Marlins minor league affiliates break organization's 18-year-old home run record

[Ely Sussman]

It has been a thrilling season for Miami Marlins prospects, particularly on the position player side. They hit a notable milestone on Sunday when Bennett Hostetler homered for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp in the top of the fourth inning. This was the 666th Marlins minor league homer of 2026, establishing a new single-season record for the organization.

This admittedly obscure record was previously held by the 2008 Marlins affiliates (665 HR). The structure of Minor League Baseball was different back then. The Marlins had an additional short-season stateside affiliate—the Jamestown Jammers of the New York-Penn League—but one fewer Dominican Summer League team than they have today.

The old record will be shattered by season's end. Current Marlins affiliates are scheduled to play 66 more regular season games.

Brandon Compton is the org's top individual home run hitter, going yard 30 times with High-A Beloit and Double-A Pensacola. Echedry Vargas ranks second with 22 (all with Low-A Jupiter). There are 25 players in the org who have double-digit MiLB homers; 20 of them have been acquired since November 2023 when Peter Bendix took over as president of baseball operations. 

Perhaps the most notable angle of this record is how dramatically Marlins MiLB long balls have increased from one season to the next. In 2025, with many of the same players, they combined for only 499 HR. If they maintain their current pace through season's end, their output will be up by nearly 50%!

Hostetler is a prime example. The lightly used backup catcher went homerless in 37 games last year, but has cleared the fences seven times despite only 16 appearances this year. In his very next at-bat following the record-breaker, he blasted another one.

 

Context is crucial, though. Home run rates have been way up across the minors in 2026. Even in breaking this longstanding franchise record, the Marlins rank only seventh this season in MiLB homers, trailing the New York Yankees (768 HR entering Sunday), Los Angeles Dodgers (723 HR), Minnesota Twins (694 HR), Seattle Mariners (691 HR), St. Louis Cardinals (667 HR) and Texas Rangers (667 HR).

Rookie hitters Joe Mack and Owen Caissie have helped the Marlins in the power department this season, and Deyvison De Los Santos (18 MiLB home runs) was recalled from Jacksonville on Saturday. Compton, Kemp Alderman (18 HR), Cam Cannarella (13 HR) and Brendan Jones (12 HR), who's pictured atop this article, are all likely to reach the majors in 2027.

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