22-year old righty swinging RF Mike Stanton of the Marlins finished tied for 23rd in the voting for the N.L. MVP Award with Starlin Castro (SS, Cubs), Craig Kimbrel (reliever, Braves) and Carlos Ruiz (C, Phillies). Stanton played in 150 games for the Marlins last year and he was 135 of 516 (.262 avg, .893 OPS) with 79 runs scored, 34 homers, 87 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He has now played in 250 games in his first two years with the Marlins and he is 228 of 875 (.261 avg, .869 OPS) with 124 runs scored, 56 homers, 146 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Stanton is a player on the rise and I could easily see him winning an MVP or two in the near future for the Marlins.

26-year old righty starting pitcher Josh Johnson finished 5th in the N.L. Cy Young Award voting. Johnson started 28 games for the Marlins last season and he was 11-6 with a 2.30 ERA (led league) and a 1.11 WHIP. The Marlins shut him down early this year as he was having health issues or he would have finished higher on this list. He has now pitched in 114 games (104 starts) in his first six years with the Marlins and he is 45-22 with a 3.10 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. The sky is the limit for Johnson’s future.

UPDATE: (12/2/2010) - Josh Johnson finished tied for 25th in the voting for the N.L. MVP Award with outfielder Corey Hart of the Brewers and closer Heath Bell of the Padres.

27-year old righty swinging 1B Gaby Sanchez finished 4th in the voting for the N.L. Rookie of the Year Award. Sanchez played in 151 games for the Marlins last year and he was 156 of 572 (.273 avg, .788 OPS) with 72 runs scored, 19 homers, 85 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He has now played in 177 games in his first three years with the Marlins and he is 164 of 601 (.273 avg, .792 OPS) with 74 runs scored, 21 homers, 89 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Sanchez really surprised the Marlins who just never seemed confident in him before giving him a shot last season and he rewarded them with a very solid year.

26-year old righty swinging shortstop Hanley Ramirez and 26-year old righty starting pitcher Josh Johnson are heading to the All-Star Game. Ramirez was elected by the fans so he will be the starter at SS for the N.L. Ramirez has played in 79 games for the Marlins so far this season and he is 89 of 299 (.298 avg, .880 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 13 homers, 52 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. Josh Johnson has been outstanding this season for the Marlins. He has started 17 games for the Marlins this season and he is 8-3 with a 1.82 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. Johnson has been ultra aggressive in the strike zone as he has whiffed 115 batters while only walking 27 in 114 innings this year. He has great stuff as he throws a lot of strikes while also missing a lot of bats as evidenced by the 83 hits he has given up. The Marlins only have two players signed past the 2012 season when they move into their new ballpark and these are the guys.

25-year old righty swinging shortstop Hanley Ramirez finished second in the voting for the N.L. MVP Award behind only the superhuman Albert Pujols of the Cardinals. Ramirez played in 151 games last season for the Marlins and he was 197 for 576 (.342 avg, .954 OPS) with 101 runs scored, 24 homers, 106 RBIs and 27 stolen bases. He has now played in 618 games in his five year major league career and he is 771 for 2,439 (.316 avg, .917 OPS) with 470 runs scored, 103 homers, 313 RBIs and 164 stolen bases. Ramirez is quite simply the best hitting shortstop in all of baseball without a doubt and he should be able to win a MVP Award at some point in his career. He is the future of the Florida Marlins who have locked him up with a long term contract which was really smart of them.