Prospect spotlight: Griffin Conine providing power for Beloit Snappers

Prospect spotlight: Griffin Conine providing power for Beloit Snappers

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Miami Marlins prospect Griffin Conine, the son of Mr. Marlin himself, Jeff Conine, now has seven home runs for High A Beloit

By Joe Frisaro @ManOn2nd

The son of Mr. Marlin is mashing in the Minor Leagues.

Griffin Conine connected on home run No. 7 on Tuesday for the Beloit Snappers.

Conine’s latest power display came in the first inning, and the Snappers breezed to a 7-0 victory over the Quad Cities River Bandits.

The Snappers are the Miami Marlins’ High A affiliate, the organization’s only affiliate not based in the state of Florida.

Beloit is currently is second place in the High A Central West Division.

Conine, acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays for Jonathan Villar last year, is the son of former Marlins’ All-Star and two-time World Series champion, Jeff Conine.

Griffin Conine, 23, is a South Florida native, and he attended Duke University, before being a second-round pick of the Blue Jays in 2018.

A left-handed hitting right fielder, Conine is providing plenty of pop at Beloit, the kind that makes him a projectable MLB player.

MO2 has taking a look at the Beloit squad, and has gathered insider information from our industry sources on Conine and others on the Snappers.

On Conine, we’ve heard that he has plenty of raw power, and it is to all fields. He recently hit an opposite-field shot. In terms of his numbers, Conine’s slash line is .284/.396/.602 with seven home runs and 21 RBIs.

Strikeouts are an issue, as his K rate is 35.8 percent, but he’s also walking at a 15.1 clip.

Obviously, we’re in an age of high strikeout rates. But for the High A level, that nearly 36 percent rate is worth watching, because the quality of pitching Conine will face at the upper Minor League levels will improve.

Still, prospects with legitimate power will get every opportunity, especially a left-handed power bat.

In general, when it comes to making contact, MO2 anticipates hitters will start catching up to the pitchers, who have had a tremendous advantage due to lost playing time. Remember, there was no Minor League season in 2020 due to the pandemic. Pitchers have been able to throw off the mound, while hitters have lacked the game-reps at the plate. There’s only so much a batter can get out of simulated and scrimmage games, often against the same pitchers.

Here’s a rundown on some other Beloit prospects:

OF Connor Scott: The 13th overall pick in 2018, Scott last played on May 23. The left-handed hitting outfielder is dealing with some sort of leg or lower-body injury. Scott remains listed on the active roster, and injury information has been vague, if given at all, in the Minor Leagues this year.

What we’ve heard is Scott has appeared to be hobbled while running. That’s an issue, because speed is a big part of his game.

Scott went 2-for-4 on May 15, raising his average that day to .341. However, he didn’t play from May 15 to May 21. He played on May 22-23 and combined to go 0-for-8, and he hasn’t played since.

In 13 games, Scott is batting .288 with a .349 slugging percentage.

C Will Banfield: Banfield is a player MO2 is closely watching, because we feel he is undervalued by many major prospect ranking services. The reason being, catching in general is not rewarded much for how they handle the defensive part of the game. Hitting weighs heavily on these lists. Across baseball, it’s hard to find all-around catchers, those who can hit for average and power, along with being better than average defensively.

Banfield, defensively, has the ability to have a long MLB career, either as a regular or a backup. How much he hits will determine if he is a starter or a reserve.

Defensively, Banfield remains as advertised. His arm is outstanding, as is he ability to handle a pitching staff, and his receiving stills are top notch.

It’s at the plate that he struggles. His average is .157, with a slugging percentage of .361. Still, Banfield does have power. He’s already hit four homers and has 12 RBIs.

According to our sources, Banfield can crush the baseball. But he’s too pull happy at the plate. Once he figures out how to use the entire field more, he could develop into an everyday big leaguer.

OF Kameron Misner: The talent is there. For Misner, it’s a matter of when it will come out?

This is what makes Misner one of the Marlins’ more interesting prospects, because he looks the part of a big league regular. He’s a left-handed hitter with power potential. He can run and play all three outfield spots. In 2018 at Missouri, Misner hit .360. But he’s struggling to be consistent thus far in pro ball.

The Marlins selected Misner 35th overall in the 2019 MLB Draft.

Misner off to a slow start, hitting .192 with a .616 OPS, along with one home run. He’s stolen seven bases and has scored 17 runs.

With more reps, the hope is Misner will deliver more production.

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