Three Biggest Draft Busts in Miami Marlins History
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One of the disappointments any team can face is drafting a top-talent prospect who doesn't deliver due to injuries or who doesn't have the heart and passion to succeed.
The Miami Marlins have shared some success drafting good players, but they have also seen the worst.
Biggest Draft Busts in Marlins History
Tyler Kolek
Miami selected Kolek as the second overall pick in the 2014 MLB Draft. Kolek signed for a $6 million signing bonus. Unfortunately, it's one of the biggest busts in the history of their franchise. Kolek was a promising right-handed pitcher out of Texas. The Marlins were expecting big things from him.
However, Kolek didn't reach his potential. He never got to start in a big league game. In five seasons in the minors, Kolek posted a 5-16 record with a 5.66 ERA in 66 games (started in 39 of them).
Jeremy Hermida
Hermida was 21 years old when he came to the Marlins organization. The Marlins selected Hermida as the 11th overall pick in the 2002 MLB Draft. Hermida played eight professional baseball seasons. His first five years came with the Marlins.
His career high came in the 2007 season, when he batted .296 with 18 home runs, 63 RBIs, and 127 hits. At the same time, Hermida struck out 105 times that season. The following season, he had a career-high 138 strikeouts.
Hermida had three consecutive seasons hitting over 100 hits, but he was also a strikeout machine. Due to his status in the draft, Hermida did not live up to what the Marlins hoped for. After his time with the Marlins, Hermida played for the San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, Oakland Athletics, and Cincinnati Reds. His baseball career ended by the time he was 28.
Kyle Skipworth
It's one of those cases of "what could have been" because of the things he was accomplishing before the pros. Skipworth was a catcher from California. He earned Gatorade High School Baseball Player of the Year honors in 2008.
When a player receives that honor, it elevates his stature as a prospect, and teams will be watching to see whether he can succeed at the big-league level. The Marlins selected Skipworth as the sixth overall pick in the 2008 MLB Draft. Skipworth was a left-handed hitter but throws with his right arm.
Skipworth never got to shine with the Marlins as they had hoped. Skipworth had power and size. He's a 6'4 athlete. He had good defensive abilities, and that was perhaps the main reason he got drafted, but we can only imagine how things would've been had he been reliable on offense, as he was on defense. The Marlins would have been better off drafting Buster Posey had they had to do it all over again.
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After graduating from City College of New York in 2014, Miguel created his own blog. Since 2021, he has written for FanSided, where he covered the Toronto Blue Jays, College Football and Utah Mammoth hockey team. He also wrote for Miami Heat on SI and Cleveland Sports Talk. Miguel is the creator and host of his podcast, Baseball Heat Podcast with Mike.