Worth the wait: May excelling in AFL after persevering through injury

The baseball gods have tested Marlins right-handed pitching prospect Aiden May early on in his professional career.

May, whom the Marlins selected in the second round of the 2024 MLB Draft, became the last member of the organization’s Draft class to make his pro debut ... on July 9, 2025.

There were two main contributors to this: After Oregon State’s elimination in the 2024 Super Regional on June 9, May was shut down from throwing. Nearly two months passed before he signed with Miami, so the Marlins didn’t want to rush a build-up. Without enough time to get into a game, May entered the offseason eager for spring.

But May experienced a flareup of loose bodies in his right elbow, similar to what he had experienced during his 2024 collegiate season. Though not necessarily painful, he couldn’t bend his arm in ways that are necessary for a pitcher. So before throwing a pitch in a pro game, May underwent surgery in March to remove the loose bodies. During his absence, he went from MLB Pipeline’s No. 22 Marlins prospect to unranked.

When the time finally came to take the mound, May delivered a scoreless inning for the Rookie-level Florida Complex League Marlins. Instead of playing in front of thousands of fans packed into a collegiate baseball stadium, he pitched at the CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches Complex.

“I was talking to my coaches about this, actually,” May said. “I was kind of disappointed. I wanted to get that really shaking, high-adrenaline feeling that you get when you've not pitched in a while. I didn't get that specific feeling. ... It was good that I was relaxed in that situation. It was good to just be competitive, get back on the mound, get the adrenaline pumping a little bit.

“To be able to stay relaxed in that situation, I think, has paid dividends. Now I can stay relaxed in a lot of different situations. It's given me a better perspective on when I'm on the mound of how to handle different situations.”

It did in fact serve May well.

May allowed just one earned run over 6 2/3 innings in four abbreviated FCL starts. Following his promotion to Single-A Jupiter, May recorded a .164 average against and earned Florida State League Pitcher of the Week after completing 5 1/3 hitless frames while striking out a career-high seven batters on Sept. 2 in his fifth and final start for the Hammerheads.

A week later, May started High-A Beloit’s first postseason game on Sept. 9, tossing 3 2/3 scoreless innings despite allowing three hits and six walks in an eventual 7-1 Sky Carp victory.

“I'm happy with the way he's finishing up the season,” director of Minor League operations Hector Crespo said in September. “Had a really good, electric start in Jupiter to finish off. And then, [it’s] pretty cool for your first start at a new level [to be] the first game of a playoff. To be able to throw [3 2/3] innings there and battle through some adversity and come out on the other side in a good light was good.”

Now, May’s development continues with the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League to recoup some of the innings he lost.

In two starts, May has gone four frames in each. On Saturday, he gave up one run on one hit and one walk with three strikeouts. In his AFL debut on Oct. 10, May allowed two runs on two hits and one walk with four strikeouts.

“It's been good,” May said. “I wish I could pitch a little bit more. I wish I could go a little deeper, but I understand the sentiment of other guys [needing] to pitch as well, and four innings is kind of the sweet spot of they want me to just go out there and just perform for four innings, which has been really good. I've got no complaints so far. Obviously, I want to rack up as many innings as possible to make up for the lost time this year, but I'm in a fortunate spot of just getting to pitch at all.”

A point of emphasis has been lowering his walk rate -- something the 22-year-old has shown so far in the AFL -- as well as tinkering with his arsenal. A three-pitch pitcher in college (sinker, sweeper and changeup), May has since added a four-seamer/cutter and a power slider.

“He's done a great job,” Marlins field coordinator and Mesa manager Aaron Leanhardt said. “Maybe the biggest compliment I can pay him came from one of the opposing teams after he pitched. The manager and I were talking, and he's like, ‘Man, where was that guy this year? Double-A?’ And I was just thinking to myself, ‘I don't think so, actually.’ So anyways, that's kind of like a backhanded compliment, if you will, but a true compliment in some sense. He's been really outstanding.”