Marlins searching for contact in big leaguers -- and prospects

JUPITER, Fla. -- During the last four full big league seasons, the Marlins have finished last, last, next-to-last and last again in the National League in scoring. In search of more offense, they have targeted hitters known for their bat-to-ball skills.

Miami's biggest offseason moves were trading for reigning American League batting champion Luis Arraez and signing two-time All-Star Jean Segura as a free agent. It brought in Yuli Gurriel and José Iglesias, two more veterans known for their contact-hitting skills, on Minor League contracts in March.

The Marlins also have added hit-first prospects to their farm system. They drafted Louisiana State third baseman Jacob Berry with the sixth overall pick last July and dealt for former Top 100 Prospects Jordan Groshans in August and Xavier Edwards in November.

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A switch-hitter, Berry posted a 1.094 OPS with more extra-base hits and walks than strikeouts last spring at LSU, then batted .264/.358/.392 with three homers in 33 games in Single-A. He offered the best combination of hitting ability, power and plate discipline in the 2022 college class, though his relatively pedestrian exit velocities did give some teams pause.

"Jacob has an elite swing and understands it completely," Miami director of Minor League operations Hector Crespo said. "The bat-to-ball skills are there and we're trying to tap into more power from the right side. He's a worker. We have to pull him out of the batting case because he wants to hit every day."

When the Blue Jays made Groshans the 12th overall pick in 2018, he projected to hit for both average and power. The third baseman hasn't added meaningful strength as a pro, however, and homered just three times in 98 Triple-A games and once in his 17-game big league debut after the Marlins acquired him for Anthony Bass, Zach Pop and catching prospect Edward Duran. He's a career .285/.366/.404 hitter in the Minors.

"Jordan has really good bat-to-ball skills but hasn't had the bat path for power," Crespo said. "He came into camp more physical this year, and in games and batting practice he's showing more raw power and higher exit velocities. He's still only 23 years old and we could see more impact this year."

A career .320 hitter in his first three pro seasons, Edwards slumped to .246 while striking out at an uncharacteristic 19 percent clip in Triple-A last season. The second baseman tried to do too much at the plate, and while he hit a career-high five homers after going deep just once in 249 previous pro games, his game should be based on his plus speed rather than his well below-average power.

The Rays, who had grabbed Edwards in the Jake Cronenworth trade with the Padres in December 2019, shipped him and J.T. Chargois to Miami in exchange for righty pitching prospects Marcus Johnson and Santiago Suarez.

"After having success in prior years, I think Xavier felt he needed to make more impact and got away from what he did well," Crespo said. "He needs to get back to the foundation that made him successful. We're trying to get him back to hitting the ball in the gaps and creating havoc on the bases."

Other Marlins prospects of note with pure hitting ability include outfielder Victor Mesa Jr., who has one of the best left-handed swings in the system, and infielder Marco Vargas, who batted .319 in his pro debut in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League.

Camp standout: Victor Mesa Jr.

The sons of legendary Cuba outfielder Victor Mesa, Victor Victor Mesa ($5.25 million) and Victor Jr. ($1 million) landed seven-figure bonuses from Miami in October 2018. Victor Jr. has proven to be the far better prospect and looks ready to make a jump after driving the ball more regularly during a strong spring that included a 3-for-9 showing in big league camp. A natural hitter with a high baseball IQ, he batted .244/.323/.346 in High-A last season at age 20.

"Victor is maturing as a player and has cleaned up a lot of mechanical things with his swing in the offseason," Crespo said. "The ability and personality have always been there. Now the performance is the next step. We've always seen the traits and he has a real drive to show the industry that he's for real."

Breakout potential: Dax Fulton

Tommy John surgery wiped out Fulton's 2020 senior year as an Oklahoma high schooler, though that didn't preclude the Marlins from signing him for $2.4 million as a second-round pick. Ranked No. 4 in the system, he continues to get better as he puts his elbow reconstruction further behind him and finished last season as a 20-year-old in Double-A, striking out 13 in six scoreless innings in the Southern League playoffs to help Pensacola win the championship. His signature pitch is his upper-70s curveball with downer break, and he showed more fastball velocity and a promising new slider at the end of 2022.

"Dax was up to 98 mph at the end of last year in his playoff game," Crespo said. "The slider allows him to get hitters off his plus curveball and puts a back-foot slider in play for right-handers. It's cool to see how comfortable he is with it. He's working on better usage of his pitches and when to use them in different counts. His changeup can be a solid pitch too and when he throws it at a consistent rate, he's tough to hit."

Something to prove: Kahlil Watson

Signed for $4,540,790 as the 16th overall choice in the 2021 Draft, Watson has as much physical ability as any prospect in the system. He has the upside of at least solid tools across the board, including well above-average speed. But his first full pro season was a disaster, as he hit .232/.296/.395 with a 35 percent strikeout rate in Single-A and got demoted for a month after making a threatening gesture toward an umpire in July.

The Marlins are trying to get Watson to adopt a two-strike approach, stop hunting home runs and play more under control both physically and emotionally. They're optimistic after seeing how he has performed in Minor League camp.

"Kahlil's bat-to-ball skills are impressive when he's locked in," Crespo said. "He had always been the best player wherever he'd been, and we hope he can learn from those early struggles he had. He has been receptive to making changes after last year and he has grown from that. The way he has accepted feedback and instruction has been very impressive."