How long until spring training standout Max Acosta mans shortstop for the Marlins?

Jake Burger quickly became a fan favorite with the Miami Marlins. The decision to trade him away this past offseason didn't go over well because of how affordable he still was and how little we knew about the three Texas Rangers prospects who came back to Miami in exchange. Midway through spring training, 22-year-old infielder Max Acosta is showing that the Marlins may have gotten good value for Burger after all and it won't be long before he gets an opportunity to prove it in the major leagues.

Acosta signed with the Rangers out of Venezuela in 2019 for $1.65M, but did not make his pro ball debut until 2021. In the Arizona Complex League, he slashed .246/.279/.393/.673 with a 70 wRC+ through 17 games played. He had an aggressive approach, drawing walks only 4.4% of the time (the ACL average was 11.4%).

Acosta's walk rate doubled to 8.8% in 2022 as he posted a 101 wRC+ and stole 44 bases at Low-A. In 2023, he took a step backwards in most areas, though added some power with a career-high 11 home runs for High-A Hickory.

In 2024 at the AA level, Acosta slashed .288/.353/.425/.777 with eight home runs, 58 RBI and a 119 wRC+. The big breakout occurred during the second half of the season as mechanical adjustments allowed him to hit the ball a lot harder and chase outside the strike zone a lot less. His overall strikeout rate of 13.4% was a massive improvement compared to the previous season (21.1 K%) despite facing tougher competition with the promotion to AA. That success carried over to the Arizona Fall League as well (.338/.413/.521/.934 in 20 games).

Participating in his first big league spring training camp, Acosta is 3-for-9 with a home run and two walks through five games played.

As much as the Marlins need impact bats to come through their farm system, they also need quality defenders. Acosta has flashed the leather in camp and shown he can stick at shortstop. "Watching him defensively, he's made some really nice plays in the game and made the routine plays, routine," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "Even watching him on the backfields during the workouts, he's been great.” On Monday, Acosta played his first game of the spring at second base, allowing Otto Lopez to play shortstop.

Acosta has yet to play a game at AAA. That is his most likely assignment to begin the 2025 season with the Marlins hoping that Xavier Edwards can improve at shortstop despite rating poorly there last year. If arm strength continues to be too much of a weakness for Edwards, Acosta can slot right in there with Edwards moving to second base. Starlyn Caba is the most talented shortstop of them all, but he's still several years away from potentially debuting.

The 15th-ranked prospect on our latest Fish On First Top 30 update, Acosta is on the roster for next week's Spring Breakout game. There is a strong chance that he's in the starting lineup at one of the middle infield positions.

Marlins prospects will face St. Louis Cardinals prospects at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on March 14 at 12:10 p.m. ET.

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!