The Marlins have claimed 25-year old lefty reliever David Davidson off waivers from the Pirates. Davidson has pitched in 3 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball so far this season and he is 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. Last season Davidson appeared in 35 games (0 starts) in AA-ball and he was 4-2 with a 3.34 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. It never hurts to roll the dice on a lefty reliever so the Marlins made a smart move here.

UPDATE: The Marlins have lost Davidson on waivers to the Orioles. The Fish gave up on Davidson after just one outing, but, it was a awful one. He pitched 1 inning in his only appearance with the Marlins allowing 4 hits, walking 4 batters and allowing 5 earned runs. Don’t let the door hit you in the butt!

UPDATE II: The Orioles have returned Davidson to the Marlins due to a shoulder injury. The Marlins then placed Davidson on the 60-day D.L.

According to Baseball America 22-year old righty starting pitcher Ryan Tucker is the Marlins’ #5 prospect and they will be without him for at least the next 2 months. Tucker has started 2 games in AAA-ball so far this season and he was 0-1 with a 17.36 ERA and a 3.43 WHIP. He has allowed a stunning 9 hits and walked 7 batters in only 4 2/3 innings in the minors so far this season. Tucker pitched in 13 games (6 starts) for the Marlins last season and he was 2-3 with a 8.87 ERA and a 1.86 WHIP. The Marlins will take is slow with Tucker’s rehab.

The Marlins have placed lefty starting pitcher Andrew Miller on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right oblique muscle. He has pitched in 4 games (2 starts) for the Marlins this season and he is 0-1 with a 6.94 ERA and a 1.89 WHIP. It’s possible that Miller will be sent to the minors when he’s healthy enough to pitch as the Marlins are a little down on him right now. The Marlins have called up 26-year old righty Burke Badenhop to replace Miller in the rotation. Badenhop has started 2 games in AAA-ball this season and he is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA and a 1.93 WHIP. Badenhop pitched in 13 games (8 starts) for the Marlins last season and he was 2-3 with a 6.08 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP. Don’t expect miracles out of Badenhop as he really doesn’t have that good of stuff.

The Marlins will likely be without 26-year old lefty reliever Taylor Tankersley after he underwent surgery yesterday to repair a stress fracture in his left elbow. He didn’t make the Marlins’ pitching staff out of spring training and he pitched very poorly in 2008 for the Marlins. He pitched in 25 games (0 starts) last season for the Marlins and he was 0-1 with a 8.15 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP. He has pitched in parts of three seasons for the Marlins appearing in 141 games (0 starts) in which he is 8-3 with 4 saves, a 4.25 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. The Marlins hope that Tankersley can help them down the road.

28-year old righty swinging Cody Ross will be the starting RF for the Marlins in 2009. Ross played in 145 games for the Marlins last season and he was 120 for 461 (.260 avg, .804 OPS) with 59 runs scored, 22 homers, 73 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Ross only made 1 error in RF last season while showing about average range. Ross is a hustle player and I have a feeling that he will put up good numbers for the Marlins in 2009.

24-year old lefty swinging Scott Cousins is the Marlins’ #14 prospect according to Baseball America. Cousins played in 78 games in Rookie+A+AA ball last season in which he was 82 for 288 (.285 avg, .821 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 10 homers, 38 RBIs and 15 stolen bases.

31-year old lefty swinging Michael Ryan will likely also start the season in the minors. He played in 33 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 35 for 109 (.321 avg, 1.029 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 9 homers and 27 RBIs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: B-