21-year old righty swinging RF Mike Stanton got off to a slow start in April. But, he’s fully healthy now and the results have been eye popping in May. Stanton has played in 26 games so far in May and he is 27 for 98 (.276 avg, .950 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 9 homers and 19 RBIs. Stanton has now played in 47 games for the Marlins overall this year and he is 43 for 163 (.264 avg, .894 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 11 homers and 28 RBIs. Stanton has by far the most power on the Marlins, and I wouldn’t be suprised if he leads the league in homers this year as long as he doesn’t get hurt again.

Righty reliever Antonio Alfonseca is more known for having six fingers on each hand than his pitching performance. That being said, he’s still hanging in there in the Marlins’ record books. He pitched in 68 games (0 starts) for the Marlins in 2000 and he was 5-6 with 45 saves, a 4.24 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. Alfonseca’s 45 saves led the majors in 2000, despite the fact that he gave up 82 hits in only 70 innings pitched! Alfonseca pitched in 307 games (0 starts) in his six years with the Marlins and he was 19-25 with 102 saves, a 3.86 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. Alfonseca is #2 in both saves (102) and games pitched (307) in Marlins’ history and that’s amazing to me, because I don’t think he was that good.

The Marlins have designated 27-year old righty starter/reliever Jay Buente for assignment. Buente pitched in one game for the Marlins this year and he didn’t do too well. Buente got a no-decision by working 3 innings against the Rays in which he gave up 5 hits, 4 runs (3 earned) and he walked 3 batters while only striking one out. Buente has pitched in 9 games (1 start) in parts of two years with the Fish and he is 0-1 with a 7.07 ERA and a 2.50 WHIP. The Marlins have called up rookie righty reliever Steve Cishek to replace Buente on the pitching staff. Cishek came into this season as the Marlins’ #19 prospect according to Baseball America. He has pitched in 15 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 1-1 with a 2.35 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Cishek pitched in 3 games (0 starts) last year in his first taste of the majors and he was 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.46 WHIP.

The Florida Marlins have placed 27-year old righty starting pitcher Josh Johnson on the 15-day disabled list due to a case of right shoulder inflammation. Johnson has pitched in 9 games (all starts) for the Marlins so far this year and he is 3-1 with a 1.64 ERA (leads major league baseball) and a 0.98 WHIP. He has only given up 39 hits in his first 60 1/3 innings so far this year, as he has been awesome. The Marlins have called up 27-year old righty Jay Buente to replace Johnson in the starting rotation. Buente has pitched in 10 games (5 starts) in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 3-0 with a 1.94 ERA and a 0.79 WHIP. Buente has only given up 23 hits in 41 2/3 innings in the minors so far this year with 44 whiffs. The Marlins hope that Buente is a lot better for them than he was last year. Buente pitched in 8 games (0 starts) for the Marlins in his first taste of the majors last year and he was 0-0 with a 6.55 ERA and a 2.46 WHIP.

34-year old righty starting pitcher Javier Vazquez is a favorite of Marlins’ owner Jeff Loria as they were together in Montreal when he owned the Expos. That might not be able to save Vazquez’ job unless he starts to right the ship soon. Vazquez has pitched in 8 games (all starts) for the Marlins so far this year and he is 2-4 with a 7.55 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP. He has given up 51 hits while walking 24 batters in his first 39 1/3 innings which is pretty awful. The big problem I see with Vazquez is his lack of velocity which has resulted in him having only 20 whiffs so far this year. The Marlins can’t keep running Vazquez out to the mound to start games if he’s going to keep pitching like he is right now, period!

21-year old righty swinging RF Mike Stanton is ripping the ball so far in May for the Marlins. Stanton has played in 14 games so far this May and he is 14 for 54 (.259 avg, .911 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 5 homers and 9 RBIs. He has now played in 36 games for the Marlins this year and he is 30 for 122 (.246 avg, .837 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 7 homers and 18 RBIs. Stanton has more pure power than any hitter I have seen come around in quite a while, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him whacking 40+ homers year in and year out.

32-year old righty swinging outfielder played with the Marlinss from 2004-06 and he might get another shot with them if he keeps hitting like he is right now in the minors. Aguila has played in 33 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 40 for 123 (.325 avg, .935 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 6 homers, 25 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He is hacking at the plate though as he has whiffed 40 times while only walking 7 time this year. Aguila has played in 149 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 53 for 230 (.230 avg, .624 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 3 homers, 16 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.

32-year old lefty swinging 3B Greg Dobbs and 26-year old switch-hitting IF/OF Emilio Bonifacio are both stepping up for the Marlins this year due to injuries to other players. Dobbs has played in 27 games for the Marlins so far this year and he is 23 for 64 (.359 avg, .911 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 2 homers and 12 RBIs. To this point in his career, Dobbs didn’t get to play much in the field, as he got most of his ABs by pinch hitting. Bonifacio’s versatility has really helped the Marlins as he can play anywhere in the field but catcher and 1B. He has played in 29 games for the Marlins so far this year and he is 30 for 95 (.316 avg, .823 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 1 homer, 5 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Marlins need both of these guys to keep up the good work.

27-year old righty swinging 1B Gaby Sanchez is on fire for the Marlins so far this year. He has played in 33 games for the Marlins so far this year and he is 41 for 125 (.328 avg, .926 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 5 homers and 20 RBIs. Sanchez is proving to be even better than he was in 2010 when he finished 4th in the voting for the N.L. Rookie of the Year Award. He played in 151 games for the Marlins last year and he was 156 of 572 (.273 avg, .788 OPS) with 72 runs scored, 19 homers, 85 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Sanchez is starting to look like a core player for the Marlins’ future.

The Marlins have placed 31-year old righty reliever Clay Hensley on the 15-day disabled list with a left rib contusion. Hensley has pitched in 16 games (0 starts) for the Marlins so far this year and he is 0-0 with a 2.77 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. The Marlins have called up 28-year old righty reliever Burke Badenhop to replace Hensley in the bullpen. Badenhop has pitched in 11 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA and a 1.84 WHIP. Badenhop has pitched in 101 games (10 starts) in parts of three years with the Marlins and he is 11-12 with 1 save, a 4.43 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. The Marlins should be able to cover for Hensley’s absence as the bullpen has been pitching really well so far this year.