Thomas White on Doorstep of Marlins MLB Promotion Thanks to This Stat
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The Miami Marlins have one of the best pitching prospects in baseball in left-hander Thomas White and he’s closing in on the Majors.
According to MLB Pipeline, he is the Marlins’ No. 1 prospect and the No. 22 prospect in baseball. He just turned 21 and he’s coming off the best season of his minor league career, one that saw him play for three different affiliates.
With High-A Beloit, Double-A Pensacola and Triple-A Jacksonville, he went 4-3 with a 2.31 ERA in 21 games, all starts. He allowed just 25 runs (23 earned) in 89.2 innings. He struck out 145 and walked 51 and allowed batters to hit a career-best .174 against him. He also had a career-low 1.18 WHIP.
But one number stood out last season, one that gives Marlins fans a glimpse of the pitcher he could be when he reaches the Majors, perhaps as early as 2026.
Thomas White’s Big Number
Thomas White for the Marlins' system:
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) December 17, 2025
🌟 No. 1 prospect
💪 Best Slider
⚾ Best changeup pic.twitter.com/6zr4hpgAH4
Recently, MLB.com published a piece that highlighted a key statistic for a key prospect in each organization. For the Marlins, their analysts focused on White for several reasons, one of which is his high strikeout rate.
Last season, White struck out 14.6 hitters per nine innings. MLB.com wrote that he was the only left-hander in the minor leagues that pitched at least 80 innings and have that high a strikeout rate. The only minor league pitcher that had a higher rate was Toronto right-hander Trey Yesavage at 14.9 K/9. He pitched all the way from Class-A Dunedin to the World Series. But he was a polished college prospect. White is 21 and straight out of high school.
White’s walk rate, and more experience at Triple-A, are the two things standing in the way of him and a MLB call-up. He only started two games at Jacksonville last season, so it’s likely he’ll start the season there unless he pitches his way onto the staff in spring training. As for the walk rate, it’s at 4.5 per nine innings for his minor league career. He must bring that down to be effective in the Majors.
The Marlins drafted White with a compensatory pick at No. 35 overall in the 2023 MLB draft out of Phillips Academy in Andover, Md. At the time he was considered one of the best left-handed pitching prospects in the country. He turned his back on a potential college commitment to sign with the Marlins.
Miami gave him a quick cup of coffee in the organization in 2023, as he went 0-1 with a 6.23 ERA in three games (two starts) for their Florida Complex League team and its Class-A team in Jupiter. He struck out seven and walked six in 4.1 innings, as he gave up seven runs, but only three were earned.
He progressed quickly in 2024. He started the season at Jupiter and was later promoted to High-A Beloit in the Midwest League. Combined, he went 6-4 with a 2.81 ERA in 21 starts. He struck out 120 and walked 38 as he gave up 34 runs (30 earned) in 96 innings. Batters hit .241 against him and he had a 1.31 WHIP.
