Alex Carver

The Florida State League. Extremely kind to pitchers, a hard knock life (or not at all depending on your viewpoint) for hitters. For years, the country's southernmost league has had a rich history of stymieing young hitters, including some of the game's most successful ones. From 2008 to 2013, FSL parks barely rendered numbers north of the Mendoza Line as they held hitters to just a .256/.326/.372/.698 line, 4.2 runs per game, and a home run percentage of just 1.5. Most of those figures were the lowest in all of minor league baseball. One of the biggest catalysts for the minuscule offensive figures is the home of the Jupiter Hammerheads, Roger Dean Stadium. Over that same six season span, the cavernous park which boasts dimensions of 335/400/325 and is situated in a wide-open space just miles in from the coast which allows swirling sea breeze to become trapped over it's surface held Florida State League offenses to park factors of 0.876 in runs, .757 in homers and .949 in hits where 1 is average, anything over 1 favors hitters and anything under 1 favors pitchers. The same trend has continued in recent years as Roger Dean has never once posted a park factor over 1 in any category in at least the past eight years. That is why when a player comes along and is able to accomplish what Brian Anderson was able to accomplish in April hitting .313/.412/.470 including .320/.382/.500 at the Dean, scouts heads snap off their necks as they quickly take notice. And that is the reason why he is my first prospect of the month for the 2016 season. A third round draft pick out of Arkansas in 2014, Anderson forwent his senior year as a Razorback following a .318/.418/.467 NCAA career to join the professional ranks. After signing, Anderson made the move to upstate New York and joined Batavia for the beginning of the short season. After getting his feet wet there by hitting .273/.333/.455 with 3 homers and 12 RBI, he made the move to full-season ball in Greensboro for 39 games. In just 153 ABs, Anderson smashed eight homers, drove in 37 runs and held down a .378 OBP by way of a 28/13 K/BB. His .516 SLG lead the Hoppers that year amongst players with at least 100 ABs, positioning Anderson as Baseball America's 9th best organizational prospect headed in to 2015. That year, Anderson came falling back down to earth, managing to hit just .235/.304/.340. However, that wasn't without cause. Not only was it the first time Anderson had played more than 65 games in his career at any level, they all came in the aforementioned offensively suppressing Florida State League at the highest level he's ever played at. This year, Anderson is back with a new and improved vengeance. Formerly a split stance swinger at the plate that allowed him the tendency to fly open to his far side on pitches away and attributed to his K total of 109 last year, Anderson is now swinging from a completely straight away stance. Most noticeably though is that pre-pitch, Anderson stands straight up and down, staring pitchers down from his intimidating 6'3", 185 pound frame. He picks up pitches out of the pitcher's hand well and after release, follows the ball not only with his eyes but also his legs, adjusting his stance all the way through the pitch for movement. He keeps his head down until the ball is in the glove and does not commit to a swing until the pitch is over the plate. He adjusts for, consistently gets wood on the ball, and even more consistently barrels the ball up with a straight through swing that has some loft and can reach fences but can also hit gaps with line drives. Anderson possesses prevalent bat speed on top of wide snappy hips which allow him to get the most out of his present strength. The approach will afford him some strikeouts in the way that he waits pitches out and can rarely hold up on swings once he commits but will also afford him as many if not more walks due to his ability to wait out break, even break of the late variety. If pitchers are going to strike Anderson out, they are going to have the stuff that earns it. While the retooled approach has worked wonders for Anderson against same-side pitching, it has yet to rear it's head against lefties. However, he has had just 39 ABs vs them this year and has fared well against them in his career so that should regulate as the year goes along. Defensively, Anderson came up as a second baseman before making the move to third base in 2014 and becoming a full-time corner man in 2015. Though he has plenty of arm strength needed to make it across the diamond, quick footwork, a solid glove and good gap coverage especially for a guy his size, his arm accuracy has been an ongoing problem as he has committed 28 errors in 1612 innings, most of them being of the throwing variety. At 23, unless he can turn things around in a hurry which is always possible with the likes of Perry Hill in the organization to tutor him as he makes his way through the latter stages of the minors, Anderson's future in the field looks to be at first base. Long story short: Overall, Anderson is a sizeable power bat who recently retooled his approach for the better after his first full year in the minors. He barrels balls up on the regular with a quick swing with some loft, allowing him to both reach the fences and hit gaps but is also becoming a pesky out to get because of his ability to wait out the break on pitches. Once a pure power threat, he is grasping the ability to hit for average while also holding down a solid K/BB, making him a solid all-around threat. Defensively, Anderson is currently a 3B but his future will likely be as a 1B.

4/7/2016 @ Omaha W 6-3 Destin Hood, LF: 1-4, GS HR (1), 4 RBI, R, K Xavier Scruggs, 1B: 2-4, 2B, R BB, SB (1) Robert Andino, 2B: 1-4, RBI, R, BB, 2 K Justin Nicolino, SP: 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R (2 ER), 4 K Kyle Barraclough, RP: 2 IP, SV (1), BB, 5 K 4/8/2016 @ Omaha L 5-6 Tomas Tellis, C: 3-3, 2B, BB, 2 R Robert Andino, 2B: 2-5, RBI, K Austin Nola, SS: 1-3, 2B, RBI, K Jose Urena, SP: 2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2K Andre Rienzo, RP: 2 IP, H, 2 K 4/9/2016 @ Omaha L 8-11 Danny Black, 1B: 3-5, HR (1), 3 RBI, R, K Destin Hood, LF: 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R, BB, K Don Kelly, 3B: 2-3, 2 BB, 2 R Xavier Scruggs, DH: 1-2, 3 BB, 4 R Paul Clemens, SP: 1.2 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 4 K Nefi Ogando, RP: 1.1 IP, H 4/10/2016 @ Omaha W 7-4 Austin Nola, SS: 2-3, 2 HR (1, 2), 3 RBI, 3 R, BB Robert Andino, 2B: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, K, SB Tomas Tellis, C: 1-4, 2B, RBI, 2 R, SB (2) Isaac Galloway, CF: 2-5, 2B, RBI, R, 2 K Kendry Flores, SP: 3.2 IP, 5 H, ER, 4 BB, 4 K Kyle Barraclough, RP: 2.1 IP, 2 K 4/11/2016 @ Iowa L 1-9 Destin Hood, RF: 2-4, R, K Andre Nieto, C: 1-4, RBI, K Ivan Pinyero, SP: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K 4/12/2016 @ Iowa W 4-2 Destin Hood, LF: 2-3, 2B, RBI, R, BB, SB (1) Cole Gillespie, PH: 1-1, HR (1), RBI, R Kenny Wilson, CF: 2-5, K Isaac Galloway, RF: 1-4, R Justin Nicolino, SP: 6 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 3 K Nick Wittgren, RP: IP, SV (1), 2 K 4/13/2016 @ Iowa L 5-9 Don Kelly, 2B: 2-4, HR (1), 2 RBI, 2 R, BB Xavier Scruggs, 1B: 2-5, HR (1), 2B, RBI, 2 R, K Andre Nieto, C: 2-4, 2 RBI, K Destin Hood, RF: 2-5, 2B, 2 K Jose Urena, SP: 3 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K 4/14/2016 @ Iowa L 2-4 Destin Hood, RF: 1-2, HR (2), 2 RBI, R, BB Kenny Wilson, CF: 1-3, 2B, R, 2 BB, 2 K Robert Andino, 2B: 1-3, BB, K Paul Clemens, SP: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, BB, 4 K Andre Rienzo, RP: 2 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 3 K 4/15/2016 vs Omaha L 0-3 Cole Gillespie, DH: 1-3, 2B, K Kenny Wilson, RF: 1-3, SB (3) Kendry Flores, SP: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 3 K Brian Ellington, RP: 1.1 IP, BB, K 4/16/2016 vs Omaha L 1-6 Kenny Wilson, CF: 3-4, 2B Don Kelly, 3B: 2-4, R, K Xavier Scruggs, LF: 1-3, 2B, RBI, BB, K Ivan Pinyero, SP: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K Nick Wittgren, RP: 1.1 IP 4/17/2016 vs Omaha L 2-3 Xavier Scruggs, DH: 2-4, RBI, R Isaac Galloway, RF: 1-3, SB (3), K Kenny Wilson, CF: 1-4, 2B, R, K Justin Nicolino, SP: 6 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, K Dylan Axelrod, RP: 2 IP, K 4/18/2016 vs Omaha W 3-0 Isaac Galloway, CF: 3-4, HR (1), 2 RBI, R, K Destin Hood, RF: 2-4, R, K Don Kelly, DH: 1-4, 3B Austin Nola, 2B: 1-3, 2B, R, BB, K Jose Urena, SP: 5 IP, H, BB, 5 K Jo Jo Reyes, RP: 3 IP, 3 H Cody Ege, RP: IP, SV (1), K 4/19/2016 vs Iowa W 7-5 Destin Hood, RF: 1-4, HR (3), 3 RBI, 2 R, K Kenny Wilson, CF: 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI, R, BB, K Robert Andino, SS: 1-2, RBI, BB, K Paul Clemens, SP: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K Eric Jokisch, RP: 2 IP, H, BB Andre Rienzo, RP: IP, SV (1), 2 H, K 4/20/2016 vs Iowa W 3-2 Destin Hood, LF: 2-3, HR (4), 2 RBI, R, BB Kenny Wilson, CF: 1-4, 2B, RBI, R, SB (6) Isaac Galloway, RF: 2-4, 2B, K Kendry Flores, SP: 6.2 IP, 5 H, ER, 5 K 4/21/2016 vs Iowa L 1-4 Austin Nola, SS: 2-4, RBI Tomas Tellis, C: 1-2, BB COle Gillespie, 1B: 1-4, R, K Dylan Axelrod, SP: 5 IP, 3 H, K 4/22/2016 vs Iowa L 0-5 Austin Nola, SS: 2-4, 2B Isaac Galloway, CF: 2-3, BB Cole Gillespie, PH: 1-1, 2B Justin Nicolino, SP: 7 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, BB, 5 K 4/23/2016 @ Nashville W 7-4 Destin Hood, RF: 2-5, HR (5), 4 RBI, R, 2 K Xavier Scruggs, LF: 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB, K Kenny WIlson, CF: 2-5, RBI, 2 R Ivan Pineyro, SP: 4 IP, 2 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 2 K Greg Nappo, RP: 2 IP, 2 K Dustin McGowan, RP: 2 IP, BB, 2 K Andre Rienzo, RP: IP, SV (3), H, K 4/24/2016 @ Nashville W 4-3 Kenny Wilson, RF: 3-5, 2B Destin Hood, CF: 2-4, 2B, RBI, 2 R, BB, K Xavier Scruggs, DH: 1-3, 2B, R, 2 BB Cole Gillespie, 1B: 2-2, RBI, 2 BB Andre Nieto, C: 1-4, 2 RBI Isaac Galloway, LF: 2-5, R, SB (4) Paul Clemens, SP: 5 IP, 3 ER, BB, 5 K Bullpen: 3.1 IP, H, 2 BB, 4 K 4/25/2016 @ Nashville W/10 4-3 Destin Hood, CF: 1-5, HR (6), RBI, R, 2 K Austin Nola, SS: 1-3, RBI, R, K Elliot Soto, 3B: 1-3, RBI, BB Tomas Tellis, C: 2-4 Kendry Flores, SP: 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, BB, 5 K Jo Jo Reyes, RP: 2 IP, BB, K Eric Jokisch, RP: 3 IP, 3 H, BB, 2 K 4/26/2016 @ Nashville L 6-7 Xavier Scruggs, LF: 1-3, HR (2), 2 RBI, R, BB, 2 K Robert Andino, 2B: 3-5, 2B, RBI, 2 R Isaac Galloway, RF: 1-5, 2 RBI, K, SB (5) Kenny Wilson, CF: 2-4, 2 R, BB, K, SB (7) Dylan Axelrod, SP: 4.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R (4 ER), 3 BB, 2 K Nefi Ogando, RP: IP 4/28/2016 vs Memphis W/10 2-1 Xavier Scruggs, PH: 1-1, RBI Isaac Galloway, LF: 1-4, R, K, SB (6) Kenny Wilson, RF: 1-4, R, K, SB (8) Jarred Cosart, SP: 5 IP, 3 H, ER, 3 BB, 6 K Bullpen: 5 IP, 2 BB, 5 K 4/29/2016 vs Memphis W 7-0 Elliot Soto, 2B: 1-4, HR (1), 3 RBI, R Destin Hood, CF: 3-4, RBI, 2 R Kenny Wilson, RF-CF: 3-5, 2 2B, 2 R, SB (9) Isaac Galloway, LF-RF: 2-4, RBI, 2 K, SB (7) Paul Clemens, SP: 6.1 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K Bullpen: 2.2 IP, H, K 4/30/2016 vs Memphis PPD (rain) rescheduled to 5/1 4/7/2016 vs Montgomery W 6-1 J.T. Riddle, SS: 1-4, HR (1), 3 RBI, R, K Yefri Perez, CF: 2-4, 2 R, SB (1) Jeremias Pineda - 2-4, 2 R, 2 K Moises Sierra, DH: 1-3, RBI, R, BB Jake Esch, SP: 6 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 7 K Tyler Higgins, RP: 2 IP, 2 K 4/8/2016 vs Montgomery W 8-3 Brady Shoemaker, 1B: 1-4, HR (1), 4 RBI, R Matt Juengel, 3B: 2-4, 2 RBI Austin Dean, DH: 1-3, RBI, 2 R, BB J.T. Riddle, SS: 1-4, 3B, R Jarlin Garcia, SP: 4 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 3 K Tyler Bremer, RP: 1.1 IP, SV (1), H, BB 4/9/2016 vs Montgomery /10 1-2 Brady Shoemaker, 1B: 2-4, K Yefri Perez, DH: 1-3, 2B, R, BB, K, 2 SB (2, 3) Austin Brice, SP: 6 IP, 3 H, 6 K 4/10/2016 vs Montgomery W 8-3 Austin Dean, LF: 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB, K Jeremias Pineda, RF: 2-3, RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, K, 4 SB (1, 2, 3, 4) Moises Sierra, DH: 1-2, 2B, RBI, R, BB Peter Mooney, SS: 2-4, RBI, R Yefri Perez, CF: 2-5, R, K, SB (4) Blake Logan, SP: 4 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, K Sean Donatello, RP: IP, H, BB, K 4/11/2016 vs Birmingham W 11-7 Avery Romero, DH: 2-3, HR (1), 3 RBI, R, BB J.T. Riddle, SS: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R Moises Sierra, RF: 1-4, 2 RBI, R Austin Dean, LF: 2-4, RBI, 2 R, K Matt Juengel, 3B: 2-3, 2B, RBI, 2 R, BB, K Tim Berry, SP: 4.2 IP, 12 H, 7 R (6 ER), 4 BB, 5 K Bullpen: 4.1 IP, 4 H, 7 K 4/12/2016 @ Pensacola L 3-4 Jake Esch, SP: 2-2, HR (1), RBI, R, 4.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K Avery Romero, 2B: 1-4, RBI, K Peter Mooney, SS: 1-4, 2B, R, K Brady Shoemaker, 1B: 1-3, R, BB, K Tyler Kinley, RP: 2 IP, 2 K 4/13/2016 @ Pensacola W 2-1 Moises Sierra, RF: 2-4, 2B R, K Matt Juengel, 3B: 1-3, RBI J.T. Riddle, SS: 1-3, 2B, BB Austin Dean, 1-4, 3B, 3 K Jarlin Garcia, SP: 5.2 IP, H, 2 BB, 6 K Tyler Bremer, RP: 1.1 IP, H, 2 K 4/14/2016 @ Pensacola L 1-4 Austin Dean, LF: 1-4, 2B, RBI, K J.T. Riddle, SS: 1-4, R, 2 K Francisco Arcia, C: 1-4, 2B, K Austin Brice, SP: 5 IP, 2 H, 4 BB, 2 K Tyler Higgins, RP: 2 IP, H, 2 K 4/15/2016 @ Pensacola /11 3-4 Peter Mooney, 2B-3B: 2-5, 2B, BB, 2 K Matt Juengel, 3B: 2-4, R, BB, SB (1) Jeremias Pineda, RF: 2-4, R, BB, K, SB (6) Ryan Newell, SP: 3.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB Scott Lyman, RP: 2.1 IP, 3 K Tyler Kinley, RP: 2 IP 4/16/2016 @ Pensacola L 0-3 Peter Mooney, 2B: 3-4, 2 2B Austin Dean, LF: 1-3, BB, K Tim Berry, SP: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K Patrick Johnson, RP: 1.2 IP, H, BB, K 4/17/2016 vs Mobile W 4-1 Austin Dean, LF: 1-3, 2 RBI Yefri Perez, 2B-CF: 1-4, RBI, R, K Jeremias Pineda, CF-RF: 2-4, K Moises Sierra, RF: 1-2, R, BB Jake Esch, SP: 6 IP, 4 H, ER, 4 K Tyler Bremer, RP: 2 IP, H, 3 K Sean Donatello, RP: IP, SV (1) 4/18/2016 vs Mobile L 6-11 Austin Dean, LF: 2-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI, R, BB, K Francisco Arcia, C: 3-5, R, K James Roberts, SS-3B-1B: 1-2, 2B, R, 3 BB, K Avery Romero, 2B: 1-3, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB Jarlin Garcia, SP: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, BB, 3 K Tyler Higgins, RP: 2 IP, 2 H, 3 K 4/19/2016 vs Mobile L 0-6 Yefri Perez, CF-2B: 2-4, SB (7) Moises Sierra, RF: 1-4, 2B, BB, K Sharif Othman, C: 1-3, BB Peter Mooney, 3B: 1-3, 2 K Austin Brice, SP: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 R (0 ER), 7 K 4/20/2016 vs Mobile W 8-6 Austin Dean, LF: 3-3, HR (1), 2 RBI, 2 R, BB Matt Juengel, RF: 2-4, R Yefri Perez, 3B: 1-5, RBI, R, K, 2 SB (8, 9) Ryan Newell, SP: 4 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 3 K Tyler Bremer, RP: 2.1 IP, BB, K Sean Donatello, RP: IP, SV (2), H, K 4/21/2016 vs Mobile L 4-11 JT Riddle, SS: 3-5, 2B, RBI, 2 R, K Francisco Arcia, C: 3-5, RBI Jeremias Pineda, RF: 1-4, RBI, K Tim Berry, SP: 3 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 4 K Victor Araujo, RP: 3 IP, 2 H, BB, 2 K Tyler Higgins, RP: IP, K 4/22/2016 @ Montgomery W 8-0 Sharif Othman, C: 3-4, BB, 2 R Moises Sierra, RF: 2-5, 3B, 2 R, K Peter Mooney, 3B: 1-3, R, 2 BB Yefri Perez, SS: 1-5, 2 R, BB, K, 3 SB (10, 11, 12) Jake Esch, SP: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K Bullpen: 3 IP, 2 BB, 6 K 4/23/2016 @ Montgomery L 7-8 Jeremias Pienda, CF: 3-4, 2B, RBI, 2 K J.T. Riddle, 2B: 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI, K Yefri Perez, SS: 1-4, HR (1), RBI, 2 R, BB, K Moises Sierra, RF: 1-3, 3B, RBI, R, BB, K, SB (7) Jarlin Garcia, SP: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R (2 ER), 4 K 4/24/2016 @ Montgomery L 7-9 Moises Sierra, RF: 3-4, 2B, RBI, R, BB J.T. Riddle, SS: 2-4, 2 RBI, BB, K Austin Dean, DH: 2-4, 2B, RBI, 2 K Peter Mooney, 2B: 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R, BB, K James Roberts, 3B: 2-5, RBI, K Scott Lyman, SP: 2.2 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, BB, K Sean Donatello, RP: 1.1 IP, 2 H 4/25/2016 @ Montgomery W 4-3 Avery Romero, 2B: 2-4, 2B, 3B, RBI, R, K Brady Shoemaker, 1B: 2-2, HR (2), 2 RBI, R, 2 BB, K Yefri Perez, CF: 1-4, RBI, K, SB (13) Francisco Arcia, C: 1-3, 2B, BB, K Austin Brice, SP: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 4 K Tyler Kinley, RP: 1.2 IP SV (1), 3 K 4/26/2016 @ Montgomery L 10-11 Matt Juengel, 1B: 3-5, HR (1), 3B, 4 RBI, 2 R, K Austin Dean, LF: 3-5, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R, BB, 2 K Yefri Perez, CF: 2-5, RBI, R, BB, K, SB (14) Moises Sierra, RF: 1-3, RBI, 2 K Sharif Othman, C: 1-5, 3B, R, K Peter Mooney, SS: 1-2, R, 3 BB Tim Berry, SP: 1.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R (3 ER), BB, 2 K Chris Reed, RP: 3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, 2 K 4/28/2016 vs Mississippi W 9-4 Brady Shoemaker, 1B: 3-4, HR (3), 2B, 4 RBI, 3 R, BB J.T. Riddle, SS: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 K Yefri Perez, CF: 1-3, RBI, R, 2 BB, SB (15) Francisco Arcia, C: 1-3, RBI, BB Jake Esch, SP: 2B, 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K Tyler Higgins, RP: 2 IP, 3 H, 2 K 4/29/2016 vs Mississippi L 4-5 Yefri Perez, CF: 2-4, 2 RBI, R, BB, 4 SB (16, 17, 18, 19) J.T. Riddle, SS: 2-4, 2B, 2 K Francisco Arcia, C: 1-3, 2 R, BB, K Jarlin Garcia, SP: 6 IP, 6 H, 5 R (4 ER), 2 BB, 5 K Hunter Adkins, RP: 2 IP, 2 K 4/30/2016 vs Mississippi <font color="red"LL 2-3 Yefri Perez, SS-CF: 3-5, R Jeremias Pineda, CF-RF: 2-5, 2 K, SB (9) J.T. Riddle, 2B-SS: 1-3, R, BB, K Austin Dean, LF: 1-3, RBI, K Brady Shoemaker, 1B: 1-2, RBI, 2 BB Austin Brice, SP: 6 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 BB, 4 K 4/7/2016 @ St. Lucie L 5-6 Yuniel Ramirez, LF: 2-5, 3B, RBI, R, SB (1) Taylor Ard, 1B: 2-4, RBI, R, BB, 2 K Brian Anderson, 3B: 1-3, 2B, R, 2 BB, K, SB (1) Brad Haynal, C: 3-5, 2B, RBI, 2 R Jeff Brigham, SP: 3.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R (1 ER), BB, 6 K Jose Adames, RP: IP, H, K 4/8/2016 @ St. Lucie W 5-3 John Norwood, RF: 1-3, 3B, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB, K Yuniel Ramirez, LF: 2-4, R Ryan Aper, CF: 1-4, RBI Luis Castillo, SP: 5 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 3 K Chris Mazza, RP: 2 IP, 2 H, BB Jose Velez, RP: IP, SV (1), 3 K 4/9/2016 vs St. Lucie L 5-7 Brad Haynal, C: 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI Brian Anderson, 3B: 1-2, HR (1), RBI, 2 BB, K Brian Schales, 2B: 1-4, 2B, R Michael Mader, SP: 3.2 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K 4/10/2016 vs St. Lucie W 3-2 Taylor Ard, DH: 1-3, HR(1), 3 RBI, R, K Dexter Kjerstad, CF: 2-3, R, BB Jorgan Cavanerio, SP: 4.1 IP, 10 H, 4 ER, 2 K Kyle Fischer, SP: 3 IP, H, BB, K 4/11/2016 @ Lakeland W 6-4 Dexter Kjerstsd, CF: 3-5, R, 2 K Brian Anderson, 3B: 1-2, 3 RBI, 2 R, 3 BB K.J. Woods, 1B: 1-3, 2B, RBI, R, BB Dillon Peters, SP: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, BB, 2 K Chris Mazza, RP: 2 IP, 2 K Drew Steckenrider, RP: 2 IP, SV (1), H, BB, 6 K 4/12/2016 @ Lakeland L 6-7 Dexter Kjerstad, CF: 2-3, HR (1), 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R, 3 BB, SB (1) Brian Anderson, 3B: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, BB K.J. Woods, 1B: 2-3, BB, K Jeff Brigham, SP: 3.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 3 K 4/13/2016 @ Lakleand W 4-2 Taylor Ard, 1B: 2-4, HR (2), RBI, 2 R Yuniel Ramirez, 1-3, HR (1), 2 RBI, R, K Luis Castillo, SP: 5 IP, H, ER, BB, 7 K James Buckelew, RP: 2.2 IP, H, 2 BB, 2 K 4/14/2016 @ Lakeland L 0-5 Dexter Kjerstad, CF: 1-4, 3B, K Team: 3-28, 5 BB, 12 K Michael Mader, SP: 2 IP, BB, 3 K Jose Velez, RP: 1.2 IP, 3 BB, 4 K 4/15/2015 vs Clearwater L 0-11 John Norwood, RF: 1-4, 2 K, SB (1) Team: 5-32, 2 BB, 11 K Jorgan Cavanerio, SP: 5 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 2 K Drew Steckenrider, RP: 2 IP, 3 K 4/16/2016 vs Clearwater L 0-4 Justin Bohn, SS: 1-3, 3B, K Yuniel Ramirez, LF: 1-3, 2B Team: 3-20, 2 BB, 9 K Dillon Peters, SP: 4.1 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, 5 K Chris Mazza, RP: 3.2 IP, 2 H, ER, K 4/17/2016 vs Clearwater L 1-4 K.J. Woods, DH: 2-4, 2 K Dexter Kjerstad, CF: 1-3, BB, K Team: 4-29, 3 BB, 14 K Raudel Lazo, SP: IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 K James Buckelew, RP: 3 IP, ER, 3 BB, 3 K Esmerling De La Rosa, RP: 2 IP, K 4/18/2016 vs Clearwater W 4-0 Brian Anderson, 3B: 3-4, 2B, 2 R Brian Schales, 2B: 3-4, 2 R Taylor Ard, DH: 1-3, RBI, BB, K Luis Castillo SP: 6 IP, 4 H, BB, 2 K Bullpen: 3 IP, 2 H, 2 K 4/19/2016 @ Ft. Myers L 1-2 K.J. Woods, 1B: 1-3, HR (1), RBI, R, 2 K Brian Anderson, 3B: 1-4, 2 K Team: 3-30, BB, 8 K Michael Mader, SP: 5 IP, 3 H, 3 K 4/20/2016 @ Ft. Myers W 4-3 Brian Anderson, 3B: 3-5, 3B, RBI, 2 R, 2 K Brad Haynal, C: 1-3, RBI, BB Brian Schales, B: 2-5, R, K Arturo Rodriguez, DH: 1-4, 2B, K Raudel Lazo, SP: IP Jorgan Cavanerio, RP: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 3 ER Jose Adames, RP: 2 IP, SV (1), H, 2 K 4/21/2016 @ Ft. Myers W 4-2 Dexter Kjerstad, CF: 2-4, R, BB, 2 K, SB (2) Brian Schales, 2B: 2-5, R, K Brian Anderson, 3B: 1-4, RBI, R, BB, K, SB (2) Yuniel Ramirez, LF: 1-4, RBI, K Dillon Peters, SP: 6 IP, 7 H, ER, 3 K Chris Mazza, RP: 2 IP, 3 H, R (0 ER), 3 K Esmerling De La Rosa, RP: IP, SV (1) K 4/22/2016 vs Palm Beach L 5-9 Dexter Kjerstad, CF: 2-5, 2B, HR (2), 2 RBI, R, K Brian Schales, 2B: 3-5, R Brian Anderson, 3B: 2-5, HR (2), 2 RBI, R Taylor Ard, RB: 2-3, 2 2B, R, BB Arturo Rodriguez, DH: 2-4, K Jeff Brigham, SP: 2 IP, 5 H, 5 R (4 ER), BB, 2 K James Buckelew, RP: 4 IP, 2 H, 3 R (0 ER), 2 BB, K 4/23/2016 @ Palm Beach W/11 4-3 John Norwood, RF: 2-4, HR (1), RBI, R, K Yuniel Ramirez, LF: 1-5, HR (2), RBI, R Brian Anderson, 3B: 1-5, RBI Dexter Kjerstad, CF: 1-5, 3B, R Luis Castillo, SP: 4.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, BB, 7 K Bullpen: 6.1 IP, H, 4 BB, 2 K 4/24/2016 vs Palm Beach W 3-2 Taylor Ard, 1B: 2-3, 2B, 3 RBI, BB Brian Anderson, 3B: 1-2, R, 2 BB, K John Norwood, RF: 1-3, K Michael Mader, SP: 5 IP, H, ER, 4 BB, 4 K Esmerling De La Rosa, RP: 1.2 IP, 2 H, BB 4/26/2016 vs Ft. Myers L 1-9 Dexter Kjerstad, CF: 1-4, HR (3), RBI, R, 2 K Brian Schales, 2B: 2-4 Jorgan Cavanerio, SP: 4 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, K Jose Velez, RP: 2.1 IP, 2 BB, 3 K Kyle Fischer, 1.2 IP, 2 H, K 4/27/2016 vs Ft. Myers /10 1-6 John Norwood, RF: 2-4, SB (3) Yuniel Ramirez, LF: 1-4, 2B, R, K Justin Bohn, SS: 1-3, RBI, BB, K Brian Schales, 2B: 0-2, 3 BB, K Jeff Brigham, SP: 5 IP, H, 2 BB, 6 K James Buckelew, RP: 3 IP, 2 H, BB, 2 K 4/28/2013 vs Ft. Myers W 11-3 Brian Anderson, 3B: 4-5, 2B, RBI, 3 R Brad Haynal, C: 3-5, 3 RBI, R, K Yuniel Ramirez, LF: 3-5, 2B, RBI, R Justin Bohn, SS: 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB Dillon Peters, SP: 5 IP, 4 H, ER, 4 K Chris Mazza, RP: 2 IP, H 4/29/2016 vs Bradenton L 0-11 Arturo Rodriguez, DH: 1-3 Chris Hoo, C: 1-3 Team: 4-32, 7 K Luis Castillo, SP: 3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER Jose Velez, RP: 3 IP, H, BB, 3 K 4/30/2016 vs Bradenton W 6-3 Brian Anderson, 3B: 2-4, RBI, R Dexter Kjerstad, CF: 2-4, 2 R Taylor Ard, DH: 1-4, RBI, K John Norwood, RF: 1-4, 2 R, BB Michael Mader, SP: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, 3 K Kyle Fischer, RP: 1.1 IP, K Esmerling De La Rosa, RP: IP, SV (3), H, BB, K 4/7/2016 vs West Virginia W 3-2 Josh Naylor, 1B: 1-4, 2B, RBI, R, 2 K Rony Cabrera, 2B: 1-3, 2B, RBI, K Team: 3-26, 5 BB, 10 K Justin Jacome, SP: 5 IP, 2 H, ER, K Bullpen: 5 IP, 6 H, 1 R (0 ER), BB, 5 K 4/8/2016 vs West Virginia L 1-5 Angel Reyes, DH: 1-3, 2B, BB Zach Sullivan, CF: 1-4, 2B, 2 K Team: 3-40, 2 BB, 10 K Cody Poteet, SP: 5 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 3 K Nestor Bautista, RP: 3 IP, 2 H 4/9/2016 vs West Virginia L 2-8 Anfernee Seymour, SS: 3-5, 2 RBI, K, 2 SB (1, 2) Rony Cabrera, 2B: 2-5, K Rodrigo Vigil, C: 1-3, BB Alex Fernandez, LF: 1-3, R, BB Gabriel Castellanos, SP: 5 IP, 2 H, BB, 4 K 4/10/2016 vs West Virginia L 1-3 Josh Naylor, 1B: 2-4, 2B, K Angel Reyes, DH: 2-4, K Kevin Guzman, SP: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 5 K Ben Holmes, RP: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 3 K 4/11/2016 vs Hickory L 0-5 Rodrigo Vigil, C: 2-4 Team: 3-31, 2 BB, 6 K Chuck Weaver, SP: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R (0 ER), BB, 7 K 4/13/2016 vs Hickory L 2-5 Zach Sullivan, CF: 2-4, 2B, 3B, RBI, R Rodrigo Vigil, C: 2-4, 2B, R Cody Poteet, SP: 4.1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K Scott Squier, RP: 2.2 IP, 3 H, K 4/14/2016 @ Lakewood W 7-4 Alex Fernandez, RF: 3-5, 2B, 3B, RBI, 2 R, K, SB (1) Zach Sullivan, CF: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R, K Angel Reyes, 1B: 2-5, 2 RBI, R, K Korey Dunbar, C: 2-3, 2 R, BB, K Gabriel Castellanos, SP: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R (1 ER), BB, 8 K Ben Holmes, RP: 3 IP, H, 2 BB, 3 K 4/15/2016 @ Lakewood W 3-2 Josh Naylor, 1B: 2-4, 3B, 2 RBI, K Zach Sullivan, CF: 1-3, R, K, SB (1) Rony Cabrera, SS: 1-4, RBI, K Kevin Guzman, SP: 5 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, 6 K C.J. Robinson, RP: 2 IP, SV (1), K 4/16/2016 @ Lakewood W 4-2 Rony Cabrera, 2B: 2-5, 3 RBI, K Josh Naylor, 1B: 2-5, 2 K Alex Fernandez, RF: 1-2, 2 BB, 2 SB (2, 3) Kyle Barrett, LF: 1-3, R, BB Chuck Weaver, SP: 6 IP, 2 H, 6 K Scott Squier, RP: 2 IP, 2 H, R (0 ER), 3 K 4/17/2016 @ Lakewood L 0-7 Rodrigo Vigil, C: 1-2, 2B Kyle Barrett, LF: 1-3 Team: 3-30, BB, 8 K Justin Jacome, SP: 4.2 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, K 4/18/2016 @ Delmarva W/10 5-4 Zach Sullivan, CF: 2-4, 2B, RBI, 2 R, K Angel Reyes, DH: 1-4, RBI, BB, 2 K Jhonny Santos, 1-4, RBI, R, BB, K, SB (1) Anfernee Seymour, SS: 1-4, RBI, SB (7) Cody Poteet, SP: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R (2 ER), 3 BB, 4 K Ben Holmes, RP: 3.1 IP, H, 2 K Ben Meyer, RP: 2 IP, 5 K C.J. Robinson, RP: IP, SV (2) 4/19/2016 @ Delmarva L 1-3 Angel Reyes, DH: 2-3, BB Taylor Munden, 2B: 1-3, 2B, R Rony Cabrera, 2B: 1-3 Gabriel Castellanos, SP: 3.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R (2 ER), 5 BB, 4 K LJ Brewster, RP: 2.1 IP, H, BB, 2 K Scott Squier, RP: 2 IP, 2 H, 4 K 4/20/2016 @ Delmarva L 1-3 Taylor Munden, 3B: 2-4, 2B, R, 2 K Rony Cabrera, 2B: 1-4, K, SB (1) Kevin Guzman, SP: 5 IP, 5 K Andy Beltre, RP: IP, BB, 3 K 4/21/2016 vs Lakewood L 3-10 Taylor Munden, 2B: 3-4, HR (1), 2 RBI, R Alex Fernandez, RF: 3-4, R Rony Cabrera, SS: 1-4, RBI Angel Reyes, 1B: 1-4, R, K Chuck Weaver, SP: 5 IP, 8 H, 6 R (3 ER), K 4/22/2016 vs Lakewood W 10-9 Josh Naylor, 1B: 3-5, 2 2B, RBI, 2 R, K Isael Soto, DH: 2-4, 3B, RBI, 2 R, BB, 2 K Zach Sullivan, CF: 2-3, HR (1), 4 RBI, R, K Kyle Barrett, LF: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R, BB, K Justin Jacome, SP: 5 IP, 7 H, 6 R (2 ER), BB, K Ben Holmes, RP: 2 IP, H, BB, K C.J. Robinson, RP: IP, SV (3), 3 K 4/23/2016 vs Lakewood W 6-1 Josh Naylor, 1B: 3-3, HR (1), 2 2B, 3 RBI, R, BB, SB (1) Rony Cabrera, 2B: 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, K Isael Soto, RF: 1-3, 2B, R, BB Anfernee Seymour, SS: 2-5, 2 R, 2 SB (8, 9) Taylor Munden, 3B: 1-3, RBI, R, BB 4/24/2016 vs Lakewood /11 7-11 Josh Naylor, 1B: 3-5, HR (2), 3 RBI, R, 2 BB Roy Morales, C: 3-5, R Anfernee Seymour, SS: 2-5, RBI, R, SB (10) Isael Soto, RF: 2-5, 2 R, BB, K Rony Cabrera, 2B: 2-6, 2 RBI, R, 2 K Gabriel Castellanos, SP: 3.1 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, BB, K Steven Farnworth, RP: 2 IP, H, BB, K Ben Meyer, RP: 2 IP, H, 2 BB 4/26/2016 vs Hickory L 5-7 Josh Naylor, 1B: 1-4, HR (3), RBI, R Isael Soto, RF: 2-3, 3B, R, BB, K Angel Reyes, 3B: 1-4, RBI, R, K Roy Morales, C: 1-4, 2B, RBI, R Zach Sullivan, CF: 1-3, 2B, BB Kevin Guzman, SP: 2 IP, 4 H, 5 R (4 ER), BB, 2 K Nestor Bautista, RP: 3 IP, 2 H, R (0 ER), BB 4/27/2016 @ Hickory L 0-2 Isael Soto, RF: 1-2, BB Team: 1-26, 2 BB, 11 K Chuck Weaver, SP: 5 IP, 5 H, ER, BB, 3 K 4/28/2016 @ Hickory L 1-5 Stone Garrett, CF: 1-4, HR (1), RBI, R, 2 K Alex Fernandez, LF: 1-3, 2B, BB Rony Cabrera, 2B: 2-4, 2B, K Isael Soto, RF: 2-4, K, SB (1) Taylor Munden, 3B: 1-3, BB, 2 K Brett Lilek, SP: 1.2 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 BB, 2 K Scott Squier, RP: 3.1 IP, BB, 4 K 4/29/2016 @ Augusta L 0-9 Isael Soto, RF: 1-2, 2 BB Korey Dunbar, C: 1-3, K Team: 4-31, 2 BB, 13 K Cody Poteet, SP: 4 IP, 7 H, 5 R (2 ER), BB Andy Beltre, RP: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 3 K 4/30/2016 @ Augusta W 6-4 Josh Naylor, 3-4, R, BB Stone Garrett, DH: 2-5, K Anfernee Seymour, SS: 2-5, 2 R, SB (2) Taylor Munden, 2B: 1-4, 2 RBI, 2 R, K Zach Sullivan, CF: 2-4, RBI, SB 3) Gabriel Castellanos, SP: 4 IP, 7 H, 4 R (3 ER), 4 K Ben Holmes, RP: 4 IP, H, 4 BB, K C.J. Robinson, RP: IP, SV (4), K

