24-year old righty reliever/starter Bryan Evans has been outstanding in the minors for the Marlins so far this year. He has pitched in 22 games (8 starts) in A+AA-ball so far this year and he is 7-1 with a 1.31 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He has only given up 55 hits in his first 75 2/3 innings in the minors this year as he is missing a lot of bats. Evans has now pitched in 105 games (47 starts) in his first four years in the minors and he is 20-23 with a 3.96 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Evans might be turning himself into a decent prospect for the Marlins.

In what was a shocking move, the Marlins have sent 23-year old lefty swinigng LF Logan Morrison to AAA-ball after last night’s game. Morrison has played in 95 games for the Marlins so far this year and he is 90 for 362 (.249 avg, .791 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 17 homers, 60 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Morrison played in 10 games so far in August and he is 9 for 36 (.250 avg, .786 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer, 4 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He also whacked 6 homers and he drove in 26 runs in July, so he wasn’t sent down for poor performance. Something else is at work here and I think it comes from owner Jeff Loria and his little troll David Samson. Morrison blasted ownership and some of the other players (Hanley Ramirez) on his team and I think that’s what led to his demotion. I’m not so sure the Marlins will bring back Morrison to Miami this year, and that would be a shame.

25-year old lefty swinging CF Kevin Mattison is swinging the bat well this year in the minors for the Marlins. Mattison has played in 77 games in AA-ball so far this year and he is 88 for 303 (.290 avg, .836 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 6 homers, 36 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. Mattison also has 11 triples this season already but he has whiffed 80 times and that’s way too many. Mattison has now played in 355 games in his first four years in the minors and he is 340 for 1,367 (.249 avg, .707 OPS) with 222 runs scored, 28 homers, 133 RBIs and 129 stolen bases. Mattison could earn a promotion to AAA soon if he keeps playing like he is right now.

24-year old righty reliever Jose Ceda has been dominating in AAA-ball this year. Ceda has pitched in 28 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 2-1 with 19 saves, a 0.89 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. He has only given up 22 hits while whiffing 40 batters in 30 1/3 innings in the minors so far this year. Ceda pitched in 1 game out of the pen earlier for the Marlins this year and he is 0-0 with a 13.50 ERA and a 3.00 WHIP. Ceda has pitched in 9 games (0 starts) in parts of two years with the Marlins and he is 0-0 with a 5.79 ERA and a 2.25 WHIP. I think Ceda will get another chance with the Marlins this year, especially if they start dealing relief pitchers in July.

The Marlins have sent starting CF Chris Coghlan to AAA. The 26-year old lefty swinging Coghlan has played in 65 games for the Marlins this year and he was 62 for 269 (.230 avg, .664 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 5 homers, 22 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Coghlan was the N.L. Rookie of the Year in 2009. 26-year old switch-hitting Emilio Bonifacio and 33-year old lefty swinging DeWayne Wise will probably share CF now. Bonifacio has played in 61 games for the Marlins this year and he is 53 for 194 (.273 avg, .722 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 1 homer, 11 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Wise has played in 36 games in A+AAA-ball this year and he is 51 for 153 (.333 avg, .935 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 5 homers, 21 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Wise played in 52 games for the Blue Jays last year and he was 28 for 112 (.250 avg, .675 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 3 homers, 14 RBIs and 4 stolen bases.

UPDATE: (6/20/2011) - The Marlins have placed Chris Coghlan on the 15-day disabled list due to a pre-existing left knee problem. So he gets out of going to the minors, for now.