MIAMI -- Talk about making an immediate impact. Braxton Garrett, who has yet to pitch in a professional game, has already climbed to the head of the class among Marlins prospects.
MLBPipeline.com has released its midseason rankings, and Garrett has not only has been tabbed Miami's No. 1 Minor League player, but the left-hander from Florence, Ala., also is rated as the 48th overall prospect in the top 100 rankings.
• Marlins' Top 30 Prospects | Top 100 Prospects
The seventh overall pick in the MLB Draft in June, Garrett is a gifted southpaw with a mid-90s fastball to go with an advanced curveball.
Garrett, who is starting off his pro career with the Gulf Coast Marlins in Jupiter, Fla., is expected to pitch in a game in early August.
Garrett replaces Tyler Kolek as Miami's No. 1 prospect. Kolek, the second overall pick in 2014, is missing the entire season due to Tommy John surgery. The hard-throwing right-hander is now third in the revised rankings.
The ranking of baseball's top prospects is done by MLBPipeline.com Draft and prospect experts Jonathan Mayo, Jim Callis and Mike Rosenbaum, who compile input from industry sources, including scouts and scouting directors. It is based on analysis of players' skill sets, upsides, proximity to the Majors and potential immediate impact to their teams. Only players with rookie status are eligible for the list. The rankings follow the Collective Bargaining Agreement guidelines for which players fall under the international pool money rules: Players who were at least 23 years old when they signed and played in leagues deemed to be professional (Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Cuba) are not eligible.
Left-hander Jarlin García, rated third in preseason, is now Miami's No. 4 prospect, and Double-A Jacksonville third baseman Brian Anderson is fifth. Anderson, who opened the season at Class A Advanced Jupiter, jumped up seven spots from the preseason ratings.
Rounding out the top 10 on the Top 30 list are Double-A outfielder Austin Dean (seventh), Greensboro outfielder Stone Garrett (eighth), Greensboro shortstop/outfielder Anfernee Seymour (ninth) and Gulf Coast League Marlins outfielder Thomas Jones (10th).
Jones, a multisport star from South Carolina, was Miami's third-round pick in June.