The Bradenton Marauders wrapped up their season on Sunday. This year for Bradenton featured a lot of power hitting prospects at the plate, along with some hard-throwing pitchers starting their pro careers.
Down the stretch, the Marauders saw an influx of talent from the MLB Draft and the early end to the FCL season. Wrapping up this series of columns, today’s look will recap the best debuts over the final month-plus in Bradenton.
FCL Graduates
The end of the Florida Complex League in July meant promotions to Single-A for the best performers. The Marauders received more than the below players, but here were the five most notable promotions out of the FCL this season.
The Pitchers
Zander Mueth, RHP – Mueth was one of the best pitchers in the FCL this year, with a 1.58 ERA in 51.1 innings at the rookie level. He struck out 56 and showed some control problems with 26 walks. In seven starts at the Single-A level, he had a 3.97 ERA in 22.2 innings, with a 23:24 K/BB. The walks became a bigger issue at the more advanced level, but his stuff was unhittable, with a fastball that sat low-90s and touched 96-97. Mueth should return to the Bradenton rotation at the start of the 2025 season.
Carlos Castillo, RHP – Signed in early 2023, Castillo has been a surprise in the lowest levels. He had a 1.70 ERA in 37 innings last year in the DSL. This year he moved up to the FCL for his age 18 season, with a 2.86 ERA in 34.2 innings. He moved up to Bradenton for six appearances, posting a 9.64 ERA in 14 innings, with a 16:6 K/BB. Castillo has a 92-94 MPH fastball and will need to either add velocity or improve his secondary stuff to not get hit as hard as his debut.
The Hitters
Jhonny Severino, INF – Severino was one of the best hitters in the FCL this year, batting .291/.373/.545 with ten homers and 12 stolen bases. He continued hitting for power in Bradenton, batting .237/.285/.500 with six homers, six doubles, and three triples. In total, he hit 16 homers and stole 16 bases between the two levels. He should begin the 2025 season back in Single-A, but probably won’t end his season at the level if he continues hitting the way he did this year.
Yordany De Los Santos, INF – De Los Santos struggled for his second year in a row in Single-A. He was sent to the FCL last year, where he remained this year. He hit for a .344/.407/.505 line with five homers and 24 stolen bases at the rookie level this year. That dropped to a .195/.300/.264 line in Bradenton, with one homer and ten steals. He’s shown plus ability on the bases, and good defense at the middle infield spots, but will need to show he can hit in full-season ball to maximize his other tools.
Carlos Caro, INF – Caro has hit at every level he’s played over the last two years. He had a .310 average and a .944 OPS in his pro debut in the DSL last year. He hit .305 with an .853 OPS in the FCL this season. The Pirates moved him up to Bradenton late in the season. He hit .217/.333/.261 with one double in seven games played. Caro will be a sleeper to watch in 2025 to see if he can hit in Single-A.
New Draft Picks
Bradenton saw the pro debuts of eight players from the 2024 MLB Draft.
The Pitchers
Connor Wietgrefe, LHP – The seventh rounder got the most work out of the drafted pitchers. Wietgrefe allowed an 0.90 ERA in 10 innings, with 13 strikeouts and two walks. He sat around 93-94 MPH with his fastball in five shorter outings, showing promise with his slider. Wietgrefe could begin his 2025 season higher than Bradenton.
Josh Hartle, LHP – Hartle only pitched 1.2 innings, and they didn’t go well. The third rounder allowed three earned runs on a walk and five hits. He could return to Bradenton to start the 2025 season, and is a top 50 prospect to follow for his ability to remain a starter.
Jacob Bimbi, LHP – Drafted in the 11th round, Bimbi made four appearances. His first saw 1.2 shutout innings. He allowed runs in the next two outings, before finishing his season with 0.2 scoreless. It will be interesting to see if the Pirates use Bimbi in a multi-inning reliever role next year, similar to how they used Magdiel Cotto this year.
The Hitters
Duce Gourson, INF – Gourson had a good enough debut to receive a quick promotion to High-A Greensboro after just 48 plate appearances. He hit .229/.438/.343 with four doubles and two stolen bases. He also walked ten times and struck out ten times. He will help Greensboro in the playoffs, and should open the 2025 season with them.
Will Taylor, OF – Taylor got some of the most consistent playing time, batting .206/.329/.349 with two homers, three doubles, and three stolen bases in 76 plate appearances. The fifth round pick had a good finish to the year, batting .364/.391/.545 in five games in September.
Andrew Patrick, OF – Patrick was drafted in the 17th round, with power potential being his playing tool. He hit .178/.315/.222 with two doubles in 54 plate appearances during his debut. He stole four bases in five attempts, but dealt with swing and miss, for a 35.2% strikeout rate.
Derek Berg, C – Berg hit his first professional home run, but showed some issues making contact. He had a .122/.200/.184 line and a 36.4% strikeout rate. He had a rough start behind the plate. In 88.2 innings, he committed three errors and had two passed balls, with a 36.4% caught stealing rate.
Ethan Lege, INF – Lege was taken in the 15th round. He hit .204/.259/.204 with zero extra base hits. He spent his time split between the corner infield positions, and should return as corner infield depth to the lower levels in 2025.
System Depth
There were a few players who were top performers for Bradenton throughout the season, but who didn’t get a call to the next level. These players filled out the system depth of the prospect rankings.
The Pitchers
Antwone Kelly, RHP – Kelly was one of the more promising pitching prospects in the lower levels of the system, before going down with an injury on June 25th. He returned for three starts at the end of the year and wasn’t as effective. He allowed nine earned runs in nine innings, with a 6:9 K/BB. He’s in his age 21 season, and should be a guy to watch in one of the A-ball rotations next year.
Khristian Curtis, RHP – Curtis went on the injured list on late June, and returned in August showing more consistent results. In his final five starts, he had a 1.89 ERA in 19 innings, with a 20:9 K/BB. Curtis has a fastball that sits mid-90s, touching 97-98. He also has some promising secondary stuff, but control issues that have held him back at times this year. He should move up to Greensboro’s rotation in 2025 after the strong finish.
The Hitters
Keiner Delgado, INF – Delgado turned on the speed down the stretch, with ten stolen bases from the start of August to the end of the season, including four in his final five games. That gave him 25 on the year. He hit for fringe-average power, so the focus on speed is a good thing.
Esmerlyn Valdez, 1B/OF – Valdez finished the year with 22 homers, leading the Single-A club. He batted .226/.352/.464, displaying some swing and miss issues to go with his power. Valdez homered three times in his final four games of the season.
Axiel Plaz, C – Plaz joined the Marauders in mid-May and immediately started hitting for power. He ended up with 15 homers and a .207/.302/.438 line. An offense-first catcher, he’s got the power needed to succeed at a corner infield spot if he has to move.
Final Thought
Shalin Polanco had a good finish to the year. In his final 50 at-bats, the outfielder hit .260/.422/.440 with one homer, two doubles, and two triples. Signed as one of the highest paid international players in franchise history in 2021, Polanco had 11 homers and a .623 OPS in his second year in Single-A. He did finish on a strong note, and could move up a level at some point in 2025.
