The Marlins’ top prospect? It’s sort of like asking if bananas are the No. 1 fruit — it’s a matter of taste.
But in sorting through the idea of the Marlins’ top prospect you realize one thing: The Derek Jeter Marlins have accomplished one prime goal — beefing up the minor-league system through smart use of the international draft, trades and the regular draft. Of course, that only matters if these prospects help the major-league team. No one cares who looks good in Double-A.
The Athletic’s Keith Law, a former Toronto executive, rated the Marlins as the No. 8 minor-league system, saying, “for the first time in more than a decade there are some possible star position players on the way. “
Of course, as Fangraphs (an analytical baseball web site) says, “The Marlins seem to have a taste for divisive, polarizing prospects who much of the industry perceives as risky, such as Lewis Brinson, Sandy Alcantara, Magneuris Sierra …”
The top 5 prospects are pretty much the same. Accumulating the prospect ratings of Law, MLB.com, former GM Jim Bowden, Baseball America and Fangraphs, the prospects are:
1. Sixto Sanchez, RHP. Wrote Bowden in The Athletic: “Sanchez has an electric arm and will remind you of a young Pedro Martinez at the same age. His fastball comes in at 98-100 mph with above-average life thanks to heavy sink. He flashes an above-average power curveball, which is a wipeout pitch when it’s on. His changeup made significant strides last year and gives him that important third above-average pitch. His 6-foot small frame doesn’t bother me because he does get above-average downward plane.”
2. Jazz Chisholm, SS. Wrote Law, who had him as the Marlins’ top prospect and 15th overall in the majors: “There’s some question around whether he can stay at shortstop, where his aggressive style of play can seem a bit out of control, but he has the hands, footwork, and arm to do it. It’s an elite tool package at a premium position right now, with at least 20-homer upside and speed that can help change the game, too.”
3. J.J. Bleday, RF. Wrote Fangraphs, which had him as the 51st prospect in baseball: “He murders offspeed stuff, has all-fields ability, and can mishit balls with power — he’s a complete offensive package. He’s also pretty fast, and his instincts in the outfield could make him a plus corner defender. We expect him to move pretty quickly and be an above-average everyday player.”
4. Jesus Sanchez, OF. Wrote MLB.com: “Sanchez has done nothing but hit since signing with the Rays for $400,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2014. He played in the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game in 2018 and earned a promotion to Triple-A this July at age 21. Three weeks later, Tampa Bay sent him and Ryne Stanek to the Marlins in exchange for Nick Anderson and Trevor Richards.”
5. Edward Cabrera, RHP. Wrote Law in The Athletic: “Cabrera really popped in 2019, going from near-certain future reliever after the previous season to, at this point, a potential top-of-the-rotation arm, although he still has a few major developmental hurdles ahead of him.”
2. Now that they’ve beaten tough teams like Dallas and Milwaukee in two of the past three games, we’ll see if the Heat can handle their big problems this year — weaker teams like Wednesday night’s opponent, the Orlando Magic, at AmericanAirlines Arena. Orlando might be without starting forward Aaron Gordon (knee).
3. If Tom Brady wants to win — which has always been his way — the quarterback makes the biggest splash ever in free agency. He goes to the Dallas Cowboys. And does Dallas owner Jerry Jones like splashes?
4. And, yes, I wouldn’t be putting $33 million a year into Dak Prescott if I was the Cowboys. They’ve had great supporting casts around him. He hasn’t won anything.
5. Predictable, that with Spike Lee saying he won’t attend New York Knicks games the rest of the season in a spat, both the New York Daily News and New York Post had the headline: “Do The Fight Thing.”
