22-year old rookie righty starting pitcher Alex Sanabia is laying claim to a job in the 2011 starting rotation with the way he has been pitching this year. Sanabia has pitched in 15 games (12 starts) for the Marlins so far this year and he is 5-3 with a 3.73 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He has only walked 16 batters in 72 1/3 innings so far this year and that kind of control is very rare for a pitcher his age. The Marlins look like they have a keeper in Sanabia.

22-year old lefty swinging LF Logan Morrison has been very solid for the Marlins this year. He has played in 49 games for the Marlins this year and he is 59 of 190 (.311 avg, .917 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 2 homers and 16 RBIs. Morrison is also showing a good eye at the plate as he has whiffed 37 times and walked 37 times so far this year. Morrison’s power will likely come next season as I look for him to turn some of those 18 doubles he has this year into homers with added experience. The Marlins have a nice core now in the field with Dan Uggla, Hanley Ramirez, Gaby Sanchez, Logan Morrison and Mike Stanton.

20-year old righty swinging RF Mike Stanton has been putting on an impressive display of power as a rookie this year for the Marlins. Stanton has played in 83 games for the Marlins so far this year and he is 74 of 299 (.247 avg, .835 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 20 homers, 49 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He does have some holes in his swing though as he has whiffed 104 times this year but no one can question this guy’s power as the ball jumps off his bat. When he isn’t whiffing he is hitting .379 this season which shows that he makes hard contact almost every time he hits the ball. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mike Stanton wins some home run titles in the N.L. in the very near future.

The Marlins have decided to shut down 26-year old righty starting pitcher Josh Johnson for the rest of the season due to back and shoulder injuries. This was a smart move for the Marlins as Johnson is a big part of their future. Johnson started 28 games for the Marlins this year and he was 11-6 with a 2.30 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. He only gave up 155 hits in 183 2/3 innings this year while whiffing 186 batters which shows how dominating he really was. But the most impressive thing to me is the fact that Johnson only walked 48 batters this year. Johnson has now pitched in 114 games (104 starts) in his six years with the Marlins and he is 45-22 with a 3.10 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP.

The Marlins have lost 26-year old righty reliever Chris LeRoux on waivers to the Pirates. LeRoux pitched in 17 games (0 starts) for the Marlins this year and he is 0-0 with a 7.00 ERA and a 1.94 WHIP. He finishes his career with the Marlins pitching in 22 games (0 starts) over parts of two years and he was 0-0 with a 8.03 ERA and a 2.03 WHIP. This is no loss as I will be shocked if he pitches well for the Pirates.

30-year old righty reliever Clay Hensley has been solid all season long for the Marlins. Hensley has pitched in 57 games (0 starts) this year and he is 3-4 with a 2.54 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. He has only given up 48 hits in 63 2/3 innings this year while whiffing 67 batters which shows just how good he has been this year. With Leo Nunez still struggling as the closer don’t be surprised to see Hensley vulture some saves during the rest of the year.

The Marlins have signed 33-year old righty swinging catcher Mike Rivera to a minor league deal. Rivera has played in 73 games in AA+AAA-ball so far this year and he is 53 of 233 (.227 avg, .702 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 4 homers and 24 RBIs. Rivera has played in 181 games in 7 years in the majors and he is 129 of 528 (.244 avg, .688 OPS) with 51 runs scored, 13 homers, 69 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. I don’t see Rivera staying in the minors too long as the Marlins need help behind the plate right now.

29-year old lefty swinging catcher John Baker is going to need Tommy John Surgery. Baker played in only 23 games for the Marlins this year and he was 17 of 78 (.218 avg, .589 OPS) with 7 runs scored and 6 RBIs. He has played in 196 games in his three years with the Marlins and he is 177 of 648 (.273 avg, .763 OPS) with 98 runs scored, 14 homers and 88 RBIs. The Marlins are going to likely have to find two new catchers for the 2011 season as Baker is going to likely miss the whole year and Ronny Paulino is going to miss a while as he will continue to serve his suspension for cheating (using PEDs).

The Marlins will be without 27-year old righty swinging infielder Donnie Murphy for the rest of the year due to a dislocated right wrist. Murphy played in 29 games for the Marlins this year and he is 14 of 44 (.318 avg, 1.052 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 3 homers and 16 RBIs. This is a big loss to the Marlins down the stretch as Murphy was a really solid player off the bench for them.

27-year old righty starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco tried to pitch through pain but in the end he will have right knee surgery next week as his year is over. Nolasco started 26 games for the Marlins last year and he was 14-9 with a 4.51 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. He has now pitched in 131 games (115 starts) in his five years with the Marlins and he is 54-39 with a 4.45 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. The Marlins were working on a long term extension with Nolasco before he was injured. The Marlins will likely wait to offer it to him again until they see he is healthy. Nolasco is #2 in Marlins’ history now in wins (54) and he is #3 in strikeouts (638).