25. Jacob Marceaux

25. Jacob Marceaux -RHP - 6'1 - 195lbs
(last year: 20)

In 2005, the Marlins took 5 pitchers in the first 44 overall picks. The only college pitcher of the five, Jacob Marceaux, is the one who has shown the least. He had a terrible pro debut between Jamestown and Greensboro where he went 3-8 with a 7.56era and a 1.77whip in 66.2 innings. Still with a four pitch arsenal, he was rated pretty high by scouts and Baseball America alike.

All of his numbers improved from Greensboro to Jupiter in 2006, including dropping his whip from 2.49 to 1.40 and improving his k/9 from 5.49 to 6.14. His fastball sits at the 88-92 range, but his problem early on was overthrowing. The Marlins blame themselves for his early struggles because they made an adjustment to his delivery, which made him close his front side. After months of struggles, they told him to go back to his old form and his numbers showed much improvement in his second year.

The 2007 season was yet another filled with struggles for Marceaux. He suffered an arm injury and only was able to record 40 innings of work. Of note was the fact he was used only as a reliever that season as that is what many believe best suits him. His numbers declined from 2006 to 2007 because of his lack of command. He was walking nearly 6 per 9. He didn't give up a homerun, and opposing batters hit just .238 off of him. So he was still missing bats and making hitters pound the ball into the dirt. Jacob had a stint in the Arizona Fall League to end the year and while is era was down to 4.38, his walks and hits allowed were still up in his 17.1 innings of work.

This season in Carolina was much of the same for Jacob. He was unhittable again but he walked just about as many as he struck out.All four of his pitches have been graded out as + pitches at some point. To go along with his fastball, he has a mid 80s slider, a mid 70s spike curveball and a changeup. Marceaux will join many of his former Mudcats teammates in New Orleans. His prospect status hinges directly on his control of the four pitches.