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