James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
The Miami Marlins made a huge step for the future of the ball club Thursday when the organization announced that it had come to terms with first-round draft pick Colin Moran.
The third baseman and the Marlins agreed to the slot value of the No. 6 pick overall in the draft, where Moran was taken. The amount that Moran signed for is $3.516 million. Moran and former Marlins’ draft picks Josh Beckett and Adrian Gonzalez all signed for more than $3 million.
Moran has played for the University of North Carolina and last season batted .348/.447/.557 last season helping the Tar Heels get to the College World Series. The deal comes at the perfect time since the deadline to sign draft picks comes Friday at 5 P.M. There is no doubt that there are high hopes for the future of Moran within the Marlins organization.
Moran is expected to get his minor-league career started soon and is also expected to head to Single-A Batavia to play in the New York-Penn League. The Muckdogs are 12-11 so far this season and sit in fourth in the NYPL’s Pinckney Division.
Moran will split time with another top prospect, Avery Romero. A former third baseman, Romero has played second base for the majority of the season at Batavia. He is batting .363 with seven doubles and 15 RBI this season. Austin Dean is also another good prospect on this Batavia team. Dean has five triples in 23 games this year.
Right now, the future of the Marlins looks bright. There is no doubt we could see Moran take the field with Romero, Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich and Jake Marisnick a few years down the line.
Ryan Gaydos is a MLB columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter, “like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