Up until this point, previews for teams have been my projections. With lineups released and the season a month old, this preview will be based upon factual evidence. Players I have already covered in previous previews who happened to make it to a higher level will be marked with a * and my writing on them may be a bit brief. For more info on those players, visit my previous team previews. 2015 Team Stats 57-81 .247/.320/.355 71 HR/304 XBH 1204.2 IP, 4.07 ERA, 1.362 WHIP Lineup CF Yefri Perez* RF Jeremias Pineda LF Austin Dean 1B Brady Shoemaker* DH Moises Sierra SS J.T. Riddle 3B Matt Juengel C Francisco Arcia 2B Avery Romero* Making it rain baseballs. Something that is frowned upon and disallowed at every bar and club in North America. That is until this year. Because that is exactly how the Jacksonville Suns will be hoping Austin Dean, Brady Shoemaker, Avery Romero and the rest of their 2016 squad will christen their brand new left field gazebo bar and will make into a tradition all season long. No matter if you have the ridiculous raw speed needed to label you the fastest man the organization has ever seen and to steal an absurd 71 bases, most in your A+ league in over five years, if you only are able to muster a sub-300 OBP, you likely aren't ready to crack the upper levels of the minors. Accordingly, I predicted to be the case for Yefri Perez after he slashed just .240/.286/.269 and struck out 95 times for the Hammerheads last season. Long story short on Yefri (pun intended), is that his swing was entirely too aggressive and long in 2015 and he used it far too often. With over half of his success reaching base coming off of bunts and slow-rolling grounders, Perez was far too aggressive early in the count and remained so when down two strikes, chasing pitches off the outer half and pulling the trigger on anything close. Still, stealing upwards of 70 bags and setting a franchise record despite only being on base 20% of the time in garnered Perez some worthy recognition as he was selected as an FSL All-Star and at seasons end, invited to attend Marlins' spring training. It was evidently at the latter of those in which Perez proved he made the necessary adjustments needed to move to AA Jacksonville. Perez stuck around the big league team for nearly all of spring, reaping the benefits of his fellow players and coaches. Early on in the Suns' season, it appears as though that experience is paying dividends for Yefri. Appearing to have put on a little bit of weight, Perez is using it to his advantage by executing a much better timed swing but not before he maintains the looseness in his hands much longer, taking away his previous tendency to commit early and get out in front. Because of this, would-be swings and misses, something Perez did far too frequently last year, are turning into at the very least foul balls, prolonging his ABs. Furthermore, he is also waiting longer to commit to bunts which is giving him an extra step towards first base upon a later infield reaction (not that he needs it) and what should equate to a higher success rate as it will allow him to square up the break of pitches more advantageously. While the sample size is indeed tiny and while Perez's 2015 got off to a very similar start through his first week of play before he began showing his true colors, this new, improved, stronger, more patient, and more technically sound version of the 25-year-old has allowed him to show initial success at a higher level of competition that I did not think he was even remotely ready for. While it remains to be seen if Perez can keep this up over the course of a full year or even longer than a seven day span, the early product of Perez's game with the Suns is indeed encouraging and it has all come while he has maintained his blazing speed as he as already stolen 5 bases in 5 attempts. Perez's speed also serves him well in the field, giving him the ability to play virtually anywhere. His ability to cover all the ground needed for any position makes him playable at all three outfield spots and both middle infield spots. He makes good reads off the bat and runs good routes to the ball. On the infield, he exhibits good footwork, quick soft hands and great gap coverage. Because his outfield throwing arm is average at best (just 28 outfield assists in nearly 3,000 innings), he lines up more advantageously as a second baseman but, either way, he isn't a hard guy to get in to games. Although he is 25 and first getting a taste of AA, if his early season plate presence and improved swing continue to show themselves, Yefri will become a fantastic spark plug bat off the bench and late inning defensive replacement. He has the makeup to be the type of utility player every team seeks. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMn1gmBp4sU]Even on the occasion that pitchers manage to get around Perez this year, there will be little time to breathe in the way of harnessing speed as they will be forced to stare down Jeremias Pineda. Signed near the very end of the offseason, Pineda is a 25-year-old formerly of the Twins organization who spent last season playing in the Mexican leagues. Despite baseball south of the border being known as being very hitter friendly, Pineda still posted an impressive catalyst type slash line in 2015, going .285/.362/.339. It is the hope that Pineda's success in Mexico translates back to the majors and his Marlins' career. For that to happen, Pineda will need to improve upon a raw offensive approach, something he hasn't been able to do in five years, which already ended his American majors career once, and despite the good numbers on the surface of his Mexican league season last year, still caused him to strike out a ridiculous 168 times to 71 walks in a league not known at all for pitching prowess. So much about Pineda reminds me of Yefri. He's 25, he's a switch hitter, he's extremely fast (though not quite as fast as Perez), most of his offensive success comes from beating out infield hits and he is entirely too aggressive at the plate, especially when behind in the count. Hope is that these players, who will be hitting behind one another, can feed off each other and help each other succeed and turn them in to the extremely valuable utility players they have the capability of being. Pineda may be a step slower that Perez speed-wise but his outfield throwing arm is that step then a few more ahead of Yefri's. For that reason, many of his starts should come in the outfield this season though, again like Perez, his versatility will allow the Suns get him into the lineup in many if not all games. As he proved in the Arizona Fall League after a very good year considering it was in the pitcher's haven of Jupiter last full season, the Marlins may really have something in Austin Dean. Following a .268/.318/.366 year with the Hammerheads which led his team and placed 18th in the Florida State League and earned him a FSL All Star Game invite as well as an invite to the Arizona Fall League where he hit .323/.364/.452 and made his second All-Star game of the year, Dean comes to the Suns riding high. What he has to thank for his success is a balanced approach, including the ability to wait pitches out until they are finished breaking and a short quick line drive stroke, backed by a solid lower half. His solid and still improving plate vision makes him a pesky out to get. He gets in the mind of pitchers, frustrating them by trying not to do too much with pitches out of his reach but rather just foul them off, forcing pitchers to make mistakes. Dean's swing isn't one that's going to warrant him a ton of long balls but rather a prototypical short line drive stroke (as proven by a career 18.66 LD% coming into this year) that has the ability to reach all fields. As proven by a 77/148 BB/K over the course of his first two full seasons in the minors, Dean also isn't afraid to take a walk if he doesn't get what he likes. His patience, swing and plus speed which includes a good first step out of the box and warranted him 18 steals last year make him a fantastic future leadoff or two slot candidate. Dean will be and, by way of a .306/.416/.472 through his first 20 games in AA which includes an OBP that is currently fifth in the Southern League and a SLG and BA which rank 15th making him one of if not the best all-around bat thus far, already has been a fun project to watch fill out. In Brady Shoemaker, we have a guy who must have done something drastic to someone within the organization to warrant the treatment he has received in his Marlins career because as of late, the organization has done everything possible to hold him back. It all started innocently enough for Shoemaker with a bout of bad luck. After being claimed off waivers by the Marlins in 2013 after he spent that entire season out of baseball, Shoemaker returned to the minors with a vengeance in 2014, hitting .274/.374/.433 in AA Jacksonville. That year, he either led or was a close second in nearly every major offensive category amongst full time Suns including HR (12), OBP (.374), OPS (.808), walks (67), BB/K (.74) and RBI (71). Amongst qualifiers who appeared in at least 100 Southern League games, Shoemaker's .374 OBP ranked 10th and his .808 OPS ranked 12th. His accomplishments warranted him a well-deserved call-up to AAA in 2015. At the highest level he's ever played at, a 27-year-old Shoemaker quickly became one of the Zephyrs top players. Heading into a game on May 24th, Shoemaker was hitting a robust .310/.393/.509 and looked to be the next man in line for a call-up and probably would have been when Giancarlo Stanton hit the season ending DL with a hand injury on June 27th, leaving the Marlins scrambling for outfielders. Moreoever, Shoemaker, who also plays first, would have been the best choice considering first baseman Justin Bour's struggles against lefties beginning to come to fruition and the fact that Shoemaker's mashing versus them which amounted to the tune of a .302/.402/.573 that year was also beginning to rear it's beautiful head. However, May 24th is when Shoemaker's run of rough luck began. In the Zephyrs' game that night against El Paso, Shoemaker broke a pinkie finger, putting him on the shelf for the rest of May, the entire month of June and the beginning of July, causing him to miss his window and an opportunity to make his major league debut. Being the consummate professional that he is and being no stranger to missing time only to come back even better, Shoemaker returned on July 7th and although his second half was, quite understandably after breaking a finger in his dominant hand, wasn't as good as his first half as he struggled to find gaps as regularly as he did before the injury, Shoemaker remained one of the Zephyrs' key contributors. By season's end, he was arguably their full-season MVP, ending 2015 with a .284/.359/.417 line. His .776 OPS ranked third on the team as did his .417 SLG, once again not just making him a candidate but rather the prime candidate to become Justin Bour's platoon partner at first base in 2016 after Bour ended the year with a .221/.293/.279 against southpaws. Even after the signing of career reclamation project Chris Johnson to a major league contract, Shoemaker at the very least still seemed lined up to make the roster as the fifth outfielder, especially after he began his spring by hitting (), one of the best bats in camp. However, that didn't stop the Marlins from inexplicably making Shoemaker part of the first round of spring cuts. He watched as Cole Gillespie earned the nod as the fifth outfielder and planned to make the trip back to New Orleans. But the hits didn't stop coming there. At the end of spring training, Shoemaker wasn't assigned to New Orleans. He was, once again for reasons lost on everyone who has followed his career of late, assigned all the way down to AA Jacksonville. It would seem as though frustration has understandably so finally gotten the best of the now 28-year-old who could be playing in the majors and definitely should be playing above AA as his season with the Suns has gotten off to just a .212 start. While there is no doubt that the power hitting, balanced approach hitter that Shoemaker is and as his OBP (.356) and SLG (.353) are already proving, he will (continue to) improve upon that line as the season progresses but whether he makes the majors with the Marlins or not seems to be very much up in the air. Simply put, the guy can't catch a break and the organization doesn't seem to be willing to help him along. [mlbvideo id="543263283" width="400" height="224" /] In addition to a best-selling jersey waiting to happen, the Marlins have potential five-tool talent in J.T. Riddle, who will man the infield for the Suns this year. After hitting .286/.322/.405 and receiving All-Star honors in Jupiter last year, Riddle, a 13th round draft pick, comes to the Suns as a .274/.316/.373 lifetime MiLB hitter. Swinging with a light balanced load, the 6'1" 180 pounder is a mostly singles bat but he packs a bit of hidden power and will surprise with his ability to hit gaps. Add to the fact that he still has time to add power by way of growing physically and it's easy to see why Riddle was named the Marlins' top hitting prospect in 2015 and remains a top 10 organizational prospect this year. Despite owning a short stroke, Riddle is a bit too aggressive at the plate, making him susceptible to the K and the reason why he hasn't posted an OBP over the .325 mark at any level and something the Marlins would like to see temper as he makes his way through the upper minors. Riddle made quite the impression with the Suns in the second half of 2015 when he hit .289/.323/.422 for them and has continued to set fire to Southern League pitching on fire in his first 23 games in Jacksonville this year, hitting .279/.330/.395 with 7 XBH and 18 RBI. Though he is a natural second baseman, the Marlins have been giving Riddle playing time at other infield spots in hopes that he can become a quality utility player and lefty off the bench, ala Derek Dietrich and, although his speed is average, he has the arm strength and the quickness needed to cover all the ground and do so. However, if he continues to show improved pop as he grows into his body along with the raw talent that he owns behind his approach and maintains similar success against righties and lefties, Riddle has the opportunity to turn into an every day starter. He is a piece very much worth watching as he progresses this season. Avery Romero mans the other up-the-middle spot for the Suns this season despite an average at best year in Jupiter last year in which he hit just .259/.315/.314, all career lows for the 22-year-old. While some of that dumbing down of his slash line can be blamed on the pitcher's paradise that is Roger Dean Stadium, especially considering he came in to 2015 having never failed to hit at least .276/.341/.391 over the course of a full season and was coming off of a .320/.367/.423 year in between Greensboro and his first 26 games as a Hammerhead, Romero did exhibit some worrisome setbacks last year, including a career worst 71/38 K/BB and a 1.29 GO/AO, his worst since his days in rookie ball. Despite exhibiting a good short line drive swing that generates a lot of contact and puts his 1/100 rating in that category at 81 and his career line drive percentage at 21%, Romero has always been more of a free swinger rather than a count worker and has been known to press when frustrated. The Marlins are hoping that immaturity is the reason for his struggles last yar and that with a change of scenery to the much more neutral Southern League as well as a year's worth more of experience under his belt, those tensions will ease. Defensively, Romero made the switch from shortstop to second base after high school. Thanks to Romero's athletic frame as well as his quick hands and swift footwork following him from the plate into the field, he has made the move rather well overall, attributing to a 4.49 career range factor at the number 4 position. Last year, he contributed to a career high 79 double plays. However, Romero also proved he still has some growing to do, arm accuracy and decision wise as he rushed a lot of erratic throws at 2B and also committed a career high 20 errors but that is a flaw that should work itself out with more innings and more age. Whether Romero makes his ETA next season or not will depend upon his ability to improve upon his plate presence and patience and this season is his make it or break it moment. So far in 2016, it hasn't happened as Romero is hitting just .170/.286/.283 but there is still plenty of baseball left to play. We will be monitoring him closely throughout the course of the year. Pitching Rotation 1. Austin Brice 2. Jake Esch 3. Jarlin Garcia 4. Tim Berry Austin Brice is a huge 6'4" 240 pound 9th round draft pick from 2010 who is impressive at times and has made strides improving his arsenal in recent years but who just can't seem to put it all together. The physical specimen is an intimidating force for opposing hitters to stare down on the mound and he ramps up the kind of velo to match, occasionally throwing his pitch-off primary fastball in the mid-90s but usually sitting in the 90-92 MPH range. His best secondary pitch is a slider which he just recently got a feel for in the last two seasons. Sitting in the 82-86 MPH range, Brice will throw the pitch in any count and has the ability to hit corners with it when it is on. His curve has similar velo and when he is throwing it well, has good 11-4 break with some late bite. Notice, however, that in describing all of those pitches, "when it is on" is mentioned. That is Brice's biggest crux and the reason why he owns an unimpressive 4.26 ERA over 560 minor league innings. The trend with Brice's game is that there is no trend at all. From start to start or even inning to inning, he can either be the hero on the goat. When he is off, like many pitchers of his size the problem lies in his ability to repeat his delivery and most importantly maintain his release point, suggesting he is likely destined for a mid-late relief role rather than a rotation job. With two plus pitches already and two more, the aforementioned curve and a mid-80s changeup and still improving, the fact that he is good at subduing power, and held righty hitters to a .171 BA last year, he could make quite the living in that role at the major league level. All of that said, Brice has begun 2016 as consistent as he ever has been, not allowing more than 3 runs in any of his first five starts with half of them being of the quality variety. He also owns a 23/6 K/BB and he is pounding the zone with 246 of his 367 pitches (72%) of his pitches going for strikes. While it may be a last gasp effort (pun intended) for the gargantuan but somewhat unathletic Brice to save his future as a rotation starter, his start is encouraging. Jake Esch is the Marlins' current number nine prospect and an 11th round draft pick from 2011. He stands at an athletic 6'3", 205 and owns a four pitch arsenal consisting of a 93-96 fastball which he can spot corner to corner. He can also pitch off of the other end of his velo range, a mid 80s slider that has 10-3 movement with late bite. His ability to lead hitters off with both ends of the spectrum allows him to keep hitters off balance despite what they may see from the on-deck circle. He mixes in a still improving mid-80s change which also flashes above average and which plays off his fastball well, especially against opposing righties which he last year with the Suns held to just a .200 BAA. The Esch curveball is the least progressed of his pitches but although the spin needs to be improved, it has good 11-5 shape and can make hitters look silly when he places it correctly. After getting off to a great start in AA last year in which he held down a 3.48 ERA through 85 innings with a 68/33 K/BB, Esch received the call to AAA. However, being just 400 innings into his career as a pitcher (he came up through high school and college primarily as an infielder which allows him to field his position extremely well), he understandably proved he needs more seasoning in AA. While he is a bit old to begin a repeat season at the sub-AAA level, Esch has made great strides in a short amount of time. Should he continue to build upon a second great start that he has gotten off to in Jacksonville this year (2.93 ERA, 21/8 K/BB, 1.05 WHIP through is first 27.2 IP), he should get a better timed call to AAA and, with similar success there, could make an impact with the Marlins as early as next season. [mlbvideo id="543264283" width="400" height="224" /] Jarlin Garcia is a bit of an oddity in the way that he owns a 6'3" 220 pound power pitcher's frame but will rarely reach the mid-90s. That said, by not overthrowing and relying more on good control over all four of his pitches, Garcia has become the Marlins' third ranked prospect. His arsenal consists of a fastball that can touch 95 on the rare occasion that he ramps it up that high but usually lives in the 90-91 MPH range. Garcia has great feel for the pitch can paint corners with it, letting it run either in or out and consistently keeping it down in the zone making it a pitch he will throw in any count. He pitches off of the heat with a changeup that he developed better feel for last year and dips down to 82 MPH. Garcia's bulldog approach gives him the fearlessness needed to come right after hitters with the pitch and, with good late fade, generates plenty of swings and misses. The Garcia slider is of the 78-81 MPH variety and, while it is the least developed of all of his pitches, it flashes plus when Garcia is on, showing 10-4 movement and the ability to saw hitters off by putting it in on their hands due to late sweep. While Garcia can look dominant when he is throwing well, he isn't without fault. First, mechanics-wise he doesn't engage his huge lower half, nearly enough but rather relies more on raw arm strength on his way to the plate. The windup starts out slow with Garcia dropping his arm all the way down behind his plant leg before he comes toward the plate with a long stride, his arm trailing behind him. Even though Garcia rarely throws the ball as hard as he can, the delivery is not repeatable whatsoever if he hopes to use it 100 times per game and stay healthy. Furthermore, by releasing the ball from the point he does, Garcia doesn't advantageously shorten the distance to the plate for a guy his size. Long story short, Garcia not only just doesn't do nearly enough with his god-given physical characteristics to be considered much more than a 4-5 starter, concerns about him remaining healthy in his current state may regulate him to a bullpen role. Psychologically, Garcia is also a bit green as nearly every big time scout has been critical of his command, citing the fact that he tends to overthrow in high leverage situations which translated to an awful start to his AA career last season. Going in Garcia's favor here is the fact that he is still just 23 with room to grow and not become so easily rattled. Much more concerning are the aforementioned mechanical problems. If Garcia hopes to have a future as a starter, they need to beging being ironed out now but after doing something the same way for six years, bad habits can be hard to break. Hopefully his stone isn't already cast. We will follow him carefully this year. Projected Team Stats 72-68 .264/.332/.360 77 HR/347 XBH 1201 IP, 4.02 ERA, 1.27 WHIP

