Fish On First Prospects Report: Starlyn Caba resembling Top 100 prospect again

For the 2026 season, Fish On First will provide weekly reports on the Miami Marlins farm system, covering all levels. Here's the second May edition of our Fish On First Prospects Report and the first with a section dedicated to the Florida Complex League.

This report covers the games played from May 5-11.

Triple-A Jacksonville

Robby Snelling and Joe Mack were just promoted from the Jumbo Shrimp. The top-ranked prospect remaining on their roster is Kemp Alderman, who continues to play first base on a part-time basis. He had another strong week of play against the Charlotte Knights, with a hit in five of the six games he played in, hitting a home run in the last game. Overall, Alderman is slashing .287/.370/.473/.843 with six home runs, 17 RBI and a 125 wRC+.

It is unclear how long of a leash the Marlins will give Christopher Morel at first base, but with Alderman getting first base reps everyday, it does bring up the possibility that the Marlins could call him up soon if Morel struggles continue.

Jacob Berry struggled this series against Charlotte, only knocking in two hits during the season, but overall he is slashing .280/.403/.410/.813 with two home runs, 16 RBI, 11 stolen bases and a 125 wRC+. Defensively, he has recently been splitting time between third base and right field.

Although Deyvison De Los Santos is repeating Triple-A, he is showing improvements from struggles we saw in 2025. Going into the final game of the Charlotte series, De Los Santos was riding a six-game hit streak, which was snapped after an 0-for-3 day in the series finale. He is now slashing .260/.339/.450/.789 with four home runs, 19 RBI and a 109 wRC+. He is only striking out a career-low 17.4% of the time.

On the pitching side, Bradley Blalock struggled for the first time this season, allowing seven runs on seven hits (one home run), walking five and striking out four in 4 ⅔ innings pitched. Overall, Blalock now has a 4.42 ERA, 5.45 FIP, 8.59 K/9 and 2.70 BB/9 in 36 ⅔ innings pitched. Blalock, who's FIP was a lot higher than his ERA going into this start against Charlotte, showed that he was getting a bit lucky.

Zach Bryzkcy continues to absolutely dominate, posting a 0.66 ERA, 3.11 FIP, 9.88 K/9 and 4.61 BB/9 in 13 ⅔ innings pitched. Although the walks are an issue, he keeps inducing ground balls and striking out guys. The Marlins have already given other under-the-radar guys an opportunity this season. Bryzkcy is doing everything in his power to give himself a chance.

Double-A Pensacola

It was a good week for Wahoos starting pitching, but their offense lagged behind, paving the way to a 4-2 series loss at the hands of Rocket City. Pensacola scored just 17 runs over the six game slate. As a team, the Wahoos are now hitting .220, last in the Southern League.

Brandon White, the Marlins’ 2021 12th-round pick, is a name that has not often been talked about over the years. It’s not hard to imagine why; shortly after being drafted, White underwent Tommy John surgery and didn’t return until 2023. Well behind schedule to start his pro career, White was finally able to pitch close to a full season’s sample of innings in 2024. Amidst the jump to High-A last season, he posted solid results including a 3.64 FIP and 6.7% walk rate. This season with Pensacola, White is pitching himself further into relevance by showcasing swing-and-miss stuff. That was especially on display this week when White struck out a career high 11 Trash Pandas and allowed just one hit in 6 ⅔ innings. His solid control and command has not only
persisted but improved against Double-A batters as he’s walked a minuscule four batters in 26 innings.

At 6’8”, 230, White is a massive physical specimen, though he’s always thrown from a pretty graceful windup and release and kept his long levers well under control. Working to his advantage is his ability to shorten the distance to the plate and throw from a high downhill arm slot, keeping opposing hitters well off balance. As a collegiate arm, White was clocked as high as 97 mph with his fastball. He hit that on a few occasions in his start this week and sat 95-96 showcasing a velo bump from last season when he sat 93-94.

White's main breaking ball has morphed into a gyro slider, continuing a trend that we've observed with multiple Marlins pitchers in recent years. It features sharp downward break and plays well on both sides of the plate. He is also adding a sweeper to his arsenal and making strides with his changeup as a weapon he can run in to same-side hitters for front-door strikes and weak contact.

