The Miami Marlins signed 33-year old lefty starting pitcher Mark Buehrle to a 4-year, $58 million dollar deal over the winter and the early return on the investment has been good. He has started 4 games for the Marlins so far this year and he is 1-3 with a 2.63 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. He has given up 26 hits and 3 walks in his first 27 1/3 innings this year while whiffing 16 batters. Buehrle is going to need to start getting some run support to keep his streak of double digit win seasons going (it’s at 11 years right now).

28-year old righty swinging Hanley Ramirez was a little grumpy over the winter about moving from SS to 3B this year. The Marlins were worried about him as he was coming off his worst season ever in the majors in 2011. He played in only 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 12 stolen bases. He’s off to a good start with the bat this year for the Fish. He has played in 15 games for the Marlins so far this year and he is 15 of 57 (.263 avg, .872 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 4 homers, 12 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Ramirez is also adjusting well in the field as he has only made 1 error in 15 games for the Marlins so far this year. The Marlins hope that Ramirez keeps focused and motivated the rest of the way in 2012.

Righty swinging CF Preston Wilson was an all or nothing hitter pretty much his whole career, but in 2000, he had a season to cherish. Wilson played in 161 games for the Marlins in 2000 and he was 160 of 605 (.264 avg, .817 OPS) with 94 runs scored, 31 homers, 121 RBIs and 36 stolen bases. His 121 RBIs still stands as a Marlins’ record for the most RBIs in one year. Wilson also whiffed a major league leading 187 times in 2000. Wilson played in 588 games in his five years with the Marlins and he was 549 for 2,096 (.262 avg, .806 OPS) with 315 runs scored, 104 homers, 329 RBIs and 87 stolen bases. Wilson was a 30/30 man in 2000 and he had two other years of being a 20/20 man. Wilson is #9 in homers (104), #10 in RBIs (329) and #7 in stolen bases (87) in Miami/Florida Marlins’ history. Wilson wasn’t with the Marlins long, but he made his mark.

Many questioned the sanity of trading for 30-year old righty starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano over the winter. He pitched in 24 games (all starts) for the Cubs last year and he was 9-7 with a 4.82 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. He essentially quit on his team last year. The Marlins bought low on Zambrano (dealing Chris Volstad for him over the winter) and the results have been good so far this year. Zambrano has started 3 games for the Marlins so far this year and he is 0-1 with a 2.84 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. He has only given up 10 hits in 19 innings for the Marlins so far this year while whiffing 16 batters and those are impressive numbers. He has walked 8 batters and that’s a little too many, but that’s nitpicking with the way he has been pitching. If Zambrano behaves this year, the Marlins might have stole him from the Cubbies.

23-year old lefty swinging 1B Jaime Ortiz has been suspended for the next 50 games due to testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. Ortiz has played in 14 games in AA-ball this year for the Marlins and he is 6 for 32 (.188 avg, .606 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. He has now played in 476 games in his first four years in the minors and he is 413 of 1,666 (.248 avg, .703 OPS) with 185 runs scored, 45 homers, 209 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Ortiz isn’t a legit prospect and this will likely push him a lot farther down in the pecking order at 1B in the Marlins’ organization.

The Miami Marlins have signed 23-year old Michael Main. Main was a first round pick of the Texas Rangers in the 2007 Draft. He has pitched in 81 games (64 starts) in his first five years in the minors and he is 16-20 with a 4.95 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. Main has decided to quit pitching and start playing the outfield and the Marlins are going to give him a chance to do so. He is 8 for 31 (.258 avg, .605 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 0 homers, 6 RBIs and 3 stolen bases in his minor league career as a hitter. Main is said to have been an outstanding CF in high school, so I wouldn’t bet against him making it to the show down the road. This was a nice, low risk flier for the Marlins to take as they have nothing to lose in giving Main a chance.

20-year old lefty swinging outfielder Christian Yelich came into this season as the Marlins’ #1 prospect according to Baseball America. Yelich has played in 2 games in A-ball so far this year and he is 4 for 7 (.571 avg, 1.557 OPS) with 5 runs scored and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 136 games in his first three years in the minors and he is 165 of 515 (.320 avg, .881 OPS) with 83 runs scored, 15 homers, 82 RBIs and 34 stolen bases. Yelich won’t likely make it to the majors in 2012, but maybe 2013.

The Marlins have been benefitting from a hot start in 2012 from 25-year old righty reliever Steve Cishek. Cishek has pitched in 7 games (0 starts) for the Marlins so far this year and he is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.63 WHIP. He has only given up 2 hits and 2 intentional walks in his first 6 1/3 innings, while whiffing 5 batters. Those are pretty darn impressive numbers. Cishek has now pitched in 55 games (0 starts) for the Marlins in his first three years in the majors and he is 2-1 with 3 saves, a 2.20 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. The Marlins hope Cishek keeps up the good work.

26-year old switch-hitting CF Emilio Bonifacio had a breakout season in 2011 for the Marlins. He 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. Many thought Bonifacio’s 2011 season was a tad on the fluky side, but he is off to a fast start in 2012. He has played in 10 games for the Marlins so far this year and he is 12 for 38 (.316 avg, .725 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 0 homers, 1 RBI and 5 stolen bases. The Marlins hope that Bonifacio keeps up the good work at the top of the batting order, as he gets in opposing pitchers’ heads when he gets on base due to his speed.

30-year old righty swinging 2B Omar Infante is ripping the baseball so far this year for the Florida Marlins. Infante has played in 6 games for the Marlins so far this year and he is 7 for 21 (.333 avg, 1.316 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 3 homers and 4 RBIs. Those are very impressive numbers, especially when you consider that Infante only has hit more than 10 homers 1 time in his first nine years in the majors (back in 2004 with the Tigers when he hit 16 homers). The Marlins don’t expect his home run power to continue, but they hope he keeps hitting the ball hard.