A Deep Dive into the Draft History of the Miami Marlins
The Miami Marlins began play in 1993. Over the course of their draft history, what stands out? What have they done well? What have they not done well?
OVERVIEW
For this project, all the necessary data was taken from Baseball-Reference. With the help of Microsoft Excel and Python, this project was made possible. The purpose of this project was to look at the draft history for every MLB franchise since the implementation of MLB’s Rule 4 Draft (1965). More specifically, the following research highlights what certain teams do well and not so well. The goal was to break down the data as much as possible to deliver an explanation of why certain teams have drafted a certain way. For Part 1 of this project, I am highlighting the Miami Marlins. Note: No statistics from the 2022 season have been incorporated into this analysis.
BACKGROUND
The Miami Marlins began play in 1993 as one of MLB’s new expansion teams. Since their inception, they have been a part of the National League East. Prior to becoming the Miami Marlins, the team was known as the Florida Marlins. During this era, the Marlins played at Sun Life Stadium until 2011 and made the playoffs in two seasons, 1997 and 2003. In both of those playoff-clinching seasons, the Marlins won the World Series. In 2012, the Florida Marlins rebranded to the Miami Marlins and moved to what is now known as Loan Depot Park. In this era, the team has made the playoffs once back in 2020. The team’s majority owner is Bruce Sherman, the GM is Kim Ng, and the manager is Don Mattingly.
DRAFT HISTORY
With the Marlins beginning play in 1993, the Marlins partook in an expansion draft to fill out their team for their inaugural season. Before their inaugural season, the Marlins participated in their first, first-year player draft where they took Charles Johnson out of the University of Miami. This pick proved to be quite successful as Johnson managed to have an all-star-worthy career. Of all the players drafted in Marlins history up to this point, Johnson ranks ninth in WAR (22.6). Johnson played seven seasons with the Marlins where he racked up 75 home runs and 277 runs batted in to go along with a .241 batting average.
Being that the Marlins are one of the newer franchises in MLB, some of their data has them skewed one way or another. Nevertheless, there is still some data that can be used to identify what the Marlins have done well and not so well when looking at 30+ years of their drafts. Compared to the other 29 clubs, the Marlins rank dead last in the percentage of drafted players getting to MLB. While part of that is due to a smaller number of total players drafted, it does reveal that the team may be lacking at not only evaluating talent but getting that talent to the big leagues. Keep in mind, it is an extremely complicated process to seek out talent and hope that they pay off. For reference, the club with the highest percentage of drafted players to MLB is the Boston Red Sox (16.92%). We often see players that are drafted for one team never play for that same team. For the Marlins, 60% of the players they drafted who made it to MLB appeared in a Marlins uniform at some point in their career. To date, the most successful general manager in Marlins history has been Larry Beinfest (2002-2007). Some of his top picks include Giancarlo Stanton (43.6 WAR), Josh Johnson (24.3 WAR), and Charlie Blackmon (18.7 WAR). To date, the least successful GM in Marlins history has been Dave Dombrowski (1992-2001). While he had some great picks in Adrian Gonzalez (43.5 WAR) and Josh Beckett (35.7 WAR), he had many picks within the top five rounds that did not work out (Jaime Jones in ’95 and Aaron Akin in ’97). Beyond just finding ordinary MLB talent, the Marlins have been able to find guys that have had great careers with major impacts on the sport. The Marlins have had 18 different drafted players make at least one All-Star Game. Adrian Gonzalez leads the way with five, despite none of those coming with the Marlins. In addition, they also drafted Cliff Lee who won a Cy Young Award (never played for the Marlins), and Giancarlo Stanton who is one of two drafted players who have won an MVP (the other is Christian Yelich). Stanton won his MVP while playing for the Marlins in 2017.
JDR METRIC
So what is the JDR Metric? It is a system I developed that grades out each MLB team’s draft profile over the years. I performed 90 different calculations that highlight the success rates of teams at certain positions, the number of all-star caliber players found on a team, and many others. For each metric, a team can earn up to five points. A five means that a team is in the top 20% of the league while a one means that a team is in the bottom 20% of the league. After I went through each metric, I totaled up the points and stacked each team against one another. For example, the Marlins success rate of drafting pitchers who would go on to make an appearance in a big-league game is 12.02%. That ranks dead last in MLB which gives the Marlins one point for this metric (See Image below).