Brandon White is an interesting case. 12th-round pick in 2021, had TJ, missed all of 2022. Always had solid control, now garnering more whiffs with improved stuff and new pitch at AA. Oh yeah, he’s also 6’8”.

More on him in our MiLB recap out today.#Marlins | @FishOnFirst https://t.co/NBNiKcvprF pic.twitter.com/E1Q9ykRpBP

— Fish On First Prospects (@FOFProspects) May 12, 2026

Altogether, White is a repeatable arm from a huge frame that is beginning to look dominant as the velo ticks up and his third pitch becomes more usable. Despite being behind schedule, he’s a candidate to move to Triple-A this season and maybe even an option to get a look at the MLB level if the Marlins fall out of contention. White will once again be Rule 5-eligible this winter.

Karson Milbrandt just keeps mowing down Double-A batters. This week, he threw a third straight quality start and came within two of tying his career high in strikeouts.

Stuff was always present for the 22-year-old righty; his crux was figuring out his spotty command and control. Armed with mid-90s stuff that can tick up into the upper 90s and which he is garnering the comfort to elevate and a best-pitch slider, Milbrandt’s stuff and development mimics that of Max Meyer who, after some growing pains, has arguably grown into the Marlins’ most effective starter this year. Scrapping the changeup as his third pitch in place of a cutter has proved advantageous. Milbrandt also tosses from a funky, deceptive windup.

If Milbrandt’s control and command persists, a promotion to Triple-A should happen once organizational pitching depth allows.

High-A Beloit

Low-scoring affairs were the theme for the Carp and Tin Caps this week, with Beloit coming up on the wrong side of the equation more often than not. With just 36 total runs scored over the course of the week, Beloit salvaged two games, including the only contest where more than six tallies were plated on Sunday night. Beloit fell to 14-18 on the season.

Starlyn Caba continues his power surge at the plate, proving his early season success was no fluke and that it can be sustained. This is all happening while Caba is playing in significantly cool climates in the Midwest League. During this series, the infielder went 5-for-20 with a double, his third homer of the season and a 6/4 K/BB. The long ball came in extra innings and propelled Beloit to a victory. He’s now already amassed his career high in homers.

While still showing off good discipline and vision that has led to a 16% walk rate, Caba is showing an enhanced ability to shorten his swing on pitches inside and over the plate. He’s also swinging with noticeably more aggression and effort behind his pull-side, which is leading to more strikeouts but at 21%, the K rate is still manageable. His always quick bat speed is still present. These traits are leading to usual gap power turning into over the fence power in the previously mentioned hard to hit in environments. Adding more pop without sacrificing his great approach is the cherry on top of what is becoming an all-around potentially elite skill set for Caba and he’s still just 20 years old. Along with great defense and plus speed that allotted him 50 steals in 2024, we are looking at a potential five-tool talent. If the power sticks, he will be an unquestioned Top 100 prospect in baseball. Because Aiva Arquette is older and may quickly prove to be ready for the challenge to Double-A, Caba is also playing himself into that conversation. With continued success, it is plausible we will see him at Pensacola sooner than we thought.

Speaking of promotions to Pensacola, Justin Storm is begging for one. With inning coverage in high demand across the entirety of the Marlins’ system, the 24-year-old has been lights out in High-A. He’s currently riding a scoreless innings streak of 6 ⅓ across his last five games. During that span he has a 10/2 K/BB.

After a bit of a rocky start in the frigid Midwest League, Storm has adjusted well. His size-and-stuff profile including a sitting 93-94 mph fastball that can ramp to 96, a staple slider that moves on both planes and now also mixing in a high-70s curveball, Storm boasts potential high leverage inning coverage with the capacity to work multiple innings if needed. He’s a bit old for High-A and needs the challenge to Double-A to see if his stuff can stand up against upper minors competition. That would advantageously come as soon as Beloit is able to spare some arms.

Eliazar Dishmey had been on a positive upswing, having gone at least five frames in each of his last two starts, the latter of which was a nine strikeout performance. He parlayed that into five shutout frames against the Tincaps. Perhaps most encouraging for Dishmey was that for a second straight outing, he limited walks to two while allowing just two hits.

