25-year old lefty swinging outfielder Jeremy Hermida’s career with the Marlins is likely over. The Marlins will likely not tender him a contract for 2010 making him a free agent. Hermida played in 129 games for the Marlins this season and he was 111 for 429 (.259 avg, .740 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 13 homers, 47 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Hermida has now played in 516 games in his career with the Fish and he is 452 for 1,708 (.265 avg, .769 OPS) with 222 runs scored, 57 homers, 210 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. It’s unlikely that Hermida would ever live up to his ability with the Marlins and he would need to have a manager like Ozzie Guillen or Lou Piniella to get the best out of him.

22-year old righty swinging CF Cameron Maybin came into this season as the Marlins’ #1 prospect according to Baseball America. He was the key player the Marlins got back in the Miguel Cabrera/Dontrelle Willis trade with the Tigers and he hasn’t shown anything yet…but he is still young. Maybin was great in the minors this season playing in 82 games in AAA-ball in which he was 95 for 298 (.319 avg, .862 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 3 homers, 39 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. But in the majors he has looked lost for the Marlins. Maybin has played in 46 games for the Marlins this season and he is 32 for 146 (.219 avg, .636 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 2 homers, 7 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has also whiffed 47 times for the Marlins often looking terrible at the plate. The Marlins are banking on Maybin living up to his ability soon.

24-year old lefty swinging outfielder Chris Coghlan has been impressive as a rookie this season. He has played in 116 games for the Marlins and he is 140 for 452 (.310 avg, .832 OPS) with 74 runs scored, 9 homers, 42 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. With the way he has played this season he probably has pushed Jeremy Hermida to another team and that’s a good thing.

Shortstop Hanley Ramirez has responded well to being dropped to the #3 spot in the lineup. He has played in 141 games for the Marlins this year and he is 190 for 540 (.352 avg, .972 OPS) with 95 runs scored, 23 homers, 100 RBIs and 26 stolen bases. Ramirez is the best hitting shortstop on the planet and I think he will be winning a MVP award soon as he keeps getting better.

The handwriting is on the wall that the Marlins will move both 29-year old starting 2B Dan Uggla and 27-year old righty swinging 1B/3B Jorge Cantu over the winter. Uggla is primed to get a huge raise in arbitration. He has played in 146 games for the Marlins this season and he is 125 for 520 (.240 avg, .811 OPS) with 79 runs scored, 29 homers and 81 RBIs. Uggla has played four years for the Marlins and he has played in 605 games in which he is 590 for 2,294 (.257 avg, .827 OPS) with 394 runs scored, 119 homers and 351 RBIs. I would find a way to keep Uggla if I were running the Marlins because their aren’t many 2B that can hit the ball like Uggla. Jorge Cantu has been playing a lot of 3B lately and he is having a good season again for the Fish. Cantu has played in 138 games for the Marlins this season and he is 152 for 543 (.280 avg, .774 OPS) with 62 runs scored, 16 homers and 89 RBIs. In two years for the Marlins, Cantu has played in 293 games in which he is 326 for 1,171 (.278 avg) with 154 runs scored, 45 homers and 184 RBIs. With the Marlins getting a new stadium in a couple of years they should keep both Cantu and Uggla.

I might be insulting 28-year old righty swinging outfielder when I call this a “career year” for him. After all this is the first time he’s been a everyday player in the majors so he might just be warming up. Ross has played in 141 games for the Marlins this season and he is 143 for 524 (.273 avg, .799 OPS) with 71 runs scored, 22 homers, 85 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Jeremy Hermida should watch Ross and learn how to be a good baseball player.

26-year old righty reliever Leo Nunez is not a lights out closer by any stretch of the imagination. But, he has pitched well enough to keep the job even when Matt Lindstrom returned from the D.L. Nunez has pitched in 68 games (0 starts) for the Marlins this season and he is 4-5 with 21 saves, a 4.04 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Nunez does have good stuff as he has only allowed 52 hits in 62 1/3 innings this season while whiffing 56. He’s no sure shot to be the Marlins’ closer next season but at least he has shown that he is capable of doing the job.

The Marlins have released 31-year old righty reliever Luis Ayala. Ayala pitched in 10 games (0 starts) for the Marlins and he was 0-3 with a 11.74 ERA and a 2.35 WHIP. Batters were running up to the plate against Ayala batting .364 vs. him. The Marlins had a lot of pitchers who are better than Ayala meaning they had no reason to keep him around.