The Marlins earned 192 points based on the JDR Metric. They are ranked 29th among all MLB teams. While the franchise is still relatively young, they have missed the mark in many of these metrics. Of all the drafted players who have gone on to the big leagues, their average WAR is 3.44. That is last in all of baseball (This earned the Marlins one point according to the JDR Metric). For context, the Boston Red Sox lead all MLB teams with an average WAR of 5.77 (This earned the Red Sox five points according to the JDR Metric). Whether it has been a pitcher or hitter, the Marlins have had little success in finding prospects who would become big-league players. Of the 694 hitters that the team has drafted, 9.94% have made it to the MLB (27th in MLB). Of the 757 pitchers that the team has drafted, 12.02% have made it to the MLB (30th in MLB). Despite most of these metrics not leaning in the Marlins favor, they have had success in some areas. First, the Marlins rank first in MLB in the percentage of catchers drafted within the early rounds of the draft that made the big leagues (1-10). Of the 28 catchers they have drafted in the early rounds, 12 have made the big leagues. An example is Charles Johnson (first round in 1992) who made his major league debut in 1994. In addition, the Marlins also rank first in MLB in the average WAR of drafted first basemen who have made the big leagues. Their ten drafted first basemen who made the big leagues average a WAR of 13.73. Giancarlo Stanton leads this bunch with a WAR of 43.6. Finally, the Marlins rank third in MLB in the percentage of drafted second basemen who have made the big leagues. Of their 45 drafted second baseman, seven have made the big leagues. Most notably, Brian Anderson who currently sports a 9.0 WAR.
DRAFT SUCCESS RATE OVER THE YEARS
TOP 3 DRAFTS
1. 2010 (24.49% MLB Rate)
Up to this point in Marlins history, the 2010 draft has produced the most MLB talent. The GM for this draft was Michael Hill, the Marlins third most successful GM (11.26%) in franchise history in terms of the percentage of players that would make it to MLB. This draft was highlighted by two players that would go on to be major pieces of the franchise. Christian Yelich who accumulated 17.5 WAR in five seasons with the team and JT Realmuto who accumulated 13.9 WAR in five seasons with the team. Ten other players from this draft have made it to the big leagues with the others having little to no impact with the Marlins and other franchises.
2. 2002 (21.28% MLB Rate)
The next best draft happened in 2002 when the GM was Larry Beinfest, the most successful GM in Marlins history (15.05%). A total of ten players reached the big leagues from this class. The most notable is Josh Johnson who accumulated 25.8 WAR in eight seasons with the team. He also turned in two All-Star appearances and an ERA title.
3. 2008 (20.41% MLB Rate)
The final most notable draft came in 2008 when the GM was Michael Hill. There were no franchise-altering talents out of this class but a handful of players who made a decent impact on the MLB stage. The most notable names wound up fortifying the bullpen. Brad Hand accumulated 0.4 WAR in five seasons with the team and Dan Jennings ccumulated 2.0 WAR in three seasons with the team.
BOTTOM 3 DRAFTS
1. 1992 (4.08% MLB Rate)
Despite this being the worst draft to date for the Marlins, it was their first one as a franchise and they also added an impact player in Charles Johnson with their first pick. He accumulated 11.7 WAR in seven seasons with the team. However, GM Dave Dombrowski (9.11% Success Rate Overall) whiffed on every other pick. None of the other players from this draft class touched a big-league field except Andy Larkin but he accumulated a -3.0 WAR in his short stint with the team.
2. 1998 (4.35% MLB Rate)
The argument can be made that the draft in 1998 was even worse as the two selections who made it to the MLB combined for a WAR of -0.1. One of those players never suited up for the franchise while the other struggled in his short MLB career. Dave Dombrowski struggled to find MLB talent once again within this class.
3. 2000 (4.44% MLB Rate)
Dave Dombrowski also orchestrated the 2000 Draft. One notable pick in this draft was Adrian Gonzalez. Gonzalez put together a strong MLB career by accumulating 43.5 WAR over his 15-year career. The only problem was he never suited up for the Marlins as he was traded prior to making his debut. The other selection that Dombrowski hit on was Josh Willingham as he accumulated 6.4 WAR in five years with the team. As for the other forty-three selections in this draft, none ever set foot on an MLB field. Despite Dombrowski having some poor showings in the draft, he constructed a team that would go on to win a World Series in 1997.
