Breaking Down the Marlins Massive Haul for Closer Tanner Scott

The Miami Marlins committed to selling off when they started the weekend by sending Jazz Chisholm to the Yankees. Their best asset remaining on the market was very clearly closer Tanner Scott, who was subsequently traded the Padres alongside Bryan Hoeing for a huge package of four prospects.

The Marlins netted left-hander Robby Snelling, right-hander Adam Mazur, utilityman Graham Pauley, and infielder Jay Beshears in this deal. Snelling is Just Baseball’s 37th-ranked prospect in baseball while Mazur checks in as our 89th-ranked prospect.

For a rental closer, this deal instantly feels like an excellent boost to the Marlins system that has already gotten stronger in many ways this week. They’re buying low to an extent on all of these players, but there is a lot of upside to like here.

Our Aram Leighton will have an entire piece on the Marlins massive deadline overhaul, but this trade package deserves specific attention as one of the biggest returns we’ll ever see for a relief pitcher.

Robby Snelling

Just Baseball’s MiLB Pitcher of the Year in 2023 broke out in a massive way during his first professional season last year. Snelling’s athleticism is evident from watching him pitching and his advanced command allowed him to breeze through the lower levels.

Last year, he finished with a 1.82 ERA and 118 strikeouts across 103.2 innings as he made it all the way to Double-A at just 19 years old. This launched him into the top 50 prospects in baseball tier as he entered the year with some of the most prospect steam in baseball.

Snelling’s fastball and breaking ball combination was essentially all he needed to dominate lower level hitters as his heater features plenty of ride and he’s able to locate it all over the zone. His hybrid style slider has tons of break and he found success using it all over the lower half of the zone.

Without necessarily elite stuff and average velocity, Snelling’s command was the biggest key to his success last year. He walked just 34 batters in 22 starts while maintaining extremely high whiff rates, especially on the slider.

Unfortunately, his second season has not been kind to him as he’s struggled to keep up those results in Double-A. Through 16 starts, Snelling has a 6.01 ERA and has already walked 33 batters, just one less than he did all of last season. He also has just 67 strikeouts compared to his staggering numbers from last year.

With that established, let’s remember that Snelling is just two years removed from high school already pitching at one of the hardest levels of the minors. The numbers are not pretty, but his talent is immense and he has so much time on his upside to adjust and trend toward a huge 2025.

He’ll immediately join another duo of high school arms in Noble Meyer and Thomas White as the best pitching prospects in Miami, forming a potentially excellent trio for the future.

Getting Snelling at all for a rental pitcher is already impressive, but the deal isn’t even close to stopping there.

Adam Mazur

A quality MLB debut at the beginning of the June may seem distant now given a stretch of difficult starts with the Padres, but that shouldn’t take away from an otherwise terrific first two professional seasons.

Because he was promoted so early due to a need in San Diego, Mazur’s MLB career has been rocky but let’s take a step back to look at the type of pitcher the Marlins are getting here. Drafted in the second round two years ago, Mazur much like Snelling tore through MiLB in 2023. He dominated High-A and spent the entire second half of the year adjusting to Double-A ball.

Mazur’s command is the clear calling card as he walked just 17 batters while striking out 90 across 96 innings in his first season of affiliated ball. He followed that up with by making his first six starts of the year in Double-A, allowing just five walks and seven earned runs in those starts.

He was moved quickly to Triple-A, where he clearly needed more than four starts but was called upon as a high floor option to fill a start in San Diego. Mazur got hit around more at the level and the same thing happened in subsequent MLB starts following a solid debut. Two months shouldn’t minimize his value though as Mazur mainly just needs more time to hone his arsenal.

Mazur has an advanced pitch mix with four offerings he feels comfortable turning to and has used each over 10% of the time. His fastball is probably an average level pitch but features some ride that makes it interesting and he could tap into more as he develops.

The slider is his best offering and was evident as he threw it over 30% of the time upon reaching the big leagues. Featuring late break, the pitch is easily his best at generating whiffs and limiting hard contact as well.

Mazur uses his curveball and changeup a decent amount, but neither have developed into more than change-of-pace offerings. The development of these pitches will be important for Mazur.

Given the trade of Trevor Rogers and other rotation injuries, Mazur will likely make some MLB starts for the Marlins despite the start to his big league career. There’s plenty of reason to believe in Mazur’s ability to stick as a high floor back half of the rotation starter.

Graham Pauley

Another player in the San Diego system who broke out last year after being drafted in 2022 and was probably pushed too aggressively (Notice a theme here?) is the third key piece in this deal.

A 13th round pick two years ago out of Duke, Pauley mashed through three levels of MiLB in 2023, finishing the year in Double-A. He posted a .308/.393/.538 triple slash with his numbers somehow improving noticeably after being promoted from Single-A.

His patient approach was too good for Single-A as he got on base at a .422 mark there and then his power took off in High-A with 16 home runs in 45 games there. He finished the season with 32 doubles, 23 home runs, 22 steals, and 60 walks in one of the best offensive seasons in all of MiLB.

This strong breakout and a great Spring Training led to Pauley cracking the Padres Opening Day roster, which is hindsight was just too soon. He struggled mightily in 13 MLB games early in the season and has since been in Triple-A.

Pauley’s Triple-A numbers haven’t been excellent, but he’s still walking at an excellent rate and has 24 extra-base hits in 70 games as well. With the ability to drive the ball especially to his pull side and a patient plate approach, Pauley has the makings of at least a platoon level MLB piece.

He’s heading all the way down to Double-A for the Marlins as he works to tap into what worked for him last year. If he’s able to put together a strong stretch, he should finish the year in Triple-A or even at the MLB level given that he’s already nearly 24 years old.

Jay Beshears

Frankly, the fact there is even a fourth piece in this deal given that three of the top 10 guys in San Diego’s system are already involved is wild. Drafted last year in the sixth round, Jay Beshears is more of a flyer than anything else, but is a solid fourth piece to a deal.

He played in 31 games after being drafted last year and has spent this year between Single-A and High-A within the Padres system. He has played a nearly even split of shortstop and third base with the arm strength necessary to stick on the left side of the infield.

Beshears has yet to tap into much power this season but has gotten on base at a .373 clip thanks to 51 walks on the year. While he doesn’t flash much power upside, he’s able to hit the ball on a line resulting in 24 doubles this season.

More organizational depth than anything, he will remain in High-A for the Marlins with room to grow into a solid contact hitting on-base presence in the infield with some power.

Outlook

While Tanner Scott has been one of the best closers in baseball this season, the Marlins were able to “buy low” on three very talented prospects who could all make an impact at the MLB level in the next year or two.

This is the type of deal you may to make in this type of a market and Miami did a great job taking advantage and bringing in some prospects that will be among the best in their system.