Marlins executive assesses infielders, catchers. And team inquires about two big free agents
As we enter an offseason when the Marlins plan to be very active, we’re taking inventory of where all of the team’s top prospects stand, with thoughts from Geoff DeGroot, the Marlins’ director of minor-league operations.
First, though, a quick free agent update:
According to a source, the Marlins have shown interest in Brewers free agent outfielder Avisail Garcia, who hit .262 with 29 homers and 86 RBI for Milwaukee this past season. It’s still early in the process, too early to know whether Miami will become a major player for Garcia.
Also, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported Thursday that the Marlins met with Scott Boras, the agent for the Reds’ Nick Castellanos, a Davie native and among the top free agent outfielders available.
Heyman tweeted of Castellanos: “Good fit for team that needs bats, but hard to see them affording him. More likely: they acquire multiple hitters that cost somewhat less.”
If true — and Heyman is a very good reporter — that would be disappointing in this sense: Because of the dearth of starting quality free agents at center field and catcher, the Marlins likely will need to trade pitching to acquire starters at those positions.
So the one position that the Marlins should spend money is a corner outfield spot, from a skilled group including Castellanos (.309, 34 homers, 100 RBI for Reds in 2021), Garcia, Jorge Soler (.269, 14, 33 in 59 games for Atlanta) and others.
Chris Taylor, Mark Canha and Michael Conforto are top free agents who can play center field or a corner outfield spot. But the multipositional Taylor is pricey.
The view here is that the Marlins need to be willing to spend significantly on at least one position, and corner outfield offers the most options to do that. We have been told they’ll be aggressive, so let’s see it how plays out and how many of the top bats come off the board before a possible Dec. 1 lockout.
Also, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported that the Toronto Blue Jays have “checked with the Marlins” on their starting pitchers and that “Pablo López and Elieser Hernández are Miami’s most available arms. Toronto’s Alejandro Kirk is likely to be part of talks due to the emergence of Jays catching prospect Gabriel Moreno.”
Kirk, a strong catcher prospect, has hit .259, with nine homers and 27 RBI in 69 games and 189 big-league at bats.
PROSPECT UPDATE
We examined the team’s top pitching prospects - with the Marlins’ DeGroot - in Part 1 here and the top outfield prospects in Part 2 here.
In Part 3 of a series, let’s explore the infield and catcher prospects:
▪ Shortstop Khalil Watson — the 16th overall pick in this past summer’s draft out of a Wake Forest, North Carolina high school — hit .394 with a .524 on-base average in 42 plate appearances for the Marlins’ rookie league team in Jupiter.
There’s still joy and surprise that he slipped to Miami’s slot at 16.
“Great talent, incredible talent,” DeGroot said. “The tools speak for themselves. He’s probably more polished than we expected being a high school shortstop. He stands out every time he goes on the field. He’s with us in development camp and will come back to Jupiter for hitters camp. Great debut for him.”
▪ Middle infielder Jose Devers wasn’t overwhelmed during his 21-game, 46-plate appearance Marlins stint, hitting .244 with five RBI.
He played only 12 games at Jacksonville — hitting .231 — before a shoulder injury (and subsequent surgery on a labrum tear) sidelined him for the season. He’s only 21.
“Jose is in a really good spot right now, getting stronger, taking time when he’s been hurt to get stronger,” DeGroot said. “We expect him to be ready for spring training. He has a unique ability to hit. He has a knack for putting the bat on the ball. He’s not intimidated or scared of anybody.”
▪ Shortstop Nasim Nunez, the Marlins’ second-round pick in 2019 out of a Georgia high school, hit .243 (but with a .366 on base average) with 10 RBI (no homers) and 33 steals in 43 attempts in 52 games and 228 plate appearances.
“The defense with him is the first thing that stands out,” DeGroot said. “Elite defender. Makes all the routine plays as well as the spectacular plays with regularity. Balls you don’t see guys getting to he converts into outs. Strong arm, accurate arm, can throw from all angles.
“The bat this year, he improved incredibly. As the year went on — he missed the whole year last year — he got more and more comfortable. A shame he got hurt at the end of the year, but he’s fine and rehabbing and we expect him to be full go for next year.”
▪ Second basemen/third baseman/shortstops Ian Lewis and Jose Salas: The two international signings in recent years — both still teenagers — “are two very physical players that have put an incredible amount of effort and time into our strength and conditioning programs and it’s starting to show in their bodies. And they’re starting to impact the ball.
“Ian had an incredible year in FCL. He was our player of the year. He’s an incredible development story. He can do a lot of things to impact the game — can run, can hit, has power. And he has a passion and love for playing this game.
“And Salas was right there playing alongside him and we promoted him to Jupiter. Here was an 18-year-old in Jupiter holding his own and standing out. Both of those guys have very promising futures.”
