The over/under for Marlins’ wins in 2012 is 85.5. The Marlins were 72-90 last year. The Marlins opened up the checkbook over the winter as they restocked the roster with veteran talent, so they are set up for success in 2012 as they move into their new stadium. Mark Buehrle, Carlos Zambrano, Heath Bell and Jose Reyes were brought in to give the Marlins’ an influx of outstanding talent, along with the deal for Ozzie Guillen to manage them. I see the Marlins getting back to the playoffs in 2012, as one of the N.L. Wild Card teams….so I like the over.

The Florida Marlins dealt some prospects over the winter for 48-year old manager Ozzie Guillen. Guillen is as outspoken as a manager can be, but the man is a good manager. It will be interesting to see how Guillen handles starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano and 3B Hanley Ramirez, who are both talented players with issues. Guillen has a very talented roster, but he will have to teach them how to win as they were 72-90 last year. Guillen led his White Sox to a 78-82 (48.8%) record last year. He is now 687-617 (52.4%) during the regular season in his first 8 regular seasons. He is 12-4 (75%) in the post-season and he led the White Sox to a World Series Championship in 2005.

25-year old righty reliever Jose Ceda is going to start the 2012 season on the 15-day disabled list due to a sprained right elbow. Ceda pitched in 17 games (0 starts) for the Marlins last year and he was 0-1 with a 4.43 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. He has now pitched in 25 games (0 starts) in his first two years with the Marlins and he is 0-1 with a 4.66 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. The Marlins weren’t counting on Ceda helping the bullpen too much in 2012, so they should be o.k. until he’s ready to return to action.

UPDATE: (3/29/2012) - Jose Ceda will have Tommy John Surgery on April 3rd, which will cause him to miss the entire 2012 season.

22-year old righty swinging Giancarlo (formerly known as Mike) Stanton is lined up for a huge season in 2012 for the Marlins. Stanton played in 150 games for the Marlins last year and he was 135 of 516 (.262 avg, .893 OPS) with 79 runs scored, 34 homers, 87 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He has now played in 250 games in his first two years in the majors and he is 228 of 875 (.261 avg, .869 OPS) with 124 runs scored, 56 homers, 146 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Stanton has whiffed 289 times so far in his major league career, but the Marlins will live with the whiffs due to his massive power at the plate. I have a feeling that Stanton will lead the N.L. in homers more than a couple of times in his major league career. Stanton had 6 errors and 10 assists in 142 games last year in RF for the Marlins while showing off good range.

Austin Kearns and Bryan Petersen could also get some P.T. in RF for the Marlins in 2012. Kearns played in 19 games for the Indians in RF last year and he had 1 error and 1 assist while showing off excellent range there. Petersen played in 10 error-free games in RF last year for the Marlins and he had 1 assist while showing out of this world range there.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RF IN 2012: A

26-year old switch-hitting Emilio Bonifacio will go from super utility man to starting CF in 2012 for the Miami Marlins. Bonifacio played in 152 games for the Marlins last year and he was 167 of 565 (.296 avg, .753 OPS) with 78 runs scored, 5 homers, 36 RBIs and 40 stolen bases. He has now played in 352 games in his first three years with the Marlins and he is 330 of 1,206 (.274 avg, .684 OPS) with 180 runs scored, 6 homers, 73 RBIs and 73 stolen bases. He has now played in 412 games in his first five years in the majors and he is 376 of 1,398 (.269 avg, .676 OPS) with 211 runs scored, 6 homers, 89 RBIs and 80 stolen bases. Bonifacio played in 16 error-free games in CF last year while showing slightly below average range there. Bonifacio is an Ozzie Guillen type player and I think he’s going to have another very solid year for the Marlins in 2012.

