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Marlins have no players on Baseball Prospectus top 101 prospects list

That means all of Miami's good players are in the Big Leagues, right?

By Jarrett Cowgill
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Baseball Prospectus released its list of the top 101 prospects in the game (100 was just too short) and the Marlins were notable only in their absence.

Editor's note: Please welcome Jarrett Cowgill, our latest addition to the Fish Stripes cast! Jarrett will be talking prospects throughout the season, and we're happy to have him aboard. -MJ

In some ways this is perfectly understandable; recently the farm system has seen players like Jose Fernandez, Christian Yelich, and Marcell Ozuna become contributors at the big league level.  The recent trade of Andrew Heaney to the Dodgers also served to deplete the system.  Quick promotions, something Miami has become famous for, and trading prospects make it difficult to ever accumulate a high number of guys on these sorts of lists.

Still it's hard to not take issue with BP's lack of love for the Marlin's young talent.  Tyler Kolek, ranked as the 34th prospect in baseball recently by Keith Law, has the biggest gripe.  The second overall selection in the 2014 draft, Kolek has seemingly limitless potential.  The Texas high-schooler regularly touched 100 mph in the lead up to the draft and brings back memories of a young Josh Beckett; the two share the "right handed high school flamethrower" background.  While Kolek clearly needs a good deal of polish, there are few pitchers in the minors who project like a front-line starter the way Kolek does.

Other than Kolek, the other Miami farmhand with a legitimate case to be included is J.T. Realmuto.  Known more for his glove behind the plate than his offensive prowess, Realmuto did show improvement at the plate while repeating Double-A; his walk and strikeout rates both moved in the right directions.  Possessing a plus arm at the catcher position, as evidenced by his 38 percent career caught-stealing rate, Realmuto projects to replace Saltalamacchia by the 2016 season.

While the BP top 101 is not the end-all-be-all, the Fish do have two prospects that deserved recognition.

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