Miami Marlins Top 10 Fantasy Prospects

With the playoffs in full swing, that means it will be time for teams to assess their needs for next season and start planning for a longer than hoped offseason. We're at the same point for fantasy owners in dynasty leagues, and we're here to help you with the information you need as you prepare for your minor league drafts.

In previous years, we have done rather intensive top 10 prospect lists, including an organizational rundown, opportunities in the coming season, as well as the top fantasy prospects. However, we have found that a number of these topics are covered as we continue through the offseason, and specifically through profiles done as a part of our preseason redraft rankings. As a result, this year's top 10 lists will be primarily that: a list of the prospects with brief writeups rather than the 4000-8000 word opuses that have occurred in the past. We feel that this year's format will both suit the goal better (of providing fantasy relevant information and rankings) as well as allow us to move through them much more quickly so that they can be completed by the Christmas holiday.

The schedule itself is fairly basic: We cover a division, going in alphabetical order of city/location name. This means the next team after this post will be the Mets, and finish the division with the Phillies and Nationals. After that, we'll move on to the NL Central, and finish up with the NL West.

Our Basis

With fantasy prospect rankings, the key to knowing the usefulness of a specific player is how large and deep of a league you would need to be in for them to end up as a fantasy starter. We will be ranking 10 prospects in each system, but that doesn't mean that every one of them is useful if you play in a 12-team mixed dynasty league. With that said, we're aiming to provide useful information whether you play in a 10-team mixed, a 15-team AL-only, or a 24-team mixed.

Prospect rankings also come with the same caveat I provide every year. They represent a snapshot of how we view the players at the time of publication. There will inherently be more information published throughout the offseason, and so it is very possible that by the end of the offseason, how we view a player may be very different from where we had them originally.  We're going to get some of these right, we're going to get some of these wrong, and in general my reminder is to find information you trust, and use it to your advantage. If that comes from us, that's great and we're happy you're here. If it doesn't, we'll continue to work and hope that you'll keep checking in to see how we're doing.

The Tiers

Something new I wanted to introduce this year is a tier system to help delineate where prospects are likely to fall on the overall top prospect list. We have not completed our top prospects lists yet, and will not likely do so until we are close to finishing all the prospect rankings. The tiers are here though to provide some clarity when comparing between different teams. It's by no means a perfect system, but the goal is to give you a general idea of which players we think are in a similar range in terms of value and ranking. Since the tiers are also expected to be relatively consistent across teams, there may be tiers which do not have prospects for certain teams.

Tier 1 - The Elite Prospects

These prospects are expected to be in the top 25-50 prospects overall, and have the potential to be among the top options at their position regardless of format or league size.

There are no Marlins' prospects in this tier.

Tier 2 - The Top 100 Candidates

These prospects are expected to be in the discussion for the top 100 prospects overall, and are expected to be starting options in all formats.

There are no Marlins' prospects in this tier.

Tier 3 - The Next Group of Starters

These prospects would likely slot into the 100-200 range on an overall ranking list, and would be starters in mid-depth formats like 12 and 14 team leagues.

#1 - Tyler Kolek (RHP)
Age on Opening Day: 20
ETA: 2019

Kolek was the #2 pick in the draft in 2014, and came into the draft as a potential top overall pick based on strong reports on his triple-digit velocity. However, his first full season as a professional had some ups and downs, as he struggled to keep that velocity consistently and struggled with his control (5.1 BB/9 IP). His fastball is a potential elite offering, but questions about the development of his curveball and changeup leave open the possibility that he could end up in the bullpen long term. The upside remains immense, as he could be a top-tier starting pitcher if all three develop as the Marlins hope, but that could be a long time from now. He'll head to High-A Jupiter for the 2016 season.

#2 - Josh Naylor (1B)
Age on Opening Day: 18
ETA: 2019

Naylor was the 12th overall pick back in June, and the initial reaction around the industry appeared to be one of surprise. He was viewed as a potential first round pick, but wasn't expected to go that high in the first round. The Marlins were able to get Naylor signed to a below-slot bonus, and he debuted with their GCL affiliate with a .327/.352/.418 slash line over 25 games. Limited to first base defensively, Naylor's bat will have to carry him to the majors. With that said, he has the potential to be an above-average hitter with above-average power potential. The ceiling is a .280-.290 hitter with 25+ home runs, and is one of the most interesting in this system.

