Marlins

Prospects on Deck: SS/2B J.T. Riddle – Marlins

Future looks bright for Marlins No. 9 Ranked Prospect.

by
David Conde
March 13, 2017

In the 2013 MLB June Amateur draft the Miami Marlins selected J.T. Riddle out of the University of Kentucky.

Riddle was named Kentucky High School Mr. Baseball in 2010, after batting .514 as a senior, with seven home runs, 62 RBIs, 32 runs, and 20 stolen bases, while striking just five times all season. Not only was Riddle a star infielder, but he also posted an 8-0 record, with a 1.26 ERA, and 90 strikeouts in 60 innings.

The Kentucky native had a solid college career before starting his pro career in 2013 with the Batavia Muckdogs of the NY Penn League (Low A), where he hit .243, with two home runs and 18 RBI’s in 59 games.

In 2014, Riddle was promoted to Class-A Greensboro Grasshoppers (Full Season) in the South Atlantic League, and in 103 games, his numbers improved from 2013, as he batted .280, with 65 runs, 17 doubles, four triples, nine home runs and 60 RBI’s.

During the 2015 season, Riddle split time between Class-A Advanced Jupiter Hammerheads and Double-A Jacksonville Suns, playing in 45 games with the Hammerheads, batting .270, with 30 runs score, six doubles and nine RBI’s. But he elevated his game after a promotion to the Suns in late June, where batted .289, with 26 runs scored, six doubles, five home runs and 20 RBI’s in 44 games.

Riddle did appear in a game with the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs, on August 4th and was 2 for 3, with two runs, and two walks.

This past summer, he started the season with the Suns and in 101 games, he batted .278, with 49 runs scored, 18 doubles, four triples, three home runs and 51 RBI’s. Then on August 18th, Riddle was promoted to the Zephyrs, enjoyed a 10 game hitting streak, while also batting .268 (15 for 56) in 15 games.

Riddle did well in his short stint in Triple-A in 2016 and there is a good chance he may end up there at the start of the season. Based on his stats so far in the minors, he doesn’t project to put up power numbers in the home run column, but he has averaged nearly 15 doubles and 40 RBI’s a season so far in the minors. He is shown to be a player that will put the ball in play and make things happen.

So far this spring with the big club, the 25-year old is batting .261 (6 for 23), with two doubles, a triple, and three RBI’s in 13 games.

Riddle is ranked No. 9 on the Marlins Top Prospect list and the No. 2 ranked infielder. Scouts have predicted that Riddle will land a job sometime in the future with the big club as a utility ball player.

We wish him well in his journey to the big leagues.

David Conde

David is the Co-Founder and Executive Editor of Legends On Deck®, as well as a Co-Host on Legends On Deck Podcast. David was a Senior Editor for MetsMerizedOnline.com, MetsMinors.net and Contributor for Hardballchat.com that spanned from 2010 to 2014. David made his MLB Debut as a writer in June 2014, while covering the NY Mets at Citi Field, for MetsmerizedOnline.com. David also coaches baseball for ages 13-15, a Babe Ruth League team in his local community. David's passion is coaching the game he loves to the future Legends of Tomorrow as well as making available a website that people can have fun sharing and reading. David is also passionate about his career as a Mortgage Loan Officer which allows him to help many families reach their dreams of owning a home. Connect with David via his Social Media pages as he loves to chat all about baseball.