The 133rd season of Major League Baseball is upon us. Over the next month and half, we will be taking a look at each ball club, leading up to the Expert Predictions of the esteemed staff at Sparty & Friends. We are previewing each team, from worst to first. We fly as far south as possible and take a look at the Miami, Miami Gardens, Opa Locka, Florida Marlins.

Last Season: 84-78 (3rd place in the NL East)

Who’s Gone: 1B Mike Jacobs (Trade), SP Scott Olsen (Trade) , OF Josh Willingham (Trade)

Who’s New: RP Leo Nunez (Trade)

Projected Lineup:
1. Cameron Maybin (CF)
2. Jeremy Hermida (LF)
3. Hanley Ramirez (SS)
4. Jorge Cantu (3B)
5. Dan Uggla (2B)
6. Cody Ross(RF)
7. John Baker (C)
8. Gaby Sanchez (1B)
9. Pitcher

Projected Rotation:
1. RHP Ricky Nolasco
2. RHP Josh Johnson
3. RHP Chris Volstad
4. LHP Andrew Miller
5. RHP Anibal Sanchez

CL: Matt Lindstrom

Key Bench Players:
Wes Helms 1B
Dallas McPherson 3B
Mike Rabelo C
Alfredo Amezaga Utility
Leo Nunez RP

Manager: Fredi Gonzalez

Lineup Outlook: As I was researching the Marlins lineup, I came across the news that they will have a new lead-off hitter this season. No, Hanley Ramirez hasn’t been a salary dump…yet…it is just that they have decided to utilize his power later in the lineup. Ramirez is a special talent at the plate, possessing great power and speed (33 HRs, 35 SBs). He is the one-and-only superstar that the Marlins have on their roster. Taking his place at the top of the order is Cameron Maybin. Since Maybin was drafted by the Tigers, all we have heard about is that he is the next 5-tool stud. He finally gets his chance this season from the very first pitch. Maybin has similar potential to Ramirez; the Fish have to be pleased by that.

Jeremy Hermida is still hanging in with the Marlins and they still have confidence that he is going to be the player that everyone keeps saying that he can be. So far, he has just been a decent major league player (career .267 hitter).

Up until last season, Jorge Cantu had been limited in his production due to injuries and Tampa Bay wanting to bring up younger talent. Last year, Cantu regained his 2nd year form with 29 HRs and 95 RBIs.  By the way, those are power numbers for a Marlins clean-up hitter.

Playing 2B is the hard hitting and free swinging Dan Uggla (33Hrs 171Ks). He single handily cost the NL the all-star game last year. Well done.

Cody Ross is kinda like Uggla, all or nothing (22 HRs, 116Ks)

The Marlins have high hopes for John Baker – think he can be an OBP guy - and think rookie Gaby Sanchez will rake once he gets settled in at the pro level.

Starting Rotation: The Marlins might have the most talented, most promising, and most under-the-radar pitching staff in the entire major leagues. Each guy on this rotation was projected at one time or another to be a #1 or #2 in this league. One huge problem, as it usually is with most Marlins pitching – health. Nobody can stay healthy. Nolasco pitched a full season last year, but he missed almost the entire previous year. Josh Johnson hasn’t had more than 24 starts in his 4 year career due to injuries. Anibel Sanchez pitched the last no-hitter for the Marlins (which is suspect, because only about 10 people saw it) but only has 16 cumulative starts over the last two years. Chris Volstad had an outstanding rookie season - in 14 starts he posted a 2.88 era. Then, there is Andrew Miller. Miller came over before last season along with Cameron Maybin. He has had early struggles, mostly due to his unorthodox windup. The Marlins think they have cured this; and if so, it should lower his walks allowed.

Bullpen: Matt Lindstrom was 5-for-5 down the stretch last season after taking over for Kevin Gregg and Taylor Tankersely. The Marlins will have a weak bullpen this season, unless Lindstrom and Tankerlsey can shut down lineups in the 8th or 9th. They both have filthy stuff and the potential to do so. Leo Nunez should be a nice addition and could get the call to close if Lindstrom falters.

Prediction:81-86 wins. The health of the Marlins pitching continues to be a concern. I have a hard time believing that they can get 30 or more starts out of 3 of these guys, let alone 4. If (big if) the Marlins can get that, this team really could vie for the NL East. I expect Maybin to be the lead-off man that they expect him to be, and that will be huge with Ramirez in the middle of the lineup. The Marlins are always on the cusp of being a buyer or seller come trade deadline; and if they are buying, you can expect their management to make the right addition. They are also very wise about calling players up to be a spark.

I cannot find a good You Tube video on the Marlins. So to give you an idea of what a big crowd is, I found this picture:

Sparty is Editor-in-Chief and Founder.  He can be reached at sparty@spartyandfriends.com

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