Offishial News: Rule 5 Draft pick returned to Marlins

[Ely Sussman]

Today's news roundup also includes the launch of our annual series of draft prospect profiles.

The Atlanta Braves have sent right-hander Anderson Pilar back to the Miami Marlins after previously selecting Pilar in December's Rule 5 Draft.

Pilar was coming off a great 2024 season across three levels of the Marlins organization, posting a 2.64 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in 58 innings pitched (37 G/2 GS). He walked only 5.6% of batters faced. That performance didn't translate to the Grapefruit League (14.29 ERA and 2.82 WHIP in 5.2 IP).

Pilar returns without any roster restrictions—no need to add him to the 40-man or call him up yet. The 27-year-old has been assigned to Triple-A Jacksonville.

Marlins Opening Day is seven days away.

More Marlins news and content below:

🔷 I made the following bold predictions for the 2025 season on Fish Unfiltered (embedded below): Xavier Edwards puts up at least 4.0 fWAR; Marlins pitchers allow the most walks in the National League; Sandy Alcantara does not get traded; and Dillon Head becomes the top-ranked Marlins hitting prospect.

🔷 Signed as a two-year player in 2023, Janero Miller will be developed exclusively as a pitcher moving forward, reports MLB Pipeline's Jonathan Mayo. In 303 plate appearances in the Dominican Summer League, Miller had slashed .227/.341/.333 (90 wRC+) with an alarmingly high 40.6% strikeout rate. He didn't pitch at all last season.

🔷 Marlins director of minor league operations Hector Crespo raves about how Karson Milbrandt developed his secondary pitches over the offseason. Entering his age-21 season, the right-hander has incorporated both a kick change and a sweeper "that grade out really excitingly."

🔷 A prep hitter from the state of Washington, Xavier Neyens is the first prospect featured in Hector Rodriguez's annual series of draft prospect profiles.

🔷 In another annual tradition, Vicent Baldayo previewed the upcoming Marlins season for Pitcheos Salvages (en español).  

🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the Texas Rangers signed Patrick Corbin (1-YR/$1.1M). Craig Kimbrel took a minor league deal with the Atlanta Braves. It's Kimbrel sixth different MLB organization in the last five seasons and the one that originally groomed him into a dominant closer in the early 2010s.

🔷 Today's Grapefruit League game: the Marlins (probable starter RHP Janson Junk) host the Houston Astros (RHP Logan VanWey). It's the final time this spring that the Marlins will be televised locally on FanDuel Sports Network Florida. First pitch at 1:10 p.m.

 

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