30-year old righty swinging 2B/3B Hector Luna should be the next infielder the Marlins call up. He has played in 85 games in AAA-ball so far this season and he is 92 of 313 (.294 avg, .840 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 14 homers, 60 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Luna has the versatility to help the Marlins as he can play the outfield as well as 2B and 3B. He also has had some success in the majors as a bench player which is where the Marlins need help.

The Marlins have designated 34-year old lefty swinging 1B/3B Mike Lamb for assignment for the second time this season. He has played in 39 games for the Marlins this year and he is 7 of 38 (.184 avg, .488 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 4 RBIs. The Marlins have called up 24-year old lefty swinging outfielder Bryan Petersen to replace Lamb on the roster. Petersen played in 12 games earlier this season for the Marlins and he was 1 for 16 (.063 avg, .180 OPS) with 1 run scored. The Marlins hope Petersen does a lot better this time around.

The Florida Marlins are 42-46 which has them in 4th place in the N.L. East, 10 games behind the Braves. The Marlins might go into a selling mode in the second half of the season. This year though they have had a lot of surprises and disappointments and here’s a look at them:

Pleasant Surprises: 26-year old righty swinging 1B Gaby Sanchez has burst onto the scene this year and he is playing well. Sanchez has played in 84 games for the Marlins so far this year and he is 95 of 315 (.302 avg, .832 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 9 homers, 38 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. 26-year old righty starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez is finally healthy right now and he’s pitching well. Sanchez has started 17 games for the Marlins this year and he is 7-6 with a 3.66 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. 26-year old righty closer Leo Nunez had a very solid first half of 2010 for the Marlins. Nunez has pitched in 38 games (0 starts) for the Marlins this year and he is 3-2 with 20 saves, a 2.95 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. 30-year old righty reliever Clay Hensley has pitched in 32 games (0 starts) for the Marlins this year and he is 1-3 with a 2.39 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP.

Disappointments: 23-year old righty swinging Cameron Maybin was supposed to be the starting CF this season but he’s already in AAA. Maybin played in 51 games for the Marlins this season and he was 41 of 182 (.225 avg, .631 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 5 homers, 19 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. 27-year old righty reliever Burke Badenhop was part of the return for Miguel Cabrera (along with Maybin) and he has also been pathetic this year. Badenhop has pitched in 18 games (0 starts) for the Marlins this year and he is 1-5 with 1 save, a 5.70 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. 28-year old lefty reliever Dan Meyer had a career year for the Marlins last season but he has been awful this year. Meyer has pitched in 13 games (0 starts) for the Marlins this year and he is 0-1 with a 9.64 ERA and a 2.89 WHIP. 23-year old righty starting pitcher Chris Volstad got sent back down to AAA right before the All-Star Break. He has started 17 games for the Marlins this year and he is 4-8 with a 4.78 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP.

2B Luis Castillo played 10 years with the Florida Marlins and he’s all over the franchise record books. He played in 1,128 games for the Marlins and he was 1,273 for 4,347 (.293 avg, .726 OPS) with 675 runs scored, 20 homers, 271 RBIs and 281 stolen bases. Castillo was at his best in 2000 for the Marlins. That year he played in 136 games in which he was 180 of 539 (.334 avg, .806 OPS) with 101 runs scored, 2 homers, 17 RBIs and 62 stolen bases. Castillo played in three All-Star Games for the Marlins and he won 3 Gold Gloves in his time with the team. Castillo is the all-time leader in games played for the Marlins with 1,128. He is also #1 in runs scored (675), #1 in hits (1,273), #9 in doubles (130), #1 in triples (42), #1 in walks (533) and he’s #1 in stolen bases (281) in Marlins’ history. Current shortstop Hanley Ramirez will likely bump Castillo from the top perch in a number of categories down the road but that won’t tarnish the success the little 2B had with the Marlins.

The Marlins are 39-43 on the season which has them in fourth place in the N.L. East, 8.5 games behind the Braves. If the Marlins are buyers they will likely look to add help to the bullpen and maybe the bench. If they become sellers they will field a ton of calls as they could trade Dan Uggla, Jorge Cantu, Cody Ross, Ricky Nolasco and Brian Sanches. The Marlins could get a nice haul of prospects who would get to play in the new stadium in 2012 if they could move those guys. It will be interesting to see what kind of directive Marlins’ owner Jeff Loria gives to his GM. I have a feeling they will be selling.

26-year old righty swinging shortstop Hanley Ramirez and 26-year old righty starting pitcher Josh Johnson are heading to the All-Star Game. Ramirez was elected by the fans so he will be the starter at SS for the N.L. Ramirez has played in 79 games for the Marlins so far this season and he is 89 of 299 (.298 avg, .880 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 13 homers, 52 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. Josh Johnson has been outstanding this season for the Marlins. He has started 17 games for the Marlins this season and he is 8-3 with a 1.82 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. Johnson has been ultra aggressive in the strike zone as he has whiffed 115 batters while only walking 27 in 114 innings this year. He has great stuff as he throws a lot of strikes while also missing a lot of bats as evidenced by the 83 hits he has given up. The Marlins only have two players signed past the 2012 season when they move into their new ballpark and these are the guys.

The Marlins have designated 29-year old righty swinging infielder Brian Barden for assignment to make room on the roster for 27-year old righty swinging infielder Donnie Murphy who has been called up. Barden played in 35 games for the Marlins this season and he was 5 of 28 (.179 avg, .460 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 3 RBIs. Murphy has played in 57 games in AAA-ball this season and he was 57 of 206 (.277 avg, .854 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 12 homers and 35 RBIs. He has played in 127 games in his major league career and he is 63 of 325 (.191 avg, .607 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 10 homers, 45 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Murphy does have some holes in his swing as he has whiffed 103 batters in his major league career. Murphy has a lot more power than Barden so maybe he can help the Marlins’ bench a tad.

20-year old righty swinging 3B Matt Dominguez is off to a slow start in AA for the Marlins. He was the Marlins’ #4 rated prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. Dominguez has played in 78 games in AA-ball so far this season and he is 69 of 288 (.240 avg, .725 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 9 homers and 41 RBIs. He has now played in 315 games in his four years in the minors and he is 298 of 1,168 (.255 avg, .748 OPS) with 152 runs scored, 41 homers and 179 RBIs. Dominguez is still the Marlins’ 3B of the future and he’s only 20 years old so he has a lot of time to turn things around.