22-year old rookie righty starting pitcher Alex Sanabia is laying claim to a job in the 2011 starting rotation with the way he has been pitching this year. Sanabia has pitched in 15 games (12 starts) for the Marlins so far this year and he is 5-3 with a 3.73 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He has only walked 16 batters in 72 1/3 innings so far this year and that kind of control is very rare for a pitcher his age. The Marlins look like they have a keeper in Sanabia.

22-year old lefty swinging LF Logan Morrison has been very solid for the Marlins this year. He has played in 49 games for the Marlins this year and he is 59 of 190 (.311 avg, .917 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 2 homers and 16 RBIs. Morrison is also showing a good eye at the plate as he has whiffed 37 times and walked 37 times so far this year. Morrison’s power will likely come next season as I look for him to turn some of those 18 doubles he has this year into homers with added experience. The Marlins have a nice core now in the field with Dan Uggla, Hanley Ramirez, Gaby Sanchez, Logan Morrison and Mike Stanton.

20-year old righty swinging RF Mike Stanton has been putting on an impressive display of power as a rookie this year for the Marlins. Stanton has played in 83 games for the Marlins so far this year and he is 74 of 299 (.247 avg, .835 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 20 homers, 49 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He does have some holes in his swing though as he has whiffed 104 times this year but no one can question this guy’s power as the ball jumps off his bat. When he isn’t whiffing he is hitting .379 this season which shows that he makes hard contact almost every time he hits the ball. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mike Stanton wins some home run titles in the N.L. in the very near future.

The Marlins have decided to shut down 26-year old righty starting pitcher Josh Johnson for the rest of the season due to back and shoulder injuries. This was a smart move for the Marlins as Johnson is a big part of their future. Johnson started 28 games for the Marlins this year and he was 11-6 with a 2.30 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. He only gave up 155 hits in 183 2/3 innings this year while whiffing 186 batters which shows how dominating he really was. But the most impressive thing to me is the fact that Johnson only walked 48 batters this year. Johnson has now pitched in 114 games (104 starts) in his six years with the Marlins and he is 45-22 with a 3.10 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP.

The Marlins have lost 26-year old righty reliever Chris LeRoux on waivers to the Pirates. LeRoux pitched in 17 games (0 starts) for the Marlins this year and he is 0-0 with a 7.00 ERA and a 1.94 WHIP. He finishes his career with the Marlins pitching in 22 games (0 starts) over parts of two years and he was 0-0 with a 8.03 ERA and a 2.03 WHIP. This is no loss as I will be shocked if he pitches well for the Pirates.