Miami Marlins

And with the 13th pick in the MLB Draft, the Miami Marlins select… The Miami Marlins weren’t willing to part with the pick. Even with a need for starting pitching in the offseason, the management stuck to their guns and will use the choice to grab an impactful player. The probability of taking a starting pitcher outweighs any other necessity within the organization.

The Miami Marlins have one of the thinnest minor league systems in Major League Baseball.

Per Joe Frisaro of MLB.com, with three of the first 51 overall picks, the Marlins are positioned to add impactful players early. Thanks to a Competitive Balance Round A selection, Miami has the 13th, 36th and 51st choices. The additional selection has vice president of scouting Stan Meek and most of the front office, including president of baseball operations Michael Hill, on the scouting trail for potential targets.

Last year, the Miami Marlins took pitcher Braxton Garrett, who was playing in Jupiter when the team announced they were shutting down the organization’s top prospect. The news within the organization is Garrett will need Tommy John surgery.

Hopefully, the team’s luck will be better in 2017.

“It’s no mystery the organization covets pitching, and plenty of it. A college arm close to being big league-ready would be the ideal candidate,” Frisaro wrote. “The question is whether one will fall to them at No. 13. If not, the organization is prepared to select the best overall players. Meek and his staff have the luxury of an extra high pick, so the organization can address several needs early.”

There are plenty of prospects to choose from. The Miami Marlins have followed the process of “best player available” in years past. This might be the same plan in 2017.

In his June 1 Mock Draft, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo projects Miami to take prep standout D.L. Hall, a left-hander from Valdosta High School in Georgia. Hall draws comparisons to Braxton Garrett, selected seventh overall by the Marlins in 2016. Griffin Canning, a right-hander from UCLA, is a college possibility, and so is David Peterson from Oregon. High-school right-hander, Shane Baz, from Concordia Lutheran High School in Tomball, Texas, also is speculated to go in the middle of the first round.

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