Deyvison De Los Santos looks like a player the Marlins ought to be using right now, but the timeline around his return to Miami has been frustratingly slow.
When he first landed in the organization in July 2024, De Los Santos was tearing up Triple-A and closing in on the Minor League Baseball home run lead. At that point, it was easy to imagine him carving out a real role with the Marlins before long. More than two full years later, though, he has appeared in only three big league games.
The biggest reason for that gap starts with De Los Santos himself. His production has fallen well short of what he showed at age 21, especially in terms of game power and pitch selection.
Opponents have been able to take advantage of his chase tendencies, and while he arrived with some defensive flexibility at first base and third base, he has not developed into a workable option at third. He once climbed as high as No. 3 on the Fish On First Top 30 prospects list, but he is no longer ranked.
Still, the door has cracked open a little in recent months. After brief stints on Miami’s active roster in March and April, he had mostly slipped out of the conversation.
But his Triple-A numbers this season show real progress: in 92 games, he is hitting .276/.339/.480 with 17 home runs and 17 stolen bases. His wRC+ with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp from 2024-25 was only 86, but that number has jumped to 113 in 2026.
He is also striking out at a 19.6% clip, the lowest rate he has ever posted in a minor league season.
June 21 stands out as a turning point. It was his 23rd birthday, but it also marked the day the Marlins designated Christopher Morel for assignment.
Morel, a right-handed bat with a similar offensive profile, had been blocking De Los Santos. Since that move, De Los Santos has taken off.
Over his last 37 games, he has hit .295/.370/.550 with nine homers.
Miami could use that kind of production now. With Kyle Stowers sidelined by a hamstring strain, the club has a hole at first base.
Griffin Conine has been handling the position for the moment, and the bat fits there, but the defensive background and instincts are not really part of his profile. Leo Jiménez and Graham Pauley have also been getting work, even though their combined major league slugging percentage is below .300.
The defense at first is not exactly inspiring confidence, either. Jacksonville’s social media showed a play that made the point plainly: “UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE pic.twitter.com/Tv4uDzGycl”
That is why De Los Santos makes sense as more than just a future name to stash away for September. He does not need to play every day, but he should be in the mix as a left-handed pitching option.
This discussion also grew out of an even harsher look at Jiménez, who has been worth -0.6 fWAR for the Marlins and owns an abysmal 57 wRC+ against lefties despite the platoon advantage. Compared with him, or with honorary assistant coach Brian Navarreto, who has logged only 23 plate appearances over the last two months, De Los Santos is the more logical roster choice.
The Marlins will get an extra position player when rosters expand on September 1, and De Los Santos is a strong candidate to be promoted then. But Miami is already in games with direct NL Wild Card implications, starting after Sunday’s series finale in Cincinnati and heading into a three-game set at home against the Philadelphia Phillies. For now, they are still going into those matchups without fully using the talent available to them.
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