Why the Marlins are taking a chance on Cristian Pache

[Kevin Barral]

Cristian Pache hasn't lived up to his prospect hype, but there are still reasons to be intrigued.

The Miami Marlins made two waiver claims on Friday, acquiring outfielder Cristian Pache from the Baltimore Orioles and reliever John McMillon from the Kansas City Royals. McMillon was optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville as he tries to regain his strikeout stuff, but Pache is out of minor league options, so he will join the big league club. While the Marlins as a team aren't playing for much during the rest of 2024, this could be one of Pache's final opportunities to show that he belongs in the majors.

Pache, 25, was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2015. Known mainly for his speed and defense, his bat was never truly consistent, but good enough to project as a future everyday player. His best minor league season came in 2019 between AA and AAA, slashing .277/.340/.462/.802 with 12 home runs and 61 RBIs.

Scouts were high on the young outfielder entering 2020 as he ranked as a consensus top-25 MLB prospect, including 13th on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 list and the number one prospect in the Atlanta Braves system. Per Pipeline, he was a 70-grade runner, 70-grade thrower and an 80-grade fielder.

 

As Pache joins his fifth MLB organization, the problem continues to be lack of offensive production.

Pache immediately struggled with his approach in limited action with the 2020-21 Braves. Through 24 career games, he posted an extremely high 37.5 K% and extremely low 2.8 BB%. He was too aggressive swinging at pitches up in the strike zone.

Even when putting balls in play, the young outfielder has made the wrong kinds of contact: too many ground balls and pop-ups. His career BABIP is only .258, compared to the MLB average of .292 during those seasons.

Pache was given a clean slate after being included in the Sean Murphy trade which sent him to the Oakland Athletics. The rebuilding A's were able to give him an extended opportunity to play, but Pache did not take advantage of it. He slashed .166/.218/.241/.459 with three home runs and 18 RBIs.

With more experience, Pache has been able to evolve his aggressive approach. He continues to swing at the first pitch constantly (40.3% of the time this season, per Baseball-Reference), but from there, he will work deep counts. It helps that he is being used as a platoon player instead of a starter with the majority of his plate appearances coming against left-handed pitchers.

With a career .244 on-base percentage, Pache has rarely been able to use him speed on the bases. Even when he gets on, he hasn't been confident or efficient, going 4-for-9 on steal attempts.

By both defensive runs saved and outs above average, Pache grades out as a good defender. He ranks in the 91st percentile of arm strength in 2024. If nothing else, he can contribute as a late-inning replacement.

For what it's worth, Pache has found past success in what will be his new home ballpark, slashing .400/.400/.650/1.050 with one home run and five RBIs in 20 plate appearances. That one home run was off of A.J. Puk in the ninth inning last season.

Since Jazz Chisholm Jr. was traded, Nick Gordon has served as Miami's center fielder. Expect Pache to platoon with Gordon moving forward. He'll have a chance to stick on the roster into 2025 if he plays solidly over these final two months.

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