With the 2025 MLB Draft nearly a month away, let’s take a look at how some of the Marlins’ picks from last summer are faring. Stats reflected were entering Wednesday. OF PJ Morlando
First round (16th overall)
Marlins No. 7 prospect The injury bug continues to bite the 20-year-old Morlando, who sustained a season-ending lumbar stress reaction just one at-bat into his professional career in 2024. In mid-March, he underwent an ulnar nerve transposition on his left elbow. Morlando returned on April 22 and slashed .231/.429/.423 with two doubles, one homer and three RBIs in eight games for Single-A Jupiter before injuring his left hamstring. He began a rehab assignment on Monday. INF Carter Johnson
Second round
Marlins No. 9 prospect Miami went over slot to pluck Johnson, who earned a reputation as one of the better hitters in the 2024 prep class. It hasn’t translated to pro ball thus far. After hitting .221 with a 33 percent strikeout rate last season, the 19-year-old is batting .177/.265/.258 with nine doubles, one triple, two homers and 24 RBIs in 53 games for the Hammerheads this season. He has struck out 74 times and walked 22. The organization has him splitting time at short and second. |
RHP Aiden May
Competitive Balance B
Marlins No. 20 prospect May, 22, has yet to make his pro debut since being selected. He underwent minor surgery in March to remove loose bodies in his right elbow, so he has been on the 60-day injured list since March 27. The expectation is he will return in mid-July. INF Gage Miller
Third round
Marlins No. 21 prospect After dominating at Single-A Jupiter to open his career, Miller quickly received a promotion in August to High-A Beloit, where he also began his 2025 season. He is hitting .234/.343/.309 with eight doubles, one triple, one homer, 26 walks, 28 strikeouts and 10 steals. The 22-year-old has been playing at second and third. RHP Grant Shepardson
Fifth round
Marlins No. 27 prospect Shepardson has a 2.45 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP, striking out 19 and walking eight in 18 1/3 innings for the Rookie-level Florida Complex League Marlins through the first five starts of his career. His first three times on the mound, his opponent collected one hit or fewer. The 19-year-old has not given up an earned run in three of his outings. |
INF/OF Michael Snyder
10th round Despite a tough start to his pro career at Single-A Jupiter (.428 OPS), the Marlins challenged Snyder by sending him to High-A Beloit to start 2025. The 24-year-old has made the most of it, slashing .295/.444/.442 with 10 doubles, three homers, 36 walks, 37 strikeouts and 14 steals in 41 games. Drafted as an infielder, Snyder has split time at left field, first and third this season. OF Fenwick Trimble
Fourth round Before being placed on the seven-day injured list on May 22 with a hamstring strain, Trimble had been promoted to Double-A Pensacola with just 58 pro games under his belt. The 22-year-old had hit .284/.407/.422 for the Beloit Sky Carp, then had carried it over to the Blue Wahoos (.880 OPS in five games). |
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MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
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Actor and comedian Richard Kind joined the Marlins' booth on Tuesday to discuss his background in comedy, some of his ballpark memories and more. |
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Lefty Anthony Veneziano and catching coach Joe Singley now hold bragging rights over manager Clayton McCullough and third baseman Connor Norby after their alma mater, Coastal Carolina, ousted East Carolina, where McCullough and Norby went, two weeks ago in the Conway Regional. Over the weekend, the Chanticleers advanced to their second College World Series by defeating Auburn in a Super Regional. The only other time Coastal Carolina made it to the CWS, it captured the university’s first national title in any team sport by defeating Arizona in 2016. A few days later, Veneziano stepped on campus as a freshman. “The way they did it, you got there for two months to lift and take summer class,” Veneziano said. “It was pretty crazy being an incoming freshman. There were hundreds of fans just at freshman practice thinking that we were on the team. Our coach made it very clear that, ‘You're on the baseball team, but you're not on the national championship team,’ because they would always ask for autographs and pictures and special appearances, and we're like, ‘Sorry, we're just freshmen. We're just 18-year-old freshmen.’ But it was really cool to see the whole school really rally around baseball.” Come Friday, the Chanticleers and the Wildcats will square off again in Omaha, Neb. Veneziano will make sure to tune in when he can. Coastal Carolina’s head coach, Kevin Schnall, was an assistant during Veneziano’s time. Now at the helm of the program, Schnall invites alumni playing in pro ball to stop by and mentor the team. “Usually when I start throwing bullpens, I'll go down there, so this year it was like my halfway point,” Veneziano said. “I went to Myrtle Beach, [S.C.,] for like two weeks, threw my bullpens, worked out there and then came to Spring Training. It was perfect.” |
Otto Lopez has crushed a pair of home runs on this three-city road trip, and both have had an impact beyond the box score. His tater on Friday came on his daughter Amelia’s first birthday. His homer on Monday arrived hours after meeting with a family his wife, Marle, had befriended last year. “It was pretty amazing,” Lopez said. “Saw them and got to see them enjoy that game, and I hit that home run. It was so special for them, and they felt super, super happy.” |
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