Both historically and currently, it’s always been all about control for Dishmey. When the 6’1”, 175-pounder has it, his solid stuff including mid-90s velo and a standout changeup on top of a sharp power curveball. He mixes his pitches well and shows good velo separation. When controlling, he has th swing-and-miss potential to rack up whiffs. When not controlling though, Dishmey drives his pitch counts up early, becomes reliant on the fastball and can become a bit one-dimensional for opposing hitters to wait out and riddle out. On Dishmey’s side is his age: he is still just 21, so there is plenty of time for him to fully iron out his control consistency. Limited size, a high-effort release and mechanics that can look stiff at times are working against him. Dishmey’s plus velo that he could ramp up more if asked to go shorter stints and plus secondaries give him a pretty high floor but there is reliever risk attached to him.

Low-A Jupiter

Emilio Barreras continues to hit, now slashing .300/.488/.467/.954 with two home runs, 13 RBI and a 173 wRC+. After a slow start to the season, Barreras had a hit in three of the four games in their most recent series against the Palm Beach Cardinals. A 2025 draftee who told Fish On First that he models his game after Luis Arraez, Barreras is now walking 23.2% of the time while striking out 14.6% of the time and slapping the ball to all parts of the field.

Catcher Carlos Sánchez continues to succeed in his second stint at the Low-A level, slashing .235/.371/.529/.900 with five home runs, 12 RBI and a 143 wRC+. After posting high strikeout numbers in previous seasons, Sanchez is striking out at a career-low 14.5% rate compared to a 16.1 BB%. A promotion to High-A Beloit should be coming soon.

After a bad first run in Low-A, first baseman Julio Henriquez is slashing .286/.368/.408/.777 with seven RBI and a 118 wRC+. At 21 years old, Henriquez repeating the level isn't the worst thing to happen.

Esmil Valencia, who missed a good chunk of the season already due to a finger injury, is slashing .261/.333/.391/.725 with five RBI and a 100 wRC+. The only downside has been his 29.6% strikeout rate, which at the moment is a career-high.

Although a high FIP continues to be a concern for righty Walin Castillo, he has a 1.37 ERA and 54.9% ground ball rate. That's up more than 10% from last year's performance with the Hammerheads.

FCL Marlins

It has been a rollercoaster of a week for the FCL Marlins, who had three off days, a rainout, and a doubleheader. Three players in particular who impressed in the Dominican Summer League last season are already beginning to make names for themselves in the FCL.

Eiver Mosquera spent the entirety of his 2025 campaign in the DSL, where he posted a 2.45 ERA across 29 ⅓ innings pitched while striking out 33 batters compared to just eight walks. His ability to consistently throw strikes and limit damage made him one of the more intriguing young arms in the lower levels of the system. The right-hander made his first stateside appearance on May 5 and looked comfortable immediately. Across four innings, Mosquera allowed four hits and one earned run while walking none and striking out two.

Luis Arana was one of the more productive hitters in the DSL last season after hitting .297 with five homers, 35 RBIs, and 30 walks compared to only 18 strikeouts. Along with his advanced approach at the plate, he also added 28 stolen bases and consistently found ways to impact games offensively. So far, he's done well with the transition to the FCL. Through his first 20 at-bats, Arana is hitting .400 with six stolen bases and has yet to strike out. His contact ability and discipline at the plate have immediately translated, while his speed has continued to be a major factor on the bases.

Luis Cova also entered the season with plenty of attention after a strong DSL campaign last year. Ranked as Fish On First’s No. 12 prospect entering 2026, Cova has been viewed as one of the more talented young bats in the system. While the start to his season has been slower offensively, there are signs that things may be starting to turn around. On Monday afternoon, he went 2-for-3 with three walks in one of his best games of the season so far.

After a disastrous season in the FCL last year, Luis Leon is off to the kind of start he needed in 2026. Through his first 16 at-bats, Leon is hitting .313 with three doubles after recording just four doubles during the entirety of the 2025 season. Strikeouts are still an issue, but the early extra-base production has been encouraging. The raw talent has always been there, and the improved offensive start is a positive sign for the young outfielder. He has also made four starts at second base early on.

This week's MiLB schedule

• Triple-A Jacksonville at Memphis
• Double-A Pensacola at Chattanooga
• High-A Beloit vs. Peoria
• Low-A Jupiter at St. Lucie
• FCL Marlins vs. FCL Nationals, FCL Mets and FCL Astros

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!