Fish On First Prospects Report: Cam Cannarella's stock soars; hit machine Luis Arana

[Kevin Barral]

For the 2026 season, Fish On First will provide weekly reports on the Miami Marlins farm system, covering all levels. This late-June edition of the Fish On First Prospects Report includes a lot of familiar names who have maintained strong production across multiple weeks, plus some good problems to have with top prospects returning from injuries.

This report covers the games played from June 16-22.

 

Triple-A Jacksonville

Gage Miller's time in Jacksonville has been nothing short of impressive, slashing .341/.442/.614/1.056 with three home runs, 12 RBI and a 178 wRC+. With the Jumbo Shrimp, Miller is posting the highest walk rate of his career (13.5%) and continues to strike out under 20% of the time (17.3%).

Seventh homer of the year for Gage Miller, third at Triple-A.

He has two homers in his last three games.#Marlins pic.twitter.com/e0u8BK3m4Y

— Fish On First Prospects (@FOFProspects) June 22, 2026

Defensively, Miller is primarily playing second base, but has also seen time at third base as well. Worth noting, the big league club currently has the worst offensive production at the third base this season, per wRC+.

 

Kemp Alderman split time between right field and first base in his first week back from a left elbow sprain. Overall, he is slashing .287/.365/.503/.868 with 10 home runs, 24 RBI and a 129 wRC+.

Johnny Olmstead, a 19th-round pick back in 2023, is having a strong month of June, slashing .235/.422/.471/.893. Olmstead hit a home run on Friday against the Durham Bulls. His overall season slash line is .210/.365/.371/.763 with five home runs, 21 RBI and a 106 wRC+.

In his most recent start for the Jumbo Shrimp, Karson Milbrandt went four innings, allowing one run on three hits, walked five and struck out seven. Milbrandt's fastball topped out at 96.8 mph, averaging 94.8 mph and generating eight whiffs. Of his seven strikeouts, four of them came on the sweeper, generating eight whiffs as well.

Although extremely effective overall, control continues to be an issue for him, now having walked three or more in all three starts at the Triple-A level.

 

Jack Ralston continues to have a strong season, posting a 1.30 ERA, 3.84 FIP, 11.23 K9 and 3.46 BB/9 in 25 appearances. The Marlins have given other relievers opportunities over Ralston so far, but his chance should come at some point soon.

The Marlins brought back Zach Pop on a minor league deal. Pop previously spent time with the Marlins in 2021 and 2022, then bounced around the league with stints in the Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies organizations.

Pop made his 2026 Jumbo Shrimp debut on June 16 against Durham. He has since pitched in three games, allowing three runs on two hits and three strikeouts. The three runs and two hits were all surrendered in that first outing. His two other outings have been perfect.

 

Double-A Pensacola

The Wahoos did their part to keep their first-half division title hopes alive all week long, including deep into the night and early morning on Thursday and Friday when the team attempted to wait out a lengthy delay. Despite falling just short of their ultimate goal, the team had a great series against Birmingham, winning four of six games by way of a 46-32 run differential. They ended the first half three games over .500 at 36-33.

There’s taking the toughest promotion in the minors in stride, then there’s doing what Cam Cannarella is doing. Called up to Pensacola at the beginning of the month, the 22-year-old has barely batted an eye at the change in competition level. With nine more hits including two homers this past week, Cannarella is slashing .357/.439/.500 as a Blue Wahoo. He has a 155 wRC+.

Cannarella is proving to be one of the faster-developing position player prospects the Marlins have housed in recent memory. Nearly matching the same solid walk rate he posted in High-A along with limiting his K rate to an elite 11% while making contact at an 85% rate on pitches within the strike zone, there isn’t much not to nitpick. Touted for a plus-plus defensive skill set and great bat-to-ball skills coming out of the draft, it was believed that Cannarella profiled as hit-over-power. However, he has definitely started to tap into more extra bases, already hitting five homers on the campaign.

With sound mechanics, great discipline, decent speed and the aptitude to stick in center field due to good reads, instincts and athleticism, Cannarella has three of five tools. If the power continues to show up, he could be adding a fourth. Even though Cannarella’s career is still very young, he has answered every challenge successfully and with flying colors. If he keeps doing what he’s doing, Cannarella could be a candidate to arrive in Miami as early as next season.

The quick challenge to the Double-A ranks hasn’t been the kindest to the Marlins 2025 first-rounder Aiva Arquette, save for one facet of the game: power. Since his promotion to the Wahoos, Arquette has gone 20 for his first 93 including 13-for-64 in June. While he’s hitting just .215 with a .284 OBP, Arquette is slugging .420. That is because 33% of his hits have left the yard. As a member of the Blue Wahoos, the 22-year-old already has five home runs.

