After the 2017 season, the Miami Marlins decided to rebuild. They traded away the stellar outfield of Yelich, Stanton, and Ozuna, breaking apart what was arguably the best outfield in the game. The following 2018 season was predictably rough, as is the first year in any rebuild, and the Marlins floundered miserably, going 63-98. Yet the year's success was not based upon wins and losses, but upon the development of the next core of a competitive Marlins team, and the June amateur draft was a great opportunity to infuse talent into a barren farm system.
The Marlins entered the 2018 Draft with the 13th overall pick and a chance to get a face of the franchise type player. It was going to be a decision between a bat, or a pitcher. The Marlins opted to go for a position player and selected high school outfielder Connor Scott, in an effort to rebuild their outfield. However, was this the right decision? I don't believe so. Let me explain.
Miami had not had a pitcher with ace-potential in their system since Jose Fernandez, and had previously traded away the likes of Luis Castillo and Chris Paddack, depleting the farm system of frontline pitching. The lack of pitching had been an outcry from Marlins fans during the Stanton/Yelich/Ozuna era, and it was well justified; starting pitching in Miami had been awful over the past few years. Under the new ownership however, the Marlins had started to assemble some pitching depth. The Ozuna trade brought back Sandy Alcantara, Caleb Smith was stolen away from the Yankees, and Pablo Lopez ( one of few pitching prospects that Loria gave us) was tearing it up in the minors. However, although the starting pitching talent within the minors was improving, it was not to be confused with the minor league system of the Atlanta Braves, or of the San Diego Padres. There still wasn't that one guy in the system with top of the rotation, ace potential stuff. When it was the Marlins pick at number 13, they should have been amazed to find that star prep pitcher Matthew Liberatore was still around. He had great stuff, but had slipped in the draft. The pitching-starved Marlins now had the perfect opportunity to nab Liberatore who would immediately ascend to, or near the top of the farm system. The stars had aligned for Miami...and then the Marlins passed him up for Connor Scott.
What's the big deal? Didn't Miami need to add a slugger to their organization, after losing Stanton/ Yelich/Ozuna? Yes, yes they did. But here's the thing, They theoretically had done so already, when they traded Yelich to the Brewers, adding two highly regarded outfield prospects with Monte Harrison, and Lewis Brinson. Brinson was a consensus top prospect, who was a 5 tool player. Based on that trade alone, the future of the Marlins outfield was already bright well before the draft. In fact, it wasn't even a real need of the Marlins, who really were in lack of quality middle infielders and pitching. Yet they decided to draft the left handed Connor Scott, who defensively has no choice but to play in the outfield (or 1st base). Even if you make the case that Brinson is a bust, that he is never going to figure it out, you must realize that at the time of the draft he was still considered a cornerstone of the next competitive Marlins team. Another outfield prospect at the time of the draft just wasn't needed as much as an elite infield, or pitching prospect was.
Not only was Scott never needed, he hasn't been very good either. As of this article, he is hitting .213 in single A ball with limited power production (only 4 homers). Low-average hitter, and with no home-run power, not a good combination. Of course, he is very very young and these are small sample sizes, and Scott has great speed on the basepaths. However, his complete lack of hitting even at the lowest levels, concerns me. Even if he does figure it out, it won't be for a few years. Meanwhile Matthew Liberatore, who was chosen three spots after Scott, already has a career 1.62 ERA in the minors, with opponents hitting just .179 off him. The Rays can advance him quickly through the system as he showing progression immediately. Wouldn't it be nice if Miami had drafted this guy? Liberatore alone would have made for a successful draft, as he would have been an absolute steal for the Fish at #13. It would have changed the landscape of the Marlins' minor league system. Instead the Marlins opted for Scott, and the Rays snatched up Liberatore. Of course I hope this article proves to be wrong, and Scott ends up an All-Star. But for now, it's not looking like it, and a crucial year of the rebuild might have taken a dent. Let me know what you guys think...do you agree with Miami's decision to bypass Liberatore for Scott?