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Miami Marlins UPDATED top 10 prospects for 2019

By Benjamin Chase

Billy the Marlin waves a marlins flag after the team beats the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 on Tuesday, May 15, 2018 at Marlins Park in Miami, Fla. (Sam Navarro/Miami Herald/TNS via Getty Images)
Billy the Marlin waves a marlins flag after the team beats the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 on Tuesday, May 15, 2018 at Marlins Park in Miami, Fla. (Sam Navarro/Miami Herald/TNS via Getty Images) /
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Miami Marlins
WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 24: Sandy Alcantara #22 of the Miami Marlins pitches against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on September 24, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) /

6. Sandy Alcantara, RHP

Birthday: 9/7/1995 (23)
Acquired: Trade with Cardinals, December 2017
Level(s): high-A Jupiter, AAA New Orleans, MLB Miami Marlins
Statistics: Minors: 6-3, 22 GS, 127 IP, 3.90 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 8.1% BB, 18% K; Majors: 2-3, 6 GS, 34 IP, 3.44 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 15.8% BB, 20.5% K

The St. Louis Cardinals signed Sandy Alcantara for $125K in 2013 out of the Dominican Republic. At 6’4″, Alcantara’s big fastball and frame made him an attractive signee. He immediately showed that big fastball, and in 2016 at age 20, he had a breakout year across both A-ball levels in the Cardinals organization, striking out 153 in 122 2/3 innings. That got him ranked #40 overall by Baseball Prospectus in their offseason top 100 list.

After an up-and-down 2017 season, Alcantara was traded by St. Louis to the Miami Marlins as the headliner of the return for outfielder Marcell Ozuna. He was coming off of a season where he finished in the Cardinals bullpen, impressing with an average 99 MPH fastball.

The Miami system allowed Alcantara to focus on his favorite pitch, and it paid off in the lower levels, as he was able to pound the lower part of the zone with his incredible upper-90s sinker and tended to lean heavily on his slider as a primary secondary pitch along with the sinker.

Alcantara made 6 major league starts for the Marlins after he was called up, and the focus was on developing his changeup, which has the potential to work with the sinker as an above-average offering. While Alcantara tended to use his hard curve as his third pitch in the minor leagues, he seldom used the curve in the majors.

The 2019 season should open with Alcantara in Miami, whether he’s firing hard sinkers in the rotation or unleashing his 102-MPH four-seamer in the bullpen.

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