As Jacob Berry’s dream becomes reality, Marlins hope for quick rise from 2022 first-round pick

Jacob Berry, wearing one of the Miami Marlins’ blue pregame workout shirts, made his way to the field at loanDepot park on Thursday and got his first taste of what his future might hold.

He chatted with manager Don Mattingly. He fielded ground balls at third base alongside Brian Anderson. He took hacks during batting practice — showing off his simple yet powerful swing from both the left and right sides of the plate, including hitting a pair of home runs while batting left-handed. And then he threw out a ceremonial first pitch before the Marlins began their first game following the All-Star Break against the Texas Rangers.

“It’s always good to hit in a big-league park,” Berry said. “There’s never a bad day.”

The Marlins hope — and Berry believes — he’ll be back up here sooner than later as a full-time member of the big-league club.

Berry, a switch-hitting infielder out of LSU, was the headliner of the Marlins’ 2022 draft as the No. 6 overall pick in the MLB Draft on Sunday. He signed for $6 million, slightly below the $6.03 million slot value.

Shortly after the selection was made, Marlins senior director of amateur scouting DJ Svihlik proclaimed that Berry is “pretty close” to being big-league ready. He cited the 21-year-old’s “extreme plate discipline,” “really good bat-to-ball skills” and his “physical tools and ability to impact the ball.”

“You get really excited that those characteristics are going to quickly carry over into professional baseball and carry him quickly through the system,” Svihlik said.

Whether the expedited rise happens will be seen in due time.

For now, Berry is soaking in the moment as he prepares for the real work to begin. Just four days ago, as Berry waited for his name to be called on Sunday, he described the situation as “nerve wracking.” There were close to 100 people — friends, family, coaches — all packed together in the Berry household in the Phoenix suburb of Queen Creek.

And then came pick No. 6. Berry was nearly at a lost for words as the household celebration began.

“One of my lifelong dreams,” Berry said, “came true.”

‘Super determined’

Before diving into his physical tools, let’s first address a common theme expressed about Berry by those close to him that helped lead to his dream becoming a reality.

“Super determined,” said Jay Johnson, Berry’s coach both at Arizona as a freshman and LSU as a sophomore. “I’ve never had a player in all my years want to work on their own more or want to do more both offensively and defensively.”

Added Mikel Moreno, Berry’s coach at Queen Creek (Arizona) High: “The thing that makes him really, really special is his willingness to change and improve, to work, to continue to get better and not just be happy with what he accomplished and say ‘I’m not going to make any adjustments. I don’t need to listen to anybody.’ It was ‘I’m going to continue to be better. I’m going to be coachable.’”

And Svihlik: “He’s resilient. He’s not going to be stopped. Nobody’s gonna outwork him.”

It’s been that way since he started playing sports around 4 years old.

He was a multi-sport athlete growing up — “baseball, football, everything,” Berry said — but gravitated more toward baseball as he grew up.

His dad, Perry Berry, was a fourth-round pick by the Houston Astros in 1990 and he played four seasons in the minor leagues. He had full support from his parents since the start of his baseball journey.

He specifically mentioned Paul Goldschmidt as a player he tries to emulate his game after.

And he always came to the field with a singular focus: Find a way to improve.

“We could literally just go in the cage for a 15-minute session before or after practice and he could get himself on track,” Johnson said.

‘The best hitter in this draft’

As Berry’s name was called on Sunday and he was the first college player taken in the draft, one thought crossed Johnson’s mind.

“The Marlins,” Johnson said, “got the best hitter in this draft.”

That was the Marlins’ plan. Svihlik acknowledged prior to the draft that the Marlins’ organizational pitching depth was further ahead than its position players. Getting one of the top bats the draft had to offer, as a result, became a priority.

The Marlins had their share of players to choose from. Berry, Cal Poly shortstop Brooks Lee, Georgia Tech catcher Kevin Parada and Texas Tech second baseman Jace Jung were all available for the Marlins to select.

“Ultimately,” Svihlik said, “it’s going to come down to how comfortable you feel with the bat. There’s very, very few players in the country that are without defensive holes. As soon as you get out of that very, very small group of players, you end up talking specifically about the bat. That’s what drove the selection and that’s what makes us really confident in Jacob’s ability.”

What is it about Berry’s approach that stands out?

“Hitting is so complex,” Moreno said. “It’s so difficult, but his goal is only to barrel balls. He’s not trying to launch balls. He’s not trying to get four hits. All he’s trying to do is barrel balls because when he barrels balls, good things happen.”

