I like the move. We have a lot of arms for the pen next year including several lefties. I cant see us having more than 3 lefties in the pen unless we have a lefty closer. Krol/Minter/Paco Rodriguez are the lefties I think we start 2017 with in the pen. Marksberry being the 4th option if need be. Heres what I have found about the 2 we are getting.
8. Anfernee Seymour, ss
Seymour already had the ability to be a game-changer with his legs, but he’s starting to get some feel to hit as well at low Class A. He has well-below average power, but he makes enough contact and can leg out hits with his top-scale speed. He’s a decent defender at short, but the Marlins plan to give him some reps at second base.
DR (East Coast): Any words on Anfernee Seymour? Seems to have game breaking speed and a solid hit tool.
Vincent Lara-Cinisomo: Yes, Seymour got a lot of late consideration for the top 10 because of that top-of-the-scale speed. The hit tool is a question, as is the eventual position. They’d love to see Anfernee stay in the dirt, but he might ultimately best be served as a utility player whose ‘disruptive speed’ as one scout put it could cause problems for opponents.
Llanes said Seymour was the fastest high school player in the 2014 draft, and scouting director Stan Meek said the shortstop ran the 60-yard dash in 6.14 seconds, which is the best he has ever timed.
“He has a long way to go,” Llanes said of Seymour, 20, who spent the season at short-season Batavia. “But he’s further ahead than what I thought two years ago.”
Born in the Bahamas, Seymour played his junior year of high school at American Heritage High in Delray Beach, Fla.
As a senior, he played for a Delray Beach baseball academy called Elev8, which is run by former major league infielder Luis Alicea.
A righthanded-hitting center fielder back then, Seymour signed with the Marlins for $400,000 and became a switch-hitting shortstop.
At 5-foot-11, 165 pounds, he doesn’t project to have much power. He hit .273/.338/.349 in 64 games this season and ranked second in the New York-Penn League with 29 steals.
Batavia manager Angel Espada said Seymour is “very smart” and has made huge strides from the start of the season.
Espada said Seymour, who bats leadoff, has the green light to run any time he wants, but the two of them talk often about the best counts on which to turn it loose.
“He steals most of his bases on pure speed,” Espada said, “but he has the work ethic and willingness to study pitchers’ moves.”
Defensively, Seymour works on his “internal clock,” knowing the runner and how much time he has to make a play. For now, Seymour has a tendency to rush throws and over-run grounders.
2015 scouting report
10) Michael Mader, LHP, Grade C+: Age 21, second round pick out of Chipola Junior College, posted 2.00 ERA with 28/16 K/BB in 45 innings in New York-Penn League. Another low-90s arm, sometimes faster, good curveball, other pitches need work, a fact reflected in low strikeout rate to this point. That said, he may have more broad-based potential than any pitcher in the system not named Kolek.
13. Michael Mader, LHP Video: Mader took a big step forward this year with his velocity jumping from the upper 80’s to the low 90’s and hitting 95 mph. He also flashed an above average curveball and changeup with the command to start, but would only show one or two of those four elements in any one start. Mader’s velocity was 88-91 in some starts with the diminished arm speed giving him a fringy curveball while when he pitched 91-94, hitting 95 mph, the pitch may flash plus. His changeup is a third pitch and is mostly around average, but flashes slightly above.
8. Michael Mader LHP: The Marlins picked Mader up in the 3rd round in the 2014 Draft, and loved his makeup and projectability. Mader has the potential to be a 3-5 starter in the future, with three above average offerings: fastball, changeup and curveball.
The 20 year-old was lights out in 12 starts for the Single A Batavia Muckdogs last year, posting a 2.00 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and .199 opponent’s batting average. Mader isn’t a typical strikeout pitcher, though he does have the ability to K any batter. He’ll likely start in the upper ranks of Single A to start 2015.
