The Florida Marlins are 42-46 which has them in 4th place in the N.L. East, 10 games behind the Braves. The Marlins might go into a selling mode in the second half of the season. This year though they have had a lot of surprises and disappointments and here’s a look at them:

Pleasant Surprises: 26-year old righty swinging 1B Gaby Sanchez has burst onto the scene this year and he is playing well. Sanchez has played in 84 games for the Marlins so far this year and he is 95 of 315 (.302 avg, .832 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 9 homers, 38 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. 26-year old righty starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez is finally healthy right now and he’s pitching well. Sanchez has started 17 games for the Marlins this year and he is 7-6 with a 3.66 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. 26-year old righty closer Leo Nunez had a very solid first half of 2010 for the Marlins. Nunez has pitched in 38 games (0 starts) for the Marlins this year and he is 3-2 with 20 saves, a 2.95 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. 30-year old righty reliever Clay Hensley has pitched in 32 games (0 starts) for the Marlins this year and he is 1-3 with a 2.39 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP.

Disappointments: 23-year old righty swinging Cameron Maybin was supposed to be the starting CF this season but he’s already in AAA. Maybin played in 51 games for the Marlins this season and he was 41 of 182 (.225 avg, .631 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 5 homers, 19 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. 27-year old righty reliever Burke Badenhop was part of the return for Miguel Cabrera (along with Maybin) and he has also been pathetic this year. Badenhop has pitched in 18 games (0 starts) for the Marlins this year and he is 1-5 with 1 save, a 5.70 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. 28-year old lefty reliever Dan Meyer had a career year for the Marlins last season but he has been awful this year. Meyer has pitched in 13 games (0 starts) for the Marlins this year and he is 0-1 with a 9.64 ERA and a 2.89 WHIP. 23-year old righty starting pitcher Chris Volstad got sent back down to AAA right before the All-Star Break. He has started 17 games for the Marlins this year and he is 4-8 with a 4.78 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP.

The Marlins took two out of three from the Phillies in Philly this past weekend so it’s all smiles right now in Florida. The Marlins are 8-5 on the season which has them in 2nd place in the N.L. East, 1/2 a game behind the Phillies. The Marlins are outscoring their opponents 68-62 on the season so they need to tighten up the pitching staff a tad if they are going to keep winning a lot of ballgames. The Marlins travel to Houston (3 games) and Colorado (3 games) this week.

The Marlins are now 4-2 on the season after taking 2 of 3 from the Dodgers over the weekend. They are one game behind the Phillies despite being outscored 32-27 on the season. The Marlins are getting a lot of clutch hitting so far this season and that is the biggest reason they are 4-2. The Reds are coming to town for a four game series and then the Marlins travel to Philly this weekend to tangle with the Phillies. This will be a tough 7 game stretch for the Marlins so I’m sure they would be happy with 4 wins. Anything more than that would be gravy if the Marlins are good enough to do it.

The Florida Marlins are 2-2 to start the season despite being outscored 21-14. The offense and the bullpen have had issues so far this season. The Marlins are having a hard time stringing hits together so far this season but I think they will snap out of that soon as they have a good hitting team. The bullpen however will likely be a problem all year long. The pen is a combined 1-0 with 2 saves, a 5.54 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP so far this season. Hopefully Marlins’ starting pitchers will start working later in ballgames. The starters are 1-2 with a 3.91 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP so far this season so they are doing their job.

Dontrelle Willis, Scott Olsen and Sergio Mitre have all pitched like crap in the 2nd half of the season.  The D-Train has started 13 games since the All-Star Break and he is 2-8 with a 6.30 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP.  In 74.1 innings, Willis has allowed 105 hits, walked 28 batters and whiffed 51.  It seems as if Willis just took his first season making the big bucks off!  He has started 32 games this season and he is 9-15 with a 5.34 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP.  Scott Olsen is also having a rough 2nd half of the season.  In his 12 starts since the All-Star Break, Olsen is 3-7 with a 7.43 ERA and a 1.90 WHIP.  In 63 innings, Olsen has allowed 90 hits, 16 homers, walked 30 batters and whiffed 46.  Olsen has now started 31 games this season and he is 9-14 with a 6.06 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP.  Sergio Mitre has proven that his first half success was a fluke.  In 12 starts since the All-Star Game, Mitre is 2-4 with a 7.27 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP.  In 60.2 innings, Mitre has allowed 88 hits, walked 22 batters and whiffed 25.  For the season, Mitre has started 27 games and he is 5-8 with a 4.65 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP.  The Marlins are now 65-86 on the season which has them in last place in the National League West, 18.5 games behind the Mets and 3 games behind the Nationals for 4th place.