Florida Marlins 2009 Season Preview

Florida Marlins 2008 Review:

The 2008 Florida Marlins were somewhat of a surprise finishing 84-77, which was good enough for third place in the NL East. The Marlins fell victim to a strong division, as they would have won the NL West with their 84-77 record.

The Marlins were a very young team, one of the main reasons why their strong finish came as a surprise to a lot of baseball fans. The Marlins finished third in the league in home runs with 208, but finished 20th or worse in both batting average and on base percentage (.254 and .326 respectively). Jorge Cantu, Hanley Ramirez, Dan Uggla, and Mike Jacobs shined for the Marlins offensively, all hitting 29 or more home runs.

Hanley Ramirez emerged as one of the most balanced offensive threats in all of baseball hitting .301 with 33 HR, 67 RBI, and 35 stolen bases. Florida lacked starting pitching however, with no starter winning more than 15 games. Ricky Nolasco finished 15-8 with a 3.52 ERA in his 32 starts, helping provide a spark to an otherwise lackluster rotation.

Other notable contributions came from Josh Johnson (7-1, 3.61 ERA in 14 starts) and Chris Volstad (6-4. 2.88 ERA in 14 starts). The Marlins’ 2008 roster, filled mainly with young prospects, shined at moments but truly lacked the consistency needed to contend in a tough NL East.

Florida Marlins 2009 Preview:

The Marlins made little significant acquisitions heading into the 2009 season, which should lead to yet another finish in the middle of the NL East. The bullpen should be much more consistent after adding Leo Nunez (2.98 ERA in 45 games in 2008) via  trade from Kansas City and Jose Ceda (2.08 ERA in Double-A in 2008) via trade from the Chicago Cubs, but again the overall pitching staff should be young and not very effective in 2009.

The Marlins will again feature a potentially potent offense in the 2009 season, led by superstar Hanley Ramirez. Ramirez, acquired in a trade that sent Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell to the Red Sox a couple years ago, is recognized as one of the most talented young players in all of baseball. There’s no reason to expect a year any less productive than what Hanley did in 2008.

If the Marlins can get solid contributions from their young pitching, especially the back end of that rotation, they could potentially surprise the baseball community in 2009. However, despite the amount of young talent on this roster, look for a lack of overall depth to lead to a third place finish yet again in the NL East.

Florida Marlins Surprise Player of 2009:

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