Florida Marlins: Youth in Revolt

2010 was a year of great expectations for Marlins fans and 2011 should be no different. After a season of peaks and valleys that saw managerial changes, wacky injuries, and several young players taking strides toward becoming some of the premiere players in the game, the Marlins seem to be primed and ready to go in 2011. The Marlins have also undergone a serious makeover this offseason. They made several moves to improve the bullpen, defense, and to provide some veteran presence on an otherwise young and inexperienced team.

In an effort to improve the bullpen, the Marlins were able to trade Cameron Maybin for Ryan Webb and Edward Mujica of the San Diego Padres, the team that had the best bullpen in baseball in 2010. They also traded slugging second basemen Dan Uggla to the Atlanta Braves for infielder Omar Infante and lefty reliever Mike Dunn (I’ll get to Uggla/Infante, momentarily). The Fish also went out and sign lefty specialist Randy Choate to a two-year contract. Choate spent 2010 with the Tampa Bay Rays. All of this was done in an effort to improve a bullpen that sported one of the worst ERAs in baseball and collectively blew 25 saves. The player most affected by the subpar bullpen was ace Josh Johnson, the NL ERA champion, who may have had 17 or 18 wins, as opposed to 11, if the bullpen hadn’t blown several leads for him.

This year the Marlins will feature a very talented, however, inexperienced, lineup. With rising stars like the 2009 Rookie of the Year, Chris Coghlan, Logan Morrison, Gaby Sanchez, and slugger Mike Stanton (22 HR in 100 Games), the Marlins seem to be primed for years to come. The problem is perennial All-Star Hanley Ramirez, though talented as he is, has not shown that he can take up the mantle as a leader on this team. As a result, the Marlins went out and signed catcher John Buck to a 3-year, $18 million contract and former Yankees and Braves pitcher, Javier Vasquez, to a one-year deal. The addition of these pieces along with infielder Wes Helms provides the strong veteran presence that this young lineup and rotation need.

The Marlins also have several budding young stars who seem like the will become fixtures on the team this year or in 2012 when the Marlins move into their new retractable-roof stadium. The first is Matt Dominguez. Dominguez was drafted in the first round of the 2007 first year player draft ahead of the Braves’ Jason Heyward and the Marlins’ on Mike Stanton. Dominguez has been touted as a Gold Glove caliber defender at third base but was not necessarily known for his offensive ability. That all seems to be changing this Spring as the young infielder has already hit two home runs and is showing a good approach at the plate. This comes as a welcome sign to the Marlins organization, who want him to win the job. The other bright spot is young right-hander Elih Villanueva. Villanueva pitched four shutout innings against the Nationals this past Sunday. Last year in Double-A Jacksonville, he was 14-4 with a 2.24 ERA, 115 Ks and 34 BB in 179 IP. These are promising numbers and should Chris Volstad struggle, you may see Villanueva as the fifth starter for the Marlins this year.

One thing that manager Edwin Rodriguez did not have a chance to do last year was make his mark on the team. This was a result of him becoming the skipper mid-season after Fredi Gonzalez was dismissed. Rodriguez, in his first big league Spring Training as the Marlins’ skipper, has said that he wants the team to get back to basics. The Marlins ranked near the bottom in defense last year committing fewer errors than only the Pirates, Nationals, Braves, and Cubs. Unfortunately, the Marlins have not shown that they are going back to basics, thus far. Just last week against the Mets, Marlins’ shortstop Hanley Ramirez committed two errors in a game in which the Fish combined for five errors in a 10-0 rout by the Mets. In an effort to improve defensively, the Marlins acquired infielder Omar Infante as part of the Dan Uggla trade. Infante is expected be a table-setter for the Fish, as he is projected to bat second and hit .321 last season on his to being selected as a reserve on the National League All-Star team.

What can we expect from the Marlins in 2011? The Marlins will be contenders this season contrary to what many think. The Fish have a core of very talented young players who have been surrounded with veterans such as John Buck and Javier Vasquez to help guide them along the way. The rotation will be very strong with Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco healthy and ready to be the anchors for one of the better rotations in baseball. A bullpen that underwent a serious makeover should be ready to bridge the gap between the starters and Clay Hensley or Leo Nuñez. Manager Edwin Rodriguez knows his players well and is not afraid to fire them up by getting tossed from a game here and there.