Sunday, August 16

Welcome back to the Marlins Beat newsletter. MLB.com's Ben Weinrib pinch-hit for this edition.

Although the Marlins remain squarely in the playoff hunt, the club’s decision to deal Liam Hicks and Braxton Garrett at the Trade Deadline proved to be a boon for its farm system.

As has become a trend in the past few years, the Marlins have added quite a bit of talent via trade. With the midseason update to every team’s Top 30 Prospects list, Miami has 11 ranked prospects acquired via trade, second only to the Nationals’ 12.

The Marlins added lefty Robby Snelling and outfielder Dillon Head from the Padres in the May 2024 Luis Arraez deal and landed shortstop Starlyn Caba from the Phillies six months later as the key prospect back for Jesús Luzardo.

Last offseason, Miami added outfielder Owen Caissie -- who was a Top 100 prospect before graduating -- and shortstop Cristian Hernández from the Cubs for Edward Cabrera and a trio of ranked hitters (outfielder Dillon Lewis, infielder Juan Matheus and outfielder Brendan Jones) from the Yankees for Ryan Weathers.

While the Hicks and Garrett trades didn’t net anyone as highly ranked as Snelling or Caissie, the Marlins did add significant depth. 

Coming back from Tampa Bay, Brayden Taylor is a versatile infielder who made some mechanical changes at the plate that have helped him perform like he did when he ranked on the Top 100 two years ago. Right-hander Jacob Kisting ranks third in the Minors with a 24.2 percent K-BB rate and fourth with a 1.58 ERA. While his middling velocity caps his ceiling, he has a pair of impressive changeups that have been particularly effective against lefties.

Switch-hitting shortstop Adrian Santana, the 31st overall pick in the 2023 Draft, is an outstanding athlete and defender who lacks much power but is a threat on the bases.

Jonathon Long was the key return in the Garrett trade, a right-handed slugger who could soon make an impact in the Majors as a lefty-mashing first baseman/outfielder. While he’s making slightly less contact and hitting for less power this season, he has little left to prove in the Minors. 

Here’s a look at the Marlins’ top prospects:

1. Thomas White, LHP (MLB No. 37)

2. Robby Snelling, LHP (MLB No. 53)

3. Aiva Arquette, SS (MLB No. 63)

4. Jacob Lombard, SS (MLB No. 67)

5. Karson Milbrandt, RHP (MLB No. 78)

Complete Top 30 list »

Biggest jump/fall

Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the preseason list:

Jump: Nate Payne, LHP (Preseason: 25 | Midseason: 16)

Payne has long stood out for his ability to create spin, with a trio of impressive breaking balls, and he’s finding more success upon his promotion to High-A Beloit. The 20-year-old is picking up a whiff rate of at least 29 percent on all five of his pitches, which has helped him enter Saturday tied for eighth in the Minors with 127 strikeouts. He’s also been able to find the zone a lot more, nearly halving his walk rate. The 2024 18th-rounder has added a tick of velocity to his fastball to boot and could have more room to add as he fills out his 6-foot-3 frame.

Fall: Noble Meyer, RHP (Preseason: 15 | Midseason: NR)

There was hope that the 2023 10th overall pick would have a bounceback season after he showed renewed velocity over the offseason, but he's barely seen the field. Meyer suffered a right shoulder strain in Spring Training and pitched four innings across three rehab outings in June at Single-A before landing back on the injured list. There were questions about the 21-year-old’s fastball and command coming into the season, and another lost year of development puts him further behind the eight-ball.

New to the list

Here are the players added to the Top 30 from outside the organization:

No. 4 Jacob Lombard, SS (Pick No. 14 in 2026 Draft)

No. 10 Brayden Taylor, 3B/2B (Acquired from the Rays for Liam Hicks)

No. 12 Ethan Kleinschmit, LHP (No. 52 pick in 2026 Draft)

No. 15 Ryan Peterson, RHP (No. 71 pick in 2026 Draft)

No. 19 Jonathon Long, 1B/OF (Acquired from the Cubs for Braxton Garrett)

No. 21 Jacob Kisting, RHP (Acquired from the Rays for Hicks)

No. 22 Adrian Santana, SS (Acquired from the Rays for Hicks)

No. 25 Cam Kozeal, SS/2B (Pick No. 87 in 2026 Draft)

Best tools

Players are graded on a 20-80 scouting scale for future tools -- 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is plus and 70-80 is well above average. Players in parentheses have the same grade. 

Hit: 55 -- Luis Arana (Cam Cannarella, Juan Matheus) 

Power: 60 -- Kemp Alderman (Aiva Arquette, Santiago Solarte) 

Run: 70 -- Dillon Head 

Arm: 60 -- Starlyn Caba (Alderman, Arana, Arquette, Adrian Santana) 

Defense: 70 -- Caba

Fastball: 70 -- Kevin Defrank (Josh Ekness) 

Curveball: 60 -- Ryan Peterson (Nate Payne) 

Slider: 70 -- Thomas White 

Changeup: 60 -- White (Defrank)

Control: 55 -- Jacob Kisting (Peterson, Robby Snelling)

How they were built 

Draft: 14 | International: 5 | Trade: 11

Breakdown by ETA 

2026: 5 | 2027: 6 | 2028: 10 | 2029: 4 | 2030: 4 | 2031: 1 

Breakdown by position 

1B: 1 | 3B: 2 | SS: 9 | OF: 9 | RHP: 5 | LHP: 4

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