The Marlins began 2021 with plenty of optimism, coming off a postseason berth in the COVID-ravaged 2020 season and possessing a farm system ranked as the third-best in baseball by MLB Pipeline. But they've graduated most of their top prospects from two years ago and have 188 losses and a pair of fourth-place finishes in the last two seasons to show for it.

The strength of the organization in the Majors and Minors is its young pitching, led by reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara. Precocious right-hander Eury Pérez could give Miami a pair of aces in the near future, and left-hander Dax Fulton could slot in right behind them in a couple of years. The franchise will get a big boost if three present or former Top 100 Prospects -- righties Max Meyer and Sixto Sánchez, lefty Jake Eder -- can return to form after significant surgeries.

The lineup of the future is less certain. The Marlins hope to build around defending American League batting champion Luis Arraez and MLB The Show cover athlete Jazz Chisholm, but there are many holes to fill. Jacob Berry (the No. 6 overall selection in the 2022 Draft), Yiddi Cappe (their top international signee in 2021) and recent trade acquisitions Jacob Amaya and Jordan Groshans could help shore up the infield.

Miami has had little success with its position-player first-round picks preceding Berry, with outfielders Connor Scott (2018) and J.J. Bleday (2019) getting dealt after disappointing and shortstop Kahlil Watson (2021) having a disastrous first full pro season. Its 2022 Rookie-level Dominican Summer League contingent was extremely promising, led by outfielders Jose Gerardo and Antony Peguero and infielder Marco Vargas, though they're all several years from the big leagues.

Here’s a look at the Marlins’ top prospects:
1. Eury Pérez, RHP (MLB No. 13)
2. Jacob Berry, 3B (MLB No. 61)
3. Max Meyer, RHP (MLB No. 67)
4. Dax Fulton, LHP
5. Jake Eder, LHP
Complete Top 30 list »

Biggest jump/fall

Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the 2022 preseason list to the 2023 preseason list:

Jump: Jose Gerardo, OF (2022: unranked | 2023: 17) -- He broke into pro ball with nine homers in his first full month in the DSL and also has clocked a 102-mph throw from the outfield.

Fall: Zach McCambley, RHP (2022: 15 | 2023: unranked) -- He still has his trademark 12-6 curveball but looks like more of a reliever after getting pounded for a 5.65 ERA in Double-A.

Top 30s
NLE: ATL | MIA | NYM | PHI | WSH
ALE: BAL | BOS | NYY | TB | TOR
NLC: CIN | CHC | MIL | PIT | STL
ALC: CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIN
NLW: AZ | COL | LAD | SD | SF
ALW: HOU | LAA | OAK | SEA | TEX

Best tools

Players are graded on a 20-80 scouting scale for future tools -- 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average and 70-80 is well above average. Players in parentheses have the same grade.

Hit: 60 -- Jacob Berry
Power: 55 -- Jacob Berry (Jose Gerardo)
Run: 70 -- Nasim Nuñez
Arm: 80 -- Jose Gerardo
Defense: 70 -- Nasim Nuñez
Fastball: 70 -- Eury Pérez (Sean Reynolds, Sixto Sánchez, George Soriano)
Curveball: 60 -- Dax Fulton (Jacob Miller, Josh Simpson)
Slider: 70 -- Max Meyer
Changeup: 70 -- Eury Pérez
Control: 60 -- Eury Pérez (Nic Enright, Sixto Sánchez)

How they were built
Draft: 15 | NDFA: 1 | International: 9 | Trade: 4 | Rule 5: 1

Breakdown by ETA
2023: 9 | 2024: 10 | 2025: 5 | 2026: 3 | 2027: 3

Breakdown by position
C: 3 | 1B: 1 | 2B: 3 | 3B: 3 | SS: 4 | OF: 3 | RHP: 9 | LHP: 4