2025 Miami Marlins Draft Picks

Pre-draft rankings: 52nd on Baseball America, 43rd on MLB Pipeline, 33rd on FanGraphs

The South Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year, Morlando led Summerville with a .403 batting average, along with 26 runs, seven doubles, two home runs, 10 RBI, a .602 OBP, and a 1.173 OPS in 32 games last season. He was named Most Valuable Player at last year’s High School All-American Game and was crowned the High School Home Run Derby champion.

Morlando is powerfully built with well-developed musculature throughout a 6-foot-3, 198-pound frame and easy plus raw power thanks to well above-average bat speed. His hitting setup is unorthodox, using an extremely wide stance and no leg kick or stride. He has no wasted movement with his hands or head throughout the swing.

Despite being announced as a center fielder, Morlando is all but certain to move to the outfield corners as he progresses through the minor leagues.

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Pre-draft rankings: 37th on Baseball America, 40th on MLB Pipeline, 29th on FanGraphs

While Johnson doesn’t jump off the page with any physical tools, he has a steady, reliable hit-first game that is driven by a relaxed and fluid swing and outstanding strike-zone awareness. His track record of in-game performance is lengthy. Johnson’s swing is compact and quick, enabling him to handle pitches in all areas of the zone thanks to above-average bat-to-ball skills. He’s a line-drive hitter who can use the entire field, though scouts are mixed on exactly how much more strength and power he’ll add in the future

A shortstop now, Johnson could move to third base or second base in the future. He’s stretched at shortstop because of fringy pure speed and lateral quickness, though he should be fine at either second or third base, where he has enough arm to stick.

 

 

 

 

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Carter Johnson (@carterjohnson.24) • Instagram photos and videos

Pre-draft rankings: 116th on Baseball America, 82nd on MLB Pipeline, 61st on FanGraphs

May spent his three-year college career at three different schools, putting it all together for Oregon State in 2024. May throws with a bit of effort from a low three-quarters slot. He averaged 94 mph with a sinking fastball that touches 98, but actually threw a high-spin sweeping slider more often and as his primary offering. The slider is a plus breaking ball that gets a tremendous amount of horizontal movement (about 18 inches on average, per Baseball America). He’ll also mix in a hard upper-80s changeup, but the pitch is a distant third offering in his arsenal for now.

There’s reliever risk with May thanks to his delivery and pitch usage, but if the Marlins can work their changeup development magic on him, he has the potential to start.

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Pre-draft rankings: 111th on Baseball America, 68th on MLB Pipeline, unranked on FanGraphs

The 6-foot, 200-pound Miller spent two seasons with Bishop State Junior College where he hit nearly .400 in his time with the program and led the team in most offensive categories as a sophomore. He transferred to Alabama for the 2024 season and maintained his high-level offensive performance with a .381/.474/.702 slash line and 18 home runs. His .381 average was the third-best mark among SEC hitters and he also has a strong performance track record in the Perfect Game Collegiate League during multiple summers. Miller has a very simple and quiet setup in the box with an even stance and the barrel rested on his shoulder until his load phase when he has a slight lift of the barrel and a slight leg kick before firing his hands to the ball. He’s an extremely pull-heavy hitter and almost all of his power went to the pull side, but Miller did a nice job making contact against fastballs and breaking balls.

He’s a bat-first prospect and below-average runner. Although Miller played third base at Alabama, the Marlins announced him as a second baseman on draft day.

 

 

 

 

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Gage (@gagemiller_) • Instagram photos and videos

Pre-draft rankings: 201st on Baseball America, unranked on MLB Pipeline, unranked on FanGraphs

Trimble is a 6-foot-3, 200-pound outfielder who had a sensational sophomore season in 2023 when he slashed .342/.452/.631 with 13 homers and 22 doubles in 56 games for James Madison. He played in the Cape Cod League the following summer where he struggled to replicate that same performance, but his solid toolset and a transition from corner outfield to center make him an intriguing prospect. Trimble is a plus runner with average arm strength and average defense in the outfield and he’s also got a chance for above-average raw power.

 

 

 

 

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Pre-draft rankings: 193rd on Baseball America, 141st on MLB Pipeline, 95th on FanGraphs

The 6-foot-1, 195-pound right-hander has been a helium name for scouts in Colorado during the 2024 spring season. He made a significant step forward with his velocity and now throws his fastball in the 90-95 mph range after pitching in the upper 80s and touching 93 in 2023. He also has impressive feel to spin a slider around 80 mph that has big spin rates and above-average potential with late turning action. Shepardson primarily uses his fastball/slider combination, but he does throw a four- and two-seam variation of the fastball that have different shapes. He pitched at the MLB Draft combine in June where he showed potential with an 87-88 mph changeup that flashed tons of tumble and fading life and could be a key piece of his arsenal moving forward, as well as a slower curveball at 79-80 mph. He throws from a fair delivery and three-quarters slot and has been a scattered strike-thrower in the past, which combined with his primary two-pitch mix, adds some reliever risk.

