51-year old manager Edwin Rodriguez replaced Fredi Gonzalez last season when he was fired. Rodriguez led the Marlins to a 46-46 (50%) record last year. He was only signed to a 1-year deal, so unless he gets the Marlins to the playoffs, he likely won’t be back when they open their new stadium in 2012. That would be a shame because Rodriguez looked more than up to the job of a major league manager in 2010.

The Florida Marlins have a suddenly deep and talented bullpen heading into 2011. 27-year old righty Leo Nunez will likely start the 2011 season as the Marlins’ closer. If he wants to keep the job he will have to pitch well. Nunez pitched in 68 games (0 starts) for the Marlins last year and he was 4-3 with 30 saves, a 3.46 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. He has now pitched in 143 games (0 starts) in his first two years with the Marlins and he is 8-9 with 56 saves, a 3.77 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP.

31-year old righty Clay Hensley will likely be the top set-up man for the Marlins in 2011. Hensley pitched in 68 games (0 starts) for the Marlins last year and he was 3-4 with 7 saves, a 2.16 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. He has now pitched in 174 games (40 starts) in his first 5 years in the majors and he is 18-22 with 7 saves, a 3.72 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. The Marlins hope that last season wasn’t a mirage for Hensley.

26-year old righty Edward Mujica will likely be 3rd in line for saves when the 2011 season begins. Mujica pitched in 59 games (0 starts) for the Padres last year and he was 2-1 with a 3.62 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. Mujica only walked 6 batters last year while whiffing 72 batters in only 69 2/3 innings. He has now pitched in 179 games (4 starts) in his first five years in the majors and he is 8-9 with 2 saves, a 4.47 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. The Marlins hope that Mujica’s solid 2010 season wasn’t just a product of him pitching half his games at Petco Park.

25-year old righty Ryan Webb pitched in 54 games (0 starts) for the Padres last year and he was 3-1 with a 2.90 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He has now pitched in 82 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 5-2 with a 3.19 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. Webb has good stuff so he should help out the Marlins in 2011.

32-year old righty Brian Sanches really pitched well for the Marlins since coming over a couple of years ago. He pitched in 61 games (0 starts) for the Marlins last year and he was 2-2 with a 2.26 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Sanches has now pitched in 108 games (0 starts) in his first two years with the Marlins and he is 6-4 with a 2.40 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. Sanches doesn’t have the best stuff around but he really knows how to pitch.

28-year old righty Burke Badenhop is the only semi-decent player the Marlins got for Miguel Cabrera. He pitched in 53 games (0 starts) for the Marlins last year and he was 2-5 with 1 save, a 3.99 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He has now pitched in 101 games (10 starts) in his first three years with the Marlins and he is 11-12 with 1 save, a 4.43 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. He might have a hard time making the pitching staff at the start of the 2011 season.

35-year old lefty Randy Choate will be the specialist. He will be really effective for the Marlins if they just use him against lefty hitters. Choate pitched in 85 games (0 starts) for the Rays last year and he was 4-3 with a 4.23 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. He has now pitched in 342 games (0 starts) in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 10-10 with 5 saves, a 4.39 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP.

25-year old lefty Michael Dunn comes into this season as the Marlins’ #11 prospect. Dunn came over to the Marlins in the Dan Uggla deal with the Braves. Dunn pitched in 25 games (0 starts) for the Braves last year and he was 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP. He has now pitched in 29 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 2-0 with a 2.74 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP. Dunn has whiffed 32 batters in only 23 innings so far in his major league career which shows what kind of stuff he has, but he has also walked 22 batters which is way too many. If Dunn is throwing strikes in 2011, he might be a huge asset for the Marlins in 2011.

27-year old lefty Dustin Richardson will likely start 2011 in the minors. He pitched in 26 games (0 starts) for the Red Sox last year and he was 0-0 with a 4.15 ERA and a 2.23 WHIP. Richardson has now pitched in 29 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 0-0 with a 3.31 ERA and a 2.02 WHIP. I think Richardson will be with the Marlins at some point in 2011.

24-year old righty Jose Ceda pitched in 8 games (0 starts) for the Marlins last year and he was 0-0 with a 5.19 ERA and a 2.19 WHIP. He also pitched in 34 games (0 starts) in A+AA-ball last year in which he was 4-1 with 6 saves, a 2.01 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Ceda whiffed 50 batters and only allowed 25 hits in 40 1/3 innings in the minors which shows what kind of stuff he has. Ceda comes into this season as the Marlins #12 prospect according to Baseball America.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE MARLINS BULLPEN IN 2011: B

27-year old righty Josh Johnson might have won the Cy Young Award in the N.L. last season if he didn’t get shut down early. He started 28 games for the Marlins last season and he was 11-6 with a 2.30 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Johnson 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. He is by far the most talented starter the Marlins have but he has only started 30 or more games twice in his major league career so far, so he’s not the most dependable pitcher around.

34-year old righty Javier Vazquez should enjoy a return to the N.L. in 2011. He pitched in 31 games (26 starts) for the Yankees last season and he was 10-10 with a 5.32 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. He has now pitched in 418 games (411 starts) in his first 13 years in the majors and he is 152-149 with a 4.26 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Vazquez drop 1.50 to 2.00 off his ERA in 2011 with at least 5 more wins for the Marlins in 2011.

