Congratulations, you’ve reached the end of the right-handed pitching prospects on the top 80, and if you wanted talent, you will not be disappointed. Marcos Molina is oozing with talent, boasting frontline starter material, and already has control of all of his pitches. However, he had Tommy John Surgery in September and will likely miss the 2016 season.

#9 RHP Marcos Molina

Ht: 6’3″ Wt: 188  Level: GCL & St. Lucie Mets  B/T:R/R  Age: 3/8/1995 (21)  Age Dif: -2.9

Statistics: 44.1 IP, 9 games, 8 games started, 4.26 ERA, 49 hits, 11 BB/36 K

In Baseball Prospectus‘s 2014 top 10 Mets Prospects Jason Parks shocked Mets fans everywhere by including 18 year old Right-hander Marcos Molina, who had posted a 4.39 ERA at Rookie-Level Gulf Coast league in the top 10 ranking. At the time, Parks described him as “electric”, however he also stated he was raw.

Signed for 100K out of the Dominican Republic in 2012, his initial report by Baseball America stated him as a guy with a smooth delivery with the ability to throw strikes consistently. At the time of his signing,

he had an 88-92 mile per hour fastball, with an above-average changeup, but the curve was very slurvy. He went to work immediately in the Dominican Summer league, pitching 14 games, and posting a 3.58 ERA in 55.1 innings.

When he went stateside, he didn’t miss many bats, but he solidified his consideration as a starter to many scouts in the audience. In 2014, right after Parks made a ranking gamble on Molina, he rewarded Jason’s faith by dazzling the college-age league New York-Penn League with a 1.78 ERA. His domination earned him the honor of top prospect of the NYPL in 2014 by Baseball America.

The Mets were so pleased by Molina, that they jumped him to High-A St. Lucie in 2015. Molina did well in his first five games, posting a 3.33 era with 28 K’s in 27 innings, before letting up 11 hits and six earned runs against Tampa, and going down with forearm issues after a May 13th start. Molina tried to come back in August but after 3 starts, he wasn’t healthy enough to continue pitching and underwent Tommy John Surgery that September.

Molina is strange to me. He’s highly touted for his stuff but his delivery causes a slight split between scouts to whether he will become a starter or a reliever.

He throws relatively hard, with a 92-94 mile per hour fastball that reaches 96, he pounds the zone with ease through a three-quarter slot. He also is armed with a plus changeup and an improving slider that he can locate pretty easily like his fastball.

However, his delivery can be worrying, as he has little leg movement and a short stride, both of which make him rely mostly on arm speed. This could cause potential strain on the arm. The GIF above shows his delivery. As predicted, elbow issues persisted, and we won’t see him again until the season 2017 in his Age-22 year. He will likely re-start in St. Lucie after rehab games in the Gulf Coast League.

Prior Top 80 Articles:

#10 Robert Gsellman #11 Logan Verrett, #12 Seth Lugo, #13 Jhoan Urena, #14 Gabriel Ynoa, #15 Ali Sanchez, #16 Luis Guillorme, #17 Chris Flexen, #18 Max Wotell, #19 Milton Ramos, #20 Akeel Morris, 25-21, 30-26 35-31, 40-36, 45-41, 50-46, 60-51, 70-61, 80-71

Ted’s Prospect Extras:

It’s Molina’s 21st Birthday today (3/8)

On his profile page as a Brooklyn Cyclone, when asked what he would do if he won the lottery, he said that he would start a home for Abandoned Children.