29-year old righty swinging Cody Ross will have a home in RF in 2010. Ross played in 151 games for the Marlins last season and he was 151 of 559 (.270 avg, .790 OPS) with 73 runs scored, 24 homers, 90 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Ross is a gamer so there is no reason to think he won’t be able to hit as well as he did in 2009 if not a little better. Ross only made 1 error in 57 games in RF last season while showing above average range. He only had 2 assists in RF as runners challenged him a bit.

27-year old righty swinging Brett Carroll will be Ross’ primary backup in 2010. Carroll played in 92 games for the Marlins last season and he was 33 of 141 (.234 avg, .689 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 3 homers and 18 RBIs. Carroll didn’t make any errors in 60 games in RF last season while showing outstanding range. He also has a nice arm as he had 4 assists in RF for the Marlins last year. Carroll is not much of a hitter so he is not much of an asset as a corner outfielder.

20-year old righty swinging Mike Stanton is one of the best prospects in the Marlins’ system but chances are that he won’t be ready in 2010. Morrison played in 129 games in A+AA ball last season and he was 122 of 479 (.255 avg, .842 OPS) with 76 runs scored, 28 homers and 92 RBIs. Morrison still has some work to do before he’s ready for the majors as he has whiffed 144 times last season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RF IN 2010: B-

The Florida Marlins have high hopes for 22-year old righty swinging Cameron Maybin who finished the 2009 season strongly. Maybin played in 54 games for the Marlins last season and he was 44 of 176 (.250 avg, .727 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 4 homers, 13 RBIs and 1 stolen base. But, Maybin had big problems making contact for the Marlins last season whiffing 51 times and that is way to many for a hitter like him. Maybin also played in 82 games in AAA-ball last season in which he was 95 of 298 (.319 avg, .862 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 3 homers, 39 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Maybin only made 1 error in 52 games in CF for the Marlins last season and he showed slightly above average range there. Maybin only had 1 assist in CF last season so he doesn’t have the strongest arm around. Maybin is one of the biggest keys to the Marlins’ 2010 season because they don’t really have much depth in the outfield.

24-year old switch hitting Emilio Bonifacio will be the Marlins’ top utility man and one of his jobs will be to backup Maybin in CF. Bonifacio played in 11 games in CF for the Marlins last season and he didn’t make any errors there will showing outstanding range.

29-year old righty swinging Cody Ross is going to start in RF for the Marlins this season so don’t expect him to play much in CF this year. Ross played in 103 games in CF for the Marlins last season and he made 2 errors while showing slightly below average range. He did have 4 assists in CF last season showing a good throwing arm there.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CF IN 2010: C-

24-year old lefty swinging Chris Coghlan was the Rookie of the Year in the N.L. last season. He played in 128 games for the Marlins last season and he was 162 of 504 (.321 avg, .850 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 9 homers, 47 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. The Marlins hope that Coghlan will be a solid leadoff hitter for them again in 2010 and there is no reason to think he won’t hit .300 again with around 100 runs scored as long as he can stay healthy. Coghlan needs to improve his defense in LF to become a complete player for the Marlins. He made 5 errors in 123 games in LF last season while showing slightly below average range. He did have 3 assists in LF for the Marlins last season so he has a decent throwing arm.

27-year old righty swinging Brett Carroll will be Coghlan’s top backup in LF in 2010. He played in 15 games in LF for the Marlins last season and he didn’t make any errors while showing outstanding range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE LF IN 2010: B

It looks as if 28-year old righty swinging Jorge Cantu will likely be the starting 3B for the Marlins in 2010. It’s still possible though that he could wind up starting at 1B in 2010. Cantu played in 149 games for the Marlins last season and he was 169 for 585 (.289 avg, .788 OPS) with 67 runs scored, 16 homers, 100 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The Marlins need Cantu to hit well again in 2010 to make up for his iron mitt. Cantu played in 45 games at 3B last season for the Marlins and he made 7 errors while showing pathetic range. His range is about the width of a phone booth at 3B.

33-year old righty swinging Wes Helms will be the backup 3B in 2010. Helms played in 113 games for the Marlins last season and he was 58 for 214 (.271 avg, .682 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 3 homers and 33 RBIs. Helms played in 70 games at 3B for the Marlins last season and he made 7 errors while showing slightly below average range. Helms main role is giving the Marlins pop of the bench and he will likely do a decent job of that again in 2010.

24-year old switch hitting Emilio Bonifacio played in 86 games at 3B for the Marlins last season and he made 14 errors there while showing slightly below average range. Bonifacio is a natural 2B and he looked out of place at the hot corner.

25-year old lefty swinging Jorge Jimenez was a Rule 5 Draft Pick over the winter and the Marlins will give him every opportunity to earn a spot on the 25 man roster. Jimenez played in 133 games in AA-ball last season and he was 144 for 498 (.289 avg, .787 OPS) with 63 runs scored, 13 homers, 87 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 3B IN 2010: C

26-year old righty swinging Hanley Ramirez got dropped to third in the batting order in 2009 and he responded with a monster season. Ramirez played in 151 games for the Marlins last season and he was 197 for 576 (.342 avg, .953 OPS) with 101 runs scored, 24 homers, 106 RBIs and 27 stolen bases. In his four years with the Marlins, Ramirez has averaged 117.5 runs scored, 25.8 homers, 78.3 RBIs and 41 stolen bases per season. Ramirez improved his defense last season as he made 10 errors in 146 games at SS in 2010 while showing below average range. This might be the season that Hanley Ramirez adds a N.L. MVP Award to his trophy case after leading the National League in batting average in 2009.

24-year old switch hitting Emilio Bonifacio will backup Ramirez at SS in 2010. He played in 20 games at short for the Marlins last season and he made 3 errors while showing awful range. The Marlins better hope Ramirez stays healthy in 2010.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SS IN 2010: A+