JACKSONVILLE — Miami Marlins prospect Cam Cannarella, who dropped from a projected Top-10 pick to No. 43 overall in the 2025 MLB Draft after shoulder surgery, reached Triple-A Jacksonville after just 34 games at Double-A, powered by a June surge in which he walked 23 times while striking out only 20.
The promotion came July 17 for the 22-year-old center fielder, who was selected with the Marlins’ Competitive Balance Round A pick. Cannarella’s season nearly derailed when he fractured his left wrist at High-A Beloit in mid-April — the first broken bone of his life — costing him five weeks. He rehabbed daily in Jupiter, Fla.
“I’m a lefty, so I couldn’t write or eat or anything, and just missing games, for sure, was one big part of it, too,” Cannarella recalled.
Cannarella’s approach at the plate has separated him from his peers at every level. His chase rate of 18 percent sits well below the league-wide rate of 27 percent for Triple-A and the Florida State League, while his in-zone contact rate of 81 percent matches the league average of 81.9 percent. Against fastballs, he is slashing .356/.461/.577, compared with the league-wide .274/.387/.442. Against secondary pitches, he is hitting .308/.371/.513, far above the .228/.298/.379 posted by his peers.
“Just trying to hit for extra-base hits, more power, for sure, just not trying to strike out as much, and getting more walks,” Cannarella told MLB.com in late June. “Hitting more homers and then just getting faster.”
The 6-foot, 185-pound Cannarella brings 60-grade run and field tools to center field, a position he did not pick up until his freshman year of college after growing up playing on the left side of the infield. His hardest-hit ball has been a 104.6 mph double, and his fastest sprint speed has reached 29.1 mph in six games at Jacksonville. During his rehab in Jupiter, he roomed in Pensacola, Fla., with Aiva Arquette, the Marlins’ 2025 first-round pick who is sidelined with a thumb injury. The two attended Clemson and Oregon State, respectively, and met after the Draft.
“Just trusting the process every day and just trusting my hitting coaches and just talking to people that know how to hit, I guess,” Cannarella said. “I just feel like I’m in a good zone right now, just hitting the ball, seeing the ball. I just feel good at the plate.”
Cannarella opened his Triple-A tenure 3-for-19 with one homer, six strikeouts and four walks before breaking out with his first career four-hit performance Friday. While facing competition on average four years older than him, the organization’s highest-ranked center fielder has his sights set on one specific target.
“I guess one goal will be just like winning the Minor League Player of the Year, but other than that, no,” Cannarella said.