After some set up here and there, methinks it’s time to go in between the lines and take a look at the actual point of this dynasty. No not door-to-door vacuum cleaner sales (although that was a possibility and actually…no no no!) Anyways, I’m talking about Marlins baseball! The whole reason people are up in arms at Jeffery Loria (for now) for dismantling the Marlins talented roster and stocking up on prospects. The MLB roster looks devoid of talent for the most part and this year looks like a lost cause, but the minors bring hope to the Marlins faithful and give them a reason to stick around for a few more years. So without further ado, let’s take a look at the disgrace of a roster set to make some “noise” this season.
25 Man Roster Breakdown:
Catchers:
Rob Brantley, Jeff Mathis
- Brantley is the clear cut starter here and looked pretty good in his time with Miami last season after being acquired in the deal with Detroit that sent away Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante. While I don’t think the power will remain, Brantley should be a solid average guy, and a good enough defender at catcher. Mathis will spell the young Brantley and we expect nothing from him other than calling a decent game, his bat is long past the point of being viewed as a productive asset.
Infield:
Logan Morrison, Donavan Solano, Adeiny Hechevarria, Placido Polanco, Gregg Dobbs
- Morrison, Solano, Hechevarria, and Polanco should comprise a pretty decent defensive infield for the Marlins. The bats could be a whole different story however as the only guy I expect to contribute significantly will be Morrison. Hech’s hit tool is always going to be in question, Solano is a question mark for me at this point, and Polanco should hit for an average…but who knows if that average will be productive or not. Dobbs is the ultimate bench bat, a couple years ago he led the majors in pinch hits and that should be his role on this team other than on days where we need a DH against a right handed pitcher.
Outfield:
Juan Pierre, Justin Ruggiano, Giancarlo Stanton, Chris Coghlan
- Old man Pierre makes an appearance in left for us this year. Should be an interesting season with his old *** out there. Ruggiano mans center and despite his acrobatic top 10 play last season, he leaves a lot to be desired to me…Giancarlo Stanton is the one great player we have and I think that is all I need to say about him. Other than the fact that he will without a doubt lead the league in IBBs and possibly HRs as well. Coghlan fell out of favor with the Marlins last season and while he is here to stay for now, his mouth and Twitter account could lose him this spot.
Up in the Air Guys:
Chone Figgins, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Matt Downs, Gorkys Hernandez, Austin Kearns, Bryan Peterson
- All these guys will be competing for 2 roster spots on the Marlins bench. The early favorites for me would be Hernandez for his speed, and Downs for the versatility he offers off the bench. But Kearns, Figgins, and Kouzmanoff are all experienced major league vets who have something to offer, and if any of them look to be solid contributors they could steal a spot away.
Starting Pitchers:
Ricky Nolasco, Jacob Turner, Henderson Alverez, Wade LeBlanc, Nathan Eovaldi
- Here comes the youth movement in the rotation as 4 of the 5 starters are fairly young and inexperienced at the big league level. Nolasco may not be an ace on many staffs in the bigs, but he’ll have to do this job for us until he gets dealt away (it’s inevitable he goes away for a prospect around the deadline.) Jacob Turner looks to shake the reputation people are starting to give him of a potential bust with his fresh start here in Miami after being dealt from Detroit. Nathan Eovaldi and Henderson Alverez are two righties who had high expectations from their previous organizations in the Dodgers and Blue Jays respectively, Miami will have to hope these guys can reach that potential. LeBlanc is the lone left hander in the rotation and he could very well be replaced by a free agent signing, and minor league breakout, etc.
Relief Pitchers:
Chad Qualls, Jon Rauch, Chris Hatcher, Dan Jennings, Mike Dunn, Ryan Webb, Steve Cishek
- Wow. Who the hell are ¾ of these guys anyways? To the casual baseball fan most of these dudes are washed up or unknown. Steve Cishek is one of the better kept secrets in baseball; he had a good year replacing Heath Bell as closer in 2012. Rauch and Qualls are veterans who have had up and down careers, and the rest are relatively unknown or have little big league experience. It’s tough to know for sure what we’ll get from this bullpen.
Prospect Watch:
Position Players:
Marcell Ozuna (RF), Jake Marisnick (CF), Christian Yelich (CF), Zach Cox (3B), Kolby Copeland (CF)
-Look at all the OFs we have as top prospects. Ozuna and Marisnick are two guys we acquired in the mega trade with Toronto. Yelich is gonna be a stud. Cox is included in here purely based on his position being 3rd base and us having freaking Polanco there. He’s in AAA ball and could see a call this season if Polly gets traded or injured. Kolby probably won’t see time in our OF in the foreseeable future and could be a trade piece.
Pitchers:
Jose Fernandez, Justin Nicolino, Andrew Heaney
- The big 3 of pitchers in our organization. Fernandez is probably one of the most polished pitching prospects I’ve seen in awhile, I have a gigantic man crush on him and think he’ll probably get to the Show in 2014. Nicolino and Heaney are two high ceiling lefties that are both 1-2 years away depending on how things shake out in 2013.
OUTLOOK:
- We’re gonna suck. How obvious is that for me to say? We need to start our rebuild and everyone who’s worth something will be going. HOWEVER, I think it is time to establish rule #1 of this dynasty.
Makes sense, and my personal anecdote about Stanton is that I saw him live in a game against the Tigers AA affiliate once…immediately fell in love with his game after he clobbered a 430 foot homer and threw out a base runner at the plate from RF. His approach was solid and his skill set was obvious…anyways, he’s without a doubt a talent we cannot ever afford to let leave. I don’t care how much cash we have to spend to retain him.