33-year old lefty swinging 3B Greg Dobbs was supposed to be a backup player for the Marlins in 2011 and little more. But, when rookie Matt Dominguez was injured in spring training, it opened the door for P.T. for Dobbs and he took advantage of it. Dobbs has played in 133 games for the Marlins so far this year and he is 113 for 407 (.278 avg, .707 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 8 homers and 49 RBIs. He has now played in 688 games in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 396 for 1,496 (.265 avg, .715 OPS) with 157 runs scored, 39 homers, 211 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. The Marlins would probably be open to bringing back Dobbs in 2012, as long as he would accept the role coming off the bench that he was supposed to have in 2011.

26-year old switch-hitting IF/OF Emilio Bonifacio has really had a solid year for the Marlins in 2011. He has played in 145 games for the Marlins so far this year and he is 155 for 536 (.289 avg, .732 OPS) with 75 runs scored, 3 homers, 32 RBIs and 38 stolen bases. He is also finishing the year strongly in September. He has played in 20 games so far this month and he is 29 for 92 (.315 avg, .751 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 0 homers, 7 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Bonifacio’s versatility and speed kept him in the lineup this year, but it will be interesting to see what kind of role he has in 2012. That’s because the Marlins are going to be big spenders this winter with them moving into Marlins’ Stadium in 2012.

27-year old righty swinging infielder had a rough start for the Marlins, which got him sent to AAA. Since his return on August 14th, Lopez has been on fire with the bat. Lopez is 20 for 58 (.345 avg) with 9 runs scored, 5 homers and 12 RBIs since August 14th. He has now played in 35 games for the Marlins overall this year and he is 23 for 87 (.264 avg, .822 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 5 homers and 12 RBIs. Lopez has played in 73 games overall for the Rockies & Marlins this year and he is 49 for 212 (.231 avg, .645 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 7 homers, 20 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.

No player in baseball has more pure power than 21-year old righty swinging RF Mike Stanton of the Florida Marlins. The ball just explodes off Stanton’s bat as his body looks like it’s chiseled out of granite. Stanton has played in 133 games for the Marlins so far this year and he is 121 for 464 (.261 avg, .896 OPS) with 73 runs scored, 32 homers, 81 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Stanton has now played in 233 games in his first two years with the Fish and he is 214 for 823 (.260 avg, .869 OPS) with 118 runs scored, 54 homers, 140 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. He has only walked 96 times in his first two years for the Marlins while whiffing 270 times, so plate discipline is not his strength. That being said, I see multiple home run titles for Stanton in his major league career as long as he can stay healthy.

With Logan Morrison getting the boot to AAA, the Marlins should give 25-year old lefty swinging outfielder Bryan Petersen a legit shot to show what he can do in the majors. He came into this season as the Marlins’ #18 prospect according to Baseball America. He didn’t get much of a chance last year for the Marlins as he played in 23 games in which he was 2 for 24 (.083 avg, .203 OPS) with 1 run scored and 2 RBIs. But, in 2011, Petersen is off to a solid start for the Fish. Petersen has played in 37 games for the Marlins so far this year and he is 24 for 85 (.282 avg, .791 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 1 homer, 6 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.