Fans who grilled new CEO Derek Jeter at the first of a series of Marlins town hall meetings this week lamented the departure of the team's best-known stars.
Gary Denbo is the man who will have much to do with fulfilling Jeter's promise that fans will learn to love some of the unknown names acquired in the recent trades of Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna and Dee Gordon.
As vice president of player development and scouting, Denbo may be the most important name _ little known to most fans _ added to the organization under new ownership. He will be spearheading the effort to turn prospects into a winning product that has been missing for years.
"We feel good about the quality we got back in these deals. We feel good about what we got in the Rule 5 Draft," Denbo said Thursday in a conference call with South Florida reporters. "We feel like we got a couple guys that are going to compete for spots in our rotation."
Coming from a similar role with the Yankees, where he is credited with a huge hand in shaping the team's current success, Denbo is well acquainted with the prospects returned in the Stanton trade.
He said right-hander Jorge Guzman is a rare talent as a starting pitcher with a fastball that averages 99 mph.
"He has an ability to strike out hitters, which I value. He has the ability to throw strikes and he's a good athlete. The athleticism should allow him to make adjustments as needed," Denbo said of the 21-year-old.
Denbo's experience with the Yankees also made him more familiar than most talent evaluators with shortstop prospect Jose Devers, who is only 18. Like Guzman, Devers is from the Dominican Republic and has shown skill and athleticism for Denbo to project him as an everyday shortstop in the majors.
Obviously, he is a long-range project. A couple other former Yankees prospects obtained in a minor deal last month, first baseman Garrett Cooper and right-hander Caleb Smith, could provide more immediate service.
Smith, a left-hander, will compete for a spot in the 2018 starting rotation, Denbo said. Cooper, 6 feet 6, is an intriguing right-handed hitting complement to Justin Bour at first base. At 26, he has shown emerging power potential over the past year in the minors.
"He has long arms and long legs. From my experience as a hitting coach, those guys sometimes take longer before the power emerges in their swing. Sometimes those types are late-bloomers," Denbo said.
It remains to be seen if Starlin Castro, the only established major-leaguer obtained in the Stanton trade, will remain with the Marlins or be dealt away (along with his $10.8 million salary) in another trade for prospects. Denbo said he expects the veteran to remain and play second base in Miami.
"Starlin Castro is a good major-league player. He's a middle-of-the-field guy that we look for. We needed to fill a hole at that position," Denbo said.
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