Jeter taking hands-on approach to Draft 

MIAMI -- Marlins chief executive officer Derek Jeter, along with other team officials, recently attended the Southeastern Conference Tournament to evaluate Vanderbilt University outfielder JJ Bleday.

A few days later, Jeter traveled to the West Coast, to get a close look at California first baseman Andrew Vaughn.

Popular opinion is that the Marlins may take either college standout on Monday with the fourth overall pick in the MLB Draft.

Organizationally, the Marlins are thin on power hitters, but they are positioned nicely to land an impactful bat at the top of the first round.

• Top 200 Draft prospects

“I don’t think [Bleday] knew I was there,” Jeter said half-jokingly on Wednesday.

It would have been hard not to notice, since Jeter’s presence was repeatedly mentioned during the telecast on the SEC Network. That night, Bleday responded by getting five hits.

Obviously, more than one game will factor into who the Marlins take on Monday.

“You’ve got to take into consideration the good or bad,” Jeter said. “You can’t put too much stock into one particular game. I saw guys who didn’t get five hits and you realized they were special players. That’s why you have to value the opinions of the scouts that have seen him for more than one game.”

There’s another connection between the Marlins and Bleday.

DJ Svihlik, the Marlins’ director of amateur scouting, previously was a hitting coach at Vanderbilt.

“Of course, I get that question a lot, and it’s expected,” Svihlik said. “We’re familiar with all of these players, whether it’s a high school player, or it’s a college player. Obviously, because of my connection to Vanderbilt, it would make sense.”

Svihlik stated that the Marlins' amateur staff has been tasked with relationship building with many of the players expected to go high in the first round.

“I would tell you that I trust our scouting department,” Svihlik said. “I trust myself. I trust our entire staff. We have deep relationships with a lot of these players that are at the top of the board, so the relationship in and of itself is important. But it exists with a lot of these different guys, so I wouldn’t single out one player, that it makes more sense with one than another.

“We know all these guys really, really well. That’s part of our process. That’s something we ask our scouts to do. We’ve got to get to know these players at a much deeper level than just batting practice.”

The 2019 MLB Draft will take place on June 3-5, beginning with the Draft preview show on MLB Network and MLB.com at 6 p.m. ET on Monday. MLB Network will broadcast the first 41 picks (Round 1 and Competitive Balance Round A), while MLB.com will stream all 78 picks on Day 1. MLB.com will also provide live pick-by-pick coverage of Rounds 3-10 on Day 2, beginning with a preview show at 12:30 p.m. ET. Then, Rounds 11-40 can be heard live on MLB.com on Day 3, beginning at noon ET.

Thanks to Bochy
Before the Giants leave South Florida, Marlins closer Sergio Romo plans on thanking a man who believed in him when many others didn’t. Romo was with San Francisco from 2008-16, and was a big part of the Giants’ bullpen on three World Series title teams.

San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy, who is retiring at the end of the season, was instrumental in Romo breaking into the big leagues. Thursday also will be Bochy’s final day managing in Miami.

“He's a guy who showed over and over that he had my back,” Romo said. “He gave me an opportunity to be somebody. Never lacked faith in me. Never showed that he lacked faith in me. Put me in some tough spots. But, I have to believe that he believed I could get the job done in those spots. I'm thankful for that. I want to give him congratulations, too. He's a Hall of Famer, in my book.”

Shaking off the rust
There was plenty of hype when the Marlins signed outfield prospects Victor Victor Mesa and his brother Victor Mesa Jr. in October. And for good reason, because they are the sons of Cuban legendary baseball player and manager Victor Mesa Sr.

But neither had played organized games in more than a year, which is why the Marlins started off Victor Victor Mesa in Class A Advanced Jupiter and Victor Jr. in extended spring training.

Victor Victor is off to a slow start, with a slash line of .215/.257/.233 and a 60 percent ground-ball rate through Tuesday. However, he's making contact, with a 12 percent strikeout rate, and is walking at a 4.9 percent clip.

“I think we’re seeing a rusty player, a guy who hasn’t played in a year and a half,” president of baseball operations Michael Hill said. “We’ve seen some good stretches for him and we’re happy to have him in the organization and to give him the reps that he’s missed over that year and a half. He’s on his path.”