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MLB

Yelich, Former Hammerheads Making a Splash

By Dave Albrecht
January 26, 2012
Excitement for the 2012 season continues to build within the Marlins’ organization.  They have a new downtown Miami ballpark slated to open in April.  They have a brightly redesigned logo to sport on their hats and uniforms.  They also acquired some highly-touted talent this offseason to send on the field in those uniforms.  And now, they have a young farmhand gaining national recognition after being listed among MLB.com’s Top 100 Prospects.

Christian Yelich finds himself ranked 35th on the list just released by MLB.com.  The 20-year old native from Thousand Oaks, CA was selected in the 1st Round (23rd overall) by the Marlins in the 2010 Draft out of Westlake High School.  He is ranked 6th among outfielders in a positional breakdown.  Yelich has also been named by Baseball America as the top prospect in Miami’s system.

In just his first full season of pro ball, Yelich finished in the top ten of numerous offensive categories in the South Atlantic League while playing for the Greensboro Grasshoppers in 2011.  His .312 batting average was good for third in the league.  He belted 15 homers, had 77 RBI and scored 73 runs while leading the Grasshoppers to a championship.  He also swiped 32 bases while only being caught five times last year. 

After being drafted, Yelich played in 12 games between the Gulf Coast League Marlins and the Grasshoppers in the 2010.  In those games, he hit a combined .362 with four extra-base hits, and five RBIs.

Yelich is expected to start the 2012 campaign with the Marlins’ Advanced-A affiliate, Jupiter Hammerheads. 

Coming in on the list at 87th is Matt Dominguez.  The Marlins’ infielder ranks 8th among third basemen.  Last season, Dominguez made his Major League debut for the Marlins after spending most of the year at Triple-A New Orleans.  He hit .244 with four doubles and 2 RBI for the Marlins after batting .258 with 12 homers and 55 RBI for the Zephyrs.

Dominguez called home to Roger Dean Stadium during the 2009 season when he played with the Hammerheads.  He hit .262 with 25 doubles, 11 home runs, and 53 RBI that year.  Dominguez is also a former 1st round pick (12th overall) by the Marlins in 2007.

Additionally, among the Miami Marlins’ non-roster invitees to Spring Training is last season’s Florida State League MVP, Kyle Jensen.  For the Hammerheads in 2011, Jensen batted .309 with 22 home runs, 66 RBI and 53 runs scored.  Although Jensen did not make this year’s list of MLB.com’s Top Prospects; he was named the Marlins’ Minor League Player of the Month last April.  

For more information on the Hammerheads or Spring Training at Roger Dean Stadium please call (561) 775-1818 or visit RogerDeanStadium.com.

The MLB.com Top Prospect List is assembled by Jonathan Mayo.