Shepardson is committed to San Francisco where his brother, Blake, currently pitches.

 

 

 

 

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Grant Shepardson (@grant.shepardson_) • Instagram photos and videos

Pre-draft rankings: 196th on Baseball America, 169th on MLB Pipeline, unranked on FanGraphs

Green was a tooled up high school player in the 2021 draft class who ranked as the No. 112 overall prospect, but made it to campus at NC State. After two seasons with NC State, Green transferred to Georgia Tech for the 2024 season where he put together a career-year and hit .308/.407/.577 with 12 home runs and a 15% strikeout rate that was significantly lower than his 2022 and 2023 seasons. A 6-foot-3, 192-pound right-handed hitter, Green is athletic with lots of raw power, though scouts question his pure hitting ability and approach. While he improved his contact rates this spring, he remains a fairly aggressive hitter who expands the zone and employs a pull-heavy approach with most of his in-game power going to the pull side.

Green projects for average speed especially if he continues to fill out his tall and still lean frame. If and when he does that, he will likely need to move off shortstop and scouts think he’ll be a better fit at third base where his lack of a quick first step and moderate range won’t be as much of an issue. He does have solid-average arm strength and should have the hands to be an average defender at the hot corner.

 

 

 

 

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Payton Green (@payton.green9) • Instagram photos and videos

Pre-draft rankings: 204th on Baseball America, 166th on MLB Pipeline, unranked on FanGraphs

Brink is a 6-foot-2, 210-pound right-hander with a powerful and muscular frame. He threw only nine innings during the 2021 season and missed 2022 entirely with Tommy John surgery, but showed impressive control and strikeout stuff in 2023 and 2024 after returning to the mound. This spring he posted a 3.70 ERA over 99.2 innings and 15 starts, including two complete games, and has a reliable four-pitch mix. He sits in the 92-93 mph range with his fastball and will push the pitch up to 95-96. Brink mixes in a mid-80s short-breaking slider, a mid-80s changeup and a slower curveball in the upper 70s. Both the slider and changeup have been Brink’s go-to secondaries and most consistent swing-and-miss offerings, though scouts note his feel to spin the baseball is just OK and don’t see any true wipeout offering in the arsenal at the moment. He uses the changeup most frequently against lefties and saves the curveball as a change-of-pace offering and distinct fourth pitch. His ability to fill up the zone with a deep pitch mix bodes well for his starter chances in pro ball, but he is older for the class and turns 23 in September.

 

 

 

 

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Pre-draft rankings: 113th on Baseball America, 228th on MLB Pipeline, unranked on FanGraphs

This 6-foot-6, 212-pound outfielder who has been a consistent presence in the middle of ECU’s lineup since his 2022 freshman season. Over his three-year career, Jenkins-Cowart hit .323/.370/.535 with 35 home runs while cutting his strikeout rate season after season. He employs a crouched and grounded setup in the box with his weight shifted back on his back leg and a high back elbow in his handset. Many scouts expect a big league club will attempt to stand him taller in the box to create more length to his swing, get him loose and help him tap into his impressive raw power more frequently. While Jenkins-Cowart can hit the ball extremely hard and has shown all fields power, he’s never eclipsed more than 13 homers in a single season which is surprising given his raw power. He is an aggressive hitter who expands the zone more frequently than you’d like to see, but his overall contact rates are solid and perhaps he needs to dial in the approach a bit more to fully access that power.

Jenkins-Cowart has played a bit of center field, but most of his time at ECU has come in right and he profiles best as a corner outfielder in pro ball. He is probably a below-average runner with average arm strength.

 

 

 

 

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Jacob Jenkins-Cowart (@jacobjenkinscowart) • Instagram photos and videos

Pre-draft rankings: 496th on Baseball America, 198th on MLB Pipeline, unranked on FanGraphs

A 6-foot-1, 200-pound infielder, Gleed has been a solid contact bat for UC Irvine over the past three seasons. He had a career-best season this spring where he slashed .351/.469/.550 with nearly as many walks as strikeouts and six homers in 34 games. Hamstring injuries plagued his season and caused him to miss time. Gleed did a nice job staying within the strike zone this spring and while he has solid raw power he projects to be a below-average hitter with below-average power in games in pro ball.

Primarily a third baseman this spring, Gleed has played all over the infield (as well as DH when he was injured) and scouts are mixed on whether he fits best at third, second or left, where his below-average speed could limit him.

The oldest Marlins selection through the first two days of the 2024 draft, Snyder spent four collegiate seasons with the Washington Huskies before transferring to Oklahoma for his final year of eligibility. In 205 NCAA games, he slashed .297/.401/.516, recording all 16 of his career stolen bases in his final season.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pounder is an alum of Harvard-Westlake High School in Los Angeles, which has produced current big leaguers Max Fried, Jack Flaherty, Lucas Giolito and Pete Crow-Armstrong.

