Mound Talk

1. Cameron Maybin, CF, MLB. Coming to Florida in the Miguel Cabrera trade, Maybin played most of the year in High-A where he hit .304/.393/.486 with 29 extra-base hits in 296 at-bats. Maybin is a five-tool talent taken with the tenth overall pick in 2005. He stole 30 bases in 36 attempts and plays a very rangy center. He hits the ball on the ground way too much.
2. Chris Volstad, RHSP, AA. Volstad is a groundball pitcher using a low-90s fastball with sink and a curve in the low-80s. His change is nearly a plus pitch both in its movement and its deception. He needs to learn how to pitch better. Specifically, he needs to learn when to throw a ball out of the zone intentionally. When this comes, he’ll be able to rack up an average strikeout total but will limit the hits he allows. Volstad could add some velocity as he fills out but there isn’t too much room for improvement there.
3. Brett Sinkbeil, RHSP, A+. Sinkbeil has better stuff than Volstad at the moment starting with a plus slider. Though he does tend to use his slider too often, his fastball is nearly as good. His change still needs work but it is developing. Injuries have limited Sinkbeil’s time on the mound as a pro but that is the biggest knock on him.
4. Ryan Tucker, RHSP, A+. Tucker has a very good fastball that sits around 95 mph. His change is a nice compliment to his fastball but still needs some work. However, his slider needs work or he’ll be relegated to the bullpen.
5. Gaby Hernandez, RHSP, AA. Featuring a hard fastball with great movement, Hernandez has shown a good change but still needs plenty of work with that pitch. His fastball has decent life but needs to become more consistent in his command. He has a nice frame to work from, but needs stay healthy and build durability.
6. Chris Coghlan, 2B, A+. Coghlan had an up-and-down season this year. Dealing with a hernia surgery and his first full season as a pro, Coghlan showed great plate discipline and decent power. Coghlan will move quickly if his performance matches his Low-A stint and could be in line for a big league role in 2009.
7. Matt Dominguez, 3B, Rk. Taken in the first round of the 2007 draft, Dominguez is an excellent defensive third baseman. His bat has some power potential and he has good control of the strike zone. However, he’ll neeed to work on his swing before he’s ready to put up solid numbers as a professional.
8. Euligio De La Cruz, RHP, MLB. Throwing in AA, AAA and MLB in 2007, De La Cruz showed a lot of development this year. He pitches to contact and won’t walk many batters. Most of his pitches are in the zone. He’ll need to add some deception to succeed on the Major League level. He’ll likely be a 6th or 7th inning reliever.
9. Sean West, LHSP, A. West missed all of this season with a torn labrum that resulted in surgery. Before he was injured, he had a good fastball with very good late motion. He starts from a three-quarters arm slot and works on a downward plane. At 6-foot-8 the ball leaves his hand so late that he has an added weapon. His change has been very good but also fairly inconsistent.
10. Gaby Sanchez, 1B, A+. Sanchez is a pretty solid hitter but has also seen a diminished intelligence at the plate. He is chasing pitches out of the zone too often and struggled with taking poor strikes to hit. Nonetheless, he has pretty solid ability to draw walks, though he could improve that by not chasing breaking balls as often and has shown pretty good power potential. He is a solid defensive first baseman.
Flier. Brett Hayes, C, AA. Hayes has solid defense behind the dish. His bat isn’t too special although he has flashed some power. His defense should propel him to the big leagues before 2010 but his bat could keep him back.

The Marlins boast one of my favorite minor league systems in baseball. They have very good pitching depth and the addition of Cameron Maybin gives them an impact five tool player to compliment Hanley Ramirez. With their solid core of pitching prospects to go along with a young crop of starters already, the Marlins have a promising future. Now, if they could only draw some fans.