Regularly ranked in the upper tier of farm systems, Miami’s crop of minor leaguers is legit. They’ve got six prospects ranked within MLB.com’s top 100 prospects list (tied for first) and five in Baseball America’s top 100. You’ll find names like Edward Cabrera and Max Meyer in the conversation for the 2022 season’s NL Rookie of the Year award. Teenagers Eury Perez and Kahlil Watson are a couple years from pro-ball, but their potential and loud tools speak for themselves.
The casual fan though, maybe even the casual marlins fan, when you mention the name Griffin Conine, they’ll respond, “You mean Jeff? He played in the 90’s dude.” Uh… right.
Which is precisely the need to take a deep dive every so often into the guys less spoken about. Of course, each team has their share of under-the-radar guys. Ever heard of Randy Arozarena? He was the #15 prospect for St. Louis in 2017. Adam Frazier? The Mariners shiny new second baseman? #27 in Pittsburgh’s system in 2016. How about the 2012 Rockies’ #13 prospect Charlie Blackmon? The list goes on and on.
Here are two lesser known youngsters in Miami’s farm that could make a big-league impact in a few short years.
Victor Mesa Jr., OF, Beloit Sky Carp
The now 20-year-old was originally the counterpart, or throw in piece, in a deal that inked both him and his older brother, Victor Victor, out of Cuba in October of 2018. Now easily surpassing his senior, Mesa Jr. finds himself at #14 in Miami’s system on MLB Pipeline’s team-prospect rankings. His season in Low-A ball last year concluded with numbers that are, well, solid at best. He slashed .266/.316/.402 with 5 longballs and 21 doubles. So why am I so high on him you ask? You see, being only 47 games into his minor league career (all rookie ball) after the 2019 season, Mesa Jr. was rightfully left out to dry during the canceled minor league season in 2020. Yes, his final numbers are nothing to salivate over, but if you take a look at his month by month progression over the 2021 season, you’ll have an easier time hopping on the bandwagon. His batting average jumped by at least .019 every month, and finished his final month, September, posting a cool SLG% of .516. His extremely smooth lefty swing frequently registers exit velocities of 100+ MPH, and has an advanced recognition of the strike zone. A drop more loft in his swing and little bulk will help him advance quickly through Miami’s system.
Paul Mcintosh, C, Pensacola Blue Wahoos (AA)
Standing at 6-1 and 220 pounds, McIntosh certainly looks the part of a big league power-hitter. Truthfully, the biggest detriment to Pmac’s resume is his lack thereof. He’s unranked on all platforms and is really just an unknown case. McIntosh really struggled out of the gate offensively in Low-A Jupiter. He had 2 more strikeouts than hits in August, his first taste of Minor League ball. But McIntosh adjusted quickly and began absolutely torching baseballs with his incredible strength. He concluded September slashing .318/.474/.773, with ten of his eleven hits being of the extra base variety. Beginning this year with Miami’s AA squad, the 24-year-old has done nothing but impress in his first seven games (14-28, 4 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR). Whether they like it or not, sooner or later the baseball world will come around to seeing Paul McIntosh as a legitimate prospect.
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