It's only a matter of time until Jakob Marsee debuts with Marlins

JACKSONVILLE, FL—This is the player that the Miami Marlins were expecting when they acquired outfield prospect Jakob Marsee from the San Diego Padres in the Luis Arraez trade. Marsee enters Wednesday leading all Marlins minor leaguers in home runs (14) and stolen bases (47) while competing at the Triple-A level.

However, the transition to a new organization did not go smoothly. Marsee spent most of 2024 with Double-A Pensacola where he slashed .188/.342/.303/.645. His underlying numbers were more encouraging and his results improved in 22 AAA games at the end of the season (.275/.370/.363/.732 slash line). Meanwhile in San Diego, Arraez went on to win his league's batting title for the third consecutive year.

Looking back at it, the 24-year-old is thankful for the ups and downs.

"I think last year, it was really good for me to fail and learn to stay within myself," he told Fish On First. "This year, sticking to my approach, knowing that if I get out, it's okay. Pitchers make good pitches and just learning from that each and every at-bat and just not trying to do too much. Last year, it got a little bit big at times, and this year, just cleaned up that stuff and just stayed within the middle of the field."

Marsee is slashing .248/.379/.440/.820 through 97 games with the Jumbo Shrimp while drawing the most walks in the International League. He ranks in the 93rd percentile among all AAA hitters in chase rate, per Prospect Savant.

Marsee's baserunning stands out as well. Baseball America evaluates him as a 60-grade runner, but that may be conservative. His 29.1 ft/sec Sprint Speed this season is second-highest on the Jumbo Shrimp, trailing only Andrew Pintar. He stole both second and third in the bottom of the first inning on Tuesday night. He has a 84.1% success rate during his minor league career when attempting to steal.

"It just depends on what the pitchers are doing and just picking up on what he's doing," Marsee said in an interview on Turn 2 with Scott & Troy. "Always just trying to get in scoring position, or closer to home."

The Marlins have one starting outfield spot locked up for the foreseeable future with All-Star Kyle Stowers, but the other spots are unsettled. With the trade deadline just a day away, recent reports have indicated that teams are interested in Jesús Sánchez and Dane Myers. Moving either one of them would create room for Marsee to get his feet wet in the majors down the stretch of this season.

"We all think about it every day," Marsee said. "It's hard not to. I've been dreaming about it ever since I was a little kid, so knowing I am close is really cool, but I also trust God and know that when the time comes, it'll come, and whenever it happens, it happens. I'm not really worried about that. Just focused on playing ball here and just winning games."

With Marsee's contributions, Jacksonville has done plenty of winning, clinching the International League First Half Championship. The team is 20 games above .500 overall with a 61-41 record.

Interested in learning more about the Miami Marlins' top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!