GM ANALYSIS
The current GM of the Miami Marlins is Kim Ng. Ng took over the team at the start of the 2021 season. Ng partook in her first draft as GM of the Marlins in 2021. In this draft, the Marlins had 21 selections in 20 rounds. With the first pick in the draft, Ng landed SS Kahlil Watson out of Wake Forest HS. This was the first of three high school players she would draft. All three high school players were drafted within the first three rounds. However, Ng’s first draft mostly consisted of college players. Seventeen of her twenty-one selections were college players from a 4Yr University. Ng drafted 10 pitchers and 11 hitters, a relatively even distribution. The results of this draft are to be determined while these prospects look to move up the ranks in the Marlins organization and hopefully carve out a nice big-league career one day.
Historically, each of the Marlins’ four previous GMs has had the same mindset as far as drafting mostly players from 4Yr Universities. However, Dave Dombrowski, the first GM in Marlins history has drafted more high school players (47.48% vs 34.06%) than any other Marlins GM.
DRAFTS BY POSITION
For each position, we will assess how the Marlins have fared compared to other teams in MLB using the pre-described metrics that consider WAR, percentage of players that reached MLB, school and state of the drafted player, and many others. It should be noted that many of these metrics will be skewed one way or another due to the varying lengths of each team’s tenure in the league. For each position, it is based on the position the player was initially drafted at.
PITCHERS
When looking at the pitching side of things, the Marlins have struggled to get their drafted pitchers to the MLB level as they sit in last with a 12.02% success rate. We do have to keep in mind that the Marlins have a much smaller sample size relative to other teams. For context, the Yankees have drafted the most pitchers in the draft era (1279) while the Marlins have drafted the fewest (757). Despite not being overly successful in drafting pitchers, the Marlins have still prioritized drafting pitchers early and often. Across their 30 drafts, 52.17% of their drafted players have been pitchers. One thing the Marlins have done well is they have found pitching talent in the middle of drafts (Rounds 11-30). Some examples include Tony Watson, Blake Treinen, and Charlie Blackmon. Compared to any other 4-Year University, the Marlins have looked to Texas A&M for the most pitching prospects. Unfortunately, of the seven pitchers drafted from this school, only one has made it to the big leagues and that player had a subpar career (Logan Kensing; -1 WAR). The most heavily targeted Junior Colleges have been Pima Community and Chaffey College. The team has been able to bring up one pitcher a piece from each of the schools but neither produced in the big leagues. Up to this point, the Marlins have drafted two all-star caliber or better pitchers (162-game average WAR must be >= 5). Josh Johnson (5 Avg. WAR) who turned in two All-Star appearances in eight seasons with the team and Jose Fernandez (5.8 Avg WAR) who turned in two All-Star appearances in four seasons with the team. Overall, in terms of WAR, the best pitcher the Marlins have drafted is Cliff Lee (43.2 WAR). However, when the team originally drafted him, he never signed and wound up putting together thirteen strong seasons for four other teams.
HITTERS
The Marlins have invested fewer draft picks on hitters. 47.38% of their draft picks have been spent on hitters. That ranks 28th among all MLB teams. Of all the hitters drafted, 9.94% of them have made it to the big leagues. That number is among the league’s worst albeit a small sample size. The Marlins have had the most success finding guys in the earlier rounds (1-10). Some of those notable picks include Christian Yelich (RD. 1), Adrian Gonzalez (RD. 1), and Charles Johnson (RD. 1). The Marlins look to offensive talent from California State University, Long Beach, their most heavily targeted 4-Year University. However, only one player drafted from that school has made it to MLB. Brad Davis, who played one season for the team (0.4 WAR). Their most heavily targeted Junior College has been the College of San Mateo. No drafted player from that school has made it to the big leagues. The Marlins have found one hitter that meets the criteria of an all-star caliber player (162 game average WAR >=5). Giancarlo Stanton played eight seasons with the Marlins and will go down as one of the best players to put on a Marlins uniform (5.3 Avg. WAR).
CATCHERS
For the catching position, the Marlins sit right in the middle of the pack with 11.36% of their drafted catchers getting to MLB. However, the team has only allotted 9.10% of its draft picks to catchers throughout its history. The Marlins have excelled at finding catching prospects in the earlier rounds (1-10). Half of their picks have made it to MLB. However, none has had a bigger impact than Charles Johnson (22.6 WAR). Johnson was part of the Marlins first World Series team in 1997. On the other hand, every catcher drafted in the middle rounds has failed to crack the big leagues (48). The team has looked to the University of Mississippi most frequently (3), but none have made it to the big leagues. No player has cracked the criteria for being an all-star caliber catcher. However, the one catcher that has cracked the “above average” criteria (162 game average WAR >= 2) is Charles Johnson (3.1 Avg. WAR).
