Miami Marlins: Recapping the draft with burning questions for fans
Did any teams, other than the Miami Marlins, think drafting all pitchers was a good idea?
Yes.
Well, one team anyway. The Chicago White Sox also picked all pitchers. However, they only made five selections. So the Marlins are the only team to draft six pitchers in 2020 but weren’t the only team to bypass hitters entirely.
One curious note about a draft that is reportedly so deep in pitching though. Of the 29 official first-round picks, only 11 were pitchers. Once Competitive Balance Round A is thrown in, the split is still 22-15 in favor of hitters. Fingers crossed Miami didn’t miss the boat here.
Have The Miami Marlins Ever Drafted This Many Pitchers In A Row Before?
Yes. Many times.
One draft in particular stands out though. In 1995, the Miami Marlins selected only one pitcher with their first five picks, drafting Michael Marriott in the fourth round. Marriott never pitched so much as an inning for the big league club. Which isn’t all that bad, considering those first five picks combined for eight MLB appearances in a Marlins uniform- all coming from second-round pick Nate Rolison. If you remember Nate Rolison, you needed more to do in September of 2000.
In any case, Miami’s front office might have overcorrected a bit, when they drafted eleven straight pitchers after that.
Going for broke on pitching is not that unusual a practice. Only getting two mediocre relief arms out of the attempt- Michael Tejera and Gary Knotts– is definitely unfortunate, but also not completely beyond the pale when it comes to the MLB Draft. If nothing else, Tejera did get a World Series ring.