2025 MLB Farm Review: Miami Marlins

There’s a lot to talk and write about when it comes to the Jupiter Hammerheads. That’s because three of the Marlins’ best high-ceiling prospects called Roger Dean home for the 2025 season.

We’ll start with PJ Morlando, whom we covered more extensively in our Mesa Solar Sox preview back in 2025. Morlando wasn’t on the field for much of 2025 – and it was a mixed bag when he was. He took a lot of pitches and worked counts but didn’t hit for much power, as Morlando slashed .226/.361/.353 over 52 contests.

Starlyn Caba was the headliner in the trade that sent Jesús Luzardo to Philadelphia in December 2024. A toolsy shortstop who posted a high on-base percentage two years ago in the FCL, Caba, like Morlando, spent a lot of time on the IL. When on it, Caba slashed .222/.335/.278 with eight extra-base hits over 51 contests.

Caba does not chase (19.7%) often. Which is a very valuable asset to have for obvious reasons. He may not be much of a power hitter but the questions for Caba will be A) how he develops as an infielder defensively and B) whether he can get on base at a high level as he moves up the ladder.

Former second-rounder Carter Johnson posted a .536 OPS with Jupiter last season. Johnson was willing to expand more than the FSL median and whiffed nearly 30% of the time. But on top of that, a lot of called strikes for Johnson given that he only took roughly 53% of the time last season. The young infielder, who received over $2MM in 2024, struck out 134 times.

The last big prospect, at least as far as position players are concerned, to note is Andrew Salas. Salas received a $3.7MM signing bonus in 2025. Rather than send him to the Dominican Summer League, the Marlins pushed him straight to full-season ball.

Salas, a native of Orlando, put up mixed results. The 17-year-old slashed .186/.319/.245 with just 14 extra-base hits over 104 games. The positives? A lot of stolen bases (39), and a 17.2% Chase% rate that ranked in the top ten of the FSL last season.

Moving to the pitching staff, it was a very good year for 20-year-old pitcher Liomar Martinez. Martinez struck out 119 batters over 101 innings pitched with Jupiter. He only conceded nine home runs – Martinez allowed seven over 51 innings across two levels in 2024 – and walked 41 batters.

Martinez is one of the more interesting prospects in a deep farm system. He netted a lot of swing-and-miss off his sweeper and slider, which had a combined Whiff% of over 44%, good enough to be in the top sixth of the Florida State League (min. 50 SL/ST thrown). Fastball that sat in the low-to-mid-90s and capped out at 96 MPH.

Other notable pitches on the Jupiter staff included Nick Brink and Aiden May. 

May was a 2024 second-rounder who spent much of 2025 on the IL, hence why he went to Mesa in the Arizona Fall League to make up for lost time. Not a lot of swing-and-miss but did generate ground balls. However, the former OSU pitcher walked 16 over 27.1 IP.
Brink, a seventh-rounder from 2024, pitched well in Jupiter before moving to Beloit. The right-hander posted a Whiff% just south of 27% but did punch out 31 over 24 frames.

Beloit Sky Carp

The Marlins pushed three of the college hitters that Miami took in the first two rounds of 2025 to High-A: Aiva Arquette, Cam Cannarella, and Brandon Compton. All three played at least 20 games for the Sky Carp in 2025.

We’ll start with Compton, a second-round pick from Arizona State who had a down year with the Sun Devils. Compton hit 30 extra-base hits, 14 of which were home runs, in 2024. But this past year, Compton hit .271 with nine home runs over 59 games. With Beloit, the 22-year-old slashed .217/.354/.359 over 27 games in High-A.

A phrase that’ll be mentioned throughout here is take rate, or simply how many pitches one takes with respect to total pitches seen. The reason why that’s the case is that all three ranked above the Midwest League median in terms of that metric. That included Compton, who also had a strikeout problem with ASU. He posted a 37.1% Whiff% with Beloit.

Cannarella, taken 43rd overall, slashed .284/.337/.375 with seven extra-base hits (no home runs) over 22 contests. The former Clemson standout’s tools are his speed, defensive prowess, and bat-to-ball skills. A 21.8% Whiff% in the Midwest League.

Lastly, there’s Arquette, the seventh overall pick last July after a strong season at Oregon State. Arquette only had six extra-base hits and a .673 OPS across 27 games, which is not the end of the world by any means. Especially when taking into account that he just came off a long college season.

