Victor

Mesa Jr.

Mesa continues to make a compelling case to get a shot with the Marlins, who have been one of the worst teams in the big leagues so far this season. The 22-year-old top prospect is batting .312 (24-for-77) with five homers through 19 games this season at the Triple-A level. There isn’t a ton of speed here, but he’ll chip in the occasional theft and could make an impact for fantasy managers in deeper mixed leagues, if he gets the call this summer.

None of the players were a real threat to break camp with the team, but Bride has been solid in his first spring after coming over from Oakland. He’s slashing .263/.364/.421 with one home runs and six runs scored in 12 games. Amaya came to Miami as part of the Miguel Rojas trade last year and posted a fine season at Triple-A in 2023 but with Tim Anderson now in town, the 25-year-old is running out of time to claim a role in the Marlins’ infield.

The dynamic 22-year-old outfielder hit .242/.308/.412 with 18 long balls, 76 RBI and 16 stolen bases (in 19 attempts) in 533 plate appearances at Double-A Pensacola during the 2023 campaign. Expect Mesa Jr. to start the 2024 season at Triple-A Jacksonville, just one step away from making his big league debut.

The walkoff came against Brandon Bielak. Mesa, 21, got a $1 million bonus to sign with the Marlins in 2018, but that was mostly because he was a package deal with his much more heavily pursued older brother, Victor Victor Mesa. The elder Mesa has been a bust, but Victor Mesa is something of a prospect, having held his own in the minors as one of the youngest players in the leagues. His performance in Double-A this year will go a long way towards determining whether has a shot of reaching the majors.

The younger Mesa’s deal is believed to be for $1 million, according to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com. He’s not as highly-touted as Victor Victor, but Sanchez writes that he has “hitting potential and a decent arm.” Either way, he’s likely a few years off from making an impact. The Marlins were also pursuing right-hander Sandy Gaston, but they don’t have the international bonus money remaining in order to make it happen.