The Miami Marlins have moved Brandon Compton up one more rung, and the left-handed power bat is now in Triple-A Jacksonville as his path to Miami keeps getting shorter.
Compton’s rise has been built on one loud calling card: he can really hit the ball. The 22-year-old outfielder, who Miami took in the second round with the 46th overall pick in the 2025 Major League Baseball Draft out of Arizona State, has been promoted to the highest level of the minors and is projected to spend most of next season there before a big-league debut in 2028.
He’s listed as a corner outfielder, but the glove has never been the selling point. Compton plays both corner spots, though he looks best suited to designated hitter work, especially with a throwing arm that has been affected since Tommy John surgery during his time with the Sun Devils. That shoulder injury has followed him, and it’s part of why the bat is carrying so much of the load now.
So far, the bat has answered every question. In 398 at-bats this season, Compton is hitting .274 with 33 home runs, 94 RBI and 83 runs scored. Those numbers were enough to earn his Sept 2 promotion to Triple-A, and from here the expectation is clear: Miami wants him in the lineup sooner rather than later.
The club’s MLB analysis paints the same picture - a hitter with real juice, a few holes, and plenty of room to grow. The report calls him a player with “incredible raw strength out of a crouched stance,” while also noting that the Marlins will have to keep working on his swing decisions. It also points out that he’s a decent runner and that the team has encouraged him to be more aggressive on the bases.
Defense remains the big obstacle. The report says his range in the outfield is lacking and leaves him limited to left field.
It also says he’s likely to get time at first base in 2026 to add versatility. Even so, the bat is what gives him a real shot, and the pressure is on to let that natural power play.
As the report puts it, “The lefty slugger is a stocky 6-foot-1 with incredible raw strength out of a crouched stance,” and “Compton was able to access that power more in his first college season when he controlled the zone better, and the Marlins will work closely on his swing decisions.”
The final piece of the evaluation makes the task plain: “Compton is a decent runner, and the Marlins have pushed him to be more aggressive on the basepaths. His range in the outfield is lacking, though, and [that] leaves him limited to left field. He's likely to get time at first base in 2026 to increase his versatility, but that lack of defensive value puts lots of pressure on him to unlock his natural power.”
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He has already thrown out 20 baserunners and has won 61.4% of his ABS challenges, while the Marlins have also seen their wild pitches drop from 65 in 2025 to 43 this season with him handling the staff. Add in the fact that the organization controls him through at least the 2032 season, and Macks early stretch in the majors is starting to look less like a pleasant surprise and more like a foundational piece the club can build around. [Read more 🡒]