Marlins' top 2026 int'l signee off to hot start in Dominican Summer League
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Take just one look at Santiago Solarte, the 6-foot-5 shortstop that headlined the Marlins’ 2026 international class, and you can see where the power potential comes from. Still just 17 years old, the native of Estado Merida, Venezuela, has begun to put it on display during game action as his pro career gets underway.
Solarte slugged his second homer of the year as part of a wild comeback for the DSL Marlins on Friday afternoon, who went deep four times in extra innings to topple the DSL Mets, 10-8. The Marlins’ No. 12 prospect also added an RBI double earlier in the contest, giving him 13 RBIs across his first 13 games.
An evaluator who saw Solarte for multiple years during his time as an amateur in his native Venezuela told MLB Pipeline last year that he believed there was no question that if the left-handed-hitting shortstop was eligible for the MLB Draft, he’d be a first-round pick based on his upside alone.
Before so much as taking a single professional at-bat, Solarte’s 60-grade power tied for the top mark among all ranked Marlins prospects. He has consistently ripped off exit velocities in excess of 110 mph during batting practice sessions and has shown an aptitude out of the gate for getting to that premium thump without sacrificing too much contact.
Setting aside a one at-bat pinch-hit appearance last week, Solarte has reached base safely during 12 consecutive starts. His multihit afternoon is already the fifth of his career and third this week, elevating his slash line to .341/.482/.545.
"We think his ceiling is very high," said director of international scouting David Hernandez-Beayne of Solarte back in January. "He fits everything that we look for in terms of raw explosiveness, ability to be impactful defensively, and, on top of that, he comes from a really good program being with [former big leaguer] Carlos Guillén in Venezuela."
It’s been a limited sample size thus far (just 57 plate appearances) for the No. 16 prospect in the 2026 international class, but Solarte has launched himself near the top of the organizational leaderboards in multiple categories. His 30.8 percent line-drive rate entering the day ranked third among all Marlins Minor Leaguers, while his 132 wRC+ sat fourth. His 11 steals rank inside the top 10 on the circuit as the DSL Marlins again lead the way with 58 stolen bases as a group. (The 191 bags the 2025 DSL Miami club stole were the most at that level since 2018.)
Even at 6-foot-5, the Marlins were adamant that Solarte would get reps at shortstop as a pro. He’s made 10 starts there thus far, but has accumulated seven errors. The actions have been clean and the throwing arm plenty strong, which has allowed him to also make three starts at third base, where he’s without a blemish on his early career résumé.