‘Jacob Berry will be a first round pick’

Moreno would know. He had an inkling about Berry’s talent instantly when he arrived at Queen Creek High.

So much so that he made a bold proclamation.

“This is not revisionist history,” Moreno said, “but I said, ‘Jacob Berry will be a first round pick’ when I got him as a freshman in high school. That was just my opinion. Everybody thought I was crazy.”

Five years later, the prediction doesn’t seem so outlandish considering how Berry kept true to himself and maximized his strength in his swing.

“This guy should be able to play at the next level as long as I don’t screw him up,” Moreno said. “High school was not his ultimate destination. He was going to be a Major League Baseball player. I had to do my best to prepare him for that.”

So for four years, they focused on fundamentals. They dove deep into his approach at the plate and experimented with his swing.

“He was only a freshman in high school,” Moreno said, “and I thought ‘Man, this is pretty good. It’s pretty next level stuff.’”

Johnson agreed.

The college coach first saw video of Berry in the summer of 2017, between Berry’s freshman and sophomore year.

Johnson’s initial thoughts?

“When I saw him hit and swing, I was like ‘OK, that’s different,’” Johnson said. “I don’t get sold on guys quickly, but it was like ‘Hey, we need to get on this guy and go get this guy like right now.’”

Berry committed to Johnson at Arizona about a year later.

He finished his prep career by posting an OPS over 1.000 in each of his final three seasons. He hit 14 home runs and recorded 64 RBI and 76 runs over 88 career high school games.

If not for the 2020 MLB Draft being condensed to five rounds due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Berry likely would have been drafted out of high school.

Baseball America had him ranked as the No. 197 prospect in the draft that year, noting he had an “aggressive swing with plus bat speed, consistently registering good exit velocities” and that he projected as an “above-average hitter with at least average power, with a solid approach at the plate.”

Instead, he went undrafted and found himself heading to Arizona.

And for two years, he continued to dominate.

As a freshman with the Wildcats, he hit .352 with a .676 slugging mark, 17 home runs, 70 RBI and 54 runs scored in 63 games.

He then transferred to LSU for his sophomore year, following Johnson after his college coach accepted the Tigers’ head coaching job.

With LSU, Berry hit .370, crushed 15 home runs, recorded 48 RBI and scored 47 runs. He also drew more walks (27) than strikeouts (22).

Johnson called Berry’s talents “really rare,” especially considering how quickly he developed his knack for hitting.

“It’s even more rare,” Johnson said, “when they’re that good and that young and then they actually show up at college. That’s something I’m obviously very grateful for. He could have definitely gone out of high school but didn’t. The hitting ability is that special. But the real story with him is the person, the character, the makeup, the drive, the human being. That’s elite.”

Another facet of Berry’s game that helps is his growth as a switch hitter. He’s been taking at-bats from both sides of the plate since he was “a little kid” and has thrived ever since.

In high school, Moreno made it a point of emphasis to make sure that Berry took an even number of reps hitting from both sides, regardless of the pitching matchup. There weren’t too many quality left-handed pitchers in the high school ranks when Berry was at Queen Creek, so he would occasionally hit right-handed against right-handed pitching even though the situation would normally predicate that he hits lefty.

“He takes an equal amount of preparation and pride in both sides,” Moreno said.

Areas to improve

The main sticking point with Berry comes with his glove and if he will be able to stay at third base as he rises through the ranks of professional baseball.

He rarely played at Arizona as a freshman, relegated to designated hitter duties for the most part.

However, he started most of his games for LSU at the hot corner. There were struggles early on, which were to be expected, but Johnson saw Berry elevate his defense.

“He made himself into a good third baseman,” Johnson said. “That’s is 100 percent all credit to him because that was just him saying ‘I’m gonna make this happen. I know this might be the part of my game that people don’t think I’m as good at so I’m going to find a way to become a really good third baseman.’ For us, during the back half of the year, he was certainly that.”

Berry said he could see the improvement with each defensive rep last season.

“I think every game I stepped out there, I got a little more confident, a little better,” Berry said. “I made my fair share of mistakes and I’m gonna make a lot more mistakes. It’s gonna make me a better player and help me grow as an individual.”

All-round growth is Berry’s priority at this point. He’s a professional baseball player now.

Being at loanDepot park on Thursday for the first time as a member of the Marlins’ organization made the reality sink in.

“I’ll never forget this,” Berry said.

If all works out, he won’t have to forget it because, sooner or later, he’ll be back at the ballpark full-time.