A look at the all-time best third-round draft picks

In honor of the Miami Dolphins not picking until the third round, it’s time to look at the best third round picks in Miami Marlins history.

No one ever said all the good players come in the first round, Miami Marlins fans.

Well, okay, maybe basketball fans say it. That’s a weird draft, that NBA one. That’s also a truism baseball fans don’t really need to be told, and Marlins fans in particular. A quick glance at the franchise’s Mt. Rushmore of hitters really only produces one first-round draftee, and the Marlins didn’t even make that pick themselves. Baseball’s draft won’t be taking place until July, as MLB is in year two of making the event part of All-Star week.

However, the NFL Draft is upon us, and accordingly the rest of the sporting world must take a backseat for a few days as Mel Kiper Jr. tells us why 255 or kids are going to difference-makers.

Alright, maybe the other leagues can keep going. Still, there’s no denying the NFL version of the draft is the most interesting, and it’s always a good time to start looking back on times that the first year player draft really came through for our other teams. Particularly when your football team really isn’t giving you much reason to pay attention to it. The Miami Dolphins entered this weekend not having a selection until the third round. The last time that happened, the Dolphins were still on their first successor to Dan Marino.

All of which leads us slowly and meanderingly to the big question: Just who were the best third-round draft picks in Miami Marlins history?

Before diving into this, I do need to give a brief shout out to Peyton Burdick and Zach McCambley. Miami’s respective 2019 and 2020 third-round selections, both of them have already flashed enough potential in the minors to give cause to believe that they could crack this list some day. As it is though, MLB production is the driving force in this ranking, not just more ephemeral notions like stuff and potential. If it was just about stuff, I’d be tempted to put McCambley on it already.

When it comes to that MLB production though, coming up with a Top 3 list of Miami Marlins third round picks was … actually quite easy. Only three players were really worthy of any kind of consideration. Fortunately, all three of those players are really good, and with the benefit of hindsight, were stellar draft day values.

Let’s dive in, starting with…