Jan 15 2009
MLB 30 in 30: Florida Marlins
The Marlins tried to compete in a 2 team division, finishing 3rd with a record of 84-77. That record is very respectable seeing that they traded Dontrelle Willis, their ace, and thier best hitter in Miguel Cabrera. They still do have Hanley Ramirez, who I think will be a league MVP very soon. The Marlins are an extremely raw and young team, however, they do have some stars/stars in the making already. This team plays spolier every year, and is a threat to win the Wild Card any year. The Marlins made a few deals over the offseason, trading their closer in Kevin Gregg for hard throwing Jose Ceda. Not a bad deal, but Ceda has a promising future for sure, plus they have Matt Lindstrom, now commited to the USA team for the World Baseball Classic, to be their closer. They traded power hitting first baseman Mike Jacobs to the Royals for RP Leo Nunez. Another deal that doesn’t make too much sense, but they had some offense to give up to get some pitching help. They do have Logan Morrison in the wings, and Jorge Cantu who can play 1st and 3rd. They did make an interesting trade with the Nationals, trading away Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham for E. Bonaficio, Jake Smolinski, and P.J. Dean. Another baffling trade, but the Marlins scouts are very good and are great eyes for young talent. They recently signed Scott Proctor to replace the non-tendered Joe Nelson, which really made no sense either. I do not like any of the moves they made, but that is why they are in the baseball front office and I am just a baseball fan and blogger. The Marlins did make history last year by having all four players in their infield hit 25+ HRs.
Here is the Marlins projected position players this year:
C: John Baker / Mike Rabelo: I am not sure which one will start, but Rabelo has more experience. It will probably be a platoon, but a weak platoon at best.
1B: Jorge Cantu: A surprise year from Cantu last year, who went .277 with 29 HR and 95 RBI. A great year for Cantu for sure, but can he repeat it? He improved vastly from his 2007 season so the Marlins will count on his bat in the middle of the order.
2B: Dan Uggla: Another power hitter, Uggla went .260 but hit 32 HR with 92 RBI. Uggla might be best known for going 0-5 with 3 errors in the All Star Game, yet didn’t blow the game. Uggla my be moving to 3rd base if the Marlins sign Orlando Hudson to play 2nd (rumored).
SS: Hanley Ramirez: One of the best players in the league, and easily the best SS in his division even though you will get Mets and Phillies fans saying it is Jose Reyes or Jimmy Rollins. Hanley hit .301 with 31 HR and 67 RBI last year adding in 35 SB. That is an amazing year for Hanley, who was acquired in the Josh Beckett blockbuster deal years ago. His name resurfaced in talks about returning to Boston, but those talks fell through. If Pujols were not amazing, Hanley would have earned 2-3 MVP awards in the future.
3B: Dallas Mcpherson (pending): McPherson, minor league HR masher, did not perform well when he was in the bigs with the Angels, but the potential is there. Uggla may play here, pending Orlando Hudson.
OF: Cameron Maybin, Jeremy Hermida, Cody Ross: A young, yet very underrated OF. Ross did have 22 HR last year, Hermida is always touted as a guy to break out but he hasn’t yet, and Maybin is just shaping in the form, although still very raw and needs to learn to lay off pitches way out of the strike zone.
Here is their projected rotation and closer this year:
SP: Ricky Nolasco, Josh Johnson, Chris Volstad, Anibal Sanchez, Andrew Miller: If you were to not be a basebal fan, you would think in your head, who are these guys? But this staff is actually very good and can compete, although young. Nolasco surprised many last year, having a 15-8 record with a 3.52 ERA. Josh Johnson in limited action went 7-1, Chris Volstad was 6-4 but was a highly touted prospect and should improve. Andrew Miller, the big star in the trade of Miguel Cabrera is their 5th starter, and he is a very good 5th starter. He should improve as well.
CL: Matt Lindstrom: This hard throwing reliever will now step in for Kevin Gregg and should do well in the closers role. He also just accepted team USA’s invitation to play with them in the World Baseball Classic (WBC)
My expectations for this team: I can see this team winning the wild card, surprising the Mets or Phillies. I think they will displace the Phillies, its bold, but the Mets improvements are nice and the Phillies haven’t done anything spectacular. The Marlins should just get better and have some guys waiting in the wings like Logan Morrison, who can provide some pop and either be spoiler or even compete for a playoff spot.
