. The bat was good, and we think there’s a very good defensive infielder here.”
▪ Though Piliere didn’t say this, Miami might need to spend a bit more of its draft pool money to sign speedy Brunswick (Georgia) Glynn Academy High School outfielder Wessley Robertson, a fourth-round pick who’s an LSU commit.
“While there’s risk [in signing college commits], you have to really believe how good he can end up being,” Piliere said. “You have to think really big upside, and that’s what we think Wesley has. You know there’s risk and a lot of work to be done. We really like the contact skills. The throwing arm is very good. We think this guy’s a premium defensive player.”
▪ After drafting Oregon State lefty Ethan Kleinschmit 52nd overall, the Marlins have selected OSU players on Day 1 for three consecutive years, following pitcher Aiden May and Arquette.
“Very much a coincidence,” Piliere said. “They have really talented players. It just keeps falling that way.”
Kleinschmit went 17-7 with a 3.64 ERA in two years and 32 starts with the Beavers, striking out 210 in 168 innings.
This story was originally published July 13, 2026 at 2:18 PM.
