Few teams have been as busy this offseason as the Miami Marlins.
The decision to extend Giancarlo Stanton with a historic 13-year, $325 million contract thrust the Marlins into win-now mode, and it wasn’t long before the club began to aggressively retool its big league roster around the 25-year-old slugger.
However, building a strong supporting cast around Stanton meant blowing up the farm system, and so the Marlins were forced to part with top prospects.
First, they traded left-hander Andrew Heaney, the organization’s first-round draft pick in 2012, along with Enrique Hernandez and two other players to the Dodgers for Dee Gordon. One day later, they shipped right-hander Anthony DeSclafani to the Reds in a deal for Mat Latos.
Heaney, Hernandez and DeSclafani each debuted in the major leagues in 2014, meaning that the Marlins would have had them under team control for five or six years. Meanwhile, their respective departures have left Miami with few options down on the farm.
Flame-throwing right-hander Tyler Kolek, whom the Marlins selected with the No. 2 overall pick in last year’s draft, has the highest ceiling in the organization and headlines a prospect pool that’s top-heavy with pitching.
Lefty Justin Nicolino’s plus command and advanced pitchability should help him reach the major leagues in 2015, and right-handers Jose Urena and Trevor Williams shouldn’t be far behind.
Second baseman Avery Romero has done nothing but rake as a professional, batting .320 between both Class-A levels, while 2014 draft pick Brian Anderson gives them additional depth at the position. Meanwhile, catcher J.T. Realmuto had the breakout campaign that seemed inevitable and also fared well during a brief audition in the major leagues, and he seems poised to carve out a more important role with the Marlins in 2015.
Here are the Miami Marlins’ top 10 prospects for the 2015 season.