34-year old righty swinging Aaron Rowand will be trying to win a backup job this spring for the Marlins. Rowand played in 108 games for the Giants last year and he was 77 of 331 (.233 avg, .621 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 4 homers, 21 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has now played in 1,358 games in his first 11 years in the majors and he is 1,193 of 4,374 (.273 avg, .765 OPS) with 613 runs scored, 136 homers, 536 RBIs and 67 stolen bases. Rowand played in 60 error-free games in CF for the Giants last year and he had 2 errors while showing off excellent range. Rowand is a gamer and Ozzie Guillen really likes that kind of player.

26-year old lefty swinging Chris Coghlan has fallen a long way since winning the Rookie of the Year Award in 2009. He played in 65 games for the Marlins last year and he was 62 of 269 (.230 avg, .664 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 5 homers, 22 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Coghlan has now played in 284 games in his first three years with the Marlins and he is 320 of 1,131 (.283 avg, .764 OPS) with 177 runs scored, 19 homers, 97 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. Coghlan played in 65 games in CF for the Marlins last year and he didn’t have any errors and 3 assists. He showed slightly below average range in CF.

Bryan Petersen can also play CF if the need arises. Petersen played in 42 games for the Marlins in CF last year and he had 2 errors and 3 assists while showing poor range there.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CF IN 2012: B

24-year old lefty swinging Logan Morrison is going to be the Marlins’ starting LF again in 2012. They hope he hits a little better this year while at the same time not annoying the Marlins’ front office on Twitter. Morrison played in 123 games for the Marlins last year and he was 114 of 462 (.247 avg, .797 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 23 homers, 72 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has now played in 185 games in his first two years with the Marlins and he is 183 of 706 (.259 avg, .811 OPS) with 97 runs scored, 25 homers, 90 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Morrison played in 119 games in LF for the Marlins last year and he had 6 assists and 5 errors there while showing below average range. The Marlins will easily forgive Morrison’s glove work as long as he rakes with the bat in 2012.

25-year old lefty swinging Bryan Petersen played in 74 games for the Marlins last year and he was 54 of 204 (.265 avg, .744 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 2 homers, 10 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. He has now played in 97 games in his first two years with the Marlins and he is 56 of 228 (.246 avg, .690 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 2 homers, 12 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Petersen played in 22 error-free games in LF for the Marlins last year with 1 assist, but he showed pretty poor range there.

31-year old righty swinging Austin Kearns played in 57 games for the Indians last year and he was 30 for 150 (.200 avg, .589 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 2 homers and 7 RBIs. Kearns has now played in 1,019 games in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 873 of 3,432 (.254 avg, .767 OPS) with 498 runs scored, 117 homers, 478 RBIs and 31 stolen bases. Kearns played in 36 error-free games for the Indians last year while showing out of this world range. He didn’t have any assists in LF.

34-year old Aaron Rowand could also factor in LF for the Marlins in 2012. Rowand played in 46 games in LF for the Giants last year and he had 1 assist and 1 error while showing poor range there.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE LF IN 2012: B

The Marlins have lost 22-year old lefty starter Jose Alvarez for the 2012 season due to labrum surgery. Alvarez pitched in 27 games (26 starts) in A+AA-ball last year and he was 8-11 with a 4.02 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. He has now pitched in 129 games (87 starts) in his first six years in the minors and he is 41-29 with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. The Marlins weren’t expecting Alvarez to pitch for them this season, so they will likely let him rehab slowly.

The Miami Marlins signed Jose Reyes over the winter and decided to bump 28-year old righty swinging Hanley Ramirez to 3B for 2012 and beyond. Ramirez is not too happy with this set-up, but the Marlins hope he focuses on his job in 2012. Ramirez played in 92 games for the Marlins last year and he was 82 of 338 (.243 avg, .712 OPS) with 55 runs scored, 10 homers, 45 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. He has now played in 850 games in his first six years with the Marlins and he is 1,016 of 3,318 (.306 avg, .886 OPS) with 617 runs scored, 134 homers, 434 RBIs and 216 stolen bases. Ramirez was not a good shortstop defensively. He had 14 errors in 86 games at SS last year for the Marlins while showing pathetic range. The Marlins hope that Ramirez’ bat returns to form in 2012 and makes up for the defensive issues he will likely have at 3B.

