After a surprise playoff appearance in 2023, the Marlins returned to the cellar in the NL East in 2024 with a 100-loss season. They improved by 17 games this season, finishing third in the division. They still had a losing record (79-83) and their run differential doesn't give any additional hope (-89), but there is some optimism in South Florida these days.
By average age, the Marlins have the youngest team in MLB (26.5); no players on their current Roster Resource page are 31 or older. When you look at it that way, it's rather impressive that this team managed to win 79 games in a division that had two playoff teams. What's interesting is that just 3 of the 26 projected players (as of late October) were drafted by the Marlins. The vast majority were acquired via trade, with a few signed as International Free Agents.
This team is an interesting collection of talent. The Marlins typically build their lineup around contact and speed, but they have made a concerted effort to add players with power. Kyle Stowers led the Marlins in home runs (25) in 2025 despite being injured for a large portion of the second half with an oblique strain. Agustin Ramirez has plenty of pop, along with players like Griffin Conine and Heriberto Hernandez. Their typical player prototype lives on, as the slash-and-dash profile is represented in players like Xavier Edwards, Otto Lopez, and Jacob Marsee.
The Marlins have always been strong developers of pitching, and their staff – as it stands this offseason – could have playoff-caliber upside if everything falls into place. The rotation is led by 2022 NL Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara, who returned from Tommy John and started to look a lot more like himself in the second half. The Marlins decided not to trade Alcantara or his rotation mate, Edward Cabrera, at the deadline, opting to keep them (at least into the offseason). Cabrera flashed elite upside, but also showed inconsistency, which certainly frustrated his dynasty managers. The rotation is filled out by a phenom who also returned from injury, Eury Perez, and Ryan Weathers, who started strong but ran into an injury of his own.
The farm system is in pretty good shape with plenty of intriguing players. Most of the top-end talent is on the pitching side, with Thomas White and Robby Snelling leading the way. These two lefties should see time in Miami in mid to late 2026 and be stalwarts in this rotation for years to come. Aiva Arquette, their 2025 first-round pick, is an interesting bat who could move quickly. There are several other prospects of note for dynasty listed in this article who could help your roster.
This team is headed in the right direction and could contend for the playoffs as soon as 2026, and with some good fortune, make a lengthy run in the not-too-distant future.
Thomas White? Good luck. Robby Snelling? You might be able to jump on if you catch a GM who wasn’t paying attention for all of 2025. But Karson Milbrandt sure looks like the next-best pitching prospect in line, and his strikeout upside is on the rise after taking some time to marinate in the lower minors. In ‘25, Milbrandt’s K% shot up to 30 percent over 77 IP at High-A, and it’s been even higher at the Arizona Fall League so far. Even more exciting is the fact that Karson Milbrandt got hotter as the season went on. If you’re looking for risk factors, there are somewhat concerning command issues that crop up from time to time. But for a 21-year-old who finished the year crushing Double-A, there’s plenty of reason to believe he can improve within a strong Marlins’ pitching organization - and at his current cost, Milbrandt is an easy buy.
Kemp Alderman
Alderman just hit 22 homers in 130 games while registering a 23% K rate. That’s it. That’s the pitch. In all seriousness, scouts considered Alderman’s raw power to be off the charts, but the combination of the Marlins’ historically poor hitting development program and an already sketchy hit tool caused many to forget about this 6’2 235 lb beast. Alderman may never be an OBP asset, but it’s starting to look like he can make enough contact to hold a job in MLB, and more importantly, routinely mash 20+ homers for dynasty GMs. If he can become a full-timer long term, it wouldn’t be surprising to see this specimen smack 30+ yard-bombs one day, and his cannon arm should keep him in the outfield and away from taking up the DH spot. There’s more buzz than there was last year, but the price tag is still nowhere near where it will be once Kemp Alderman enters the bigs and starts cracking highlight reel swings.
Dynasty Sells
Max Meyer/Noble Meyer
Grouping together Noble and Max Meyer (no relation) makes sense, as it seems like both carry some reliever “risk”, albeit for different reasons. Max has flashed significant upside, but his slider-only approach was doomed to failure in its 2025 state. If he’s unable to build out a complementary arsenal, Max Meyer could be a shutdown reliever - but maybe someone is willing to pay more in a dynasty league if you sell him as a high-upside starter? On the other hand, Noble Meyer is much younger with a deeper set of pitches, but doesn’t seem to be able to command them very well at all. His stuff is clearly nasty, and while he’s technically got plenty of time to figure it out, the Marlins’ rotation could end up so deep that it makes more sense to get him up to the bigs in a high-leverage reliever role. In deeper dynasties that still carries a lot of value, but perhaps you could sell some of his brand-name value as an SP this offseason.
