2010 MLB season preview: Florida Marlins


The notoriously cheap Florida Marlins signed a few free agents this off season; of course they signed them to Minor League contracts. They were forced to spend some money on a few players or risk running afoul of the MLBPA. However this is a team that features one of the best young roster in all baseball. National League Batting Champion Hanley Ramirez, Ace Josh Johnson, and reining National League rookie of the year Chris Coghlan are all on this club and they could be something special.

The main question, the Marlins have to answer is who will play the corners? Right now it looks like Jorge Cantu would play third, and Logan Morrison or Gaby Sanchez would man first. However it seems that there will be a healthy competition through out spring training to determine who will start April 5th against the New York Mets.

Next the Marlins must figure out if Cameron Maybin has finally arrived. It looks like the job in center is his to lose, and this is his second chance to win the starters job. In early 2009 the club put him out there but he struck out 31 times in 84 at bats and was sent down to Triple A ball. The Marlins are hoping he worked on his swing, and has better pitch recognition this time around.

The last thing to worry about is the age of the starting rotation. 27 year old Ricky Nolasco will be the senior member. In 2009 six different pitchers made at least 10 starts, which means they do not have a solid plan behind ace Johnson. This team needs to figure it out, or maybe make a deal for a veteran to mentor their young staff.
In the end the Marlins look to be a pretty good team on paper, but they are not a team ready to make a playoff run. Look for them to have a .500 record and build a little more for the future.

Related Links:

Florida Marlins news and notes
The Business of Major League Baseball
•MLB Complete.com

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