This story was excerpted from Christina De Nicola’s Marlins Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
Remember the Little Leaguer who went viral years ago by introducing himself as “Big Al” and proclaiming “I hit dingers”?
During a nine-game stretch last month with Double-A Pensacola, Marlins No. 6 prospect Cam Cannarella channeled him by going deep six times.
COMPLETE MARLINS PROSPECT COVERAGE
Cannarella, whom the Marlins selected with their Competitive Balance Round A pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, began his professional career with a reputation for bat-to-ball skills. Scouting reports claimed shoulder surgery had likely sapped his power potential, dropping him from a possible Top-10 pick to No. 43 overall.
So, in his first full pro season, Cannarella had simple enough goals.
“Just trying to hit for extra-base hits, more power, for sure, just not trying to strike out as much, and getting more walks,” Cannarella told MLB.com in late June. “Hitting more homers and then just getting faster.”
That June power surge, combined with walking (23) more than striking out (20), led to Cannarella’s promotion to Triple-A Jacksonville on July 17 after just 34 games at the Double-A level.
Drawing within one step of the big leagues certainly would’ve been conceivable for Cannarella this spring, though it didn’t seem like a certainty when he fractured his left wrist at High-A Beloit in mid-April.
Before then, he had never broken a bone. Just like that, his primary goal, to stay healthy, had already been squashed.
The 22-year-old Cannarella missed five weeks, rehabbing on a daily basis in Jupiter, Fla. He used the time to not only get the wrist healthy but also to get faster.
“I'm a lefty, so I couldn't write or eat or anything, and just missing games, for sure, was one big part of it, too,” Cannarella recalled.
Cannarella had gotten used to playing every day -- what he considered the biggest adjustment from collegiate to pro ball -- and adjusting to the much better pitching.
Cannarella and Aiva Arquette (No. 3), the Marlins’ 2025 first-round pick who is sidelined with a thumb injury, leaned on one another as roommates in Pensacola, Fla. Though they didn’t know each other at college, where they attended Clemson and Oregon State, respectively, they met after the Draft and have helped each other out through the transition to the pros.
Cannarella’s chase rate (18 percent) is well below the league-wide rate for Triple-A and the Florida State League (27 percent) and his in-zone contact rate (81 percent) is right in line with the league-wide average (81.9 percent). His slash lines of .356/.461/.577 against fastballs and .308/.371/.513 against secondary pitches are considerably better than his peers' .274/.387/.442 vs. fastballs and .228/.298/.379 vs. secondary pitches.
“Just trusting the process every day and just trusting my hitting coaches and just talking to people that know how to hit, I guess,” Cannarella said. “I just feel like I'm in a good zone right now, just hitting the ball, seeing the ball. I just feel good at the plate.”
The 6-foot, 185-pound Cannarella’s calling card, however, would be his defense, with 60-grade run and field tools. Impressive, considering he didn’t pick up center field until his freshman year of college after growing up playing on the left side of the infield.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise, since Cannarella has always displayed all-around athleticism. He dunked for the first time in 11th grade. Entering Saturday, his hardest-hit ball was a 104.6 mph double, and his fastest sprint speed was 29.1 mph in six games at Triple-A Jacksonville.
While facing competition on average four years older than him, Cannarella opened his Triple-A tenure 3-for-19 with one homer, six strikeouts and four walks. He broke out on Friday, putting together his first career four-hit performance.
As the organization’s highest-ranked center fielder -- and ever closer to The Show -- Cannarella isn’t thinking too much about what’s next.
“I guess one goal will be just like winning the Minor League Player of the Year, but other than that, no,” Cannarella said.