Lewis, signed out of the Bahamas, hit .302 with a .354 on-base percentage, 10 doubles, five triples, three homers, 27 RBI and 9 of 13 in steals in 43 games and 161 plate appearances for the Marlins’ rookie league team.
Salas hit .370 with an incredible .458 on-base average in 28 games in rookie league, then hit .250 (.333 on-base) with four doubles and eight RBI and six-for-six on steals in 24 games at Jupiter.
▪ Infielder Cristhian Rodriguez, signed out of Venezuela, also can play short, second and third and hit .218 (.295 on-base average) with 18 RBI in 46 games in rookie league. He wasn’t as productive offensively as Lewis and Salas but is only 19, and the Marlins like the upside.
“He got a lot of reps at third base in the FCL,” DeGroot said. “He’s a really good-looking prospect. Cristhian has a chance to be an above average defensive shortstop.”
As far as which of the aforementioned players end up at second, shortstop or third base, “long-term, we’ll see where it all ends up,” DeGroot said. “One thing about today’s game is these guys need to be versatile and play multiple positions on the field. That’s one thing we’re looking to develop in all of our infielders. When you look at Brian Anderson, when we go to a left-handed shift, he’s out there in shallow right field.
“We’ve got a lot of shortstops and middle infielders. They all need to play and get time at third base.”
▪ First baseman Troy Johnston, picked in the 17th round out of Gonzaga in 2019, moved over from the outfield and is probably the organization’s second-best first base prospect now, behind Lewin Diaz.
He began the season hitting .349 (.427 on-base average) in 24 games at low A Jupiter, then continued to thrive after his promotion to High A Beloit, Wisconsin, hitting .289 with a .393 on-base average with 22 doubles, 14 homers and 72 RBI in 96 games at Beloit.
“Troy sticks out for me,” DeGroot said. “An outfielder by trade coming out of the draft. We introduced first base to him this year and he ended up playing it pretty much exclusively once he got to Beloit. He’s [at] the Arizona Fall League for us.
‘He can hit, flat-out can hit. He’s got power. He’s got plate discipline. Just a really really advanced hitter. He’s continuing to work at first base and outfield.”
▪ First baseman Jerar Encarnacion, who moved to first from the outfield this season, hit .222 (.308 on base average) with nine homers and 28 RBI in 63 games at Pensacola. Next season will be big for him.
“He has an opportunity to be a major-league first baseman, and he’s also a plus defender in the outfield,” DeGroot said.
▪ Catcher Nick Fortes, the 2018 fourth-round pick from the University of Mississippi, hit .290 with four homers and seven RBI in 19 games after his September Marlins call-up.
He looks like the slight front-runner for the Marlins’ No. 2 catcher job next season, behind a starter who likely isn’t on the roster yet. Alex Jackson will be Fortes’ competition, but Fortes was more impressive over the final weeks of the season.
Fortes split time last season between Pensacola (hitting .251/.338 on base) and Jacksonville (.237/.322).
“I cannot stress enough how proud I am of Nick Fortes and his development,” DeGroot said. “Probably the most improved player we saw in the minor leagues the last couple of years. He moved to Jupiter, lives in Jupiter so he can work all offseason. A relentless worker. Pays attention to detail. Takes pride in everything he does.
“The performance speaks for itself. When he got up here he showed what he’s capable of doing. He’s a guy who can really receive and block. He has a strong arm. Very intelligent.
“Studies pitchers. He can handle the bat, doesn’t strike out [a lot]. And he clearly has some power as well. Good tool package Nick is displaying. We’re incredibly happy he could get to the major league level and have some success upon arrival.”
▪ Joe Mack, the 31st overall pick this summer out of an Amherst, New York, high school, batted only .132 in 75 plate appearances in rookie league but walked 20 times (hence the .373 on-base average) and has a sweet left-handed swing.
“What a tool package, great body, great lower half, strong throwing arm, a cannon,” DeGroot said. “He has hit ability and impact from the left side and a great kid and great work ethic to go with it. Young, has a lot to learn but he shows everything you like to see to point toward this guy having a chance to play in the major leagues for a long time.”
▪ Will Banfield, the Marlins’ second-round pick out of a Georgia high school in 2018, has lived up to his reputation as a strong defensive catcher but needs to hit far more consistently to advance.
He closed this season at .180 with a .258 on base average and six homers and 42 RBI in 67 games and 298 plate appearances at Beloit.
He has 18 homers but a .199 average in 207 minor-league games.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in Will Banfield,” DeGroot said. “Electric throwing arm, makeup off the charts, strong, can catch, block. He’s a leader, tough as nails.
“I’ve seen this guy hit. He’s got power. It was unfortunate.Will’s season got cut short due to injury. He’s doing great. Some of these other guys got off to slow starts and worked out of it.”
This story was originally published November 11, 2021 at 1:44 PM.
