This 18-Year-Old Marlins Prospect Enjoyed Standout Second Season in DSL
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The Miami Marlins have been known to have many notable younger prospects in the lower levels of the minor leagues. Standout players like Starlyn Caba who’s been excelling in the AFL and even bats like Luis Cova down in the DSL have continued to make headlines.
One prospect out of the crop in the Dominican Summer League that seems to be going very overlooked is 18-year-old catcher Almen Tolentino. A native of the Dominican Republic, after playing in 20 DSL games in 2024, he broke out in a massive way in 2025.
A left handed hitting catcher, Tolentino slashed .301/.446/.532 in 47 games this season. A vast improvement from his 2024 slashline that saw him post a .080 batting average and an OPS of just .453.
Almen Tolentino is a name to watch after torching DSL pitching this year.
— Kick Dirt Baseball (@KickDirtBB) August 29, 2025
The 18-year-old posted a .301/.446/.532 line with 6 HR, 20 SB, much improved contact rates, and a 1.00 BB/K.
Defense behind the plate has a long way to go, but he’s in a good org to develop there. pic.twitter.com/42pbt63N5H
Throughout both seasons in the DSL, Tolentino has displayed an intriguing package of speed and power. While he didn’t hit a single home run in his 2024 campaign, he would tally six across the 47-game stretch in 2025.
He’s been consistent in the realm of stolen bases, swiping 13 in 2024 to then take 20 more bags in 2025. At 6-foot-1 and 160 pounds, there should be room for the frame to develop more, and it’ll be interesting to see if the stolen base production continues as a result.
As he continues to add on size and receive professional coaching, Tolentino’s power ceiling should only continue to rise, and there’s underlying batted ball data from this season that proves that.
A vast majority of Tolentino’s batted balls were for fly-ball contact this season (45.8%). He was a very pull-heavy hitter in 2025 as well, with a 60.3% Pull%. If Tolentino can continue to pull fly-balls at an effective rate, it should only result in more homers for him each year.
A pull-heavy profile to this degree can be concerning if the plate discipline wasn’t there. However, in the case of Tolentino, this couldn’t be further from the truth. He had an even 1.00 BB/K ratio in 2025, striking out and walking at a 16.7% clip.
He was a far less aggressive hitter in his second DSL season, and being more selective allowed him to not only get on base more but also make contact at a more efficient rate while getting ahead of counts early.
With a young core at the Major League level that features standout bats like Kyle Stowers, Jakob Marsee, Xavier Edwards, and others, having prospects in the lower minor league levels like Tolentino to follow makes the future for Miami even more exciting.
