Marlins pitching prospect Robby Snelling dominates in the minors, poised to impact Miami's rotation sooner than expected.
Most teams would be fortunate to have one elite left-handed pitching prospect, and the Miami Marlins have two.
The top prospect in the system is Thomas White, a starter who is the No. 1 lefty prospect in the majors, according to MLB.com.
Not terribly far behind White is Robby Snelling.
Snelling, at 22, is the No. 39 overall prospect and the No. 5 lefty starter. With Miami having traded two of its starting pitchers in the offseason, the need for Snelling and White is heightened, and both are expected to make their MLB debuts in 2026.
Snelling is the latest subject of "Getting to Know the Fish," a Marlins roundtable series profiling each Miami player.
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 210 pounds
Hometown: Reno, Nevada
What makes him a top prospect: Snelling wouldn't be a top-40 prospect if he didn't produce in the minors. He started last season in AA and did OK, going 3-5 with a 3.61 ERA for Pensacola. Then, Snelling got the AAA, and was fantastic: 6-2 with a 1.27 ERA over 11 starts.
What does Snelling do well that led to this production?
He's consistent. In MLB.com's rating scale (20-80), Snelling rates at 55 for everything, except his changeup, which is at 50.
Snelling's scouting grades don't jump off the page the way White's do. White's slider rates at 70 out of a possible 80, which is elite stuff.
But it's hard to argue with production, and Snelling has plenty of that, helped by a K/9 rate of 11 in the minors last season.
Outlook: Like with White, Snelling's outlook is straightforward. If things go according to plan, he will be with the Marlins sooner rather than later, and because the Marlins traded Edward Cabrera to the Chicago Cubs and Ryan Weathers to the New York Yankees, every other starter's role is magnified.
Although White is thought to have more upside than Snelling, Snelling's command is further along. Snelling only walked 2.6 batters per nine innings last season, compared to White, who walked 5.1. Because of that, don't be surprised if Snelling is the first lefty phenom to make it to Marlins Park this season.
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