Miami Marlins: 2018 Minor League Awards

After a rough offseason that included an ownership change, the Miami Marlins farm system made hay in 2018, even if the major league squad struggled heavily.

As part of our continuing coverage at Call to the Pen of the minor leagues, we will be covering each organization’s top players for 2018. The coverage will go in reverse order of record. Today, we will look at the Miami Marlins.

We are going to review the system’s leaders for each organization statistically, then choose one hitter and one pitcher to honor for every team. This will be primarily based on statistical performance, though some “age relative to level” could come into play, so a very impressive season from a 28-year-old in AA will rank below a nearly as impressive season from a 20-year-old at the same level.

After we review each organization’s hitter and pitcher of the year, we will close out October with Call To The Pen’s Minor League team of the year. That will lead into November starting our team top 10 prospect lists. In other words, there will be plenty of minor league content on the way at CTTP, so keep coming back for more each day this offseason!!

Miami Marlins minor leagues

The Miami Marlins traded away their entire outfield over the winter, using those moves to significantly bolster their farm system, bumping it up from one of the worst in the major leagues to one in the middle of the pack.

Recent injury issues with high draft picks have left the farm system without the elite home grown talent that otherwise solid drafts should have left. The pitching has actually developed very well around those guys who were supposed to be elite from the draft to fill in, but there’s still not that elite level of guy yet, and that’s going to be missed until the Marlins develop it.

Before we offer up awards on the season, let’s take a look at the system’s statistical leaders:

Organization Leaders (min. 150 PA, 50 IP)

BA: Davis Bradshaw .354
OBP: Alvaro Montero .430
SLG: Peter O’Brien .551
OPS: Austin Dean .922
R: Monte Harrison 85
H: Brian Miller 153
2B: Brian Schales 27
3B: Rafael Ortega 10
HR: Peter O’Brien 23
RBI: Joe Dunand 70
SB: Brian Miller 40
TB: Monte Harrison 208

W: Nick Neidert 12
G: Three with 44
GS: Nick Neidert 26
IP: Nick Neidert 152 2/3
SV: Jumbo Diaz and Chad Smith 12
K: Nick Neidert 154
ERA: Luis Palacios 0.85
WHIP: Luis Palacios 0.60
K/9: Kyle Keller 13.3
K/BB: Luis Palacios 15.5

Miami Marlins Minor League Pitcher of the Year: Nick Neidert

Level(s): AA Jacksonville
Stats: 12-7, 26 GS, 152 2/3 IP, 3.24 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 31/154 BB/K

Acquired in the deal that sent Dee Gordon to the Seattle Mariners, righty Nick Neidert was originally a second round pick by the Mariners out of high school in Georgia. He’s never been a guy with elite raw stuff, but his ability to sequence his pitches and developing his secondaries has allowed him to move up to the upper minors at 21.

Neidert has consistent mechanics that allows him to fill the zone, and his stuff all has just a little bit of wiggle to keep it off the true barrel. The Miami Marlins may not be bringing Neidert into their rotation in 2019 to open the season, but he certainly could factor by the end of the year, and he should be a guy who gives consistent innings as a solid #3/4 starter for a long time.

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Runners-up

All arms and legs from Venezuela, Luis Palacios pitched his second season with the DSL team, and he’s certainly earned a 2019 look stateside with his performance in 2018. He made 15 appearances, 4 of them starts, tossing 63 2/3 innings, with a 0.85 ERA, 0.60 WHIP, and a 4/62 BB/K ratio. His stuff is based around a loose, mid-90s fastball with movement that he’s learned to locate. Now if he can generate consistency with his secondaries, he’ll be able to move forward quickly.

Part of the Christian Yelich deal with the Brewers this winter, Jordan Yamamoto struggled with injury this season, but when he was on the mound, he was incredible, making 13 starts, tossing 68 2/3 innings, with a 1.83 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, and a 14/85 BB/K ratio. He’ll open in AA to start 2019, and the Hawaii native will hope to factor in the Miami Marlins rotation plans by 2020.

Drafted in the 16th round in 2016, the Miami Marlins got Dustin Beggs for a fairly reasonable cost due to him being 23 already. In his age-25 season in 2018, he jumped up three levels, reaching AA for 4 starts to finish his season. Overall, he made 25 appearances, 15 of them starts, finishing with a 2.12 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and a 20/111 BB/K over 110 1/3 innings. Beggs doesn’t have a ton of velocity, but he can sequence very well, and he saw his curve and change both take big steps forward in 2018.

The Miami Marlins had one of the most explosive offseasons in 2017-2018, and not in a good way. Now, Marlins fans can settle in to watching the raw talent of their team begin to ascend up the farm system.