2015 Team Stats 67-73 .241/.296/.310 41 HR/222 XBH 1228.1 IP, 3.08 ERA, 1.30 WHIP Projected Lineup CF Yefri Perez 2B/DH Avery Romero 1B K.J. Woods C Arturo Rodriguez 3B Brian Anderson RF Dexter Kjerstad DH/2B James Roberts SS Justin Bohn LF Cameron Flynn Three varieties of tacos, three varieties of nachos, empanadas, Corona -- judging by the fare being offered up at Roger Dean Stadium this spring, the Hammerheads are excitedly awaiting the arrival of Arturo Rodriguez. Either that or its just an amazing coincidence. In any event, the Mexican export will come to Jupiter this summer. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E75vfE-DKL4] Somewhat suprisingly thanks to the price tags the Mexican League places on their players, Rodriguez came to the American majors after a .313/.366/.493 career south of the border. Even more surprising was the fact that he was signed by the usually thrifty Marlins. He rewarded that surely hefty, although still not (and probably never will be) certain cost by having a fantastic first half of the season with the Grasshoppers. Over his first 63 games and 237 ABs in the US minors, Rodriguez slashed a team leading .300/.350 /.422 with 6 HR, 32 RBI, and a 28/19 K/BB. In the second half, although the power numbers persisted and he hit 13 HR over Greensboro's last 62 games, the rest of his stats would suggest that the quicker pace of play and level of competition (the Mexican league is officially classified as AAA but is more like single A and strongly favors offense) as well as the amount of technology and information available to American teams hurt A-Rod a bit as, after the break, his BA fell 50 points to .250 and his K/BB% went from 1.47 to 2.64. Rodriguez by trade is a dead pull hitter, something opposing pitchers started taking advantage of in the second half with catchers most often setting up on the outer half inducing plenty of swings and misses from Rodriguez who doesn't advantageously step into contact on balls away resulting in either whiffs or weak contact, making him an easy matchup for righties who get ahead early in the count. It is a primary reason he only slashed .246/.304/.375 last year. This area of Rodriguez's game will be in even more prominent need of improvement as he makes the jump to not only a higher level of opposing talent but also a gargantuan pitcher friendly ballpark this year. If Hammerheads hitting coach Frank Moore can work successfully with A-Rod on slightly tweaking his approach as well as recognizing pitches on the outer half and getting ahead in the count, something he only did at almost exactly a 50% rate last year, Rodriguez at 24, has the rest of the tools necessary to fly through the American minors and still make an impact as a starter at the major league level. On defense, Rodriguez used a canon-like arm to throw out 40% of his runners in 2014. That figure took a wicked dive upon his transition to the majors. However, the fact that Rodriguez only committed three errors in 385 innings as the Hoppers backstop suggests the lower CS% shouldn't be a discredit to him but more of a credit to opposing runners getting good jumps on Hoppers' pitching. Furthermore, it should be noted that, save Tyler Kolek, the 2015 Greensboro rotation was made up Michael Mader, Jorgan Cavanerio, and Ben Holmes all of whom are to contact pitchers who rarely top 90 on the radar gun. That being said, as Rodriguez climbs the minor league ladder, his CS% should normalize. After all, at 6'0", 235, he has the perfect athletic catchers' build which he used to hold his passed ball total to a minuscule two last year and, in nearly 100 less innings than he played behind the plate in 2014, contributed three more assists. With good reflexes, a quick pop time and quick hands, Rodriguez, although he has also enjoyed some success at first (just three errors, a 9.27 range factor and 39 assists last year), he projects best as a catcher. Speaking of first base, the Hammerheads will also welcome a huge power threat at that position who also played for last year's Hoppers. 20-year-old KJ Woods is a 6'3" 230 pound corner man who is currently on the fast track to the majors, having made a jump in level in each of his first three minor league seasons. In his first full professional season last year, Woods dazzled by way of a .277/.364/.496 slash line. His OBP ranked 15th in the Sally League and his SLG and OPS (.861) were second only to Shane Hoelscher, four years his senior. Not only does Woods' build personify first baseman, his prodigal power which he is still just beginning to live up to and which Baseball America scouts once ranked at a 70, does as well. Even more advantageous for Woods is the fact that he is a lefty. Standing tall in the box with only a slight bend in the knees, Woods pivots beautifully into a prototypical uppercut power swing. His lower half mechanics are a thing of beauty, even at such a young age of development. He uses a slight front foot trigger and an even more pronounced front foot pivot which he uses to point towards the ball which he picks up very quickly out of the pitcher's hand before using active hips and a back foot finish, giving his mechanics near-perfect balance. As you may have guessed, Woods heavily favors pull hitting and fouls tons of pitches off trying to inside-out them in ABs often ending in strikeouts which heavily lent themselves to his 30.3 K% last season. That said, looking at his hit charts, he has also flashed a premature ability to step into pitches go opposite field. If that ability can be further nurtured, Woods, who is still very young, has the potential to become a complete power hitter. Even if he doesn't fully learn the art of oppo, the average cycle of maturation suggests a hitter like Woods will develop a better ability to not attempt to do too much and instead wait out opposing pitchers or induce a mistake. Having already great mechanics and being a great raw athlete, Woods is a lefty power hitter worth getting excited about as he fills out. In 2016, the Hammerheads will likely welcome back the fastest man the Marlins' organization has ever seen: Yefri Perez. The Dominican export is set to begin his second full season with the Hammerheads. Last season, he set a Hammerheads' franchise record by swiping 71 bases. It was the highest total the FSL has seen since 2007. Delving a bit further into his stats, Perez stole a base 45% of the time he reached base. While that fact looks pleasantly impressive on the surface and remains so even as you look at the rest of his season, the smile drifts away from your face when you look at his slash line and realize he was only on base 169 times in 563 PAs (.286 OBP). However, when you think of what Perez could potentially accomplish if his ability to reach base should improve, overwhelming pleasant and frightening thoughts prevail, you beam a Mr. Burns-esque grin and rub your palms together in the same devilish manner. In simpler terms, if Perez was the base thief he was in 2015 with such a minimal slash line, it is insanely congenial to think about the prospect of what he could do should he make improvements to his offensive game at the plate. Perez has never been and never will be a power threat or even much of an off the bat XBH threat but thanks to his jets, he doesn't have to be. What he does have to do is reduce his strikeout total from last year (95) which ranked as 18th most in the FSL. This can be done by way of both shortening his swing and not committing to pull the trigger on it nearly as often as he did last season. At 5'11", pitchers who got ahead early and changed Perez's eye level by climbing the ladder on him and who took the bunt out of order which is where Yefri found over half of his success when it came to hits, found him to be easy pickings by way of getting him to fish for pitches out of the zone. So many Ks was a bit of a new experience for Yefri who has always been a bit of a free swinger but never to this extent. Hopefully it is just a bump in the road for him but at 25 and still just at single A advanced, he can't have too many more of these if he hopes to make an impact at the major league level. Perez seems to be aware of this fact as he spent his entire offseason playing in full speed games. He played in the Dominican Winter League before spending most of spring camp with the Marlins, getting in some valuable elbow rubs and tutelage from the likes of Barry Bonds, Don Mattingly and the big league roster. Hope is that Perez can put those experiences to good use and further his game. His prowess for speed aside, Perez is likely never going to be major league starting material at any position (he can play virtually anywhere) but if he hasn't peaked as a sub-AA player, can make some improvements to his offensive game, cut down on strikeouts, and get his OBP back around average parameters, he can still make an impact as a late inning replacement. Watch Perez closely this season as, at his age, his future may very well depend on it. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eio_JF9kH9A] As for the DH spot, I pencil in James Roberts, playing in his first full season in the Marlins' organization and who's recent past is a bit of an anomaly. Roberts is a 24-year-old 2013 Guardians draftee out of USC where he had a .295/.373/.364 career which included a .320/.379/.429 junior year and earned him the right to skip straight to A+. In his first full professional season in Carolina, Roberts played in a team high 117 games and recorded a team high 407 ABs, holding down a respectable .268 BA and .339 OBP with a 75/34 K/BB. Upon the 2014 Mudcats' move to Lynchburg, Roberts' 2015 got off to a pretty rocky start. In his first 43 games, he hit just .228/.259/.302 spurring his release from the Guardians' organization. The Marlins signed Roberts on July 10th just after the All-Star break and after 2 games in the Gulf Coast League, sent him to Jupiter. In almost as many games as he played for the Hillcats and the Guardians, Roberts was one of the Marlins' and Hammerheads' best second half minor league players at the plate, all while hitting in an extreme pitchers park as opposed to a much more neutral environment in which he struggled with Lynchburg. In his 35 games and 108 ABs with the Hammerheads, Roberts slashed .324/.368/.435. Looking at the rest of his pro career thus far, Roberts has been the same extreme on-again-off-again type offensive player and, at 24, the Guardians evidently weren't willing to wait for consistency. While it remains to be seen whether Roberts can be more than just a slighty-over-mendoza-line type weapon over the course of a full season, he earns top marks on the 40-80 scale when it comes to making contact thanks to a very mechanically sound short swing based off a great approach. Initially standing from a split stance in the box, Roberts transitions to a straight stance as he watches the pitcher's motion and he adjusts to location well. Although he favors the pull variety of hitting and has a tendency to try to inside-out pitches, he has shown the ability to go with pitches and appears to have a great working knowledge of situationalism. Though he is a bit old to begin a second season at this level, it cannot be ignored that he barely spent any time at all at any other professional level after coming out of college and that, once reports got out on him in Carolina and followed him to Lynchburg (.283/.372/.319 in the first half of 2014 compared to .255/.308/.319 in the second half) are a very probable explanation for his struggles. Roberts is a smart hitter with a knack to find gaps and, if his start with the Hammerheads is any indication, is out to prove something after his release from the Guardians organization. Roberts' focus this year should be on better plate vision and less pressing when behind in the count, a better approach versus lefties whom he historically tries to do too much against, and keeping the fine pace he historically starts out with over the course of a full season. If he plans to make any impact at all in the National League, Roberts needs to make vast improvements to his defensive game. He has played most of his games at 3B but with 21 errors there over the course of 77 games thanks to an inaccurate throwing arm, his future is probably at 2B. He will likely get starts there versus righties this year, with Avery Romero starting in the field against lefties. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSSsxgI0VLc] As for Romero himself, he also begins a second season with Jupiter. He joins Perez as the second of seven Hammerheads All-Stars from last season to at least begin a second season with the team. Romero is a third round draft pick from 2012 who, thanks to years of .276/.341/.391 in 2013 and .320/.367/.423 each of which has been rewarded with a jump in minor league level. In '13, Romero ended the year in Greensboro after beginning it in Batavia and in 2014, he ended the season in Jupiter after becoming one of the Grasshoppers' best hitters. That didn't happen for Romero this year. The reason? A .259/.315/.314 slash line, his worst yet as a pro. After hitting a combined 295/358/400 to begin his career and jump at least one level with each passing season, the horseshoe was thrown in Romero's wheels this season. While some of the reason for the decline can be blamed on the huge dimensions of Roger Dean Stadium, Romero also struck out a career high 71 times, part of a 1.87 K/BB% year. Romero's crux seems to be in his timing. Last year, he was often out in front of the first half and behind the second half of the fastball/changeup combo and found himself behind in the count early in his ABs and often allowing pitchers to have a much easier time with him. The battler he is, Romero was still able to tough out 38 walks to keep his K/BB% under 2 but if he is going to succeed as the type of bat that he is, decent power but not enough to rely on it solely as a pure XBH threat, Romero needs to improve his plate vision. This is further proven by the fact that for his career, he owns just a .257 BA and a 13.7 K% against top 20 prospects. When Romero's swing is on time, it's a thing of beauty. He maintains softness in his hands well and strides through the plate with a solidly-built active lower half and a quick short stroke. If his aggressiveness can be turned down a notch (but not too much), Romero will be a bat worthy of top-100 prospect recognition in the coming years. Defensively, Romero came up as a middle infielder. However, in high school, he his best position was behind the plate, as proven by the sub-2 second pop and strong accurate on line arm he showed during multiple showcases. At 5'11", 200 pounds with the aforementioned thick lower half, Romero has the perfect build for a modern era catcher and most scouts had him lined up to be transitioned to that spot as most recently as last year. But the Marlins don't appear to be going that route with Romero. Since beginning his minor league career, he has played 279 games at 2B, 26 at third and zero at catcher. While some may consider that to be a waste of some great raw tools, Romero still plays a solid infield. At second, he goes gap to gap very well and reads balls off the bat like a pro. Like his antics at the plate, he could use to be a little bit less anxious when transferring from glove to hand but that should come with age and good coaching. Romero's strong lower half allows him to maintain his stance well and stand up to some pretty tough slides on double play turns as we saw him turn some doozies last year. Long story short on this 22-year-old, is, while he is going to begin a repeat season at any level for the first time in his pro career and while he does require some tempering when it comes to his competitive attitude and make-up which often tempts him in to making bad decisions, he has arguably the most all-around skill of anyone in the system and still has a very good chance of making an impact with the Marlins by 2020, if not earlier. With a good start at Jupiter this year, Romero could and should find himself in a Suns uniform by the time the year is through. [milbvideo id="35547579" width="400" height="224" /] The number nine spot on the field will belong to one of the funnest names to say that the Marlins have ever possessed: Dexter X Kjerstad. Kjerstad is a 6'1" 210 2010 draftee out of high school who instead elected to attend college. Kjerstad was a spectacular NCAA power bat, boasting a .374/.426/.621 slash line. He hit a homer once every twenty ABs while also managing to rarely ever strike out. 1.07 K/BB. Kjerstad also flashed plus speed in his undergraduate days, going 20/27 in stolen base attempts and scoring 90 runs. His .388/.431/.608 season in 2013 made him the Rajin Cajuns' best hitter and lead them to a Super Regionals berth. Following that season, Kjerstad was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Royals. As a 22-year-old in single A in his first year in pro ball, Kjerstad had quite the respectable season slashing .275/.336/.428 with 25 XBH including 6 HR and 33 RBI. Like any pure power threat, Kjerstad also K'd 59 times to just 18 walks but the good far outweighed the bad. By season's end it would seem that he had placed himself on the fast track to the majors. That was backed up by the fact that during the offseason, he was promoted to A+. However, in Wilmington in 2015, Kjerstad was clearly overmatched. In 51 games and 158 ABs, he slashed just .247/.288/.316 with 6 XBH. While he struck out at a rate of 30%, he walked just seven times. Though his season wasn't going great or even good, the Royals made quite the knee-jerk decision after Kjerstad got just 158 ABs above the single A level: rather than sending him back down, they released the 23-year-old. But Kjerstad wasn't going to let the dream die there. He returned home to Texas and went back to the drawing board, working on perfecting his craft in a semi-pro league in his hometown of Amarillo. In 45 games with the American Association's Amarillo Thunderbolts, Kjerstad was a man possessed. He slashed a ridiculous .300/.338/.584 with 11 HR (one in every 17 ABs), 26 XBH and 31 RBI in just 190 ABs. Again, the K/BB% was gargantuan but very easy to look past. Kjerstad was probably surprised when his phone rang at the end of that season and a major league club was on the other end but he shouldn't have been surprised at which club it was -- the Marlins -- who have historically dug up some diamonds in the rough in similar situations as he found himself in. With the Hammerheads, Kjerstad will get a chance to start back over from where he left off after his solid 2014 season and make his tough 2015 seem like a bad dream. It will be an uphill battle for Kjerstad who goes from an independent league to playing in one of the most pitcher friendly associated leagues in the minors but it would seem as though he has got a lot to prove. As described, he is a pure power threat who favors pull but has the ability to go to all fields. After breaking into the pros, scouts rated Kjerstad's speed, power, XBH-ability and durability all at or around 70 on the 30-80 scale. However, they also ranked his contact at a minuscule 38. And they were exactly right. Even though his accomplishments in 2014 shouldn't be discounted, it cannot be ignored that his best and only good season as a pro came at the expense of a .332 BABIP. In fact, each season he has played whether it be collegiate or pro, save one, that metric has not been anywhere close to neutral, not even during his sub-mendoza line 2015 half season at this same level. It isn't in doubt that there is plenty of strength, athleticism and talent packed in to Kjerstad's 6'1" 210 pound frame but if he is to fully realize it, he will need to time his swings a lot better. He tries to swing for the fences entirely too often and though he can spray it to all fields, he is an extreme straight line hitter who has trouble finding the gaps. Though he possesses good lower half mechanics, he tends to fly open on his swings causing it to get a bit long. All of those factors will need to be addressed. It will undoubtedly be a challenge for Kjerstad to re-tool himself as much as he needs to but he is without question thankful for the chance to play at this level again. Should he be willing to learn and perfect his craft, he has the ability to become quite the dangerous bat off the bench. A very low risk, high reward find by the Marlins, these are the kind of signings that can potentially make scout's careers. Projected Rotation 1. Jorgan Cavanerio 2. Jeff Brigham 3. Chris Sadberry 4. Jose Adames 5. Sean Townsley [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uRzVZzxz2Y] My projected ace for the Hammerheads this year is sixth year pro, Jorgan Cavanerio. Since beginning his career at 16 years old and spending a few seasons in the Dominican and Gulf Coast Leagues, Jorgan has grown into an under-the-radar prospect who translates well as a 3-5 big league starter. At 6'1", 155, he isn't much of a physical specimen. As for his mechanics, again, they don't appear to be anything to write home about. He throws straight ahead, not downhill and from a common 3/4 arm slot and doesn't have a ton of power behind any of his offerings, topping out at right around 90 MPH. However, when Cavanerio releases the ball, you understand why he is an up and coming product worthy of top 20 organizational recognition. Cavanerio possesses four pitches all of which move and all of which he has either great or good and developing control over, allowing him to keep them low in the zone, making him a viable candidate to grow into a soft tossing finesse ground ball pitcher. His four seamer tops out at 92 but usually sits in the 90 MPH range. He has a good handle on it and rarely puts it out over the heart of the plate. He uses it to set up his best pitch, an 84 mile an hour changeup that has made leaps and bounds over the course of the last two seasons. Once a less-than-average pitch, it is now a pitch he can throw in any count with consistent control. When he spots it on the outside black after it starts out well out of the zone and stays there until the hitter starts to look it into the catcher's glove, the pitch is nearly untouchable. The rest of Cavanerio's arsenal consists of a sinking two-seamer and a slow arcing curve with rainbow-like 12-6 action. Both pitches are still works in progress but both have flashed plus movement. The curve bottoms out at 74, giving him a mix of speeds interval of 18 MPH. On the downside, Cavanerio does have a tendency to lose consistency on his release point from inning to inning which has led him to some pretty ugly lines but that is nothing that cannot be worked out with more innings and higher level coaching. Right now, Cavanerio reminds me a lot of a younger underdeveloped version of Adam Conley who just won the fifth starter spot on this year's MLB team. Still just 20, Cavanerio still undoubtedly has the ability to bulk up and gain a few more miles per hour worth of velo. If he does that and his release becomes more constant and if he can learn to toss from more of a downward plane, there's nothing against Cavanerio one day becoming a big league rotation fixture. He will be worth keeping an eye on as he progresses through the minors. Jeff Brigham is a fourth round 2014 Dodgers draftee who came over to the Marlins in the Mat Latos/Michael Morse trade last season. Ranked the Dodgers 17th best organizational prospect headed into last year, Brigham skipped low A, going straight from rookie ball to single A advanced. Hope was that at 23, Brigham could prove he could handle a starter's load of innings in high A quickly, placing him on track to perhaps break the big league club by 2017. A wrench was thrown in that plan however, as Brigham struggled mightily in 2015, compiling a 1.68 WHIP and a 5.96 ERA over 14 starts and 68 IP. Then in late July, Brigham's change of scenery came when he swapped coasts going from Rancho Cucamonga to Jupiter. Brigham fared much better in the friendlier Florida State League and, although he gave up hits at a similar .276 clip over his last six games of the season (that figure was .286 out west), his walk rate fell considerably and he limited damage much more consistently, stranding an 77% of his runners as opposed to 63% earlier in the year. Throwing from a low 3/4 arm slot, Brigham works quickly and has an easy fluid repeatable delivery. Stuff wise, he is a three pitch pitcher but everything else he throws revolves around his fastball, the pitch that makes Brigham the prospect he is and his meal ticket to the majors. The Brigham heater is a two-headed monster in the way that he has the ability to make it explode out of his hand with 97 MPH velo and blow it by hitters or he can take something off of it and let the pitches' fabulous running movement be the catalyst. Though he can throw the pitch virtually anywhere and generate swings and misses, he favors jamming hitters in on the hands and getting them to saw the pitch off. Brigham's favorited placement on his slider balances the heater out nicely. Sitting at a slurvy 75 with late 11-5 break, it's a pitch he can either throw to set up the fastball or toss at the end of an AB to get a hitter out in front. On common occasion when the pitch has been under his control, he has made many a righty hitter look silly going fishing out of the zone. When it comes to areas of improvement, because of the amount of movement each of his pitches owns, Brigham needs to get a more consistent handle on his tipping points and placing pitches more consistently at their targets. Should that happen, Brigham, with a nearly fully developed arsenal of pitches that all flash plus, should have no problem continuing on the fast track by making it to AA by the middle of the year. Projected 2016 Team Stats 64-76 .258/.322/.356 60 HR/325 XBH 1160 IP, 4.51 ERA, 1.42 WHIP

Introducing my yearly spring training power rankings where I will update positional and pitching battles happening in Jupiter. Rankings are based both off of stats and off of eyewitness accounts and reports, will be updated weekly throughout the remainder of camp. Stats for this update are current as of 3/14/16. 5th Outfielder Cole Gillespie Gillespie ended the 2015 regular season with the Marlins hitting .290. He is off to a 7-14, 2/1 BB/K, RBI, SB start this spring. In the field, Gillespie didn't commit an error in 15 games last year and is eligible at all three outfield spots. After a journeyman type AAAA career, he's found some projectable pop, slugging .360 in AAA before slugging .428 with Marlins. It's make it or break it time for this 31-year-old and he appears to be aware. Brady Shoemaker Here we have a guy that likely had the most personally frustrating 2015 campaign of anyone in the organization. Through the first month and a half of the season, all Shoemaker managed to do was become the Zephyrs' best hitter by way of a .308/.390/.504 line. However, despite injuries to Christian Yelich and lackluster play by in-house options Ichiro and Michael Morse, the left-handed hitting power bat was ignored. To make matters worse, a month before Giancarlo Stanton hit the disabled list with a broken bone in his hand, Shoemaker had taken a trip to the DL himself with a similar injury, forcing the Marlins to look past him in calling up a replacement. Adding insult to injury (literally), even after he came back and picked up right where he left off hitting .279 and OBPing .346 with 11 XBHs, Shoemaker didn't even make September callups over the likes of Jordanny Valdespin, Tom Tellis and Reid Brignac. Still, Shoemaker, being the pro he is, finished the year strong ending up with a .284/.359/.417 slash line consisting of 24 XBHs and 50 RBIs as well as a 36/49 BB/K. Although it should have come already, Shoemaker's major league debut isn't far away. And when it comes, it will be one that will turn heads. Justin Maxwell Maxwell came to the Marlins this offseason amid the speculation that the team was looking to replace Marcell Ozuna. With tensions between the team and Ozuna's agent, Scott Boras seeming to have quited down, the 32-year-old is now in the mix for the fifth OF job. He has served in a similar capacity for much of his major league career, which spans seven seasons and 441 games over which he has hit .220/.303/.399. Most recently, he hit .209/.275/.341 in 100 games with the Giants last year. Like Gillespie, Maxwell's career has screamed AAAA player thus far (he was a fourth round draft pick and has mashed the ball in the minors, proven by a .260/.352/.450 career MiLB line), but watching him in camp thus far, it's been hard to tell. After showing up to camp in what looks to be great shape, Maxwell, who's huge 6'5" 225 pound frame screams and personifies baseball player, has already homered twice including a walk off, doubled, and knocked in four runs. While, like any power hitter, Maxwell is susceptible to the K, everything his bat touches is of the cover-tearing-off variety. His brand of pop off the bench as a late inning replacement and pinch hitter is something the Marlins missed dearly last season. As a team, they only hit .179/.258/.238 in PH situations. Add to the fact that Maxwell will be being coached by the all-time leader in pinch hits, Lenny Harris and you have a prime situation for him filling this role. Defensively, Maxwell has been equally impressive this year, twice robbing hits and once venturing in to the deepest corner of Roger Dean Stadium to rob a home run with a leap at the wall. He gets around the outfield with ease. In 79 games last year, he contributed three outfield assists and was a +5 in the DRS category. Although he has only managed to hover just above replacement level in his career thus far, Maxwell looks to have come to Marlins camp rejuvenated and driven, perhaps a sign that he knows he isn't getting any younger. Should his early success continue, he will likely find himself pulling on a Marlins uniform on Opening Day. Kenny Wilson -- Having never hit more than .239 above AA, Wilson came in to camp as a bit of a longshot to do more than just gain experience with the major league squad. But after the year he had last season with the Suns and the start he has gotten off to in camp, the 26-year-old has begun to turn some heads. Following a .270/.348/.394 hitting line complimented by 37 steals (3.7 SB% above average) as well as 9 assists and a 2.45 range factor in the field, the 26-year-old has gotten off to a 3-7 start this spring, albeit in limited action. He has also shown an outfield arm well becoming of the position he is trying for by contributing 2 outfield assists and covering more than all the ground necessary to make it as a late inning replacement. If he can learn to temper his strikeout rate, Wilson, even at 26, is a guy who can still