FIRST BASEMEN
If there is one position that the Marlins have nailed on the head, it has been first base. For many of my metrics listed above, they are in the top half of the league. Even with all this success, the Marlins have not relied heavily on drafting first basemen from year to year. They have dedicated 4.48% of their draft picks to first basemen. However, 15.38% of their drafted first basemen have cracked the big leagues (ninth in MLB). The Marlins have found players in all parts of the draft and have been consistently successful. Some examples include Christian Yelich (RD. 1), Logan Morrison (RD. 22), and Adam LaRoche (RD. 42). The Marlins have turned to NC State the most when drafting the position. One player drafted from that school made it to the big leagues but had a very minimal impact (Aaron Bates, 0 WAR). The Marlins have drafted one “all-star” caliber player at the position (162 game average WAR >= 5). Giancarlo Stanton wound up playing OF in the big leagues (5.3 Avg. WAR). Stanton also goes down as the best first baseman drafted in terms of overall WAR (45.2).
SECOND BASEMEN
For second basemen, the trend continues as the Marlins have also allotted a small percentage of their total draft picks to this position (3.10%). However, of the second basemen they have drafted, many have reached the big leagues (15.56%). That mark is good for third in MLB. The Marlins top all teams in MLB with a high mark of 20% when it comes to finding success in the later rounds (31-100). One of those players was Dave Berg (RD. 38) who accumulated a 1.1 WAR in four seasons with the team. Just like other positions, the Marlins look to California-based High Schools for most of their draft picks. However, none of the four players drafted from these schools ever cracked the big leagues. The team has not produced any “all-star” caliber players, but they have one “above average” player. Brian Anderson (3.4 Avg WAR) has been the best at this position despite him moving around the diamond throughout his current tenure with the team.
THIRD BASEMEN
The Marlins have allocated a small percentage of their total draft picks to the hot corner. They sit towards the bottom of the league (4.41%). They also sit towards the bottom of the league in drafted third basemen who have cracked the big leagues (9.38%). One positive when drafting this position has been the team’s ability to hit on third basemen early in the draft. The same cannot be said for the rest of the draft as they have yet to hit on a third baseman post-round eleven. Some of the guys they have found in the earlier rounds include Chris Coghlan (RD. 1) and Colin Moran (RD. 1). The Marlins have not drafted a third baseman who meets the criteria of “above average” or higher. They have invested heavily in prospects that come from high schools in California. However, only one of the five prospects drafted from these schools has landed themselves on a big-league field. Matt Dominguez played in one season for the team. He along with Brett Carroll are tied for the most accumulated WAR (1.2) but both had a very minimal impact in MLB.
SHORTSTOPS
For the shortstop position, the Marlins lag the rest of the league as they have the fewest number of drafted shortstops who have cracked the big leagues (6.77%). There are very few positives surrounding the draft history of this position as the team also ranks in the lower third of the league in success rate within every part of the draft. However, the one positive has been the selection of JT Realmuto in the third round of the 2010 draft. While Realmuto is no longer with the team, he made a significant impact as a catcher (his present position) in five seasons with the team (13.9 WAR w/ Marlins). Realmuto is currently the top player drafted at this position for the Marlins. Elsewhere, the Marlins have drafted the most shortstop products out of Lewis-Clark State College (4YR) and Compton Community College (JC). All those players were drafted in the middle rounds but so far, none have been able to crack a big-league roster. While no players meet the criteria for “all-star” caliber, three players meet the criteria for “above-average.” JT Realmuto (4.4 Avg. WAR), Austin Nola (2.8 Avg. WAR), and Josh Willingham (2.7 Avg. WAR).