Arquette’s weaknesses have been two-fold: swinging at too many pitches outside of the strike zone and getting off his best swing altogether. While he has been able to avoid whiffs rather well, generating solid contact has been a struggle. Swinging at pitches outside of the zone 30% of the time and exhibiting a a lowly .298 wOBA along with a 45% ground ball rate, he’s left a bit to be desired amidst the challenge to the upper minors.

Unlocking Arquette will take a few things: more reps, natural progression, and body control. The first two are an easy fix that just require time. The third may be a bit trickier for the Marlins as they attempt to groom the 6’5”, 220-pound specimen. Arquette’s swing itself is pretty sound—it’s getting to it that needs work. At his size, he works with a lot of moving parts and levers that can cause him to look awkward at times when attempting to time up his cuts. Additionally, the inherently picky and selective hitter is sometimes late to commit to a swing, compounding this issue. Quieting down Arquette’s approach and getting him to fully commit to swings earlier in his process will be key for Arquette as he continues his development with Pensacola.

Where size has not hurt Arquette is in the field. Despite being a very unique build for the shortstop position, he looks every bit the part there and hasn’t given the Marlins any reason to doubt he stick there long term. That said, he’s also been tried out at third base. If the bat continues to lag behind the defense, more regular playing time at third rather than the higher-stress up-the-middle position may be an advantageous step for Miami to take.

 

High-A Beloit

Beloit bounced back from losing 10 of their previous 12 with a good offensive showing, leading to them taking three out of five games played against Cedar Rapids on the road. The final game of the series was postponed and will be made up next month. Beloit scored at least eight runs in every game and owned the advantage in a 51-41 run differential.

After hitting four homers the week previous, Brandon Compton proved his recent power surge was no fluke. The 2025 second-rounder put out another four long balls against the Kernels including a couple absolute no-doubters. His slugging percentage on the season rose to .450 and to an audacious .767 in June, earning him our Prospect of the Week honors.

A 6’1”, 225-pound lefty, Compton is putting absolute monstrous power on full display, particularly to his pull side. As his vision starts to improve and he starts to gain more confidence in his swing, pitching Compton inside is becoming more of a chore for opposing pitchers. Looking at Compton’s advanced stats, his slow start was marred by an inability to make contact on pitches within the strike zone. His 70.9% zone contact percentage is in the eighth percentile league-wide. It hasn’t been that Compton has swung at bad pitches—his swing rate on pitches outside the zone is 22.1%, in the 81st percentile and his 24.5% walk rate is ridiculously high. It just seems Compton was getting a bit over-zealous when swinging at strikes, leading to a heightened whiff rate.

As he’s beginning to solve for that issue, we’re seeing what this bat is fully capable of. As we’ve stated previously regarding Compton, he is bat-first and arguably bat-only, so it will need to carry him to the next level. If he continues on his current track, a call-up to Double-A is merited this season once space becomes available in Pensacola’s crowded outfield.

Two weeks ago, as part of our report, we mentioned how Dillon Head just needs to build confidence to break out of a injury-interrupted start-of-season slump that had him slashing just .163/.273/.231 with a 41 wRC+. Almost immediately after that writing, the 21-year-old’s bat perked up. He recorded six hits against Quad Cities and followed up with a seven-hit effort this week against Cedar Rapids. Over that span, Head doubled three times and homered twice. His June slash line represents the best offensive baseball he’s played in a Marlins-affiliated uniform. Altogether this month, he’s hitting .311/.408/.590.

Confidence is key and Head is the proof. In the 91st percentile in zone contact but the 23rd in zone swing, Head just needed to start swinging at more strikes. Over the last two weeks, he’s showcased that trait, the main catalyst in his fiery stretch. One of few prospects in the Marlins’ ranks that profiles as a true center fielder long term, we are starting to get a glimpse at what the tooled-up prospect can do when making the most of loud raw tools including a quick bat and plus-plus speed. A guy that can and likely will live with a high BABIP due to his quickness and ability to turn anything in play into a hit, Head is also a smart baserunner who comes by extra bases fairly easily even if he does not hit a gap. Because of his twitchy hands, Head also isn’t completely devoid of power. With room to continue to grow into 20-double, 20-steal, 10-homer production annually, it is very refreshing to start to see it happen for Head. Despite injuries, time is still on his side. Trending up, he’s a name we will continue to monitor very closely.

 

Low-A Jupiter

Since his arrival to the Low-A level, Luis Arana has not stopped hitting, slashing .345/.479/.483/.962 with one home run, 13 RBI and a 169 wRC+. The main difference has been Arana striking out more (17.8%) at this level compared to the complex league (9.2%). Overall, Arana is slashing .366/.478/.464/.943 with one home run, 18 RBI, 20 stolen bases and a 158 wRC+. He is proving to be the crown jewel of Miami's 2025 international free agent class on the position player side.