#3 - Jarlin Garcia (LHP)
Age on Opening Day: 23
ETA: 2017

Tier 4 - Single League and Deep Format Plays

These prospects would likely slot into the 200-300 range on a ranking list, and would have the most value to mixed leagues with 16+ teams and single-league formats with 12+ teams.

#4 - Stone Garrett (OF)
Age on Opening Day: 20
ETA: 2019

A centerfielder, Garrett may be one of the most interesting prospects in this system. He spent the year with short-season Batavia, hitting .297/.352/.581 with 11 home runs and eight stolen bases. He's an extremely toolsy prospect, providing both above-average raw power and bat speed to go along with above-average speed, and reports on his performance this season point to him starting to actualize some of those tools. He's likely headed to full-season Low-A in 2016, and a continuation of this year's production could move him to the top of the system.

#5 - Kendry Flores (RHP)
Age on Opening Day: 24
ETA: 2016

Acquired from the Giants in exchange for Casey McGehee, Flores started the season at AA, and was called up for bullpen depth after nine starts. He made two relief appearances before heading back to the minors, but with a promotion to AAA. He made another ten solid starts there before spending August in the majors. Flores is likely to have more value in deeper formats, as his repertoire doesn't really project to provide a high strikeout rate. He can be a back-end starting pitcher in those deeper formats, and may be the only prospect in our top 10 we see in 2016.

#6 - Brian Anderson (3B)
Age on Opening Day: 22
ETA: 2018

Anderson was the Marlins' 3rd round pick in 2014, and spent this season with the Marlins' High-A affiliate. He hit 8 home runs and 22 doubles there, showing off some of the potential power he can provide. However, there are questions about his long term position, with second base and the outfield also being an option. His bat can provide value at any of the three positions, as he can provide a solid batting average to go with some home runs. It's also possible though that he ends up as more of a utility player/backup type if the defense doesn't develop at any of the positions, but he's more of a deep league option as he's not expected to turn into a 15-20 home run producer long-term.

#7 - Cody Poteet (RHP)
Age on Opening Day: 21
ETA: 2017

A fourth round draft pick this year, Poteet worked as both a starter and a reliever for UCLA. The Marlins are hoping that the righty can be a starter, as he has four potential average pitches to go along with good control. The most likely scenario for Poteet is likely to be a back-end starting pitcher, as he's not expected to provide a high strikeout total, but shouldn't need a lot of time in the minors before being ready for the majors.

Tier 5 - We Ranked Ten Prospects, We Really Did

These prospects generally will be useful in the deepest of formats. Think 24+ teams for mixed leagues and single-league formats with more teams than the league it uses. In many cases, these will be part-time players or utility-types when they get to the majors.

#8 - Austin Dean (OF)
Age on Opening Day: 22
ETA: 2018

Dean was drafted out of a Texas high school back in 2012, and has been slowly plugging his way through the minors. He spent the 2015 season at High-A Jupiter, hitting .268 with five home runs and 18 stolen bases. He is limited defensively to left field most likely, which puts pressure on his bat to provide even more value. It's not an amazing profile, but there were good reports this season on his abilities at the plate. The best case scenario is likely a little bit of power, a little bit of speed along with a solid average. There is still a little potential for more, but if I owned him I would look to see if I could use his strong performance in the Arizona Fall League to trade him for a prospect with a bit more upside.

#9 - Isaiah White (OF)
Age on Opening Day: 19
ETA: 2020

White was the Marlins' third round pick this year, signing for the full slot amount and spent the rest of the year in the Gulf Coast League. He hit .294 with 13 stolen bases in 35 games, but also posted a 44:3 strikeout to walk ratio. He's an athletic prospect who is considered very raw, but with potential for a lot more development as he gets more at bats against professional-level competition. He's an interesting name for very deep formats, as his elite speed could translate into steals down the line. Given how raw he is right now, it may take a while for him to get to the majors, and should really be viewed as a lottery ticket in deep NL-only leagues.

#10 - Isael Soto (OF)
Age on Opening Day: 19
ETA: 2020