'Balance' key in Marlins' No. 3-ranked system

MIAMI -- Since their build began in 2018, the Marlins placed an emphasis on producing layers of talent throughout the organization. That element of the farm system is why Miami comes in at No. 3 in the latest edition of MLB Pipeline's rankings. The club was fourth entering 2021, and fifth midseason '20.

• Marlins' Top 30 Prospects

For the first time in franchise history, the Marlins led all Major League organizations with seven Top 100 prospects when MLB Pipeline released its midseason list last week. One of those highly touted players -- Edward Cabrera (No. 30 overall) -- made his Major League debut on Wednesday night against the Nationals at loanDepot park.

According to MLB Pipeline, Miami's top prospect is 18-year-old shortstop Kahlil Watson -- the organization's No. 16 overall selection in the 2021 MLB Draft. Six of the top 30 are in the Majors or Triple-A Jacksonville and nine are at Double-A Pensacola. Eleven are pitchers.

"I really do think that one of the biggest strengths in our system is just the balance from top to bottom," director of Minor League operations Geoff DeGroot told MLB.com.

DeGroot called it an exciting time for the organization, crediting the scouting department for acquiring players through various methods and the development staff for helping them maximize their tools and potential. Though the results haven't been there for the Major League club this season, the hope is that the young players will change that in the near future.

"From the beginning, we knew that we needed to really lock in on scouting and player development and build the foundation and start from there, and I think we've shown that we've done that," DeGroot said. "It speaks to that, but ultimately, that has to translate to us winning games at the Major League level, which I have no doubts that we'll be able to do. I have nothing but confidence that we're going to get there at the Major League level as well. Exciting times, and [I'm] looking forward to the future and reaching the ultimate goal -- and that's competing for championships year-in and year-out."

This year has been a unique one after the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the Minor League season in 2020. There was uncertainty as to how players would respond after a year away from regular reps. DeGroot singled out outfielders JJ Bleday (No. 77 overall) and Peyton Burdick (Miami's No. 15) as well as left-hander Dax Fulton (No. 9), all of whom got off to slow starts before picking things up.

Since July 2, Bleday has a .216/.340/.419 slash line and 20 extra-base hits in 46 games. During that same stretch, Burdick is slashing .259/.411/.456 with eight homers in 43 games. Both were drafted in 2019 and participated in big league camp this spring.

Fulton, who was selected in the second round of the 2020 MLB Draft, had to shake off the rust coming off Tommy John surgery. Before his promotion from Low-A Jupiter to High-A Beloit, the 19-year-old posted a 3.38 ERA across an eight-start stretch.

"I will say that the biggest growth I've seen from top to bottom is just the adjustments guys have made from the start of the season," DeGroot said. "Those guys have done an incredible job making adjustments throughout the course of the season, so I think that's probably what I would say to that. I'm not going to say it's pitching, it's hitting, I think it's just our guys showing the ability to be coachable, the ability to make adjustments and make improvements, and I think their performance speaks to that.

"If you look at their first half versus second half, guys have gotten better throughout the course of the year. I think that's probably where we've seen the most growth, and one of the things I'm most proud of our guys for -- both our coaches and our players -- is identifying areas where we can make improvements in real time, and actually making progress in those areas, you have it translate into their performance."