 

Edgardo De Leon was promoted along with Arana to the Low-A level and the results have different, hitting .200/.261/.450/.711 with three home runs, 11 RBI and an 82 wRC+. De Leon's main issue has been his strikeout rate (32.6%) now being exposed more at this level. The concern level shouldn't be too high yet given the limited sample.

It's just a matter of time until Carter Johnson receives a promotion to High-A Beloit. Johnson is now slashing .243/.357/.430/.788 with eight home runs, 35 RBI and a 114 wRC+. Johnson, whose stock has fallen dramatically in two years of pro ball, still has a path to putting together a productive career. It will just take patience.

Since his promotion to Low-A, Eiver Mosquera has been great, posting a 2.45 ERA, 3.75 FIP, 11.45 K/9 and 3.27 BB/9. Mosquera has made three appearances (one start) so far. In his most recent outing against the Palm Beach Cardinals, Mosquera went four innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits, two walks and struck out six. His fastball velocity topped out at 97.3 mph and averaged 96.4 mph.

 

FCL Marlins

The offense running through the organization right now is contagious. This week featured a 19-run performance in eight innings by the FCL Marlins last Tuesday.

After struggling during his first two professional seasons, Adrian Bello broke out last year in the Dominican Summer League before making the jump stateside this season. He has been one of the more consistent bats for the FCL Marlins, hitting .290 with one home run, 11 RBI, and seven stolen bases. His plate discipline has also been encouraging, as he has drawn 12 walks while striking out just 13 times. This week, Bello recorded a hit in three of the four games he played, including two multi-hit performances.

Bello's biggest concern remains his batted-ball profile. His 2.00 GO/AO ratio suggests he is putting a lot of balls on the ground, making it difficult to sustain his current production unless he starts elevating the ball more consistently.

After a brief stint in Jupiter last year where he struggled and then continued to have difficulties following his demotion back to the FCL, John Cruz has finally started to find his groove. He is hitting .317 in June with two home runs and nine RBI. On the season, he owns a .267 batting average with four home runs, 18 RBI, and 11 stolen bases. The strikeout totals remain high, but he has made noticeable improvements compared to last season. With the draft approaching, it may be time to give Cruz another opportunity in Low-A Jupiter and see how he responds.

 

DSL Marlins & DSL Miami

Carlos De Los Santos is off to an excellent start in his professional career. He is hitting .342 with a home run and nine RBI on the season and has only gone hitless in four games. In two of those games, he received just one at-bat. This week, he continued to produce, going 4-for-14 (.286) with a double and two RBI. Two of those hits and both RBI came on Monday during DSL Miami's 15-12 victory over the DSL Twins. The strikeout rate and BABIP are both a little elevated, but for a 17-year-old in his first professional season, the early results are extremely encouraging for the Marlins.

Jesús Pérez entered Monday's game hitting just .105 through his first 19 at-bats of the season. He responded by putting together one of the best individual performances in the DSL this year, going 5-for-6 with two home runs, six RBI, and a stolen base. That performance raised his season average all the way to .280. Prior to Monday, Pérez had struck out just three times in 19 at-bats, but had little to show for it. Sometimes all a player needs is one breakout game to get things going, and Monday may have been exactly that.

Johan Machado put together one of the best weeks in the entire organization. He recorded a hit in every game he played and added three multi-hit performances. He capped off the week on Monday with a home run and three RBI. Machado is best known for his speed, highlighted earlier this season by a game in which he stole five bases. If he can begin to pair that speed with more consistent offensive production, he has the potential to become one of the fastest risers in the system.

Santiago Solarte wasn't satisfied with the excellent week he had previously, so he followed it up with another strong performance. He recorded a hit in four of five games and added another home run. On Monday, after a one-out single in the first inning, Solarte stole second, third, and home. He now has 14 stolen bases on the season (fourth among all DSL players). He continues to improve each week, and with his 6-foot-5 frame, these flashes are exactly why the Marlins believe he has the potential to develop into a true five-tool player.

After opening the season 1-for-6, Diego Martinez has found his groove during his first professional season. He is now hitting .393 with two home runs, seven RBI, and six stolen bases. This week was easily his best of the year, as he recorded back-to-back three-hit games and homered in both contests. The sample size remains small at just 28 at-bats, and his .474 BABIP is certainly inflated. However, the early foundation of his offensive potential has definitely started to reveal itself, giving the Marlins another intriguing young bat to monitor as the season progresses.

 

This week's schedule

• Triple-A Jacksonville vs. Memphis
• Double-A Pensacola at Chattanooga
• High-A Beloit vs. Peoria
• Low-A Jupiter at Clearwater
• FCL Marlins, DSL Marlins and DSL Miami vs. various opponents

 

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