Miami Marlins MLB Draft underscores what was lost, about to be

The first Miami Marlins MLB draft of the Derek Jeter era did little to move fans past a tumultuous offseason and seems to guarantee one more painful goodbye is coming.

The Derek Jeter led Miami Marlins needed to hit a home run with the 2018 MLB Draft.

Instead, it just seemed to go out of its way to remind Marlins fans about all the home runs they lost this past offseason.

With their first-round selection, the Marlins picked OF Connor Scott out of Tampa Plant. He’s a big, speedy center fielder with power potential. He batted .500 last season. He also moonlights as a lefty pitcher that can hit 93 mph on the radar gun. Scott could be great.

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However, even that selection comes with some perception problems. Which is an issue when it comes to the Miami Marlins franchise — for the only reason the Miami Marlins make that pick is the fact that they chose to break up the best outfield in the majors this winter.

You don’t need a Connor Scott if you still have Marcell Ozuna, Giancarlo Stanton, and Christian Yelich.

Worst still for the Miami Marlins ownership, when you throw out the pitching ability, that Connor Scott description doesn’t sound all that different from Lewis Brinson.

You remember, the No. 1 prospect that the Marlins received for Yelich….that is currently batting way below the Mendoza Line with a .161 average.

Either way, the optics aren’t great. Starting pitcher or infielder would have been a far safer territory. Even before the death of Jose Fernandez, starting pitching has been the Achilles Heel of the Marlins for roughly a decade. Martin Prado can’t stay healthy.

No one expects Starlin Castro not to be traded. Why not take local star infielder Triston Casas? Or University of Florida pitching ace Brady Singer? Or any player that had played college ball? The Marlins have had a horrible track record recently with high school talent.

Instead, they went outfield. Young outfield. Yes, it is the Miami Marlins biggest hole right now. But every Marlins fan knows it didn’t need to be that way.

Marlins Prepping For Final Blow To Fans

As aggravating as seeing that outfield focus was (indeed, two of their first four picks were outfielders), the real concern with this Miami Marlins draft lies elsewhere.

For the first two days of the 2018 MLB Draft have done nothing but scream that 2018 will be the last time you see J.T. Realmuto in a Miami Marlins uniform.

Of the club’s first six selections in this draft, three of them were spent on a catcher. That’s a sobering dose of reality for any fans that had hoped J.T. Realmuto might become a franchise cornerstone.

Again, the outfield thing? Annoying, but minor. In fact, there might have been mass cheers if that second drafted outfielder was Griffin Conine, son of the Miami Marlins legend. Sadly, Toronto took him 52nd overall- one pick before Miami’s second selection.

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But the all but preordained departure of Realmuto? Tough pill to swallow. For most clubs, the draft is a chance to look to the future excitedly. For the Miami Marlins in 2018, though?

So far, it has just been a reminder of just how long the road ahead might be.