JUPITER, Fla. -- Some of Miami's top Draft picks from the past two years squared off in a five-inning intrasquad game Tuesday afternoon on a backfield at the Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium complex, with members of scouting, player development and international operations on hand.
So were Miguel Rojas and Jesús Aguilar, who drove by on a golf cart to watch for a few minutes.
On the mound to start were right-hander Zach McCambley (third round in 2020) and left-hander Jake Eder (fourth round in ’20), both of whom pitched three innings and settled down after surrendering leadoff blasts. The 21-year-old McCambley's fastball ranged from 93-95 mph, while the 22-year-old Eder sat around 91-93 mph.
McCambley, ranked as the organization's No. 22 prospect, gave up a homer to Kameron Misner on the second pitch of the game. The left-handed-hitting Misner, the club's Competitive Balance Round A pick in 2019 and No. 14 prospect, sent the drive to right field. Early in spring, McCambley noted that he was refining his changeup to pair with a high-spin fastball and curveball, which MLB Pipeline called arguably the best bender of his Draft class.
"I'm really just soaking in the moment. I don't really have many expectations for myself going into this," McCambley said during a Zoom call. "I'm just very thankful to have gotten the invite to come here. I'm going to keep having an open mind and keep learning from all these guys and the coaches that are here. It's not really much of an expectation. I'm going to come out here and do what I've got to do. I know what I'm capable of, and I'm just going to continue to keep learning."
In the bottom half of the inning, Peyton Burdick (third round in 2019) greeted Eder by going deep to right-center field. The right-handed-hitting Burdick, Miami's No. 16 prospect, connected on a 2-1 pitch from the club's No. 23 prospect.
According to MLB Pipeline, when Eder is on, he can operate at 92-95 mph and touch 97 while backing it up with a plus curveball. He can lack consistency, however, with days when his velocity is around 90 mph, as well as losing the feel for his curve.
"I've been keeping it really, really simple, sticking to the essence of what I do -- that's throwing to targets with late breaking stuff," Eder said earlier in camp. "And pretty much, for the most part, keeping it that simple. That basically allows me to on a macro level to look at everything and stay disciplined and focused and not get into the weeds of things. Just have a lot of fun with what I'm doing."
In Major League camp for the first time, neither McCambley nor Eder pitched in a Grapefruit League contest. The same holds true for Max Meyer, the third overall pick in 2020 and MLB Pipeline's No. 28 overall prospect, who sat behind a screen on the field to watch Tuesday's contest. After having their collegiate careers cut short last spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the three were drafted three months later. Without a Minor League season, they saw time in the instructional league in the fall.
"This is about them getting comfortable in big league camp," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said during a Zoom call earlier in camp. "Obviously, we like those guys and we wanted them to experience this. But we don't want Max [Meyer] coming over to an 'A' game and trying to throw 100 [mph]. We want him to get ready to pitch this season, continue his development, and we think there's a real risk with those young guys kind of trying to impress and doing too much too early. It's a danger in camp, and that's something we're going to stay away from."