Deyvison

De Los Santos

Injuries slowed the 22-year-old at the start of the season, but De Los Santos is now up to 11 home runs and 39 RBI in 62 games at Triple-A this season. He has also been playing more third base lately, which is interesting since Connor Norby (wrist) is sidelined for the next eight weeks.

The Marlins originally said Norby was simply dealing with wrist inflammation, but clearly that wasn’t the case. The 25-year-old is expected to miss six to eight weeks recovering from the injury, which would put him on track for a mid-September return. Given that the Marlins aren’t in contention, there’s a chance Norby doesn’t make it back to the big leagues this season. Graham Pauley will get the first crack at the third base job for the Marlins, but the team may give a chance to Deyvison De Los Santos, who has played seven games at third base in Triple-A this season.

It was De Los Santos’ third home run of the season, and he now has 15 RBI to go along with a .287 batting average and a .784 OPS. The 21-year-old is still striking out too much with a strikeout rate over 31 percent and a swinging strike rate near 18 percent. Matt Mervis is also hitting with power at first base and Agustin Ramirez may be a better fit as a DH than a catcher, so there is no clear place for De Los Santos in Miami, even if he gets his swing-and-miss in check.

De Los Santos was somewhat surprisingly given no real shot to win a spot on the Marlins this spring, and he started off slowly in Triple-A, but he’s coming along now; he’s 11-for-25 with five extra-base hits in his last six games, putting him up to .311/.374/.432 overall. He’ll likely earn a look at first base or DH sometime this summer.

De Los Santos, 21, was acquired from the D-Backs in the deal for A.J. Puk last summer. The 21-year-old smashed 40 homers during the 2024 campaign, and while his power potential is significant, there’s a good chance his lack of skills pretty much anywhere else prevents him from being a regular MLB player.

Law noted that Ramirez is technically a catcher, “but he’s awful back there.” Given how strong Ramirez is and how close his bat is to major-league-ready, Law thinks the Marlins should look to find another spot for him now. Jonah Bride is technically the starter at first base, and the Marlins also now have Deyvison De Los Santos to compete for that job, but Ramirez could wind up being the best hitter of the three. There’s a world where De Los Santos and Ramirez wind up as the 1B and DH in Miami, and that would make Marlins fans and fantasy managers happy.

The Marlins are obviously content to remain a joke franchise for another season. The Rangers, on the other hand, are upgrading from their Silver Slugger utilityman at DH by acquiring Burger to play over Josh Smith. Of course, Smith will still get time at other spots. Burger, though, is a nice upgrade for the middle of the lineup and should get quite a fantasy boost while playing in an MLB-quality offense. The Marlins are getting a couple of solid middle infield prospects in Acosta and Vargas, though neither is any kind of lock to turn into a regular. Mendoza, a 20-year-old lefty, is a potential bullpen arm. Burger’s exit from Miami would seem to increase the chances of Deyvison De Los Santos landing a starting job.

De Los Santos was a Rule 5 Draft pick last year by the Guardians, but he didn’t make the team and was returned to Arizona. He went on to have a strong campaign in the minors with 40 homers, and was traded to Miami for AJ Puk. De Los Santos has flaws, but has enough offensive upside to have some fantasy relevance someday. He could make his debut in 2025.

The biggest question for De Los Santos is whether he’ll make enough contact for his prodigious raw power to play at the highest level. The 21-year-old slugging prospect, who came over from the Diamondbacks at the trade deadline, is going to get a shot in Miami at some point in the near future. He’s a name fantasy managers should have on their radar screens heading into 2025 drafts.

De Los Santos, acquired from the Diamondbacks for A.J. Puk, hasn’t been able to maintain his first-half pace and is hitting .242/.285/.469 in 32 games since joining Jacksonville. Worse, he’s at .130 with a 15/0 K/BB in his last 11 games. He’s just 21, so his season, which featured a .302/.352/.589 line and 36 homers, has still been a roaring success. 507 of his 509 plate appearances have come against pitchers older than he is.