With the 43rd pick in the 2014 MLB Draft, the second pick of the second round, the Miami Marlins took their third high school player of their draft. This time, the Marlins opted for a middle infielder in Justin Twine, a product of Falls City High School in Texas. Twine is a freak athlete who did track and was a star running quarterback for Falls City, so you know that his ability to run is there. However, he is still a raw baseball player, with Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline describing his swing as long and his batting eye in need of refinement.
Nevertheless, he has room to grow and the obvious athletic capabilities to develop with more baseball focus, but Miami is taking yet another chance at a long-term prospect rather than someone who might help the team sooner or be a more complete player at the moment. With Tyler Kolek and Blake Anderson already aboard, that is three prospects Miami may need to spend significant time on to develop into full-fledged baseball players.
The Marlins will be competing with TCU for Twine's interests, and Mayo says that Twine may be better off opting for college at this point. Stay tuned to Fish Stripes for more coverage on all these prospects and the rest of the 2014 draft!