contribute very positively at the major league level. Isaac Galloway -- After managing to hit just .249/.278/.358 last year with the Zephyrs, Galloway is another guy who came in to camp as a bit of a longshot to win the job. Though he remains that right now, his start has been impressive. He's gone 6 for his first 16 with two doubles and played defense becoming of the 2.84 range factor he displayed last year, covering good ground and taking good routes. With eligibility at every OF position and above average speed, this 26-year-old is very becoming of the role he is trying to fill, a late inning pinch runner and defensive replacement. However, on an even much higher scale than Wilson, Galloway could use to put his strikeout total very much in check. Last year with New Orleans, he struck out 108 times to just 18 walks. Considering he has already struck out 5 times to 0 walks this year in camp, he still remains a longshot for this or any MLB job. Xavier Scruggs Scruggs came to the Marlins in the offseason via a minor league contract. A right handed power bat, Scruggs has never had a problem reaching the fences and beyond, homering 20+ times in five times in his six minor league seasons above low A. However, that has also come at the price of well over 100+ Ks in each of them. In 2013 and 2014, his .376 and .370 OBPs could be attributed to BABIPs of .335 and .336. That figure dropped substantially last season to .285 and for the first time in his minor league career, his ISO did not top .200. With only 14 long balls to his name, another career low, and after a second medicore cup of coffee, the Cardinals cut him. He comes to the Marlins as a low risk, high reward signee. At 28 with just a handful of major league appearances to his credit, it's unlikely Scruggs is going to reach the potential he once appeared to be capable of and his spring performance this far shows it. In eight games and 17 ABs, Scruggs has just two hits (one being a homer) and a 3-1 K/BB. 5th Starter Adam Conley Conley was one of the guys whom the Marlins were forced to turn to due to injuries in 2015. After spending just four seasons above low A in the minors, including a spectacular 19 starts with the Zephyrs in 2015 which equated to a 2.52 ERA, an 81/40 (9.4%) K/BB, a 1.17 WHIP and a 77.2 LOB%, numbers which made him the ace of New Orleans' staff and one of the Pacific Coast League's top hurlers, the 25-year-old lefty joined the Marlins on June 10th. Conley responded well to his first taste of MLB action, holding his ERA under 4 with a 59/21 (13.5%) K/BB over 14 games, 11 starts, and 67 IP. He was susceptible to giving up the long ball as a Marlin, allowing seven over that same span, something which the newly moved in fences at Marlins Park will definitely not help but which the improvements he's shown this spring definitely will. After his fastball touched an average of just 91 MPH in 2015 during his time with the Fish, Conley has come in to camp flashing a heater reaching as high as 96. The pitch also has improved sinking action and allows him to get ahead far more often than not. The Conley changeup has also made some jumps by the looks of it this spring, with tighter spin and a better release point. Those pitches set up his low-70s slider which he has the ability to bury. Keeping hitters completely off-balance with his newly improved velo and the fact that he is and has historically performed better against righties, this southpaw continues to surprise and impress. Early in camp, he looks like the contender to beat. Justin Nicolino -- Nicolino came in to 2015 as the Marlins' second best pitching prospect and unlike top prospect Tyler Kolek, he hasn't disappointed so far on his minor league career but he isn't quite there yet. Following a 14-4, 2.85, 1.07 WHIP season in AA in 2014, Nicolino made his third jump in level in as many years, reaching AAA at the age of 22. There, the pitch-to-contact finesse thrower hit a bit of a bump in the road. In 115 innings with the Zephyrs in 2015, he posted a 7-7 record, had a .294 BAA, a WHIP over 1.4, and an FIP over 4.6. Injuries to the starting rotation forced a premature MLB debut for Nicolino. In 12 starts with the Marlins, he was able to hold down a 4.01 ERA by way of a very low .259 BABIP. That said, he also gave up eight homers in 74 IP, his FIP was a heightened 4.85 and his xFIP was above 5. While Nicolino isn't far away from being a MLB ready 3-5 starter, he lacks any sort of quality out pitch offering. Without one, his sub-90 MPH fastball, still developing changeup (although it flashes plus), and 75 MPH curve that doesn't quite have enough downward velocity to induce swings and misses aren't going to cut it at the major league level. That said, Nicolino is better against righties than lefties and still has plenty of time to fill out as a starter. His progression during the 2016 season with the Zephyrs will be monitored closely. Jose Urena Like Conley, Urena is another guy the injury-plagued Marlins were forced to turn to in 2015. Unlike Conley though, he didn't respond well. Coming to the Fish after just 11 games and 67.2 IP above AA, Urena was tagged for a 5.25 ERA (4.64 FIP), and a 1.1% K/BB in 20 games including nine starts. While Urena has the stuff to succeed as proven by the fact that he went from rookie ball to AAA in less than five years, he's still very green. He has both a two-seamer and a four-seamer to his credit, both sitting in the 93 MPH range. The two-seamer lacks sink and is more of a fourth pitch in the works right now. His slurvy curve is even more so of a pitch in the works. Sitting in the 80 MPH range, it doesn't have the bite Urena would advantageously like to place on the corners and quite often floats back over the heart of the plate. The rest of his breaking arsenal consists of a slider which has made strides over the last two years and his best pitch, a mid-80's changeup. With more experience at the AAA level, Urena has the stuff to become a worthy back of the rotation arm or late reliever but with still some potential to live up to as well as some hitches in his mechanics to iron out when it comes to his arm angle and release points, he will need at least another half to full season in the minors. Edwin Jackson After inexplicably waiting to sign or do much of anything until well near the end of winter, the Marlins scraped the bottom of the free agent pitchers market barrel by inking Edwin Jackson to the minimum MLB contract. Jackson comes to the Marlins following three straight dismal seasons with the Cubs, totaling 16-32 record, a 4.4 ERA, and a 1.52 WHIP over 82 games, after which he was DFA'd. At the end of last year, he joined the rebuilding Braves and tossed 24.1 relief innings. Although it's a small sample size, those innings and the 31 relief innings he threw with the Cubs last year have been the best product Jackson has turned in in years. In those 55.2 frames, he held down a 3.07 ERA and a 1.168 WHIP. Coming down the stretch of a long 15 year career, Jackson no longer has much value outside of that capacity. That said, his stuff retained the best velo it's had since 2012 last year. Though he is not what he once was by any stretch of the imagination whatsoever and has less of an outside chance of making the rotation especially after giving up five runs in his first two spring innings, the veteran is a class act, a good clubhouse guy and can still contribute positively in a 2-3 inning role out of the pen.

2015 Team Stats 51-88 .238/.299/.354 100 HR/318 XBH 1212 IP, 4.49 ERA, 1.43 WHIP Projected Lineup CF John Norwood 2B Alex Fernandez Jr. RF Stone Garrett 1B Austen Smith DH Korey Dunbar C Brad Haynal SS Justin Twine 3B Brian Schales LF Travis Brewster It will undoubtedly be an exciting season in Greensboro this year where, along with new manager Kevin Randel, the newest cast of young stud prospects will join a plethora of improving talent for what is sure to be a Grasshoppers team worth following. Names such as Garrett, Fernandez, Dunbar and Hillyer will meet up with those such as Smith, Twine, Norwood and Kolek, fusing the 2016 Hoppers into a squad worthy of Sally League title contention. When Stone Garrett fell to the Marlins in round eight of last year's draft, some scouts were surprised he fell that far. In his first professional season in Batavia last year, Garrett justified that astonishment by setting the New York Penn League on fire. By way of a .297/.352/.581 slash line, the 19-year-old became the it's best hitter. He had hits in 39 of his 58 appearances and at one point, had a hit in twelve straight games. The 6'2", 195 pounder paced the NYPL in nearly every major power hitting category, including SLG (.581), HRs (11), XBHs (35), total bases (129), and RBIs (46). Looking at those numbers in contrast to Garrett's final high school season before the draft, while the potential was known to be there, it's almost hard to believe the improvement Stone has made in just one short season. In under a year's time and in 74 more ABs, Garrett's BA rose 61 points, his OBP 83, points and his 311 points. In 2014 in the Gulf Coast League, he did not hit a single home run. With the single A Muckdogs, he hit 11 and his RBI total more than doubled from 11 to 29. Both scouts and Garrett himself attribute this to the fact that he learned how to utilize the lower half of his 6'2", 195 pound frame much more efficiently. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlKQKmtdeIE] [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRiKN0RqrFE&w=560&h=315] Garrett's huge power swing is no longer all arms. He is getting his hips and legs involved in his approach while still managing to stay behind the ball very well. He transfers his weight from his back foot to the ball like he's been doing it for years. This has resulted in Garrett becoming a much more dangerous man at the plate. He is no longer reaching for pitches away but rather stepping into the ball and making good contact on pitches on the outer half. His quick hands are also allowing him to find the barrel on pitches inside. Ultimately, nearly everything Garrett touches is hit well and hard and the ball jumps off his bat. Though the power is there for him to reach the fences every time, Garrett maintains his discipline. He doesn't try to do too much with pitches. Instead, he relies more on a short straight-through quick stroke and plus speed to turn hard line drives into XBHs. He has a good first step out of the box and flies down the line with sub-7 second ease. On the odd chance that he only collects a single (53% of his hits last year went for at least a double), he utilizes those jets to get in to scoring position. He swiped eight bags last season in 13 attempts. While this area of his game could use a little polishing when it comes to reading opposing pitchers, the raw talent is there for him to become a 30-30 guy. If there is one knock on Garrett's approach, it's that he is susceptible to breaking balls in the dirt. However, from the beginning of last season, he seems to have tempered that. After K'ing 27 times in his first 18 games, he K'd just 28 times in his final 40 games. Rounding out his game, Garrett has a strong arm on defense, worthy of manning any of the three outfield spots. His throws do tend to carry a bit but that is nothing that can't be fixed with some TLC, maturation and consistency at one position on the way up. Stone's speed best suits him for center field, making him quite the rare commodity: a right-handed power first oufielder with plus jets. Should the progression he showed last year continue through his first full professional season this year, this is a guy I will be very high on headed in to 2017. Speaking on his new teammate whom he spent a few games with at the end of last season, Austen Smith echoed our excitement about this giant talent. "I'm excited to have the chance to play with Stone again," Smith said. "He's such a physical specimen. He's going to be a fun player to watch develop." As for Smith himself, the ever-so-modest power hitting first baseman is no light load, either nor is he without a wide variety of skills. The gargantuan 6'4", 235 pounder will begin a second season in Greensboro but if his offseason work pays off, he will not be there long. Last year, after jumping straight from the Gulf Coast League in to his first full season, the 24-year-old's stamina and athleticism served him well as he played in 113 of Greensboro's 139 games, a team high. Going from 153 ABs in 2014 to 390, he was their third best hitter with a .241/.349/.431 line. He also placed second on the team in homers with 17. Smith made great strides last year when it came to maintaining his looseness, serving his pure power stroke very well. Swinging from a straight stance, the ball flies off his barrel when he makes contact with his uppercut hacks. He mashes straight stuff with ease and his best power is to dead center but as he proved last year, he can spray it to all fields. Like any pure power hitter, Smith is susceptible to the strikeout but he walks enough to offset them and still posts solid OBP totes. However, it would be nice to see Smith read breaking stuff a bit better and put some more meat on his BA. If his offseason work pays off this year, it undoubtedly will. "I've worked on shortening my swing a bit," Smith said. "Hopefully that will allow me more time to recognize pitches." Joining 2014 draftees Garrett and Smith will be a name that will take long-time Marlins fans on a nostalgia trip back to the mid-90s (or just make them feel old) as Alex Fernandez Jr, son of former Miami pitcher Alex Fernandez comes to Greensboro for his first taste of full-season ball. Fernandez Jr. will also man a spot on the infield; it will just be from a few feet back from where his dad did his work on the mound. Fernandez is, as you may have guessed, a South Florida resident who graduated from Archbishop McCarthy High School before graduating from Nova Southeastern University. In his undergrad days, he once hit a homer off of now Astros ace Lance McCullers. As he proved last year, it was no fluke. But first, for the defense. Arm wise, the apple didn't fall too far from the tree as Fernandez possesses a strong enough one to play virtually anywhere in the field. His ability to get in a low stance from his 5'10" build, good reads off the bat, good footwork, and soft hands make him most advantageous play at second base. In 150 innings there with the Muckdogs and GCL Marlins in 2015, he piled up a combined range factor right around 5.0, contributed to nine double plays and only committed six errors. At the plate, Fernandez's stout build allows him to stand straight up and swing from a balanced stance. He swings with a straight through line drive stroke that surprisingly packs a bit of power behind it, especially for a guy his size, allotting the way for a SLG right at .400 last year. That said, his swing does have the tendency to get a bit long which is what contributed to a 2.8 K/BB last season with the Muckdogs. As a bottom half of the order bat with surprising power for his build and solid defense, this current version of Fernandez reminds me a lot of a young Jose Fernandez with a lot of room to improve before cracking the majors in what I predict to be 2019. The Marlins addressed the thinnest position in the organization in last year's draft by selecting upwards of seven backstops. One of those selections began producing immediately as a Muckdog. With the 596th overall pick, the Marlins drafted Korey Dunbar deep in the draft in round 20, his second time being selected. He was picked by the Dodgers in 2012 but elected to attend college at the University of North Carolina. After honing his craft there and improving with each passing season three times Dunbar forwent his senior year of college and joined the Muckdogs in Batavia on June 21st. In 17 games in upstate New York, Dunbar slashed .317/.406/.400 with 5 XBH and 5 RBIs, proving not only that he has the ability to improve as he matures with age but also that he has the ability to adjust to different levels of competition. Dunbar's season in Batavia impressed the Marlins' brass so much they gave him a jump-start on this season by promoting him to Greensboro for the end of the Hoppers' season. He hit .238/.333/.286 with a double and 3 RBIs in 21 ABs. As a hitter, Dunbar has awesome raw power stemming from a huge uppercut swing. When he makes contact, he has good gap-to-gap strength and a knack for getting the ball at least to the wall. But there are some flaws in Dunbar's approach that need to be rectified. Preswing, Dunbar relies far too much on his arms and not nearly enough on his legs. Looking at his swing, even on homers, he doesn't get nearly enough of his lower half behind his stroke. Furthermore, Dunbar's ABs rely almost exclusively on what happens on the first pitch. If he falls behind even 0-1, his ABs usually result in a strikeout which is what has led to 30/11 K/BB so far in his pro career and 2.13 K/BB in his college career. However, if Dunbar can make a few breakthrough changes in his approach and learn to be a bit more patient and not press especially on pitches away, he can turn in to a very dangerous hitter and being a power-first backstop, a very sought after commodity. The arm strength Korey uses at the plate further serves him on defense where he possesses a cannon throw. For a guy his size, he wears the gear very well and has the ability to block any pitch in the dirt. Like his offense though, his defense needs a bit of nurturing in the way that his throws tend to get a bit too much arm behind them and carry. If the trend Korey has shown so far in his career that he makes great strides on both sides of the ball every year continues, he will be a fun product to watch on the way up. I pencil him in as the DH and backup catcher to start the year in 2016. Accordingly, I have the starting catching job falling to Brad Haynal. A third year catcher out of San Diego State where he hit .274/.341/.461 with 62 XBH and 98 RBI despite missing an entire season in 2012 due to a broken leg, forwent a red shirt college season to join the Marlins in 2014. Haynal spent most of his time in Batavia that season where he hit .271/.318/.373 with 8 XBH and 21 RBI. Last season, Haynal made strides in the area of plate presence that are nothing short of gargantuan. After piling up a dismal 51/10 K/BB in 43 games and 171 ABs in 2014, Haynal managed a 51/30 in 68 games and 248 ABs last year, paving the way for him to hit .274/.362/.407 with 21 doubles, 4 homers and 34 RBI. After placing near the bottom of the NYPL in OBP a season prior, he was the league's 17th best in that category. With 25 of his 68 hits going for extra bases, Haynal was also the NYPL's 17th best slugger. By trade, Haynal is a pure pull hitter, which pitchers exploited by shying far away from the inside half and pitching him as far away as possible when ahead in the count. That was until he fell under the tutelege of Rigoberto Silverio last season. Comparing hit charts and approaches, Silviero worked wonders with Haynal. Instead of trying to turn pitches inside-out, Haynal began using his front foot trigger to point towards the ball and kept his head down much more efficiently, watching pitches all the way through. The results are evident. Where only something in the neighborhood of 17 of his ABs resulted in a ball just managing to reach the right field grass in 2014, Haynal had exactly the same amount of balls drop for contact in that vicinity, including three doubles and a homer. These improvements have made Haynal's mechanics beautiful. As mentioned, he times pitches with an early front-foot trigger which he raises as soon as he sees the ball come out of the pitcher's hand. He gets his lower half engaged well and snaps his hips through his swing. Perhaps his best asset though is his ability to maintain loose hands until he commits to contact. It gives his approach a great sense of fluidity and makes his slight uppercut swing look like it's being executed with ease. He maintains a two hand grip on the bat all the way through his stroke and only raises his head after he makes contact. As a result of the work he put in with Silverio, Haynal has become a mechanically and athletically sound power hitting catcher with the ability to touch all fields. Considering his OBP and SLG both rose nearly 100 points and his BB/K more than doubled (2.5 to 5.8), it is safe to say Haynal has definitely been born again as a hitter. If Haynal can make similar progress on the defensive side of the ball where he has good raw tools that need to be harnessed, he will become quite the all-around backstop. Along some of the rest of the infield, the Hoppers will likely welcome back shortstop Justin Twine and third baseman Brian Schales, both of whom were counted along the Marlins' top organizational prospects last year. Unfortunately for some minor leaguers, even those who receive a lot of preseason hype, the baseball world isn't all rainbows and butterflies. Both Twine and Schales learned that last year as both of them struggled to tread water above the mendoza line and committed a combined 55 errors, causing them to drop off the top prospect radar this season in almost all circles. However, there is still plenty of talent in these two young players. Firstly, we look at Twine. As a two sport athlete out of TCU in 2014, scouts raved about certain aspects of Twine's game including his bat speed and athleticism neither of which were a problem last year. However, they also commented on his swing being entirely too long. That is something we saw plenty of in 2015. In addition to a weak followthrough, Twine's footwork is way off-kilter. He uses a front foot trigger to time pitches and gets it down as the pitch arrives which is fine but as he follows through, his plant leg comes off the ground as well. This results in Twine essentially hopping in to his swings and throws everything else completely off. The product of this is an off-balance long swing, a ton of strikeouts (108 last year) and weak contact. While the raw tools and athleticism are not in question, this needs to be addressed by Silviero and the rest of the Hoppers' staff if Twine is going to live up to his potential at the plate. Regarding Twine's defensive game, it's a very similar story. While he has great speed and the ability to close on anything hit in his vicinity, proven by his 4.03 range factor last year, he doesn't always take the best routes to balls which results in hurried and off-balance throws. It was hoped that with more innings, this was something Twine would be able to correct, but after his first 1300+ pro innings it still hasn't. For this reason and with improving his offense undoubtedly being his primary focal point, Twine may be better suited for either second base or an outfield position. Then there is Brian Schales. After entering 2015 as the Marlins' #16 prospect, the fourth round pick from 2014 didn't have a terrible campaign, slashing .260/.330/.348, but hardly one becoming of that placement within the organization. While some of the reason for this can be attributed to 2015 being his first pro season, Schales' game is definitely in need of some grooming. Schales stands in a similar stance as that of Twine, nearly straight up with a slight bend in the knees. Other than that though, Schales has far better mechanics than his fellow infielder. He engages his lower half well and has a much shorter swing, which compliments his style of slap singles hitting well. Vision wise, Schales is quite decent but he could use to get a bit better when it comes to following the ball out of the pitcher's hand. He is late to pick up the break on pitches and while he doesn't strike out much, he very rarely finds the barrell. If the 20-year-old can improve in that aspect, it will work wonders for the kind of hit-for-average type guy he hopes and needs to become to be a success professionally. On defense, Schales is the kind of guy that has the ability to make a fantastic play on any ball hit near him but his arm is still very immature. He tends to get on top of his throws very often, resulting in either hard-to-handle or throws far off the mark. Overall, though, there's still plenty of talent in this young infielder and he isn't many breakthroughs away from placing himself back near the top of the Marlins' prospect list. With good coaching and some effort, he can place himself back on the fast track to the majors this season. Watch him closely. Projected Rotation 1. Tyler Kolek 2. Michael Mader 3. Jordan Holloway 4. Brett Lilek [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLKvxnc6D98&w=560&h=315] Young fireballer Tyler Kolek who topped triple digits as early as his days in high school had high hopes surrounding him as he entered 2015 as the Marlins' top ranked prospect. Over the course of his 108.2 innings as a full-season professional, the 20-year-old had that same incredible velocity --- and that's about it. As he labored through the season and after the campaign wound up, his struggles were well documented. Here are my takeaways. In very simple terms, Kolek, right now, is a one-pitch pitcher. That one pitch is his fastball. In high school, Kolek could get by with this, putting all of his arm behind the pitch and just purely blowing it by hitters. However, as Kolek has learned, that won't cut it in the majors. Tinkering with his delivery has cost him some MPH off his fastball and caused it to settle in to the mid-90s, usually sitting at around 93-95. The pitch has good downward movement as it is thrown from almost a completely over the top delivery and has some slight sinking action. It is the first pitch he throws in nearly every AB, as it should be. His command of the pitch is iffy but it is good enought at the moment to allow him to place it where he wants more often than not. Other than that, the rest of Kolek's stuff is literally all over the place. He is not confident in any of the rest of his offerings, leading to a long arm action and a delivery stride in his legs that often finds him throwing from well behind the stride in his plant leg. This leads to a pitch that is nearly impossible to control and depending on where it winds up, either a very hittable pitch or a very obvious ball. Either way, his offspeed stuff is very easy on hitters' eyes. While these are issues that can be worked out with good coaching, they are issues that deter him from the fast track making him less of an A type prospect and more like a B-C type. 2016 isn't a make-or-break season for Kolek as he is still very young but it is a year in which we will further be able to establish his status as a prospect and where he may spot in future Marlins' plans. Re-joining Kolek will be his teammate from last year, Michael Mader. Mader is a 22-year-old Floridian lefty drafted with a supplemental pick in 2014. He owns a mid-90s fastball usually sitting around 93 MPH, a good biting out pitch curveball in the 80-MPH range and a solid mix-in changeup. When on, Mader was brilliant in 2015, six times topping 6 innings with one run or less. But when he was off, he was really off, six times failing to go more than 4 innings and givin up more than four runs. Mechanically, Mader is a very sound pitcher, throwing from a 3/4 delivery with a downhill stride. His fastball has been clocked as high as 95 but usually sits in the 90-92 MPH range. His best offering is undoubtedly his slurvy curve out pitch which possesses excellent late movement. The one hitch keeping the athletically build 6'0" 200 punder away from a future rotation spot at the moment is his inconsistent command. As good as his slider can be when on, it can be equally as hittable when he isn't. This is the biggest issue facing Mader if he hopes to make it as a starter. He could also use to further develop his third pitch changeup. As for the third and fourth roty spots, I have both them going to newcomers from Batavia. Firstly, Jordan Holloway is a pick the Marlins took a big chance on in round 20 of the draft. By the looks of him so far, the gargantually tall 6'4" righty has paid off. With his fastball topping out in the 93 MPH range which he has very good command over, Holloway mixes in a variety of breaking stuff, the best of which being a curve whcih spins tightly into the zone, that is provided he doesn't get on top of it too much which should work itself out as he matures. His work-in-progress pitch is a changeup which he tosses in the mid-80s. Should that offering come to fruition as well as his hook further improving, the huge downhill thrower who makes the most of his large build is a projectable 3-5 starter with plenty of upside. Finally, there comes lefty Brett Lilek whom the Marlins drafted in the second round last season. The now 22-year-old produced impressive results in his college career with the Arizona Sun Devils, going 10-8 with a 3.05 ERA and a 7.97 K/9 over his three seasons. Last season in Batavia, Lilek was one of the Muckdogs' most effective hurlers, with the worst luck ever, going just 1-2 in 11 starts despite compiling a 3.34 ERA by way of a 6.14 K/BB. Lilek owns a vast variety of weapons including a 93-95 MPH heater with good downward movement and three breaking pitches including a great late-break slider, an improving curve, and a mix-in project changeup. With a 95-82 mix in velocities and the potential to become a four pitch pitcher who is athletic as they come, Lilek should be a fun peice to watch. Projected 2016 Team Stats 61-79 .246/.315/.370 82 HR/303 XBH 1185 IP, 4.02 ERA, 1.37 WHIP