33-year old lefty swinging Greg Dobbs played in 134 games for the Marlins last year and he was 113 of 411 (.275 avg, .701 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 8 homers and 49 RBIs. Dobbs played in 689 games in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 396 of 1,500 (.264 avg, .713 OPS) with 157 runs scored, 39 homers, 211 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Dobbs had 11 errors in 100 games at 3B for the Marlins while showing awful range. Dobbs is a really good pinch hitter and that will likely be his main role for the Fish in 2012.

22-year old righty swinging Matt Dominguez comes into this season as the Marlins’ #4 prospect according to Baseball America. Dominguez played in 17 games for the Marlins last year and he was 11 of 45 (.244 avg, .625 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs. He also played in 95 games in A+AA+AAA-ball last year in which he was 89 of 358 (.249 avg, .714 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 12 homers and 58 RBIs. He played in 16 games at 3B for the Fish last year and he had 2 errors while showing awful range. He might be prime trade bait for the Marlins at the trade deadline if they are in the pennant race.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 3B IN 2012: A

The Marlins signed 28-year old switch-hitting Jose Reyes to a big time long team contract over the winter. He played in 126 games for the Mets last year and he was 181 of 537 (.337 avg, .877 OPS) with 101 runs scored, 7 homers, 44 RBIs and 39 stolen bases. Reyes has now played in 1,050 games in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 1,300 of 4,453 (.292 avg, .782 OPS) with 735 runs scored, 81 homers, 423 RBIs and 370 stolen bases. Reyes had 18 errors in 124 games at SS last year for the Mets while showing average range. Reyes is going to make the Marlins’ infield D better while also providing a big time spark at the top of the batting order.

Nick Green and Donnie Murphy are duking it out for the utility infield job for the Marlins in 2012. Green is a below average defensive SS as he lacks range there. Murphy played in 18 games at SS for the Marlins last year and he made 1 error there while showing good range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SS IN 2012: A

30-year old righty swinging Omar Infante wields a Glove Glove caliber mitt and he’s a pesky hitter. He played in 148 games for the Marlins last year and he was 160 of 579 (.276 avg, .696 OPS) with 55 runs scored, 7 homers, 49 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Infante played in 942 games in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 869 of 3,162 (.275 avg, .711 OPS) with 381 runs scored, 52 homers, 317 RBIs and 47 stolen bases. Infante only had 8 errors in 146 games at SS last year while showing off outstanding range. Infante is a rock solid 2B.

33-year old righty swinging Nick Green played in 123 games in AAA-ball for the Orioles & Rangers last year in which he was 107 of 455 (.235 avg, .683 OPS) with 57 runs scored, 12 homers, 63 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He last played in the majors in 2010 with the Dodgers and Blue Jays. Green has played in 393 games in his first six years in the majors and he is 237 of 1,000 (.237 avg, .653 OPS) with 142 runs scored, 16 homers, 96 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Green is an average defensive 2B.

28-year old righty swinging Donnie Murphy is also back to compete for a backup job in 2012. Murphy played in 36 games for the Marlins last year and he was 17 of 92 (.185 avg, .555 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 2 homers and 9 RBIs. He has now played in 65 games in his first two years with the Marlins and he is 31 of 136 (.228 avg, .715 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 5 homers and 25 RBIs. Murphy is a hacker at the plate as he has only walked 5 times while whiffing 40 times so far with the Fish. Murphy has now played in 192 games in his first six years in the majors and he is 93 of 461 (.202 avg, .639 OPS) with 55 runs scored, 15 homers, 70 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He played 1 error-free game at 2B for the Marlins last year.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2B IN 2012: B