The Miami Marlins are an organization that is building through their farm system and adding via trades, which worked to create an exciting roster this year.
After a few offseasons and trade deadlines where they shipped out many of their key veteran pieces from their previous core, they have restarted the clock on building for the future and have already started to showcase some promise as a team.
One of the biggest components of this has been their ability to acquire good prospects in the trades they have made, and then developing them at a high level to ensure they are ready for the transition to the MLB.
Despite having a pitching-heavy roster, the Marlins have also had some players showcase strong skillsets at the plate, which gave them a well-balanced attack in the second half of the year. Because of that, two of Miami’s rookies were awarded a spot on the MLB Pipeline All-Rookie teams.
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The two Marlins players named to the MLB Pipeline All-Rookie teams were Jakob Marsee and Troy Johnston. The latter is no longer with the organization after he was claimed off waivers by the Colorado Rockies at the start of the offseason.
Both were instrumental in Miami’s resurgence. And they both had great debut years in their own right. Marsee played in 55 games. In that span, he slashed .292/.363/.478 with 33 RBI, 28 runs, 14 stolen bases, five home runs, three triples, 48 strikeouts and 22 walks. In the field, he played 475 innings total across all three outfield spots, picking up 140 putouts with only one assist and one error, good for a .993 fielding rate.
As for Johnston, he appeared in 44 games. He slashed .277/.331/.420 with 13 RBI, 12 runs, four home runs, two stolen bases, 26 strikeouts and eight walks. His fielding was also impressive, as he only recorded one error across three positions along with 124 putouts.
It’s interesting to see the Marlins move on from someone who played such a key role this year. But that also signals where they are as an organization; comfortable with the other options in place and their potential willingness to add outside help.
Johnston will have the opportunity to pursue playing time elsewhere, while Marsee will continue to work with Miami to build a competitive roster for the future.