For fans, it's the only form of professional baseball to tie them over through the grueling offseason. For players, it's a chance for them to showcase their talents to their respective clubs and get a jump-start on the upcoming campaign. In the valley of the sun, Marlins' outfield prospect Austin Dean shone bright, becoming one of the Arizona Fall League's best players and earning All-Star honors for the second time in the matter of only a few months. After leading the Hammerheads and placing 18th in the entire league in BA (.268) and placing third on his squad in slugging (.366) in his second professional full season in 2015 in the extremely pitcher friendly Florida State League, Dean took his talents to Mesa. There, in the much more neutral Arizona Fall League, the 22-year-old showed off his potential by becoming the league's ninth-best for average hitter by way of a .323 BA. By rounding out his slash line with a .364 OBP and .452 SLG, he kept pace with the likes of Giants' top prospect Christian Arroyo (MLB.com's #82 prospect) and outperformed guys like Guardians' stud Clint Frazier (MLB.com's #27 prospect) all while hitting against guys like Cardinals' top arm Alex Reyes (MLB.com's #13 prospect) and Brewers lefty Josh Hader, MLB's #61 prospect who is on the verge of cracking the majors. Dean had a hit in 12 of his 16 games, including six multi-hit efforts. [mlbvideo id="524270083" width="400" height="224" /] One of the most impressive moments of the entire AFL season came when Dean participated in the league's hitting challenge during the league's opening week. In the event, a player from each organization swings for homers as well as for targets placed around the field which can earn them points. Prior to that, each player attempts four bunts trying to place the ball inside of a target on the infield. Before showing off his line drive power by hitting several balls to the wall, Dean was the only player in the competition to place a bunt inside one of the circular target areas, proving he is honing a vast variety of hitting tools. Dean made it to a tiebreaker playoff final in the competition by tying Dodgers prospect Jacob Scavuzzo. At season's end, Dean's accomplishments won him an invite to the league's All-Star game (appropriately called the Fall Stars Game). Once again, much like he did the entire AFL season, he didn't disappoint. He provided the most exciting play of the night when he hit a ball down the line in right, perfectly placed past a diving outfielder. He then rounded the bases in a flash and scored an inside-the-park home run standing up, which provided two of the East's three runs. And that is exactly the type of hitter Dean is: not a guy who is going to hit a lot of balls over the fence but rather a tactically sound bat with great vision who frustrates pitchers by waiting them out and forcing them to come in to the zone. He keeps his head down all the way through his swing and, as is evidenced by his hit chart from last season with the Hammerheads, hit the ball to all fields. After his prototypical line drive swing which has attributed to a career 18.66 line drive percentage, Dean has a good first step out of the box and plus speed that garnered him a 6.74 60 yard dash time coming out of high school and 18 stolen bases last season. Asked about what he thinks of his former teammate at the plate, Tyler Bremer who spent most of last year playing with Dean, echoed these sentiments and further explained why Dean is already such a tough out to get. "His approach is what makes him tough to pitch to," Bremer says. "He drives the ball to right field very well but has quick enough hands to get to the inside pitch as well. He also has enough pop to really hurt if a pitcher makes a mistake. I think if he keeps making improvements to his game like he has been the past off seasons I think he has the chance to be an every day outfielder in the big leagues." The improvements Bremer speaks of come in part by the way in which Dean has tempered his strikeout total with each passing year. Since 2013, he has seen his K% fall from 20% to 13%. In addition to his fine plate work with the Hammerheads, Dean also navigated the cavernous outfield of Roger Dean Stadium very well, compiling a 1.82 range factor and 15 outfield assists between two positions, rounding out his game nicely. So what does all of this mean? Of course Dean's exports in Arizona this year, great as they were, need to be taken for what they were: a small sample size worth of two months' ABs. However, when included in total with what Dean has been able to accomplish thus far in his young career, his winter in Mesa further highlighted his full-season accomplishments in Jupiter and undoubtedly earned him at least a very good chance at being promoted to AA Jacksonville this season, even if he begins his season with the Hammerheads. Dean is nurturing and building a skill set that is becoming of an every day starting outfielder. He has already been a fun product to watch and will continue to be this coming year.

As we edge closer to the start of the minor league season, we got our latest big announcement on Friday when the Marlins announced their minor league staff for all teams as well as the minor league coordinators that will belong to the big league roster. With the announcement, we learned that Don Mattingly won't be the only new face on the top step donning Marlins' affiliated gear. With many of the organization's head coaches and staff from last season moving on to bigger and better things, three of Miami's four minor league squads will have a new staff at the helm in 2016. Here's a closer look at the men who will be guiding the future of the Fish in 2016. Firstly in New Orleans, the Zephyrs wave goodbye to Andy Haines as he packs his bags for Chicago and the hitting coordinator gig with the big league Cubs. For Marlins' ownership, it was undoubtedly a heartfelt goodbye to Haines who spent eight faithful years with the organization, compiling a 517-495 record and bringing the club a Sally League title in 2011, an Arizona Fall League title in 2014, and coming within one W of a Florida State League title with the Hammerheads in 2013. During his long tenure with the Fish, Haines had a hand in coaching, mentoring and grooming some of the team's best commodities such as Giancarlo Stanton, Jose Fernandez, Christian Yelich, and more recently Justin Bour and Justin Nicolino among many others. Those who played for Haines, including reliever Craig Stem, have nothing but praise and respect for their former skipper. "He's a great guy," Stem says. "Even when we weren't playing so well he was always positive and reminded us of our individual and team goals. Every day was an opportunity to improve on the day before. That's what you want in a manager. Hainsey will be sorely missed." With Haines' departure, the Zephyrs' new ownership headed by Lou Schwechheimer, had their first impression on the line when they faced the challenge of appointing a new manager. They completed that challenge successfully by selecting Arnie Beyeler to head the team in 2016. Beyeler, 51, is an experienced and accomplished minor league manager. He dons an 802-756 all-time record all of which he spent in the Red Sox's organization. Before being promoted to the Red Sox's staff in 2013 where he helped lead the team to a World Series title, Beyeler enjoyed two years' chock full of success at the AAA level. In 2011, he lead the PawSox to a division title and in 2012, he managed the first Pawtucket team to win an international title in nearly 30 years. At the AAA level, Beyler owns a sparkling 159-128 (.805) lifetime record. There is no doubt that the veteran Beyeler will be up to the task of leading the Zephyrs to success. As Stem points out that -- although change is a way of life as a minor leaguer -- it is up to the players to respond to a new style of leadership. "Welcoming a new manager is something that is common in the minor league world. Most years you will be playing for someone different whether that be due to a coaching change, promotion, demotion, trade, or otherwise," he says. "Adjustments always have to be made, but in the end the goal is always the same and a manager's coaching style can often dictate the direction a team goes. The ability to move on and perform with a new manager at the helm will be a test for all the players to see if they can perform with the same intensity and quality regardless of who is leading them to do so." Joining Beyeler's staff will be pitching coach Derek Bothelo and hitting coach Paul Philips. Bothelo comes to the Zephyrs via being promoted from AA Jacksonville. He is a South Florida native who grew up in Boca Raton before attending Miami-Dade South Community College. He joined the majors after being drafted by the Phillies for the second time in 1976. He played 12 professional seasons, holding down a career 4.11 minor league ERA and topping 1,000 career strikeouts. Despite spending a year out of baseball at one point, Bothelo realized his childhood dream in 1982 by making it to the majors with the Royals. After retiring in 1986, Bothelo began his coaching career in 1990. The bulk of his career was been spent with the Reds for whom he served 12 seasons. He also spent six years in the Braves' system where he helped groomed the likes of Peter Moylan, Craig Kimbrel and Kris Medlen. He has over 35 years coaching experience under his belt. Phillips, 38, is a 1998 draftee who played for six years between the Royals, White Sox, Rockies, Guardians and Brewers. He hit .270/.317/.367 over 13 minor league seasons and cracked the majors seven times, including his first occasion in 2004, where he hit .262/.298/.357. In 2012, Phillips ended his playing career and began coaching at Lipscomb University. During his tenure there, he helped Lipscomb enjoy it's best three-year run in school history, recording 97 wins. Most recently, last season, he helped the Bisons to a 39-20 record, a tournament championship and a national playoff berth by way of a collective .275/.361/.406 slash line. The first of just two head coaches returning to their old post is Dave Berg who will begin his second season as manager of the Jacksonville Suns. A former utility infielder who got his major league debut with the Marlins after attending the University of Miami, Berg began his coaching career in 2009. He spent several years as an infield instructor before managing at Greensboro. In his first season as skipper, Berg led the Grasshoppers to an 80-59 record and a spot in the Sally League championship series. He returned to the same post in 2014 and enjoyed similar success going 87-53, giving the Hoppers a share of the first in their division. He owns a 224-189 (.843) career managerial record. Last season, Berg managed a pluthera of young talent, some of which made the jump to the majors all the way from AA including Kyle Barraclough, Kendry Flores and Bryan Ellington. Reliever Tyler Bremer who spent last season with Jacksonville attributes Berg's managerial success to his overseer-type style which keeps the game fun and allows his players to find their own way, provided, of course, they are going at 100% at all times. "He brings a laid back atmosphere but with the expectation the team is going to play the right way," Bremer says. "With it being a more advanced older league I think his coaching style gives the players the opportunity to go out and play their game without someone down their throat. Though if he feels like you aren't playing hard or not going about things the right way he's not afraid to address it, and will do so quickly. I think Berg is perfect for Jacksonville." The Marlins' organization may have lost a great coach in Haines to the Cubs, but they also gained a great baseball mind from the Cubs in the man who will serve as the Suns' pitching coach this year. For the past two seasons, Storm Davis served in the same capacity for the Tennessee Smokies, the Cubs' AA affiliate, leading that staff to two sub-4 ERA seasons. Preceding that, Davis managed a single A Daytona Cubs staff that held down a 75-51 record and a 3.64 ERA en route to a Florida State League championship. Before beginning his coaching career in 2008, all Davis managed to do was hold down a career 4.02 ERA and a 113-96 career record over 13 major league seasons. He was a positive WAR player in 12 of those seasons and a 1+ WAR player in eight of them. With great stamina and a great physical make-up, Davis ate innings like no other, piling up nearly 2,000 (1780.2, seasonal average of 178), an ability which earned him the moniker "the perfect fifth starter" by sabermetricans. Davis won two World Series titles, one in 1983 with the Orioles and one in 1989 with the A's. His best season occurred in 1984 in Baltimore when he posted a 14-9 record and a 3.12 ERA over a career-high 225 innings. Bremer, who spent time with the Cubs organization, knows the respect Davis commands and deserves and is eager to reap the benefits of his expertise. "Storm's pedigree brings an instant sense of respect and knowledge," Bremer says. "He has been where we as players want to go, and has had success there too which brings a lot of excitement knowing we have him for a whole season to work with. I know from my time with the Cubs players spoke very highly of him so I'm eager to get on a mound with him and see what we can accomplish." Hitting and third base coach Rich Arena rejoins the Suns in 2016. Prior to joining Jacksonville last year, he served as hitting instructor for the 2012 Jamestown Jammers, the Marlins' former single A short season affiliate. Close knit relationships run deep with Arena and many of the Suns' position players as many former Jammers became Suns at the same time as Arena and remain so with him this year. In 2016, the Hammerheads will be at the Ready. A well-deserved promotion to the big league coaching staff for Brian Schneider paved the way for fellow former infielder Randy Ready to take the helm in Jupiter. A sixth round draftee in 1980 by the Brewers, Ready flew through the minors in just three short years, jumping a level with each passing season, attributing to a robust .326/.445/.509 career minor league slash line, before cracking the majors in 1983. He spent three seasons coming off the bench for the Brewers before joining the Padres in 1987 where he enjoyed his best season as a professional, hitting .309/.423/.520 and piling up a 5.8 WAR as Jack McKeon's full time second baseman. A pesky hitter with a great eye and a knack for making contact, Ready ended a 13 year career with a .359 OBP by way of a 326/276 BB/K. That kind of skillset and expertise of the strike zone will hugely benefit a Hammerheads team that OBP'd a Florida State League low .296 last season. After his playing career ended in 1997, Ready returned to minor league baseball in 2002 where his success at that level continued immediately. As manager of the single A short season Oneonta Tigers, he led a roster that included the likes of Curtis Granderson to a 47-27 record and a division title, accomplishments that earned him the NYPL's Manager of the Year award and a promotion to single A Fort Wayne in 2004. While grooming the likes of Chase Headley, Jose Lobaton, Will Veneble, Joakim Soria, and Wade LeBlanc, Ready led the Wizards to two winning seasons. In 2007, Ready made the jump to AA San Antonio. Headley, LeBlanc, Venbeble and others all made the jump with him and once again benefited from Ready's managerial prowess. The team hit a very Ready-like .256/.339/.401 and brought the Missions a Texas League title in the team's inaugural year as a Padres affiliate. 2008 saw Ready promoted to AAA Portland where he coached a team that walked a league high 607 times to a 70-74 record. Ready was in the running to become the next Astros head coach in 2009 but Houston selected Brad Mills. Ready nonetheless made the majors for the first time as a coach that year, joining the Padres. He spent two seasons with the Friars, coaching them to a collective .242 BA over three years. He joins the Marlins with a career managerial record of 398-376 over six full minor league seasons. Ready's staff will be filled out by pitching coach Jeremy Powell and hitting coach Frank Moore. Powell joins the Hammerheads via a promotion from single A Greensboro. For the past two years, Powell served in the same capacity for the single A Grasshoppers leading them to 1010/488 K/BB and 7.5 K/9 last year. In 2014, Powell coached a staff that led the Sally League in strikeouts (1146), least walks (351) and uniformly, K/BB (3.27). That staff was also second in ERA (3.49) and third in W/L% (.621). Prior to his tenure with Greensboro, Powell spent two seasons with the Gulf Coast League Marlins, allowing them to hold down a 3.41 ERA and a 448/161 K/BB in 2014, a K/BB ratio which ranked third in the league. In his coaching debut in 2012, Powell led the GCL Marlins to a collective 3.27 ERA which ranked fifth in the league. Prior to his coaching career, Powell was a 1994 draftee out of high school. He played with Montreal's GCL team that year, going 2-2 with a 2.93 ERA for a staff that led the league in WHIP, was second in strikeouts, and fourth in both ERA and win percentage. After spending 1995 in Vermont with the Expos' low A short season affiliate, Powell spent all of '96 with single A Delmarva, marking his first career full season. He responded to the increase in playing time very well, going 12-9 with a minuscule 3.03 ERA and a 109/66 K/BB over 157.2 IP. His contributions helped propel the '96 Shorebirds, a team which also included another current Marlins' coach, Brian Schneider as well as former Marlins pitcher Javier Vazquez, to an 83-59 record and a Sally League North division title. Another promotion greeted him in 1997 as he moved to high A West Palm Beach and likewise, so did an increase in production. That year, a 21-year-old Powell went 9-10 with a 3.02 ERA and a 121/62 K/BB, ranking him the fifth best starting pitcher in the Florida State League (minimum of 130 IP). In 1998, Powell got two promotions. The first came to start the year when he joined the AA Harrisburg Senators. After going 9-7 with an even 3.00 ERA with a 77/37 K/BB and a 1.16 WHIP, making him the team's ace, Powell had impressed the Expos enough to skip AAA and crack the majors for the first time at the All-Star break. His MLB debut came on July 23, 1998 against the Cubs, a game in which he made a quality start (6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 K, 1 BB). In 1999, Powell returned to the minors with the AAA Ottawa Lynx. In his first 91 IP that year, he once again aced a staff, holding down a sub-3 ERA (2.97) via a 72-37 K/BB. He was once agin promoted to the majors at the midway point of the season. On August 9th of that season, Powell enjoyed his best start in the MLB, going eight shutout innings and earning the win. Following an off season in 2000 in which he struggled in both the minors and majors, Powell made the move to Japan in 2001 where he enjoyed a decorated Nippon Proffessional Baseball career. In eight seasons with the Osaka Kinetsu Buffaloes, Orix Buffaloes, Yomiuri Giants, and Fukoka Softbank Hawks, Powell went 69-65 with a 3.97 ERA, an 858/334 K/BB (2.65%), and a 1.3 WHIP. He contributed to league title winning teams in 2001 and 2008. He was his team's ace during a 14-12, 3.51, 160/55 K/BB 2005 season and his team's second best hurler (only to Koji Uehara) in a 10-10, 3.32 ERA, 131/31 K/BB 2006 season. For his career, Powell boasts a 65-69, 3.72 ERA, 2.02 K/BB line in the minors and a 69-65, 3.97 ERA, 2.65 K/BB in Japan. His expertise of several different countries' brands of baseball as well as his experience as a coach last year will be a welcome fit for the Hammerheads staff which looks to improve upon the 67-73, 3.08 ERA, 2.30 K/BB line they set last season. Frank Moore rejoins the Hammerheads as hitting coach, a position which he held in 2011. He also spent parts of two seasons with the Sharks as a career minor league utility player. Drafted out of high school in 1996 by the Pirates but did not begin his professional career until being drafted again by the Devil Rays in 1998. From 1999 until 2002, Moore made jumps in level with each passing season by hitting .304/.349/.392 in '99, .263/.300/.363 in 2000, .307/.346/.430 in 2001 (ranking in California League's top 20), and .281/.342/.350 in '02. He cracked AAA in '03 and '04 before joining the Marlins organization in 2005 where he spent time with Jupiter and then AA affiliate Carolina and AAA affiliate Albuquerque before retiring in 2009. A pesky slap singles type bat, Moore's career MiLB line reads .276/.328/.380 over 10 seasons. His expertise at getting on base will be welcome on a Hammerheads squad that managed just a .296 OBP last season. Following his playing career, Moore stayed with the Marlins' organization, serving as Jamestown's hitting coach for the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Those year's Jammers teams hit a collective .246 and OBP'd .331.From 2012-15, Moore was the Grasshoppers' hitting coach. In '12, the Hoppers were the Sally League's second best hitting team with a .272/.345/.398 line which helped earn them a spot in the league's championship final. In 2014, in true Frank Moore fashion, Greensboro were OBP gods, getting on base at a league high .351 clip. Their collective line (.285/.351/.407) was once again second best in the Sally League. In his three career as the Hoppers hitting coach, Moore led them to a collective .262 BA and .336 OBP . The second of two returning head coaches is Kevin "Smoke" Randel who will begin his second season as the Grasshoppers' head coach. Randel's is a name that should be familiar to Marlins fans as he was drafted by the Fish in 2002. His third time being drafted, Randel actually signed this time and became a part of the Marlins' organization. As a career minor league utility infielder, Randel hit very well, compiling a .267/.374/.439 career line. In his day, he had one of the best eyes in the organization with his career-low OBP bottoming out at .331 (in his first full year as a pro) and his second worst .371. However, Randel almost inexplicably only spent seven games above the AA level. After retiring in 2009, Randel began his coaching career in 2010 as the Grasshoppers' hitting coach. Over two seasons while helping groom the likes of Christian Yelich, JT Realmuto and Mark Canha, he coached the Hoppers to a seasonal average .283 BA and .319 OBP. Their 2011 .426 SLG ranked second in the league and their .269 BA ranked third, aiding them in their eventual league championship win. After that season, Randel served as hitting coach to the AA Jacksonville Suns, a team which hit .253/.341/.387. The .341 team OBP ranked third in the Southern League. Randel's ability to get on base aided the Suns greatly that season. Their 569 walks that year were the most in the league. Pitcher Sam Alvis, who threw for Randel last year, says that, like his fellow manager Dave Berg, Randel keeps the game loose and fun as long as he knows his players are giving it their all. "Smoke is a great mananger and I really enjoy playing under him," Alvis says. "He's very energetic and enjoys having a good time as long as everyone is doing their job. I like how he helps develop us in our own way. He's very open and easy to talk to about anything. We are lucky to have him." Randel's staff will be rounded out by pitching coach Brendan Sagara and hitting coach Rigoberto Silverio. Both Sagara and Silverio served on short season Batavia's squad in the same capacity last season. That Muckdogs team, by way of Silverio's leadership, hit .252/.320/.347 and, courtesy of Sagara, held down an even 4.00 ERA and a 2.20 K/BB. Silverio is no stranger to the Marlins' organization. 2016 marks his eighth year with the Fish as a coach and his thirteenth altogether (he spent five seasons in the Marlins' minor league ranks, playing as an infielder). From 2012-2013, Silverio served as hitting coach for the Jupiter Hammerheads, teams which held the likes of Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna, and Mark Canha. He led those Hammerheads teams to a collective .255/.327/.357 line. In 2012, Silverio helped the Hammerheads to the Florida State League finals. That year, the team's .336 OBP led the league and their .265 BA ranked second. Rigoberto got his start as a coach in single A short season Jamestown where he helped the Jammers to a .252/.321/.356 line over three seasons (2009-2011). His 2010 Jammers team had the second best record in the league (43-32), ranked third in BA (.264) third in slugging (.400), and third in homers (45). Before his coaching career, Silverio spent another five years with the Marlins as a career minor leaguer, playing for many of the same teams he would go on to coach. Signed as a free agent in 2005, an 18-year-old Silverio hit .302/.374/.388 as a GCL Marlin, making him the third best BA on that team. He also ranked third in walks (15). Silverio then spent 2006-2007 between the Jammers and Hammerheads before ending his professional playing career. He is a lifetime .256/.326/.309 hitter. Sagara also joins the Grasshoppers via a promotion from Batavia. Sagara spent four seasons with the Muckdogs, coaching them to ERAs of 4.00, 3.87, 3.42 and 3.08, which ranked the Muckdogs fourth in 2012. His best year as a coach came in 2007 when he helped coach the unafillated Windy City Thunderbolts, which were coached by another current Marlins' coach, Andy Haines, to a 68-28 record which included a .708 win percentage and a 3.63 ERA, both league bests. Their 1.301 WHIP also ranked best in the league. Their 2.12 K/BB ranked second in the league. The Batavia Muckdogs' staff will be covered as part of their season preview later this year when the single A short season begins.

