Miami Marlins’ 2019 Draft Class had Immediate Impact on Farm System
It takes patience to develop Major League players through the MLB Draft, but it’s easy to get excited for what the future holds when you break down the immediate and impressive impact that the 2019 class had on the Miami Marlins’ farm system.
Miami drafted and/or signed 32 college and high school players this summer (31 draft picks, one nondrafted free agent) and they contributed greatly to a 374–368 combined record for the farm system, its first winning season since 2012.
Of that group of players, three went on to play for Low-A Clinton in the Midwest League, 19 saw time with Short Season-A Batavia in the New York-Penn League, and 19 played with the Rookie level Gulf Coast League Marlins.
There is a common theme among that affiliate trio: they were the three clubs to qualify for postseason play in Miami’s farm system this year.
Clinton won the Western Division pennant, but lost to the South Bend Cubs in the Midwest League Championship Series. Batavia advanced to the semifinals of the New York-Penn League postseason, but its journey ended there against the Lowell Spinners. The GCL Marlins won the East Division for the first time since 2011, but the GCL playoffs were cancelled due to Hurricane Dorian.
Batavia (41–35; .539) and the GCL Marlins (28–22, .560) both started their seasons following the Draft, and were stocked with 2019 picks from the outset when they began their winning campaigns.
In full-season Clinton, however, an impressive trend can be tracked.
The LumberKings went 33–36 (.478) with a run differential of just +1 (272–271) in the first half, which ended June 16 with the Midwest League All-Star break. When they returned from the break on June 20, they were joined by the first of three critical additions from the 2019 Draft: INF Evan Edwards (drafted in 4th Round, #111 overall), followed soon after by OF Peyton Burdick (first game June 23; 3rd Round, #82 overall), and then OF Kameron Misner (July 30; Competitive Balance Round A, #35 overall). Clinton then posted a 45–25 (.643) record in the second half to storm into the playoffs.
In addition to the boost of +12 wins and +.165 in winning percentage, the LumberKings posted a +111 run differential in the second half with Edwards, Burdick, and Misner at the heart of their lineup. Burdick (59) and Edwards (48) ranked 1–2 in the Midwest League in RBI in the second half, with Burdick posting the highest second-half total in the league since 2014.
The success goes beyond the wins and losses for those affiliates, however.
The seven position players that Miami drafted in the first 10 rounds (OF JJ Bleday, Round 1; Misner; INF Nasim Nuñez, Round 2; Burdick; Edwards; OF Tevin Mitchell, Round 8; OF JD Orr, Round 10) combined to bat .280 with 244 runs scored, 69 doubles, 10 triples, 25 home runs, 199 RBI, 203 walks, 84 steals, and a .384 OBP.
The performance of the class of pitchers that Miami selected this year was even more impressive. The 15 pitchers that Miami added to the ranks (14 from the Draft, one nondrafted free agent) combined to go 20–11 with a 2.36 ERA (309.1 ip/81 er) in their debut seasons, with 27 saves, 107 walks (3.1 per 9.0 innings), 343 strikeouts (10.0 per 9.0 innings), a 1.00 WHIP, and a .216 average against. They allowed just 10 home runs.
Also, the Marlins’ farm system,which was suffering from a lack of depth in left-handed hitting entering the season, added five lefty bats to the ranks via trade or the Draft this summer. There are now eight left-handed hitters rated as consensus Top-30 prospects in Miami’s system, including five rated in the Top-10 by either MLB Pipeline or Baseball America (link to subscription site).
The eight left-handers now among Miami’s Top-30 prospects combined to bat .257 with 319 runs scored, 123 doubles, 22 triples, 60 home runs, 287 RBI, and 85 steals this season.
