It’s no secret the Miami Marlins’ strength is their pitching depth.
The trio of Sandy Alcantara, Trevor Rogers and Pablo Lopez have carried the club more times than not this season. Six of their top-nine prospects are starting pitchers. All five pitchers still in the organization from the 2020 MLB Draft class have made significant strides and are among the top-22 prospects in the Marlins’ system.
So after opening the 2021 draft by selecting seven consecutive position players, the Marlins decided to fortify their strength.
The Marlins took college pitchers with 10 of 11 picks from Rounds 7-17 of the three-day, 20-round draft.
Why take so many as the draft progressed? According to Marlins director of amateur scouting DJ Svilhik, it’s a number’s game.
“You’ve got to have three [pitchers] to get one,” Svihlik said. “When you draft players, the best hitters tend to come from the front of the draft. So when you start to make decisions in any draft — 2019, 2020, ‘21 and going into next year even — you really try to lean heavily into pitching because all you’re trying to do is find the best value within the market. And that’s what history tends to bear out. You’ll probably see the same thing from us next year.
“I don’t know if the balance will be the same. I don’t think it’s a secret recipe that you’re trying to select big-leaguers. That tends to come out of the pitching market later on down the board. You’ll tend to see a lot more pitchers, historically, selected by us going forward as well.”
Svihlik said a couple weeks before the draft that he anticipated the second tier of college pitchers — the ones normally available on the second day of the draft — would be a strength to cash in on this year.
He and his amateur scouting staff took that to heart.
A look at the 10 pitchers they took:
— Round 7, Gabe Bierman, Indiana: A 6-2, 200-pound righty whose success comes more from command than pure stuff. His fastball sits between 89-91 mph and touches 94. His changeup plays well off the fastball, but his breaking pitches need improvement. Bierman posted a 2.94 career ERA over 36 games (21 starts) with 150 strikeouts against 57 walks in 144 innings. In 2021, Bierman went 5-4 in 12 starts with a 2.68 ERA while tallying 80 strikeouts over 74 innings. Opponents hit .179 against Bierman in his final season.
— Round 8, Patrick Monteverde, Texas Tech: Like Bierman, Monteverde’s success will be derived from command. The 6-2, 190-pound lefty has a fastball sits around 87-91 mph and he also has a changeup and low-80s slider. A fifth-year senior, Monteverde started 16 games in 2021 for Texas Tech, striking out 101 batters and putting up a 3.75 ERA in 86 1/3 innings.
He missed two years at Seton Hall due to Tommy John surgery before transferring to Texas Tech for his final year of eligibility.
— Round 9, Jake Schrand, Wright State University: His fastball hits in the mid-90s but his secondary pitches need work. The 6-0, 180-pound righty excelled out of the bullpen in 2019 and 2020 (three earned runs in 25 1/3 innings) before becoming Wright State’s Friday night starter in 2021 (14 starts, 4.61 ERA with 92 strikeouts against 20 walks over 68 1/3 innings).
— Round 10, Hunter Perdue, Florida State: His fastball touches 98 mph and he was used in high-leverage situations for the Seminoles last year.
— Round 11, Jesse Bergin, UCLA: Bergin was a three-year starter with the Bruins who had a three-to-one strikeout-to-walk ratio, but the 6-4, 205-pound righty potentially profiles best as a reliever unless he can get an effective third pitch. His fastball hits 90-92 mph. His low-80s slider is his best pitch.
— Round 12, Brandon White, Washington State: White is an example of the Marlins drafting for makeup (6-8, 230 pounds) and pitch arsenal (fastball that hits 97 mph with a good changeup) moreso than results (5.69 career ERA with 119 strikeouts against 67 walks over 131 1/3 innings in college).
— Round 13, Chandler Jozwiak, Texas A&M: Another reliever-type arm with a fastball that hits up to 95 mph as a lefty. He recorded eight saves in 2021, a year in which he posted a 3.48 ERA with 79 strikeouts against 18 walks over 62 innings in 28 relief appearances.
— Round 14, Holt Jones, Kentucky: Like Jozwiak, Jones is a hard-throwing reliever. The righty’s fastball touches 96-97 mph. He’s big, too, at 6-8.
— Round 15, Caleb Wurster, Connecticut: Svihlik referred to him as a “unique situational lefty.” Wurster made 67 career appearances for the Huskies, all out of the bullpen. The 5-11, 182-pounder had a career 2.45 ERA in 95 1/3 innings with 100 strikeouts against 32 walks with 12 saves (including nine as a senior).
— Round 17, Justin Fall, Arizona State: Fall was Baseball America’s No. 270 prospect for this draft cycle. Fastball sits around 90 mph with sink (but can get up to 94 mph) and his slider is in the low 80s. He dealt with blister issues at the end of the 2021 season.
“You can tell they each have their own unique characteristics,” Svihlik said. “A lot of them were big schools, strong arms and gives our player development staff something to work with.”