Stone Garrett, CF A Short Season Monthly Stats: 26-90 (.289), 5 HR, 3 3B, 5 2B, 20 RBI, 31/5 K/BB If there is any truth to the adage, "first impressions are everything", this kid must have the Marlins' front office convinced that he is a future Hall of Famer. Miami's eighth round draft pick from 2014, Stone Garrett has taken the New York Penn League by storm in his second year as a pro, leading it in every major stat category. While the eighth rounder playing like a first rounder so soon in his career may come as a bit of a shock to most of us, it comes as par for the course for those who knew him in his high school days. As a standout at George Ranch High School in Sugarland, Texas, Garrett put together a sweet career, earning first team underclassman honors in 2012 and 2013 and All-Region first team as well as first team All-American honors in his senior year, a campaign in which he boasted a .398 BA and a .461 OBP. The center fielder also flashed good speed all year long and showcased it to potential suitors when he ran a 6.47 60 yard dash in a Perfect Game event at Petco Park in the days leading up to the draft. However, being the best player on a great team has it's downfalls, especially near the end of the season when scouts are most present. Because of his level of play, Garrett rarely saw quality pitches or many pitches at all on the inner half. Pitching him away with breaking stuff, teams had Garrett, who is a very patient hitter but can press when frustrated, a testament to his young age, had him flailing his long arms and missing a lot as the season dragged on. Because of this, teams shied away from Garrett which allowed the potential first through third rounder fall to the discounted price of the eighth round. That's where the Marlins were waiting to snag him with pick 227. And they are undoubtedly very glad they did. This season with Batavia, Garrett is showing his true potential by completely mashing NYPL pitching. Standing from a rock-solid straight away stance, the 6'2" specimen imposes fear in the opposing pitcher. That fear is justified when Garrett swings the bat. Using a small front foot trigger, he drives through the ball with improved action in his lower body and snap in his hips, an area of focus for the Batavia coaching staff in the days leading up to the start of short season. The strength in Garrett's hands and the way the ball explodes off his barrel are nothing short of prodigious. A look at his spray chart, his .561 slugging percentage and .270 ISO back that assertion perfectly. The 19-year-old also rounds the bases and covers ground in the outfield with plus speed. He has stolen 8 bases this year and made some difficult plays look easy in the outfield. The one area of his game that has fallen off in his transition to the bigs is his patience. Whereas there was rarely a game in which he didn't walk in high school, he has took a turn towards the more prototypical power hitter by posting a .259 BB/K. Again though, Garrett has amazing instincts. Maturation itself will ease some of that pain and coaching should do the rest. With proper grooming, Garrett could turn in to a top prospect by the time he arrives in South Florida. The bottom line: Garrett is a sizable 6'2" 195 pounder who is absolutely mashing NYPL pitching in his second year as a pro, leading his league in homers and slugging. Plus speed also has him leading the NYPL in triples and in the top seven in doubles. He also covers all the necessary ground and then some in the outfield. He has transitioned beautifully from high school to the bigs with most of his assets coming to fruition in less than two short seasons. The biggest and quite possibly only hole in his game is the fact that he has taken a turn for the worse when it comes to patience. A lot of that though can be attributed to a 19-year-old mind going up against this level of talent with just 337 at bats under his belt and should be easily ironed out as he progresses. Garrett has great instincts, a beautiful swing, and all the raw tools and talent in the world necessary to allow him to climb top prospect leader boards everywhere as he matures. We are excited as this should be a fun one to watch.

Apologies for the lack of updates lately. It's been a crazy few weeks. Don't forget you can always get immediate updates including live in-game look-ins and images by following us on Twitter @marlinsminors. 6/15/2015 @ Round Rock L/13 0-1 Cole Gillespie, RF: 3-6, BB, K Vinny Rottino, 1B: 2-4, 2 BB Austin Wates, LF: 2-6, 2B Kendry Flores, SP: 5 IP, 3 H, BB, 6 K Bullpen: 7 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 6 K 6/16/2015 @ Round Rock L 7-8 Miguel Rojas, SS: 3-5, 2B, RBI, 2 R, BB Reid Brignac, 1B: 2-5, 3 RBI, R, K Jordanny Valdespin, 2B: 2-5, 2B, R Jarred Cosart, SP: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K Jon Link, RP: 1.2 IP, H, BB, K 6/17/2015 @ Round Rock L 3-4 Isaac Galloway, CF: 2-4, RBI, R, K, SB (6) Juan Diaz, DH: 2-4, R, 2 K Cole Gillespie, RF: 1-4, RBI Andre Rienzo, SP: 4 IP, 5 H, 2 R (1 ER), BB, 4 K Pat Urckfitz, RP: 2 IP 6/18/2015 vs Colorado Springs W 9-2 Cole Gillespie, RF: 4-5, 2 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, R Isaac Galloway, CF: 3-5, 2B, R, K Miguel Rojas, SS: 1-4, 3B, 2 RBI, R, BB Kila Ka'aihue, 1B: 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R, 2 K Adam Conley, SP: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 K Bullpen: 4 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 3 K 6/19/2015 @ Colorado Springs W 4-0 Miguel Rojas, SS: 3-5, 2B, 3B, 2 R Brandon Bantz, C: 2-4, RBI, K Kila Ka'aihue, 1B/Cole Gillespie, RF: 1-4, RBI, K Travis Blackley, SP: 5 IP, 2 H, 2 K Nick Wittgren, RP: 2 IP, SV (8) 6/20/2015 @ Colorado Springs L 6-9 Vinny Rottino, 1B: 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI, R, K Cole Gillespie, RF: 3-4, BB Scott Sizemore, 2B: 2-3, 2B, RBI, 2 R, BB, K Juan Diaz, 3B: 2-5, 2B, R, K Isaac Galloway, CF: 2-4, 2 R, BB Kendry Flores, SP: 5 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, BB 6/21/2015 @ Colorado Springs L 2-6 Team: 4-31, 2 BB, 3 K Vinny Rottino, LF: 3-4, 2B, 2 R Isaac Galloway, CF: 1-4, 3B, RBI Greg Nappo, RP: 2.1 IP, BB, 4 K 6/23/2015 vs Round Rock W 5-0 Miguel Rojas, SS: 2-4, 3B, 2 R Cole Gillespie, RF: 2-4, 2 RBI, R Juan Diaz, 3B: 1-4, HR (3), 3 RBI, R Isaac Galloway, CF: 1-3, 3B Jordanny Valdespin, LF: 2-4 Andre Rienzo, SP: 7 IP, 3 H, 4 BB, 3 K 6/24/2015 vs Round Rock W 6-3 Vinny Rottino, LF: 2-4, HR (6), 3 RBI, R, K Juan Diaz, 3B: 2-4, HR (3), RBI, R Kila Ka'aihue, 1B: 1-3, 2 R, BB Jordanny Valdespin, 2B: 2-4, R, K Adam Conley, SP: 6 IP, H, 4 BB, 2 K Lay Batista, RP: IP, SV (2) 6/25/2015 vs Round Rock L 1-5 Kila Ka'aihue, DH: 1-2, HR (1), RBI, R, 2 BB Miguel Rojas, SS: 2-3 Pat Misch, SP: 5 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 4 K 6/26/2015 @ Iowa W 5-0 Kila Ka'aihue, 1B: 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI, R Jordanny Valdespin, LF: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R Miguel Rojas, SS: 2-4, R Kendry Flores, SP: 7 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 2 K Bullpen: 2 IP, 2 K 6/27/2015 @ Iowa L 1-6 Vinny Rottino, LF: 2-3, 2B, R, BB, K Brandon Bantz, C: 1-3, 2B, RBI Chris Narveson, SP: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, BB, 6 K Greg Nappo, RP: 1.1 IP, H, 3 K 6/28/2015 @ Iowa L 5-6 Michael Morse, 1B (rehab): 2-3, R, K Johnatan Solano, C: 2-5, 2 RBI, R, K Isaac Galloway, CF: 2-5 Andre Rienzo, SP: 7 IP, 9 H, 4 R (3 ER), 2 BB, 5 K 6/29/2015 @ Iowa W/12 2-1 Vinny Rottino, LF: 1-4, HR (7), RBI, R, BB Scott Sizemore, 2B: 2-5, 2B Adam Conley, SP: 6 IP, 3 H, ER, 4 BB, 7 K Grant Dayton, RP: 3 IP, H, BB, 2 K Lay Batista, RP: 2 IP, H, K 6/30/2015 Game 1 - vs Omaha Completion of 6/14 W 6-0 Reid Brignac, 2B: 4-5, RBI, R Vinny Rottino, 1B: 1-4, HR (6), 2 RBI, R Austin Nola, SS: 3-4 Jordany Valdespin, RF: 1-5, HR (1), RBI, R, K Jhonatan Solano, C: 1-4, HR (2), RBI, R, K Pat Misch, RP: 8 IP, 4 H, 4 K Game 2 - @ Omaha L/7 0-3 Juan Diaz, DH/Donovan Solano, SS: 2-3 Travis Blackley, SP: 5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K 7/1/2015 @ Omaha W 2-0 Kila Ka'aihue, 1B: 2-2, 2B, R, 2 BB Juan Diaz, 3B: 2-4, 2B, RBI, K Reid Brignac, LF: 1-4, 2B, BB Kendry Flores, SP: 6 IP, 6 H, BB, 5 K Bullpen: 3 IP, H, BB, 4 K 7/2/2015 @ Omaha L 2-5 Juan Diaz, 3B: 2-3, HR (4), RBI, R Austin Nola, 2B: 2-4, 2B, RBI Justin Nicolino, SP: 6 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, BB, 2 K 7/3/2015 @ Omaha W 8-4 Kila Ka'aihue, DH: 3-4, 2B, 4 RBI, BB Austin Nola, SS: 2-4, RBI, 2 R, K Austin Wates, RF: 1-3, RBI, R, 2 K Andre Rienzo, SP: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 4 K 7/4/2015 vs Iowa W 7-0 Juan Diaz, 3B: 3-4, 2 2B, RBI, R Isaac Galloway, CF: 3-4, RBI, 2 R Austin Nola, 4-5, 2 RBI Jordany Valdespin, RF: 2-4, 2B, RBI, 2 R Jose Urena, SP: CGSO, 9 IP, 5 H, BB, 4 K 7/5/2015 vs Iowa W/7 2-0 Isaac Galloway, CF: 2-4, 2B, HR (3), RBI, R Jhonatan Solano, C/Austin Wates, RF: 1-3 Adam Conley, SP: 7 IP, 2 H, BB, 7 K 7/6/2015 vs Iowa L/7 0-2 Team: 1-21, 2 BB, 5 K Juan Diaz, PH: 1-1, 2B Chris Narveson, SP: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 6 K, 2 HR 7/7/2015 vs Iowa L 3-8 Scott Sizemore, 3B: 2-3, 2B, RBI, R Brady Shoemaker, LF: 2-4, R Donovan Solano, SS: 2-4, 2B, RBI Grant Dayton, RP: 2 IP, H, 2 K 7/8/2015 @ Round Rock L 0-6 Brady Shoemaker, LF: 2-4 Juan Diaz, 3B: 2-4, K Isaac Galloway, RF: 1-3 Andre Rienzo, SP: 7 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, BB, 3 K 7/9/2015 @ Round Rock W 9-6 Reid Brignac, 2B: 4-5, 2B, RBI, 2 R, BB Juan Diaz, 3B: 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI, R, K Brady Shoemaker, DH: 3-5, RBI, R, K Austin Nola, SS: 2-5, 2B, K Vinny Rottino, LF: 2-5, RBI, 2 R 7/10/2015 @ Round Rock L 4-5 Austin Nola, SS: 3-4, K Brandon Bantz, C: 1-4, HR (3), 2 RBI, R Juan Diaz, 3B: 1-3, RBI, 2 R, BB Jarred Cosart, SP: 4 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 K Grant Dayton, RP: 2.2 IP, H, BB, 3 K 7/11/2015 @ Round Rock L 2-4 Reid Brignac, 2B: 3-4, HR (3), RBI, R, K, SB (1) Marcel Ozuna, CF: 2-4, R, K Kendry Flores, SP: 6 IP, 9 H, 4 R (3 ER), BB, 7 K Bullpen: 2 IP, 2 H, BB, 2 K 7/12/2015 @ Round Rock W 7-4 Vinny Rottino, 1B: 2-5, HR (9), 2B, 3 RBI, R, K Juan Diaz, 3B: 2-4, 3B, R, 2 K Austin Nola, SS: 2-5, 2B, 2 R Brady Shoemaker, LF: 2-4, BBMarcel Ozuna, CF: 1-5, HR (1), RBI, R, 3 K Justin Nicolino, SP: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 5 K 6/15/2015 vs Tennessee L 1-5 Austin Nola, SS: 1-4, RBI, K Carlos Lopez, RF: 1-3, BB Scott Lyman, SP: 6 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, BB, K 6/17/2015 @ Chattanooga W 8-4 Matt Juengel, LF: 2-5, HR (12), 4 RBI, 2 R, BB Austin Nola, SS: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R, BB Terrence Dayleg, 3B: 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R Kenny Wilson, CF: 2-4, R, SB (14), BB, K David Adams, 2B: 1-2, R, 2 BB Matt Tomshaw, SP: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, BB, 4 K 6/18/2015 @ Chattanooga L 6-8 Matt Juengel, LF: 1-2, HR (14), 3 RBI, R Carlos Lopez, RF: 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB Kenny Wilson, CF: 2-4, 2 2B, 2 R, BB Bullpen: 7.1 IP, 3 H, BB, 3 K 6/19/2015 @ Chattanooga L 2-3 Ryan Rieger, RF: 1-4, 3B, RBI, R, 2 K Michael Morse, 1B: 2-3, K Carlos Lopez, 1B: 1-1 Austin Brice, SP: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 6 K 6/20/2015 @ Chattanooga L 4-7 Viosergy Rosa, 1B: 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, R, BB, K Carlos Lopez, RF: 1-3, RBI, K Terrence Dayleg, SS: 1-3, 2B, RBI, K Kenny Wilson, CF: 0-2, R, SB (15), 2 BB Trevor Williams, SP: 5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K 6/21/2015 @ Chattanooga L 5-6 Michael Morse, DH: 2-3, HR (1), 3 RBI, R, BB, K Kenny Wilson, CF: 2-4, 3B, RBI, R, BB, K Ryan Rieger, RF: 1-4, 2B, R Jarred Cosart, SP: 5 IP, 3 H, ER, 6 BB, 6 K 6/25/2015 vs Biloxi W 6-2 Terrence Dayleg, SS: 3-4, HR (1), 4 RBI, R Matt Juengel, LF: 1-4, 3B, RBI, K Kenny Wilson, CF: 2-4, 2B, RBI, BB, K Viosergy Rosa, 1B: 2-4, 2 R, K Carlos Lopez, RF: 2-4, BB Matt Tomshaw, SP: 7 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 BB, 2 K 6/26/2015 vs Biloxi L 3-7 Zack Cox, 3B: 2-4, R, BB David Adams, PH: 1-1, 2B, RBI Ryan Rieger, LF: 1-4, R, K Chipper Smith, RP: 3 IP, 4 H, 2 R (0 ER), BB, 4 K Blake Logan, RP: 2 IP, H, K 6/27/2015 vs Biloxi L 1-4 Kenny Wilson, CF: 1-3, HR (4), RBI, R, BB, K David Adams, 1B: 2-4 Carlos Lopez, RF: 1-3, 2B, BB Jose Fernandez, SP (rehab): 5 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 8 K Bullpen: 4 IP, 4 K 6/28/2015 vs Biloxi L 1-11 Terrence Dayleg, 2B: 2-4, R, K Carlos Lopez, RF: 2-4, 2 K Kenny Wilson, CF: 1-5, RBI, 2 K Scott McGough, RP: 1.1 IP Blake Logan, RP: IP, H, 2 K 6/29/2015 vs Biloxi W 12-1 J.T. Riddle, SS: 3-4, HR (1), 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R, BB Austin Brice, SP: 8 IP, H, BB, 13 K; 2-2, RBI, R, BB Kenny Wilson, CF: 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, K Carlos Lopez, RF: 2-5, RBI, R David Adams, 2B: 1-4, RBI, R, 2 K Ryan Rieger, 1B: 1-4, RBI, R, BB, 2 K 7/1/2015 @ Pensacola W 6-2 Matt Juengel, LF: 2-5, HR (14), RBI, 2 R Carlos Lopez, RF: 2-5, 2B, 3B, RBI, R, K David Adams, 3B: 1-3, BB, K Viosergy Rosa, 1B: 0-2, RBI, R, 2 BB Jake Esch, SP: 6.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K 7/2/2015 @ Pensacola L 1-2 David Adams, 2B: 1-4, HR (3), RBI, R, 2 K Zack Cox, 3B: 1-4, 2B, 2 K Matt Tomshaw, SP: 7 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, BB, 5 K 7/3/2015 @ Pensacola L 1-5 David Adams, 2B: 3-3, RBI, BB J.T. Riddle, SS: 3-4 Carlos Lopez, RF: 2-5 Scott Lyman, SP: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K 7/4/2015 vs Chattanooga W 3-0 Matt Juengel, 1B: 1-3, RBI J.T. Riddle, SS: 1-4, RBI Kenny Wilson, CF: 1-3, RBI, R Trevor Williams, SP: 6 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 6 K Bullpen: 3 IP, BB, 3 K 7/5/2015 vs Chattanooga W 3-2 Carlos Lopez, RF: 1-4, HR (3), RBI, 2 R, BB Brent Keys, LF: 1-4, 2B, K David Adams, 2B: 1-3, RBI, BB, K Ryan Rieger, DH: 1-3, 3B, BB, K Austin Brice, SP: 4 IP, H, BB, 8 K 7/6/2015 vs Chattanooga L 0-5 Zack Cox, 3B: 1-3, 2B, 2 K Sharif Othman, C: 1-3, K J.T. Riddle, SS: 1-4 Jake Esch, SP: 4 IP, 5 H, 3 R (2 ER), BB, 2 K 7/7/2015 vs Chattanooga W/7 5-4 Viosergy Rosa, DH: 3-3, 2B, RBI, R David Adams, 2B: 1-3, 3B, RBI, R Zack Cox, 3B: 1-2, RBI, BB, K Kenny Wilson, CF: 1-3, 2B, R, K Matt Tomshaw, SP: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 K Bullpen: 2 IP, 2 BB, 3 K 7/8/2015 vs Chattanooga L/7 1-6 Carlos Lopez, RF: 2-3, HR (4), RBI, R David Adams, 2B: 2-3, 2B Viosergy Rosa, DH: 1-2, BB, K Blake Logan, RP: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 K 7/9/2015 vs Mobile W 7-2 Carlos Lopez, RF: 3-5, 2B, 2 R Matt Juengel. LF: 2-4, 2 2B, 3 RBI, R, BB Zack Cox, 3B: 3-4, 3B, 2 R J.T. Riddle, SS: 1-4, 2B, RBI, R, BB Kenny Wilson, CF: 1-3, RBI, R, BB, SB (17) Trevor Williams, SP: 6 IP, 5 H, 3 K 7/10/2015 vs Mobile L 2-5 David Adams, 2B: 1-4, RBI Viosergy Rosa, 1B: 1-3 Matt Juengel, LF: 0-2, R, 2 BB J.T. Riddle, SS: 1-4, R, K Austin Brice, SP: 6 IP, 5 H, ER, BB, 5 K 7/11/2015 vs Mobile W/14 4-3 Sharif Othman, C: 2-6, HR (2), 2 RBI, R, 3 K Matt Juengel, 3B: 2-7, K Ryan Rieger, RF: 1-3, 3B, R, BB Viosergy Rosa, 1B: 1-5, 2B, R, 2 BB, 2 K Jake Esch, SP: 5.2 IP, 2 H, ER, 7 BB, 4 K Josh Hodges, RP: 4 IP, 3 H, BB, 4 K 7/12/2015 vs Mobile L 4-12 Chadd Krist, C: 2-4, HR (3), 3 RBI, R, 2 K J.T. Riddle, SS: 1-4, HR (2), RBI, R Zack Cox, 3B: 2-3, R, BB 7/13/2015 vs Mobile L 2-5 David Adams, 2B: 3-4, 2 2B Matt Juengel, LF: 1-4, HR (15), RBI, R, K Sharif Othman, C: 1-4, RBI, K Scott Lyman, SP: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K 7/15/2015 @ Mississippi W 7-2 Kenny Wilson, CF: 2-5, HR (5), 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R Carlos Lopez, RF: 3-5, 3B, RBI, R Matt Juengel, LF: 2-5, K J.T. Riddle, SS: 1-4, RBI Trevor Williams, SP: 6 IP, 6 H, ER, 3 BB, 3 K 6/15/2015 @ Brevard County L 0-4 Harold Riggins, LF: 1-3, 2B, K Brian Anderson, 3B: 1-3 Sean Townsley, SP: 5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 5 K Raudel Lazo, RP: 2 IP, 2 K 6/16/2015 @ Brevard County W 12-4 Felix Munoz, 1B: 2-5, HR (3), RBI, R Yefri Perez, CF: 3-6, 2 RBI, R, SB (28) Yuniel Ramirez, LF: 3-5, 2B, 3 RBI, R, K Justin Bohn, SS: 2-5, 2B, RBI, 3 R Chris Narveson, SP: 6.1 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K 6/17/2015 @ Brevard County L 1-2 Chris Hoo, C: 1-3, 2B, R Austin Dean, RF: 1-4, 2B Brian Anderson, 3B: 1-4, 2B Jose Fernandez, SP (rehab): 4.2 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, 10 K Tyler Higgins, RP: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 K 6/18/2015 @ Brevard County W/12 2-1 Harold Riggins, 1B: 1-5, HR (3), RBI, R, 2 K Blake Barber, LF 3-5, K, SB (1) Austin Dean, RF: 2-5 Brian Anderson, 3B: 1-5, 2B, K Jose Adames, SP: 5 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 BB, 6 K 6/22/2015 vs St. Lucie W 4-1 Yefri Perez, CF: 2-4, RBI, SB (29) Austin Dean, RF: 2-4, 2B, R, K J.T. Riddle, SS: 2-3, 2 R, BB Avery Romero, 2B: 1-2, RBI, 2 BB, K Blake Barber, LF: 2-4, R Jose Fernandez, SP (rehab): 7 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, 9 K Tyler Kinley, IP, SV (11), H, BB, K 6/23/2015 vs St. Lucie L 0-9 Austin Dean, RF: 3-4, 2B Justin Bohn, SS: 1-3, 2B, BB, K Yefri Perez, CF: 1-4, 2 K, SB (30) Alex Burgos, RP: 2.1 IP, H, 2 K 6/24/2015 vs St. Lucie W/14 6-2 Felix Munoz, PH: 1-1, GS HR (4), 4 RBI J.T. Riddle, SS: 3-6, R, SB (7) Yefri Perez, CF: 3-6, R Justin Bohn, DH: 2-6, R, 2 K Austin Dean, RF: 1-5, R, 2 BB, K, 2 SB (8, 9) Esmerling De La Rosa, RP: 3 IP, 6 K Bullpen: 9 IP, 4 H, 12 K 6/25/2015 vs Palm Beach L 2-7 Yefri Perez, CF: 3-5, 2B, 2 R, K, 2 SB (31, 32) Harold Riggins, 1B: 2-3 Brian Anderson, 3B: 1-3, RBI, 2 BB, K Jose Adames, SP: 4 IP, 7 H, 2 R (1 ER), 8 K 6/26/2015 vs Palm Beach L 1-3 Yefri Perez, CF: 2-4, R, K Chris Hoo, C: 2-3 Don Kelly, 1B (rehab): 2-3 Bullpen: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 4 K 6/27/2015 @ Lakeland L 4-10 Austin Dean, LF: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R, K Chris Hoo, C: 2-4, R Don Kelly, DH (rehab): 1-3, RBI, R, BB Yefri Perez, CF: 1-3, R, K, SB (33) Drew Steckenrider, SP: 3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K 6/28/2015 @ Lakeland W 9-2 Blake Barber, LF: 3-4, 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R Justin Bohn, SS: 4-5, 2 RBI, 2 R Felix Munoz, 1B: 2-5, 2 RBI Yefri Perez, CF: 1-3, 2 R, 2 BB Sean Townsley, SP: 2.2 IP, 2 H, BB, K Tyler Bremer, SP: 2 IP, H, K 6/29/2015 @ Lakeland W 6-3 Avery Romero, 2B: 2-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI, R, K Yefri Perez, CF: 3-5, 2B, RBI, R, SB (34) Don Kelly, DH (rehab): 2-5, 2B, 3B, R Cameron Flynn, RF: 1-4, RBI, R, K, SB (7) Miguel Del Pozo, SP: 2 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, K Casey McCarthy, RP: 2 IP, 2 H, K 6/30/2015 @ Lakeland W 6-2 Cameron Flynn, RF: 2-3, RBI, R, BB Rodrigo Vigil, C: 2-4, RBI, 2 R Blake Barber, DH: 1-2, 2B, R, 2 BB Yefri Perez, CF: 1-5, 2 RBI Jose Adames, SP: 6 IP, 7 H, ER, 2 BB, 6 K CJ Robinson, RP: 2 IP, 2 H, 2 K 7/1/2015 @ St. Lucie L 2-8 Austin Dean, LF: 1-4, 2B, RBI, K Avery Romero, 2B: 1-3, BB, K Justin Bohn, SS: 1-4 Jarlin Garcia, SP: 6.1 IP, 8 H, 5 R (2 ER), 3 K 7/2/2015 @ St. Lucie W 10-4 Cameron Flynn, RF: 2-4, HR (1), 3 RBI, 2 R, BB Justin Bohn, SS: 2-4, HR (2), RBI, 2 R, BB Austin Dean, LF, 3-6, 2B, 2 RBI, R, K, 2 SB (10, 11) Brian Anderson, 3B: 1-4, HR (6), RBI, R, BB, SB (3) Chris Hoo, C: 2-4, R Tyler Higgins, RP: 2 IP, 2 H, K 7/3/2015 @ St. Lucie L 5-6 Brian Anderson, 3B: 2-4, HR (7), 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 K Avery Romero, 2B: 2-4, 2 2B, R, K Rodrigo Vigil, C: 1-4, 2 RBI 7/4/2015 vs Bradenton L 3-4 Brian Anderson, 3B: 2-4, 2B, 3B, RBI, R, K Justin Bohn, SS: 1-3, 3B, RBI, R, BB Chris Hoo, C: 2-4, RBI Ben Meyer, RP: 1.2 IP, 3 H Alex Burgos: 1.1 IP, H 7/5/2015 vs Bradenton L/10 1-2 Yefri Perez, CF: 2-4, R, BB, K, SB (37) Brian Anderson, 3B: 1-3, RBI, BB Justin Bohn, SS: 1-3, 2 K Jose Adames, SP: 6 IP, 2 H, R (0 ER), 2 BB, 3 K 7/6/2015 vs Bradenton L 0-3 Team: 3-29, BB, 7 K Cameron Flynn, RF: 2-3 Jarlin Garcia, SP: 6 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 2 K 7/7/2015 vs Ft. Myers L 3-4 Justin Bohn, SS: 2-4, 2 RBI Avery Romero, 2B: 2-3, R, BB Felix Munoz, 1B: 1-4, RBI Cameron Flynn, RF: 1-3, K, SB (8) Drew Steckenrider, SP: 5 IP, 3 H, BB, 6 K Tyler Bremer, RP: IP, K 7/8/2015 vs Ft, Myers L 2-3 Avery Romero, 2B: 1-3, 2B, RBI, R, 2 K Brian Anderson, 3B: 2-4 Martin Prado, DH (rehab): 2-4, K Jorgan Cavaneiro, SP: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R (1 ER), 3 K 7/9/2015 vs Ft. Myers L 1-2 Harold Riggins, 1B: 1-2, BB Blake Barber, 2B: 1-2, R Rodrigo Vigil, C: 1-3 Miguel Del Pozo, SP: 5 IP, 5 H, ER, 4 K Matt Milroy, RP: 2 IP, H, 5 K 7/10/2015 @ Dunedin W 4-3 Blake Barber, DH: 2-3, 2 2B, R, BB Harold Riggins, 1B: 1-3, 2B, R, BB, K Avery Romero, 2B: 1-3, RBI, BB, K Cameron Flynn, RF: 1-3, RBI, R, BB, 2 K Jose Adames, SP: 5.