Listed at 6'3", 185 pounds, Faherty pitched only 15 ⅔ innings during his three seasons at Arkansas. However, at the time of his selection, the righty reliever had a 46.7 K% for the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod League.

 

 

 

 

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Jake Faherty (@j.faherty88) • Instagram photos and videos

The Canadian-born Caskenette slashed .309/.429/.575 with 13 home runs and nearly as many walks (22) as strikeouts (23) during his senior season. He was a semifinalist for the 2024 Buster Posey Award, which honors the national catcher of the year.

Pre-draft rankings: 130th on Baseball America, 138rd on MLB Pipeline, unranked on FanGraphs

Schrier was a standout high school prospect and product of SoCal powerhouse JSerra High who stood out for his well-rounded, polished game. He withdrew from the 2021 draft in order to make it to campus at UCLA, where he assumed the everyday shortstop role from the jump and then proceeded to hit .276/.363/.443 over the next three seasons. Now listed at 6'1", 215 pounds, Schrier has some untapped power potential thanks to impressive bat speed and solid strength, though he can get overly steep with his bat path at times. Most of his power has gone to the pull side. Schrier never hit more than the nine homers he managed in his freshman season, but there are some clubs who believe there’s more power to be unlocked at the next level. To access that pop, Schrier will need to make more contact against secondaries, which has been a bit of a struggle for him at UCLA.

Like his prep days, Schrier still has just average supplemental tools with average foot speed, average defensive chops and average arm strength. His game tends to play up thanks to his baseball instincts, though some scouts expect him to move off shortstop to either third base or second in pro ball.

 

 

 

 

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Cody Schrier (@codyschrier) • Instagram photos and videos

Clayton has been a three-year starting shortstop for Washington. During his junior season, he slashed .275/.380/.446 with seven home runs in 49 games, with a career-high 18.3% strikeout rate and career-high 13.1% walk rate. He’s a light-hitting hitter who projects to hit at the bottom of a lineup and will need to thrive on contact skills, and to do so he’ll need to find the barrel more against quality secondaries.

The 2024 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, Clayton has a reputation as a solid but unspectacular defender who could either slide to second base full time in pro ball or offer utility infield value. 

 

 

 

 

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Cam Clayton (@camclayt) • Instagram photos and videos

It’s rare to have prominent prospects from Alaska, but Niclai is an intriguing catcher from the state with a powerful 6'2", 213-pound frame and some tools to go with it. His raw power and arm strength are the calling cards of the profile and both tools are either above-average now or are easy projections to be in the near future.

He’ll need to work to stick behind the plate because of his size and the fact that his actions are a bit light for the position currently. If he doesn’t catch, he’ll move off to first base or a corner outfield spot as a well below-average runner which changes the complexion of his profile significantly. Niclai performed on the circuit and also played in Arizona during the 2024 spring so he’s been seen by decision-makers more than you might expect for an Alaskan player.

Niclai honored his commitment to Oregon rather than sign with the Marlins.

 

 

 

 

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Coen (@coenniclai) • Instagram photos and videos

Rataczak posted incredible numbers at the plate in 2024, slashing .396/.485/.698 with 17 home runs in 55 games. He transferred to Tennessee earlier this summer and will continue his collegiate career there is he decides not to turn pro.

McDowell spent all five seasons of his college career at Oregon State, where he was teammates with Marlins Competitive Balance Round B pick Aiden May in 2024. Most of his defensive reps have come in center field.

The 6'3", 200-pound Payne is committed to George Mason University.

 

 

 

 

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Nate Payne (@nate_payne6) • Instagram photos and videos

Lashutka made 15 starts for St. Leo as a senior, posting a 2.88 ERA and 1.05 WHIP with 102 strikeouts in 100 innings pitched.

 

 

 

 

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Luke Lashutka (@luke_lashutka) • Instagram photos and videos

Centala struggled toward to end of his senior season with UCF. Overall, he had a 6.96 ERA and issued 23 walks in 32 ⅓ innings pitched.

An undrafted free agent, Brown has legit bat speed and easy above-average juice. The hit tool is fringe-average and potentially even below average with a serious tendency to expand the zone paired with fringe average feel for contact. Still, Brown has flashed good balance and timing against secondary pitches plus a swing that produces plenty of fly balls.

Immediately prior to signing with Miami, Brown slashed .435/.475/.739 with five home runs and 16 stolen bases in 19 games in the Northwoods League.

Defensively, Brown looks like an average corner defender with quality athleticism. Brown has recorded plus run times out of the right-handed batter’s box and flashes great range in the outfield, though a fringe-average arm caps his defensive upside.

 

 

 

 

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Jess-Uh-Duh (@jessadabrown) • Instagram photos and videos