Connor Norby
Norby has some hype to his name dating back to his days in the Orioles’ once-shining farm system, but it’s unclear if he can stick around as more than a utility man in major league baseball. He doesn’t hit for a ton of power or contact, but could deliver a few 12-15 HR/12-15 SB seasons with a .250 average if he can carve out enough playing time - a big “if” considering some of the talent on the way in Miami. Those kinds of numbers are useful in deeper dynasty formats, but it’s not exactly the kind of upside you’re looking for. Certainly worth shopping to see if someone thinks Connor Norby can reach the potential he once flashed in MiLB!
Top Fantasy Prospects
Players are in order of their fantasy prospect ranking from our September end of season list.
There's a pretty good argument to be made that Thomas White is the best non-debuted pitching prospect in baseball, and the big lefty out of Massachusetts has given us plenty of reasons to buy into the hype. For starters, he casually put on 30 pounds of muscle last year, upping his listed size from 6'5 210 lbs to 6'5 240 lbs without much hullabaloo behind the impressive feat. Beyond that, White delivered a 39% K rate on the year, resulting in a tidy 2.31 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP for the back of the baseball card. His arsenal features an upper-90s heater and a nasty slider that has turned into more of a sweeper lately, and a changeup that would probably be more discussed if the first two offerings didn't dominate the way they do. The Marlins have an embarrassment of riches at the SP position, and Thomas White might even challenge Eury Perez as the staff ace one day if everything goes perfectly. If there's one thing to monitor, it's that he hasn't registered a walk rate south of 10% since crushing High-A in 2024...but again, this is a young man who just dominated as a 20-year-old in 2025, and should challenge for a rotation spot at some point in '26. The sky is the limit! - Darren Eisenhauer
If Robby Snelling were a pitching prospect in almost any other organization, one could imagine there'd be a lot more hype around his dynasty status. It's almost as if the Marlins are *too* good at developing arms that there's an oversaturation effect, but it's also worth noting that Snelling wasn't always under-appreciated. As a Padres prospect, Snelling was ranked near the top of SP prospect lists in 2023, but 2024 was an awful season, during which he saw a decrease in strikeouts and command of his arsenal —not a great development for a crafty lefty. But in 2025, with increased velocity, the production returned to dominant status: 2.51 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 30% K rate, 7% BB rate... all as a 21-year-old in the upper minors. In fact, he got even better as the season went on in AAA, something worth noting now that he is on the doorstep of his MLB debut. The 6'3 210 lb lefty was once an elite linebacker in football, and seems to have the kind of durable profile to deliver 150+ innings on a regular basis in the bigs. There's a shot Snelling could earn a rotation spot out of camp depending on other arms' health and performance, making him a high-value dynasty prospect in both upside and proximity. - Darren Eisenhauer
Arquette, the Marlins’ seventh-overall pick from Oregon State University, earned this selection on the back of his exceptional junior campaign in Corvallis, slashing .354/.461/.654 with 16.5% K and 12.6% BB alongside 19 HR and 7 steals. The Fish popped Arquette into High-A for a 27-game stint after he was selected, and he doubled his yearly steals total, swiping seven more bags as a pro. The walk rate held steady from NCAA to High-A, though his strikeouts elevated – both can be attributed to the smaller sample size for the moment, though. Arquette is a dynamic, athletic shortstop who does a little bit of everything well on the field, and while OOPSY bases his peak projections on professional data, I feel he will all but dwarf the 600-PA projections to more closely resemble his form at OSU. The Hawaiian is likely one of the quickest to the majors from the 2025 Draft Class and, with very little standing in his way in the infield, might lock down a position in Miami for the better part of a decade, whether he shifts from shortstop or not. The team ranked Arquette 60th of all prospects at the end of 2025, and he is a comfortable roster in leagues with any prospect component whatsoever. Look for an early 2027 debut, but anything sooner would be a welcome surprise. - Drew Wheeler
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
Director of Dynasty Content - Canadian born and raised, moved to Arkansas with my wife and two sons Ezra and Ari. Followed and played baseball my whole life; played dynasty for 25+ years.