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K Bullpen: 3.2 IP, 2 H, BB, 3 K 7/11/2015 @ Dunedin L 4-6 Yefri Perez, CF: 1-3, 3 R, BB, K, 3 SB (38. 39, 40) Harold Riggins, DH: 3-5, RBI, R, 2 K Austin Dean, LF: 1-3, 2 BB, SB (12) Cameron Flynn, RF: 1-4, RBI, BB Tyler Higgins, RP: 1.2 IP, H 7/12/2015 @ Dunedin L 2-5 Austin Dean, LF: 1-3, HR (4), RBI, 2 R, BB Justin Bohn, SS: 2-4 Avery Romero, 2B: 2-4, RBI, 2 K Drew Steckenrider, SP: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K CJ Robinson, RP: 2 IP, K 7/13/2015 @ Dunedin L 0-3 Justin Bohn, SS: 1-4, 2B Felix Munoz, 1B: 1-3, 2B, BB, K Alex Fernandez, 3B: 1-2, BB Jorgan Cavanerio, SP: 7 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 K 7/15/2015 vs Daytona W 6-4 Felix Munoz, 1B: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R Blake Barber, 3B: 2-4, 2 RBI Justin Bohn, SS: 2-4, 2 R Avery Romero, DH: 2-3, 3 R, BB Henderson Alvarez, SP (rehab): 2.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 K Esmerling De La Rosa, RP: 3 IP, 2 H, 2 K 6/15/2015 @ Lexington W 4-1 Zach Sullivan, CF: 1-2, 2B, R Justin Twine, SS: 2-4, R, K Alex Rodriguez, 1B: 1-4, RBI Austen Smith, LF: 1-4, RBI, 2 K Rony Cabrera, 2B: 1-4, RBI, K Tyler Kolek, SP: 5 IP, 3 H, R (0 ER), 3 BB, 4 K Bullpen: 4 IP, 2 H, BB, 4 K 6/16/2015 vs Greenville W 12-4 John Norwood, LF: 2-4, 2 HR (4, 5), 6 RBI, 2 R, K Arturo Rodriguez, DH: 4-5, HR (6), 2 RBI, 2 R K.J. Woods, 1B: 2-5, 2B, 2 R, 3 K Brian Schales, 3B: 2-4, 2B, RBI, 2 R, BB, K Luis Castillo, SP: 5 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 6 K 6/17/2015 vs Greenville W 4-2 Rony Cabrera, 2B: 3-4, HR (2), RBI, 2 R Austen Smith, LF: 1-4, HR (11), 2 RBI, R Justin Twine, SS: 2-4, 2B K.J. Woods, 1B: 1-4, 2B, RBI, K Michael Mader, SP: 6.1 IP, 5 H, ER, BB, 4 K 6/18/2015 vs Greenville L 3-4 Austen Smith, LF: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, K K.J. Woods, 1B: 1-3, R, BB Zach Sullivan, CF: 1-3, RBI Jordan Holloway, SP: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K 6/19/2015 vs Kannapolis Cancelled (rain) 6/20/2015 vs Kannapolis L 0-4 Justin Twine, SS: 1-3 Arturto Rodriguez, DH: 1-4 Rony Cabrera, 2B: 1-3 Jorgan Cavanerio, SP: 6 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, BB, 6 K 6/21/2015 vs Kannpolis L 4-10 K.J. Woods, 1B: 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI Ryan Aper, CF: 2-4, R, K, SB (5) Felix Castillo, C: 2-4, R John Norwood, LF: 2-5, R, 2 K Tyler Kolek, SP: 4 IP, 5 H, 8 R (4 ER), 3 BB 6/25/2015 @ West Virginia L 1-2 Austen Smith, DH: 1-2, 2B, RBI, 2 BB Rony Cabrera, 2B: 2-4, R Roy Morales, C: 1-3, K Luis Castillo, SP: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB, 2 K 6/26/2015 @ West Virginia L 5-8 Brian Schales, 3B: 1-4, HR (2), 3 RBI, R John Norwood, LF: 1-4, HR (6), RBI, R, 2 K Austen Smith, DH: 1-2, 2B, RBI, R, 2 BB, K Rony Cabrera, 2B: 2-4, R, BB Roy Morales, C: 1-2, 2B, BB Michael Mader, SP: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 6 BB, 6 K Sam Alvis, RP: IP, 2 K 6/27/2015 @ West Virginia L 1-3 Arturo Rodriguez, C: 2-4, R Austen Smith, DH: 1-3, BB, 2 K Travis Brewster, LF: 1-2, BB, K Ben Holmes, SP: 5 IP, 5 H, ER, 2 K 6/28/2015 @ West Virginia L 3-13 Rony Cabrera, 2B-1B: 2-4, 2B, R Zach Sullivan, CF: 1-3, 3B, R, K Taylor Munden, PH-2B: 1-2, HR (1), RBI, R, K Kelvin Rivas, RP: 2 IP, 2 H, 3 K 6/29/2015 @ West Virginia L/6 2-3 Ryan Aper, RF: 2-3, 2B, RBI, BB Taylor Munden, 3B: 1-2, BB, K Rony Cabrera, 2B: 1-4, SB (4) Roy Morales, C: 1-2, 2B Tyler Kolek, SP: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R (2 ER), BB, 3 K 6/30/2015 @ Hagerstown L 3-4 Rony Cabrera, 2B: 4-4, 2B, 3B, RBI, R Austen Smith, DH: 1-3, 2B, BB, K Ryan Aper, RF: 1-4, R Luis Castillo, SP: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R (1 ER), 4 BB, 4 K 7/1/2015 @ Hagerstown W 3-0 John Norwood, RF: 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI, SB (20) Zach Sullivan, CF: 2-4, 3B, RBI, K Brian Schales, 3B/Roy Morales, C: 2-4, R Michael Mader, SP: 6 IP, 5 H, BB, 2 K Josh Hodges, RP: 3 IP, 4 H, K 7/2/2015 @ Hagerstown L 0-5 Team: 2-27, 3 BB, 10 K Arturo Rodriguez, DH: 1-4, 2B John Norwood, RF: 1-3, K Tyler Kane, RP: 2.1 IP, H, BB, 3 K 7/3/2015 @ Hagerstown W 5-2 John Norwood, RF: 3-4, HR (7), RBI, R, K, SB (21) Austen Smith, LF: 1-4, HR (12), 2 RBI, R, 2 K Zach Sullivan, CF: 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, K Erwin Almonte, DH: 1-2, R, 2 BB Bullpen: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 6 K 7/4/2015 vs Hickory L 2-11 Arturo Rodriguez, 1B: 2-4, HR (7), RBI, R Austen Smith, DH: 2-4, BB Rony Cabrera, 2B: 2-4, RBI, R, K Tyler Kolek, SP: 4 IP, 7 H, 5 R (4 ER), BB, 2 K Sam Alvis, RP: 3 IP, BB, 2 K 7/5/2015 vs Hickory L 1-3 K.J. Woods, DH: 1-3, HR (6), RBI, R, K John Norwood, RF/Travis Brewster, LF: 1-3, 2B, K Austen Smith, 1B: 1-3, K Luis Castillo, SP: 5 IP, 6 H, ER, BB, 8 K Kyle Keller, RP: 3 IP, 6 K 7/6/2015 vs Hickory L 4-6 Brian Schales, 3B: 1-4, 2 RBI K.J. Woods, DH: 1-4, 2B, R, 2 K Arturo Rodriguez, 1B: 1-3, RBI, R John Norwood, RF: 1-3, R, BB, SB (22) Michael Mader, SP: 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 2 K Kyle Fischer, RP: 2 IP, H, 4 K 7/7/2015 vs Hickory W 5-0 John Norwood, RF: 2-4, HR (8), RBI, R, K K.J. Woods, 1B: 1-4, HR (7), 2 RBI, R, 2 K Austen Smith, LF: 1-4, HR (13), RBI, R Taylor Munden, 3B: 2-3, R Ryan Aper, CF: 1-3, 2B, R, K Ben Holmes, SP: 7 IP, 3 H, 9 K 7/8/2015 vs West Virginia L 2-3 John Norwood, RF-LF: 2-4, HR (9), 2 RBI, R, SB (23) Taylor Munden, 2B: 1-2, 2 BB, SB (1) K.J. Woods, 1B: 1-4, 2B, 2 K Enderson Franco, SP: 6 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 3 K 7/9/2015 vs West Virginia L 1-11 Brian Schales, 3B: 2-4, RBI Arturo Rodriguez, DH: 2-4 John Norwood, RF: 1-3, 2B, K Tyler Kolek, SP: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R (1 ER), 3 BB, 3 K 7/10/2015 vs West Virginia W 5-2 John Norwood, RF: 2-3, 2B, R, 2 BB Rony Cabrera, 2B: 1-3, 2 RBI, BB, K Arturo Rodriguez, 1B; 2-4, RBI Brian Schales, 3B: 0-2, 2 R, 2 BB Luis Castillo, SP: 5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 6 K Bullpen: 4 IP, 2 H, BB, 2 K 7/11/2015 vs West Virginia W 1-0 Justin Twine, SS: 3-3 Rony Cabrera, 2B: 1-4, 2B, RBI, 2 K Felix Castillo, C: 1-3 Michael Mader, SP: 8 IP, 3 H, BB, 4 K 7/12/2015 vs West Virginia L 5-14 K.J. Woods, 1B: 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI, R, 2 BB Roy Morales, C: 3-3 John Norwood, LF: 1-5, HR (10), RBI, 2 R, K Arturo Rodriguez, DH: 2-5 Taylor Munden, 3B: 2-5, R, K Ben Holmes, SP: 3 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 5 BB, 3 K 7/14/2015 @ Hickory L 4-11 Arturo Rodriguez, C: 2-4, RBI, R, K K.J. Woods, 1B: 1-4, HR (8), 2 RBI, R, K Mason Davis, CF-2B: 1-3, 2B, 2 R Justin Twine, SS: 1-2, BB Nick Fuller, RP: 2 IP, H, 3 K 7/15/2015 @ Hickory W 9-5 John Norwood, LF: 2-5, HR (11), 2B, 4 RBI, R, K Brian Schales, 3B: 2-3, 3B, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB, SB (2) Rony Cabrera, 2B: 2-4, R, SB (5) Justin Twine, SS: 1-3, R, BB Zach Sullivan, CF: 1-3, 2 R, BB, K, SB (12) Tyler Kolek, SP: 4 IP, 2 H, 4 BB, 4 K Kyle Fischer, SP 2 IP, SV (7) 6/19/2015 vs Auburn L 0-10 Team: 2-29, 4 BB, 7 K Giovanny Alfonzo, 2B: 1-3 Anfernee Seymour, SS: 1-3, BB, SB (1) Gabriel Castellanos, SP: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 3 K Juan Guzman, RP: 2 IP, K 6/20/2015 vs Auburn L 5-9 Stone Garrett, CF: 3-5, HR (1), 3B, 2 RBI, 2 R, K Blake Anderson, C: 3-5, RBI, R Galvi Moscat, RF: 2-4, 2B, RBI Eric Fisher, 1B: 2-5, RBI, R Nick White, SP: 4 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 K 6/21/2015 vs Auburn L 5-9 Anfernee Seymour, SS: 2-5, 2B, K Giovanny Alfonzo, 2B: 1-3, 2B, RBI Travis Brewster, LF: 2-3, 2B, RBI, R, BB, SB (1) Korey Dunbar, C: 2-2, 2B, R, BB Brad Haynal, DH: 1-4, RBI, R, BB Nestor Bautista, SP: 5 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, 4 K Ayron Adames, RP: 3 IP, 2 H, R (0 ER), 2 BB, 4 K 6/22/2015 vs Mahoning Valley L 11-15 Stone Garrett, CF: 3-5, 2 HR (2, 3), 5 RBI, 2 R Giovanny Alfonzo, 2B: 2-4, 3 RBI, 2 R, BB Travis Brewster, LF: 3-4, 2B, 2 R, BB, K, SB (2) Brad Haynal, C: 2-5, 2B, K Nick Fuller, RP: 2 IP, 2 H, 3 K 6/23/2015 vs Mahoning Valley L 2-11 Blake Anderson, C: 3-4, 2B Korey Dunbar, DH: 2-4, 2 R, BB Jordan Holloway, SP: 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R (2 ER), 3 BB, 3 K 6/24/2014 vs Mahoning Valley W 1-0 Korey Dunbar, C: 2-2, 2B, R, BB Taylor Munden, 3B: 1-1, 2B, RBI, BB Anfernee Seymour, SS: 2-4 Gabriel Castellanos, SP: 7 IP, 12 K Brett Lilek, RP: IP, 3 K Steven Farnsworth, RP: IP, K 6/25/2015 @ Williamsport L 3-6 Brett Anderson C: 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, K Korey Dunbar, DH: 2-4, RBI, R, K Anfernee Seymour, SS: 1-5, K, SB (5) Nick White, SP: 5 IP, 5 H, 5 R (3 ER), 4 BB, 4 K Cody Poteet, RP: IP, K 6/26/2015 @ Williamsport L 1-8 Team: 3-29, RBI, R, 3 BB, 9 K Stone Garrett, CF: 1-4, HR (4), RBI, R, 3 KGalvi Moscat, RF: 1-3 Jordan Hillyer, RP/LJ Brewster, RP: IP, K 6/27/2015 @ Williamsport PPD (rain) Rescheduled to 7/17 6/28/2015 @ Aberdeen L 2-3 Stone Garrett, CF: 1-3, 3B, RBI, R, 2 K Korey Dunbar, C: 2-4, RBI, K Giovanny Alfonzo, SS: 2-4 Anfernee Seymour, DH: 1-4, R, 2 K, 2 SB (6, 7) Jordan Holloway, SP: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R (0 ER), BB, 2 K 6/29/2015 @ Aberdeen L 3-5 Ryan Cranmer, 3B: 2-3, HR (1), RBI, R, K Blake Anderson, C: 1-4, RBI, 3 K Eric Fisher, 1B: 1-3, R, BB Gabriel Castellanos, SP: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 8 K 6/30/2015 @ Aberdeen L/12 2-3 Eric Fisher, 1B: 1-3, 2B, 2 BB, K Stone Garrett, CF: 2-5, 3 K, SB (1) Brandon Rawe, LF: 1-5, 2B, RBI, R, K Brett Lilek, SP: 2 IP, H, BB, 2 K Scott Squier, RP: 2 IP, H, K Jordan Hillyer, RP: 2 IP, 2 K Steven Farnsworth, RP: 3 IP, 2 H, 4 K 7/1/2015 vs Mahoning Valley PPD (rain) Reschedueld to 7/2 7/2/2015 vs Mahoning Valley Game 1 - W/7 4-1 Stone Garrett, CF: 3-3, 3B, BB Anfernee Seymour, SS: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R Giovanny Alfonzo, 2B: 1-3, RBI, BB, K, SB (1) Brandon Rawe, RF: 2-2, 2B Brad Haynal, DH: 1-3, 2B, R, K Cody Poteet, SP: 3 IP, H, R (0 ER), K Nestor Bautistia, RP: 4 IP, 3 H, 3 K Game 2 - L/7 0-3 Team: 2-24, 2 BB, 5 K Anfernee Seymour, SS: 1-3, SB (8) Giovanny Alfonzo, 2B: 1-3 Justin Jacome, SP: 2 IP, H, K Justin Langley, RP: 2 IP, K 7/3/2015 vs Mahoning Valley W 7-4 Stone Garrett, CF: 4-5, 2B, 3B, 3 RBI, K Anfernee Seymour, SS: 3-3, 4 R, BB, 2 SB (9, 10) Giovanny Alfonzo, 2B: 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, R Jordan Holloway, SP: 6 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K Bullpen: 3 IP, 3 H, 3 K 7/4/2015 @ West Virginia W 4-1 Brad Haynal, DH: 4-5, 2 2B, R Eric Fisher, 1B: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R Cameron Newell, LF: 2-4, 2B, RBI Galvin Moscat, RF: 2-4, 2B, RBI, K, SB (1) Nick White, SP: 5 IP, 4 H, ER, 3 BB, 4 K Jordan Hillyer, RP: 2 IP, SV (1), H, 5 K 7/5/2015 @ West Virginia W 10-6 Anfernee Seymour, SS: 2-3, 3B, 3 RBI, 3 R, K, 2 SB (11, 12) Blake Anderson, C: 3-5, 2B, R, 2 K Brad Haynal, 1B: 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI, R, K Korey Dunbar, DH: 2-3, 2B, RBI, R, 2 BB, K Stone Garrett, CF: 1-5, 3B, 2 RBI, R, 2 K Brett Lilek, SP: 3 IP, H, 2 K Scott Squier, RP: 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, BB, 5 K 7/6/2015 @ West Virginia L 1-6 Brad Haynal, 1B: 3-4, 2B, R, K Stone Garrett, CF: 1-4, 2B, 2 K Ryan Cranmer, 3B: 1-2, 2 BB Galvi Moscat, RF: 1-4, 2B K Cody Poteet, SP: 2 IP, 2 H, 3 R (1 ER), BB 7/8/2015 vs Auburn W 4-1 Brad Haynal, DH: 2-3, 2 RBI Eric Fisher, 1B: 2-3, 3B, RBI, R Giovanny Alfonzo, 2B: 2-4, 2B, R Justin Jacome, SP: 3 IP, H, BB, 4 K Nestor Bautstia, RP: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 3 K Steven Farnsworth, RP: 1.1 IP, SV (3), 2 H, R (o ER), 3 K 7/9/2015 @ Auburn PPD (rain) Rescheduled to 8/15 7/10/2015 vs Auburn L 1-13 Stone Garrett, CF: 2-4, 2B, RBI, K Giovanny Alfonzo, 2B: 1-3, R, BB, 2 K, SB (3) Eric Fisher, DH: 1-4, 2B, K Jordan Holloway, SP: 4 IP, 2 H, 4 R (3 ER), 6 BB, 6 K 7/11/2015 @ Hudson Valley L 3-5 Galvi Moscat, RF: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R, K Eric Fisher, 1B: 2-4 Stone Garrett, CF: 0-2, R, 2 BB Anfernee Seymour, SS: 1-4, SB (13) Gabriel Castellanos, SP: 4.2 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K 7/12/2015 @ Hudson Valley L 6-14 Travis Brewster, LF: 3-4, R Eric Fisher, 1B: 1-4, HR (1), 2 RBI, R, K Brad Haynal, C: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R, 2 K Ryan Cranmer, 3B: 1-3, 2B, RBI, R, K Giovanny Alfonzo, 2B-SS: 2-3, R, K Brett Lilek, SP: 2.1 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 4 K 7/13/2015 @ Hudson Valley W 9-2 Blake Anderson, C: 2-4, HR (1), 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R, 2 K Stone Garrett, CF: 2-4, HR (5), 2 RBI, R Brad Haynal, DH: 2-4, RBI, 2 R, BB, K Eric Fisher, 1B: 2-5, 2B Cody Poteet, SP: 2.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB, 4 K LJ Brewster, RP: 2 IP, 2 H, BB, K Steven Farnsworth, RP: 2 IP, 3 H, K 7/15/2015 vs Williamsport L 5-6 Stone Garrett, CF: 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K Brad Haynal, 1B: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R, K Anfernee Seymour, SS: 2-4, 2 R Ryan Cranmer, 3B: 1-3, 2B, R, BB, K Justin Jacome, SP: 3.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K Nestor Bautista, RP: 4 IP, 6 H, 2 R (1 ER), BB, 2 K

Here we are again at the beginning of July and once again, we find All Star games either past or looming. The Marlins' minor league system has enjoyed a collective good first half, hitting .262 and holding down a 3.54 ERA. With midsummer classics right around the corner, here's a look at those who contributed the most at each position. It's our 2015 All-Farm Team. C - Arturo Rodriguez A Yearly Stats: .300/.350/.422, 6 HR, 32 RBI, 28/19 K/BB Rodriguez is a 23-year-old Mexican export who spent three seasons in his home country's league. Before being purchased by the Marlins for what was sure to be a hefty price tag (as Mexican league players always garner), Rodriguez developed in to one of the best players in his league. In 2014, the Tijuanna backstop slashed .379/.421/.618 placing him in the top seven in all three categories. He also ranked in the top 15 in doubles (28) and RBIs (71). Looking at his advanced metrics, Rodriguez posted ridiculous numbers in Tijuanna, including a 28.5 wRAA and a 161 wRC+. The only knocks on the power hitter's game that season were his 14.2T% K rate and the fact that he was slightly fortunate at the plate with a .408 BABIP. This season, Rodriguez made the transition to not only life in the United States of America but also to American baseball like a champ. He had one of the best Aprils out of anyone in the organization by slashing .406/.453/.609. As reports circulated on him, he struggled a bit with the strikeout in May but has responded well this month, starting it off by going .279/.324/.412. The strikeout rate in all has shrunk from his final season in Mexico to 10% and the BABIP has normalized to .313. Rodriguez has absolutely wreaked havoc on lefties, tuning them up to a .404/.448/.596 line. He has faced a bit more of adversity against righties, especially during the slump that made up his entire sophomore month of May, but he has started to refine his approach and adjust to the technological advances American pitchers enjoy when it comes to studying hitters. In 19 games this month, he has hit safely in 13 and reached base safely in 16. Rodriguez gets low in the box, cutting down what would be an enlarged strike zone and has a pull-first approach at the dish but he also crowds the plate advantageously, giving him good access to the outside part of it. He uses a prototypical uppercut power swing and when he connects the ball goes a long way. With continued imrpovement against righties and in the patience area (which he has begun to improve this month after struggling last month) Rodriguez could become a complete hitter. Behind the plate, the catcher once again uses his 6"0" 235 frame to be a wall for his pitchers. Evidence of that fact can be found in his total career passed balls allowed: 4. When it comes to his throwing arm, Rodriguez may have the best one in the organization. In 2014, he threw out 40% of his runners. After making the trek across the border to a new style of play, he is still throwing out a very impressive 30%. He uses a quick crouch to pop transition and a nice short arm release that has cut down some of the league's best runners. Rodriguez also has eligibility at first base where he has shown good range and footwork. At 23 in single A, it would seem as though Rodriguez is past the point of being able to contribute by age 25. But considering the price tag it took to acquire him from Mexico and the fact that he has experience at a level at or close to AAA, it would seem as though this season Rodriguez is getting his feet wet in America before moving on to bigger things next season. We would expect to see him make the jump to AA next season and, with a good year there, could contribute to a Marlins team in need of power production by 2017. Honorable mention (HM): Rodrigo Vigil 1B - Austen Smith A Yearly Stats: .274/.378.493, 11 HR, 36 RBI, 74/33 K/BB Smith is a Marlins draftee out of Alabama whose success in rookie ball in 2014 where he was the Gulf Coast's league's fifth best hitter with a .288/.406/.471/ slash line and the league's second best home run hitter with seven has followed him in to his first full season with the Grasshoppers. This year, his big strong frame and big heavy swing have earned him 11 homers, second most in the Sally League. Sitting pretty in the runner up spot is also his .854 OPS. Hitting for power has come at a price for Smith as he has also struck out 77 times, third most in the league but there is plenty of room for improvement which he flashed last month when he walked 15 times to 26 Ks. Another encouraging sign Smith has shown has been his ability to stay healthy. In high school, he was hampered by quad injuries which depleted his draft stock. The Marlins took him near the end of the draft in round 33. He has rewarded them by playing in all 62 Hoppers games so far this season. Smith hits from a straight stance and when he squares up, has some of the best barrel exit velocity around. He has shown that he can hit to all fields by maintaining his looseness. Smith has had the tendency to press in pressure situations (.215 in late/close) and when behind in the count (.143, 28 K, 0 BB) but again, those are products of immaturity that will be tamed with more professional ABs. In the field, Smith shows good speed and reaction time especially for a guy his size. He makes good reads and good throws with a carrying arm that projects even better that it is at present. He has already contributed seven assists this year without having committed an error. While his prospect status is already two years from expiring with him playing in just single A, Smith has been a pleasant surprise for a late round sleeper pick. If he can cut down on the strikeouts while maintaining the power outside of the hitter friendly Sally League, he has a future in the majors. 