OUTFIELDERS
Finally, the outfield position which profiles as the most drafted position behind only pitchers. Once again, the Marlins have struggled to draft players who wound up making it to the big leagues as they rank towards the bottom of the league in the percentage of drafted outfielders in MLB (8.63%). The Marlins have had some success in the earlier rounds as they have found players such as Randy Winn (27.5 WAR), Mark Kotsay (21.3), and Mark Canha (10.3 WAR). However, Canha and Winn never put on a Marlins uniform. The Marlins have also turned to prospects out of high schools in California the most (17). But only two of those prospects have reached MLB. Neither of those players had an impact on MLB. Up to this point, there have not been any “all-star” caliber players drafted at this position, but there are two “above-average” players. Mark Canha (2.6 Avg. WAR) and Randy Winn (2.6 Avg. WAR). Winn also profiles as the best player drafted at this position in terms of WAR.
MOST LIKELY TO BE SELECTED
This section of data looks at which position has been drafted most frequently by the Marlins over the course of their draft history. The goal is to identify trends over the past few years and better understand what the team’s strategy is going into each draft. To determine which position has been selected the most, all the defensive positions (1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, C) were grouped into one bucket called “hitters” and they were compared to the number of pitchers. If the “hitters” category outweighed the pitcher’s category, the defensive position with the highest number of draft picks in a given round was declared the position “most likely to be selected.” We will look at rounds 1-30.
For the first ten rounds, the Marlins lean towards drafting pitchers, but it is clear they prefer to go offense in the first four rounds. Since the 2015 draft, the Marlins have prioritized offense in the first round with seven hitters being taken within those ten first-round picks. From 2008-2014, the Marlins took more pitchers than hitters in their nine first-round picks (5-4). This goes hand in hand with the fact that in recent years the team has been looking for additional firepower on offense as opposed to previous years where the focus was adding more pitching firepower. Since 2015, the Marlins have lived off drafting pitchers within the fifth round. Six of their seven picks were pitchers. From 2008-2014, the team was split more down the middle. It should also be noted that between these two time periods was a shift in the GM spot from Dan Jennings to Michael Hill which could be a reason for this development.
For the next ten rounds in the draft, the Marlins also tend to lean heavily towards the pitching side of things. From round five until round fourteen, the Marlins find more value in selecting pitchers. With the current strategy in place in these rounds, the Marlins have not had a ton of success in finding pitchers that could make an impact with the big-league club. Tom Koehler, who was drafted in the 18th round currently has the highest WAR (2.2) among pitchers selected in rounds 11-20. On the other hand, for round seventeen where shortstop has been the most drafted position, they have been able to find some success. Josh Willingham, who was drafted in the 17th round accumulated a WAR of 18.9 throughout his career.
For the final ten rounds that were put under the microscope (21-30), the common theme of pitchers being the most drafted position continues as nine of the ten rounds include a pitcher to some degree. For round twenty-one which is the only round that is primarily focused on offense, none of the selections that qualify as either a second baseman or outfielder have made an MLB team. One trend that can be taken away from round twenty-one is that while the offense has been the primary focus in five of the last six drafts, three of those picks have been shortstops. Of all the rounds in this range, round twenty-five leans the heaviest towards pitchers (18-10). Two of the pitchers drafted in this round have made MLB but neither has had an impact in the league (Both with WARs less than 0).
FINDING VALUE IN DRAFTS
When looking at all the Marlins draft picks throughout their history, it is easy to just say that they had a successful draft if the bulk of their picks eventually reached the big leagues. However, if that player never has a significant impact at the big-league level with the team that drafted him, that draft pick will not look as good. So, my goal was to find out how many and which draft picks returned “value.” To be classified as a “value” pick, I gathered data from every team in every draft and looked more specifically at each draft slot. Then, I calculated the average WAR of all the players from that slot that made it to MLB. If a player’s career WAR exceeded the average WAR, it got classified as a “value” pick. For example, the average WAR for the first pick in the first round is 19.35. Adrian Gonzalez, the first pick in the 2000 MLB Draft accumulated a WAR of 43.5 classifying him as a value pick. For the Marlins, I am focusing on the first ten rounds to determine which round added the most value to the club and which players created that additional value.
When looking at the first ten rounds of Marlins draft data, they have found the most value in round one with six of their thirty-nine picks being classified as a value pick (15.38%). The next closest is in round eight where they have found value in three of their twenty-nine picks (10.34%). Within the first round, the Marlins have found the most value at the nine slot, a place they have picked two times in franchise history. One of those selections turned into a value pick. Mark Kotsay was the ninth overall pick in the 1996 MLB Draft. He accumulated a WAR of 21.3 in 17 seasons (Four with the Marlins) which exceeds the average WAR at that draft slot (8.31). In his four seasons with the Marlins, Kotsay accumulated 6.88 WAR (third among all the teams he played for). Some of the other notable picks in the first round who have been deemed value picks include Jose Fernandez (14.2 WAR), Charles Johnson (22.6 WAR), and Josh Beckett (35.7 WAR). Below are the players who have created the most value for the Marlins in draft history (within the first ten rounds).
