Marlins Sitting on Intriguing, Late-Round Pitching Prospect Entering 2026
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The Miami Marlins went the college route for their 2025 MLB draft class. Within the top-end of the draft, they selected standout bats such as Aiva Arquette, Cam Cannarella, and Brandon Compton. The picks that go more overlooked among the class, were the crop of arms they selected.
One late-round selection stands out slightly more than the rest. In the 16th round, the Marlins went on to select left-hander RJ Shunck, a bullpen arm that spent three seasons pitching for Toledo.
On paper, Shunck is about as intriguing as a left-handed pitching prospect could get. Standing tall at 6-foot-7, with an athletic 235-pound frame, the southpaw has all the physical attributes needed to develop into one of Miami's top pitching prospects.
DREAM COME TRUE@ToledoBaseball pitcher RJ Shunck is headed to Miami after @Marlins selected the Evergreen (@EHS_Vikes) alum in the 16th round of the MLB Draft
— Nicole Weaving (@NicoleWeavingTV) July 19, 2025
Shunck planned to return for one more season as a Rocket until he was offered this path to the pros... pic.twitter.com/SnjFB7ZLMx
When looking at the arms in their MLB Pipeline top 30, the Marlins have tall left-handers like Thomas White, Robby Snelling, Dax Fulton, and Nate Payne. Shunck could be next to join that group of names.
Turning 22 years old on New Year's Eve, he'll still be on the younger side as a college arm that's already debuted.
Shunck started his collegiate career at Toledo with appearing in 12 games in both of his two seasons. In his freshman season, he'd make six starts out of those 12 games, striking out nearly 25% of his batters, but also walking them at a 21% rate.
In his sophomore season, Shunck would take a big step forward, while starting in nine games of his 12 appearances. He managed to not only raise his strikeout rate north of 27%, while bumping his walk rate down to one just south of 17%.
While the walks were certainly still inflated, it was a big step in the right direction heading into his draft eligible season. As a junior, he went back to a role being primarily out of the bullpen, appearing in 19 games, while only starting three.
He'd maintain a strikeout rate over 25%, and would lower the walk rate to 12.7%. He now managed to show he can keep striking out batters at a high level, while improving on his overall control. This was good enough to earn him the selection from Miami in the 16th round of the 2025 draft.
𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐃 🚀
— Toledo Baseball (@ToledoBaseball) July 14, 2025
Left-handed pitcher RJ Shunck has been selected by the Miami Marlins in the 16th round of the MLB Draft!
📰 https://t.co/ezWqjwm3LG#TeamToledo | @Marlins pic.twitter.com/pMadYj0PzS
Shunck made his professional debut, and pitched 6.2 innings between Low-A and High-A. He'd record nine strikeouts and five walks, showing that albeit only six appearances, control at the professional level will still be something to monitor closely.
There's potential with Shunck, and in a system that's developed lefties well, he should be able to develop and hit his ceiling as a professional.