28-year old righty Ricky Nolasco is a teaser. He has a ton of potential and great stuff, but he just doesn’t get much in the way of results. Nolasco started 26 games for the Marlins last season and he was 14-9 with a 4.51 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. He has now pitched in 131 games (115 starts) in his first five years with the Marlins and he is 54-39 with a 4.45 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. He has only had a ERA of under 4.50 one time in his major league career so far, so don’t expect him to lead the N.L. in ERA anytime soon.

27-year old righty Anibal Sanchez finally stayed healthy for a full season and he pitched well for the Marlins. Sanchez started 32 games for the Marlins last season and he was 13-12 with a 3.55 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. He has now pitched in 82 games (81 starts) in his first five years with the Marlins and he is 31-29 with a 3.74 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Sanchez has only had 1 year for the Fish in which he started more than 18 games (2010 with the Marlins), so he’s definitely not the most dependable guy around.

24-year old righty Chris Volstad will likely be the Marlins’ #5 starter in 2011. Volstad started 30 games for the Marlins last season and he was 12-9 with a 4.58 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He has now pitched in 74 games (73 starts) in his first three years with the Marlins and he is 27-26 with a 4.47 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. Volstad will need a good spring to lock up the #5 job in the starting rotation because Alex Sanabia will be breathing down his back.

22-year old Alex Sanabia broke into the show last season with the Marlins. He pitched in 15 games (12 starts) for the Marlins last season and he was 5-3 with a 3.73 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He also pitched in 16 games (all starts) in AA+AAA-ball last year in which he was 6-1 with a 1.92 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP. It would not be an upset at all to see Sanabia win a job in the starting rotation this year.

24-year old lefty Sean West only pitched in 2 games (both starts) for the Marlins last season and he was 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA and a 2.04 WHIP. He has now started 22 games in his first two years with the Marlins and he is 8-8 with a 5.03 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. West still has the talent to be a very solid starting pitcher in the majors or he could be great trade bait if the Marlins are in contention still at the trade deadline.

29-year old righty Shawn Hill has been very injury prone so far in his major league career. He started 4 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 1-2 with a 2.61 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. He has now pitched in 44 games (all starts) in his first 6 years in the majors and he is 9-18 with a 4.74 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Don’t be surprised to see Hill help the Marlins at some point in 2011.

29-year old righty Adalberto Mendez got a cup of coffee with the Marlins last season. He started 5 games for the Marlins last season and he was 1-3 with a 5.11 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. He also pitched in 40 games (9 starts) in AA+AAA-ball last season and he was 5-5 with 1 save, a 3.98 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. He will have to pitch really well in the minors this season to get back to Miami in 2011.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE MARLINS STARTING ROTATION IN 2011: A-

21-year old righty swinging Mike Stanton will be the Marlins’ starting RF in 2011. He played in 100 games for the Marlins last season and he was 93 of 359 (.259 avg, .833 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 22 homers, 59 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Stanton has a ton of power but he stikes out a lot (123 times last season) so he’s going to be very streaky. Still, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Stanton led the N.L. in homers as early as 2011, as I didn’t see a hitter in the N.L. who consistently made harder contact with the ball than Stanton did. Stanton had 4 errors in 98 games in RF for the Marlins last season but he showed off excellent range. He also had 10 assists as he has a howitzer attached to his right shoulder. Stanton is the real deal.

DeWayne Wise and Emilio Bonifacio will likely back up Stanton in RF in 2011. Wise played in 17 error-free games in RF last season and Bonifacio played in 6 error-free games in RD last year.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE MARLINS RF IN 2011: A

25-year old lefty swinging Chris Coghlan is going to move from LF to CF in 2011 for the Marlins. Coghlan played in 91 games for the Marlins last season and he was 96 of 358 (.268 avg, .718 OPS) with 60 runs scored, 5 homers, 28 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. His season ended early to injury and it was a disappointing follow up to his 2009 season when he was the Rookie of the Year in the N.L. Coghlan played in 128 games in 2009 for the Marlins in which he was 162 of 504 (.321 avg, .850 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 9 homers, 47 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. I think that Coghlan will prove that he’s better than he was in 2010 but not as good as he was in 2009, and the Marlins would likely be happy to settle from somewhere in the middle in 2011. Coghlan had 1 error in 90 games in LF last season while showing excellent range there. He also had 7 assists while playing in LF last season as he showed a big time arm. Still, there is a lot of ground to cover in the Marlins’ home stadium so a lot of eyes will be on Coghlan in the field.

33-year old lefty swinging DeWayne Wise will likely have a good chance of making the Marlins as Coghlan’s backup in CF. Wise played in 52 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 28 of 112 (.250 avg, .675 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 3 homers, 14 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Wise is a career .222 hitter with a .642 OPS in his first 8 years in the majors, so last season’s hitting is probably the best case scenario. Wise played in 18 games in CF last season and he didn’t make any errors there while showing out of this world range.

25-year old switch hitting Emilio Bonifacio will likely be the super utility man for the Marlins in 2011. He played in 17 games in CF last season and he made 1 error there while showing out of this world range. He also had 2 assists last season as he showed a big time arm while playing in CF.

26-year old lefty swinging Scott Cousins comes into this year as the Marlins’ #7 prospect according to Baseball America. Cousins played in 27 games for the Marliins last season and he was 11 of 37 (.297 avg, .775 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Cousins also pitched in 118 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 117 of 410 (.285 avg, .797 OPS) with 74 runs scored, 14 homers, 49 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Cousins didn’t make any errors in 8 games in CF last season for the Marlins. He could surprise for the Marlins in 2011 if he gets the chance to play.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE MARLINS CF IN 2011: B