Arquette didn’t swing-and-miss much for a power hitter, only a shade above 26%. And, more interestingly, he had one of the higher take rates in the Midwest League, over 64%.

The development of these players will be critical. Not just because these three were high draft picks but also because some of the team’s drafted hitters from 2024 have stalled.

We already noted Carter Johnson’s struggles. Gage Miller, a third-rounder from 2024, only slashed .207/.329/.308 with four home runs and 20 extra-base hits over 85 contests. Low Whiff% (20%) but not a lot of takes.

Fenwick Trimble, Miami’s fourth-rounder from 2024, had a better year overall. His value is largely derived from the speed and take/walk rates.

Moving on to the pitching staff, there was arguably no pitcher in the Midwest League better than Thomas White. We’ll get more into White later on but just note this: his Whiff% (42.6%) was the highest in the MWL last season.

It was also a big year for Karson Milbrandt (34% Whiff%), who led the Sky Carp in total strikeouts last season.

Noble Meyer, taken the same draft as White, hasn’t progressed as fast as White. Still, a Whiff% near 30%, as he struck out 72 over 65 innings. However, a lot of walks (38).

Pensacola Blue Wahoos

Just from looking at the stat sheet from Pensacola’s 2025 season, two players stand out: Joe Mack and Kemp Alderman.

Mack, a first-rounder from 2021, took a while to develop into something special but it happened in 2025. His 2025 season started with a bang, as the New Yorker slashed .318/.464/.614 with three home runs and seven extra-base hits across 13 games. He quickly moved to Triple-A.

As for Alderman, the former second-round pick – despite a high GB% (54.6%) – was able to get under enough baseballs to lead the Blue Wahoos in home runs this past year. Alderman had a good overall year, as he slashed .282/.337/.447 with 15 home runs and 33 extra-base hits over 110 games. He also stole 20 bases with Pensacola before he moved to Triple-A.

There is some swing-and-miss (28.5%), as one would expect with a power hitter. Not many walks (34 over 452), unsurprisingly given that he took 47% of the time (we’ll get more to that in a minute).

Moving on to the pitching staff, there were two premier standouts: left-handers Tommy White and Robby Snelling.

Snelling (27.4% Whiff%) didn’t miss a ton of bats in Double-A but still picked up 85 over 72 innings with Pensacola. Those numbers were just a taste of what was to come with him. White, meanwhile, did miss a lot of bats (37.7%). White struck out 75 over 45.1 IP, which earned him a second promotion to Triple-A.

White has the makings of a future ace, between a hard, cutty four-seamer, coupled with a changeup and two breaking balls with distinct shapes: a slider and a sweeper.

Lastly, it was a very nice year for former Maryland pitcher Nigel Belgrave. Belgrave struck out 85 over 63 innings last season out of Pensacola’s bullpen, along with a 31% Whiff%. Heavy sinker/slider pitcher.

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp

I wrote in the previous section that I would get back to Kemp Alderman. And indeed I will, as Alderman had a great, yet abbreviated run with the Jumbo Shrimp. Alderman slashed .303/.341/.671 with seven home runs and 14 extra-base hits over 20 contests.

It was a smashing run for Alderman, a slugger who does have some rough patches in his game. As noted before, he doesn’t take a ton of pitches and is aggressive. His Chase% was over 32% in that 20-game run with Jacksonville.

Speaking of big power years, Joe Mack had one, as well. Mack cracked 18 home runs and 38 extra-base hits over 99 games. But like Alderman, he too has his flaws. Namely, Mack loved to expand out of the zone off fastballs: almost 38% of the time. Plus, a lot of swing-and-miss inside the zone.

Lastly, we have to cover the former Padres prospects.

Jakob Marsee posted a .817 OPS and rarely expanded out of the strike zone. And Robby Snelling was one of the best swing-and-miss pitchers in the IL for a Jacksonville team that won the Triple-A championship.

Early Projected Top 5 for 2026

1. Thomas White
2. Owen Caissie
3. Robby Snelling
4. Aiva Arquette
5. Karson Milbrandt

The Marlins have one of the better farm systems in baseball, a testament to how well past MLB Drafts have gone, coupled with trade returns.

Caissie and Snelling will very likely be contributors for the Marlins either on Opening Day 2026 or shortly thereafter. Given how both of their seasons went in Triple-A, there’s not much for them to prove.

We do have Milbrandt ahead of some of the other names, including Joe Mack, Andrew Salas, and PJ Morlando. Morlando and Salas still have high ceilings but both will need to produce like top prospects soon.