Marlins Select Austin Dean

The Marlins announced Wednesday that they’ve selected the contract of outfield prospect Austin Dean prior to tonight’s game and optioned infielder/outfielder Christopher Bostick to Triple-A New Orleans in his place.

Dean, 24, was the Marlins’ fourth-round pick in the 2012 draft and ranked 28th among Miami farmhands on the midseason update from Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. He’s had a strong season between Double-A Jacksonville and New Orleans, hitting at a combined .345/.410/.511 clip with a dozen homers, 20 doubles, five triples and a pair of steals in 446 trips to the plate. Dean has also shown outstanding bat-to-ball skills, striking out at just a 12.5 percent clip while drawing walks in 8.7 percent of his plate appearances. Callis and Mayo note that he has more doubles power than home run pop at present, though the Marlins believe he’ll eventually carry some of his raw power over into a game setting.

With Martin Prado recently joining Lewis Brinson on the disabled list, the Marlins can move Brian Anderson from right field back to third base, opening a fairly regular slate of at-bats for Dean in his first look at the Majors. He’ll likely join Magneuris Sierra and Rafael Ortega in the outfield for the time being as he looks to prove that he can be a long-term piece for the Marlins. Dean has primarily played in left field throughout his minor league tenure, and that seems to be his likeliest spot in the big league lineup for the time being, though he does have experience in both right field (1050 innings) and in center field (114 innings).