Quick hits on a trio of homegrown players who impressed enough during the first quarter of the 2025 minor league season to boost their prospect stock.
The Miami Marlins farm system has improved substantially over the past year-plus largely via trade acquisitions. However, the three new names who’ve cracked the Top 30 of our Fish On First prospect rankings are all homegrown players: outfielder Kemp Alderman (#23), right-handed pitcher Liomar Martínez (#28) and outfielder Fenwick Trimble (#30).
Miami’s second-round draft pick out of Ole Miss in 2023, Alderman has played approximately one full season’s worth of minor league games, slashing .236/.306/.382 with 13 home runs and 17 stolen bases in 578 plate appearances. That does not account for his brief yet extraordinary Arizona Fall League stint—he went yard six times in nine games last October, posting exit velocities that rival any other player in the Marlins org.
Alderman enters Tuesday with a 118 wRC+ in the ultra-pitcher-friendly Southern League. He continues to trim his strikeout rate, from 29.3% in 2023 to 24.4% in 2024 to 18.4% this year. The next step for the 22-year-old is elevating the ball with more regularity.
The Dominican right-hander Martínez did not have much pitching experience when the Marlins signed him for a modest $80,000 bonus in 2022. Spending his first full season in pro ball with Low-A Jupiter, the velocity on his sinker has spiked and his curveball’s sharp vertical break has been able to induce ugly swings from opponents. He ranks fourth in the Florida State League with 36 strikeouts.
Trimble could soon become the first member of the 2024 Marlins draft class to reach Double-A. For the time being, the James Madison product is showing off his great plate discipline and speed with High-A Beloit while getting reps at all three outfield spots.
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Trimble’s walk rate has nearly quadrupled since last summer’s Jupiter Hammerheads residency.
We will be making another addition to the FOF Top 30 at the end of this month when Agustín Ramírez graduates from prospect eligibility. Candidates include Nigel Belgrave, Eliazar Dishmey, Ryan Ignoffo and Abrahan Ramírez.