To determine which players have created the most value as draft picks for the Marlins, I took their accumulated WAR throughout their career (some still in progress) and subtracted out the average WAR for the slot they were taken in. The players who earned a spot on this list were drafted within the first ten rounds. Giancarlo Stanton, who was drafted in the second round of the 2007 draft has created the most value among all Marlins draft picks within this range. In eight years with the team, Stanton accumulated 35.7 WAR, 1 MVP, and 4 All-Star game appearances. Elsewhere on this list, Cliff Lee had the least amount of draft capital used on him as he was an eighth-round pick in the 1997 Draft. However, Lee would never put on a Marlins jersey and left a strong impact on four other franchises. Randy Winn is the other name on this list who never suited up for the Marlins.
Conclusion
1 Thing They Do Well
Unfortunately for the Marlins, they have not done a ton of things well throughout their draft history, but we still must remember they have been around for a shorter period relative to other franchises. When looking at the numbers, the Marlins have had some relative success drafting players designated as first baseman. Yes, there are not many first basemen drafted to begin with but still, the Marlins have found some decent players that have turned into something. Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich were drafted as first basemen and are now outfielders. Outfielders who not only left a strong impact on the Marlins organization but on the other teams they have been with as well. The other notable name is Adrian Gonzalez. Like it was touched on before, Gonzalez never played a game in a Marlins uniform but based on my model, the Marlins get some of the credit for making this selection. Finally, it needs to be stressed once again that drafting a player is only one piece of the puzzle. For the Marlins, they have shown the ability to develop their in-house talent and get them to be impactful players at the big-league level.
1 Thing They Don’t Do Well
As far as what the Marlins do not do as well, they seem to have struggled, relative to other teams, in drafting shortstops and outfielders. This is concerning because these are two positions that are heavily sought after coming into drafts. These are the best athletes within the draft which gives organizations the flexibility to move them around as they develop. While the Marlins have drafted and developed a few players at these positions such as Mark Kotsay, JT Realmuto, and Randy Winn, it has been a swing and miss overall. Within the first five rounds of the draft throughout their history, the team has whiffed on nine players at this position. This is not unreasonable for a newer franchise, but it has cost the team hence why they rank so low compared to others around the league. How can the Marlins potentially correct this? It starts with how they evaluate these prospects. While the exact answer is unknown, my estimation would be that the team is looking for specific traits in guys at these positions. A potential shift in philosophy could help in being more successful. Or the problem could lie within the player development department. Is the organization giving its prospects enough resources to make the big jump?
Predictions Going Forward
When making predictions about future MLB Drafts, many variables must be taken into consideration since a team could go into a draft with varying philosophies from year to year. For the Marlins, pitching has been a priority like it should be. However, while I do believe a plethora of draft capital will be spent on pitching, I expect several early-round picks to be used on the offense. Currently, the Marlins have a deep pool of pitchers within their organization. The same cannot be said for hitters. Of the hitters drafted, I expect many to be coming out of college as the team will look to get these prospects up to the big leagues as soon as possible to maximize the window to be a contender. In addition, while the Marlins remain at the bottom of the league in terms of draft success, I could see them moving into the middle of the pack soon. When this franchise was born, having an optimal draft was hard to come by. But as the organization continues to mature, things are looking a little brighter. For example, the average draft success rate from 1992-2003 was 9.82% while the average draft success rate from 2004-2015 was 14.87%. A clear change in the Marlins ability to get more out of each draft.
Final Thoughts
Despite the Marlins ranking towards the bottom of the league in terms of the JDR Metric, they have something that other teams above them do not. Teams such as the Padres, Rockies, and Rangers are better overall drafters but have failed to bring home a World Series. While a great draft is only part of the puzzle, the Marlins have exceeded in other departments resulting in them winning 2 World Series titles thus far (1997 and 2003). No team is going to ever get each pick in each draft correct. It is all about maximizing the resources you have to pick the prospect that best fits your organization and hope that he develops into a big-league contributor.