2B - Derek Dietrich AAA/MLB Yearly Stats: .260/.357/.458, 7 HR, 27 RBI, 45/15 K/BB Dietrich is a former top prospect turned organizational guy who finally came in to his own this season and earned the big league call up when Martin Prado went down with injury. He warranted the promotion by catching fire at the right time hitting in 12 of 17 games, going 18-59, and reaching in 14 of them leading up to Prado's injury, outperforming Miguel Rojas who was 12-51 with a 9/3 K/BB over the same span. It has been Dietrich's career MO to go from hot to cold at the drop of a hat but judging by the fact that he responded to his third career major league call up by OPSing .863 with 3 homers and 3 doubles in his first 15 games, Dietrich may have finally arrived. When he is on, Dietrich is a middle infielder with uncommon plus power for his position. Unfortunately, on the occasion that he isn't which has been the story of his major league career thus far, he strikes out in bunches. In 414 MLB ABs, he has struck out 106 times to just 27 walks. This year though, he has found the barrell much more often, recording fifty hits, good for fifth most on the team and provided a spark for a struggling Marlins offense by OPSing near .900 through his first 41 ABs. Whether he keeps the pace or not remains to be seen (his history would suggest he won't) but for the time being, it is great to see Dietrich finally succeeding at the major league level. If the hits keep coming, Dietrich should stick with the Marlins even after Prado returns and should an out of contention Miami team decide to offload Prado's $11 million contract before the deadline, could climb in to the starting lineup for the rest of the season. HM: David Adams 3B - Zack Cox AA Yearly Stats: .302/.390/.410, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 46/28 K/BB Cox is a guy from the same draft class as Dietrich, a class which he entered as one of it's most highly touted picks. The Cardinals selected him with their first round pick, 10th overall and in his first full year of play, lived up to the hype, hitting .335/.380/.439 as a 22-year-old and making it all the way to AAA in just his second year as a pro. There, Cox struggled hitting just .254/.294/.421. The Marlins, looking to pounce on a weak moment with the hopes that the Cardinals were just rushing Cox, pounced on Cox, acquiring him from the competing Red Birds for pitcher Edward Mujica. Unfortunately, that proved to not be the case. The Marlins returned Cox to AA where he hit just .253/.321/.368 in his injury-limited first 95 ABs in the organization, followed by two more seasons barely above the Mendoza line in 2012 and 2013, also in Jacksonville, the latter of which saw Cox get waived at the end of spring training and go unclaimed by any other team. With a fire lit under him and under the watchful eye of fellow lefty coach Damon Minor, Cox completely redefined his approach and put together his best full season above A ball slashing .282/.344/.436 with 8 homers and 29 XBHs. Back in AA this season, Cox has used the same improved plate presence to put himself on a similar slash line pace which currently sits at .302/.390/.410. The .302 average is good for 11th best in the Southern League. What is most encouraging about his 67-game 2015 campaign thus far is that he has been able to total 28 walks, one less than he did all of last season, by far his best season patience wise. That isn't to say Cox still needs to temper his strikeout total further especially considering he is a 26-year-old in AA but the improvement puts him back on the Marlins' radar as a guy who could come up as an injury replacement ala his draft class buddy Dietrich or as a lefty hitting power bat off the bench. For a guy who couldn't garner any attention even as a bargain bin giveaway a few years ago, Cox has to be proud of that current status. HM: J.T. Riddle SS - Miguel Rojas AAA/MLB Yearly Stats: .301/.343/.430, 3 HR, 23 RBI, 26/13 K/BB Acquired this offseason as what was thought to be a throw-in to the trade that brought the Marlins Dee Gordon and Dan Haren, Rojas has proven to be quite the commodity and is now contributing to the MLB club along with his former Dodger organization mates. He reached the Marlins by totaling the PCL's 18th best numbers in 249 ABs, a feat that looked to be a pipe dream a season ago when he hit .233 while spending most of his time in AA. With the BABIP translatable and his K rate down to 9.5%, his lowest since his days in A ball, Rojas' success at the plate can be attributed to his exchanges of scenery and coastlines and once again the work of his coaches. Rojas has proven to be a slappy bat that plays excellently in a catalyst type role. Hitting near the top of the order for the Zephyrs, Rojas has collected 107 bases and scored 32 runs. Looking at his spray chart, Rojas has shown he can spread the ball around well and adjust to any pitch, a major improvement from last season and the bulk of his career when he really struggled with pitches on the inner half. Defensively, Rojas is and has always been fantastic. He is a natural shortstop but can play virtually anywhere in the field. He shows good range, great footwork and reaction times and makes good reads. He has a quick release and makes on line throws across the diamond. While his hot bat helped his cause, it was his infield glove that earned him the call up to the Marlins as a spot starter and late inning defensive replacement after Martin Prado went down with an injury. When Prado comes back, another stint in AAA is likely for Rojas but he has definitely put himself on the big league radar for next season with his excellent first half. Whether he translates that success to the MLB level still remains to be seen but for now, it is great to see the Marlins getting positive production out of all three products of their biggest offseason trade. LF - K.J. Woods A Yearly Stats: .293/.380/.470, 6 HR, 22 RBI, 55/21 K/BB Woods is the Marlins' fourth round draft pick from 2013. After two sub-par seasons in rookie ball, Woods has begun to show exactly why he garnered that high a selection. This season, in his first 51 games in full season ball, the lefty hitting 6'3" 230 pounder aged just 19 years is one of the Sally League's best power hitters through it's first half's worth of games. He is a prototypical pull hitter with plus power from a strong uppercut swing. In a single offseason, Woods greatly improved upon his contact rate, especially when it comes to pitches on the outer half. Looking at his spray charts from last year to this, you'd swear you were looking at a completely different player. This isn't to say he could use to cut down on strikeouts but as is the case with every member of his brand of hitting and at just 19, there is plenty of room for improvement. The most exciting thing about Woods is that there is also room for him to improve upon his power as he progresses through the system. If that occurs, the Marlins could be looking at their own faster version of David Ortiz who also plays good outfield defense. CF - Yefri Perez A+ Yearly Stats: .266/.302/.292, 0 HR, 18 RBI, 55/15 K/BB, 37 SB, 10 CS Introducing the fastest man the organization may have ever seen: Mr. Yefri Perez. A third year pro out of the Dominican, Perez possesses nothing short of progidous speed. A switch hitter, Perez's jets have garnered him 16 infield hits. Though he only has 7 XBHs on the season, 44 times he has wound up at at least second base thanks to a ridiculous 37 stolen bases, a number which leads his next closest Florida State League competition by eight. The total also already outnumbers his 2014 total by seven in over 100 less ABs. Unfortunately for Perez, his speed is all that has improved from last year in Greensboro. He is a scrappy hitter who makes good enough contact to get on the basepaths (which is all he needs to do to be effective) from both sides of the plate but he very much needs to improve upon his patience. His entire minor league career boasts a 133/50 K/BB. At 24 in just A+, it is questionable how much he will be able to improve. What isn't questionable is that Perez is at present a fantastic candidate to be a late inning pinch hitter and defensive replacement at a number of positions. With the glove on his hand, Perez also makes the most of his blazing speed, utilizing it to cover all necessary ground and then some at all three outfield spots. He also has eligibility at second base and shortstop. Whether he makes any more strides at the plate in his final two years of prospect eligibility or not, Perez is an athletic guy who will at some capacity definitely contribute positively at the big league level at some point. RF - Carlos Lopez AA Yearly Stats: .288/.336/.391, 3 HR, 24 RBI, 44/21 K/BB Lopez is a 2013 draftee from Cal State Fullerton. After a great college career, his success followed him to the pros where he was the Muckdogs' best hitter and the Grasshoppers' second best bat in his first full season last year, allowing him to skip past a stop in Jupiter and make it to AA Jacksonville as a 25-year-old. There, he has once again been one of his team's best offensive weapons in it's second most ABs and one of if not the best defensively sound Sun. With a free and easy repeatable line drive swing, Lopez has compiled a 24% line drive percentage, one of the highest in the entire organization. Though he has the tendency to press a bit in high pressure situations, Lopez usually maintains a good hitter's eye which compliments his sound mechanics perfectly. On defense, Lopez plays a solid right field thanks to plus speed and an above average arm that has garnered him 19 outfield assists in his minor league career. He can also play left, center and first base. At 25, Lopez is a bit of a late bloomer but in an organization which has very little outfield depth, he could begin contributing to the big league club as early as next season. SP - Kendry Flores AA/AAA/MLB Yearly Stats: 14 GS, 5-3, 85.2 IP, 2.00 ERA, 0.9 WHIP, 61/23 K/BB Flores is a 6'2" 175 pound righty out of the Dominican who has dazzled in his seventh season as a pro. After beginning playing pro ball at just 17, Flores jumped a level with each passing season from 2012 to 2014. This season, he has jumped two levels all the way to the majors. After compiling a 2.06 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 42/15 K/BB in his first nine games with the Suns including a string of six straight quality starts, Flores was called up for an early season big league cup of coffee. He got in to 2 games, tossed 3.2 innings and didn't allow a run more than earning himself a full time promotion to AAA. Through his first five games with the Zephyrs, Flores is holding down a 1.86 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP and a 19/8 K/BB. Three of his five outings have been quality starts and he has allowed a single run just twice and more than one run only once. Flores has four pitches: a 92-95 MPH heater, a low 80s changeup and a diving out pitch curve with sharp break and low 70s velo and he controls each one of them spectacularly, painting the black on both sides and changing hitters' eye levels without getting hurt much at all, all while each one of his offerings is still developing. At just 23 and arguably the best pitcher in the minors right now, Flores is already more than on the Marlins' radar for a rotation spot next season and has single-handedly won the Casey McGehee trade that brought him to the Fish in the offseason. HM: Adam Conley RP - Craig Stem AA Yearly Stats: 23 G, 33 IP, 1.64 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 23/13 K/BB For an organization that has had many issues with middle relief at the big league level this season, Stem is a breath of fresh air and one that isn't that far away from an MLB berth. He is a tall lanky 6'5" 215 pound righty who made it all the way to AA in the Dodgers' organization before coming to the Marlins this season in a minor trade for outfielder Kyle Jensen. In his first extensive action in AA, Stem has been one of the biggest contributors to a Suns staff which holds down the Southern League's best team ERA, limiting his damage to just six earned runs over 33 IP. He has the stamina and the stuff to go more than one inning when needed and can even spot start, making him the perfect candidate to be the first guy out of the pen. He won't blow you away with velo but succeeds with a wide arsenal and a deceptive delivery. With five pitches to his credit (a low 90's fastball with good sinking action, a mid 70s slurvy curve with good bite, a good running slider and a mix in mostly straight changeup), Stem keeps hitters guessing as to what is coming next. He is a contact first pitcher who draws it well by inducing off balance swings thanks to a crafty windup. Keeping the ball hidden well with his long limbs, Stem is quick to the plate with a snappy 3/4 arm action. He works quickly and repeats his delivery well, making him manager Dave Berg's most reliable arm out of the pen and one of the most consistent arms throughout the Marlins' minor league ranks. Unfortunately for Berg, Stem will probably be getting the call to AAA very soon. With success there, he will be invited to spring training next season and could win a spot in the Marlins' pen as early as next Opening Day. HM: Nick Wittgren

Carlos Lopez, OF AA Bi-weekly Stats: 17-47 (.361), 6 2B, HR, 8 RBI, 9/5 K/BB Lopez is a Marlins draftee from 2013. After a decorated college career at Cal State Fullerton in which he hit .337/.408/.473 with 76 XBHs, 153 RBIs, 34 steals and a 94/76 K/BB, Lopez brought his talents to the majors where he just kept hitting. Fresh out of college a few weeks after the draft, Lopez began his Marlins career with at short season Batavia where he was the Muckdogs' best hitter with a .318/.385/.417 slash line, 16 XBHs, and a 32/26 K/BB. Lopez's bat continued to trend in the right direction during his first full professional season last year. Starting 130 of the Grasshoppers' 140 games, Lopez was the best hitter on the team in all three slash categories (.323/.392/.438). He was second on the team to Felix Munoz in XBHs and RBIs with 39 and 74. His patience continued its excellence as he drew a team high 59 walks to 64 Ks. His 164 total hits set a Hoppers' franchise record. Lopez's fabulous year in Grasshopper garnett green and gold was rewarded by a promotion straight to AA this season. While he was a bit outmatched early this year going just 8 for his first 49, Lopez has adjusted like a champ. After a .179 April, he hit .277 in May. This month, he has become one of the biggest offensive contributors in the Suns' lineup by way of a .375/.437/.578 line, nothing short of spectacular for a guy who did not get a single AB in A+. Lopez hits from the left side of the plate and has a fantastic approach to hitting allowing him to handle both RHPs and LHPs well. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmDpKLp1mCQ] Standing tall in the box in a straight away stance, Lopez sees the ball all the way to the barrell and keeps his quick hands pointed towards it. He snaps his bat through the zone with a prototypical line drive swing, the type of batted ball that has accounted for 24% of his total this season. He swings all the way through the baseball and maintains his power all the way through as well, keeping a two hand grip all the way through his follow through. The swing is fluid, repeatable and mechanically sound. Coupled with a great eye as well as plate presence and patience when he isn't pressing, Lopez has some of the best offensive mechanics and approaches in the organization. It's easy to get Lopez's versatile bat in to the lineup thanks to his versatility on defense. He has eligibility at all three outfield spots as well as first base. Where he is of the most use is in right field thanks to a great arm. He uses great strength behind his online throws that carry. He also runs great routes with his plus speed. In his minor league career in right field, he has contributed 19 assists, posted a 1.8 range factor and a .975 fielding percentage. Though he is in his final season of prospect eligibility and is a bit of a late bloomer being 25 and having yet to sniff AAA, there is a future for Lopez as much more than just an organizational guy. If he continues to swing the kind of bat he is swinging right now for much longer, a call up to AAA is a distinct possibility sooner rather than later. With continued success there, he could be a September call up to a Marlins squad which has very little outfield depth. If he enjoys a good cup of coffee, he will be on the team's radar entering 2016.