Florida Marlins: J.J. Provides More Value Than Hanley

Since writing about the Marlins for this fine site, it's been interesting to select the best player on the Marlins.

It's easy to say Hanley Ramirez because he is an everyday player that swings the bat well. However, the more this writer watches the Marlins, the more he thinks Josh Johnson is the best player on the Marlins.

Ramirez does good things, but he can go on a slump often, which is one reason why he can't carry the Marlins by himself. The only guy that can do that is Johnson because a great starter can create a victory to his team by pitching well.

The Marlins always win when he is starting, and he wins when he is on the mound. When he loses, it becomes news since we expect him to win.

Does anyone expect the Marlins to lose when he is pitching? A team can send their ace to go face him, yet he would find a way to beat them.

If there was no rain on the third game of the Marlins/Phillies series a couple of weekends ago, the Marlins would have beaten them with the way Johnson overpowered the Phillies' hitters.

Last night, Johnson picked up his 10th win of the season after a victory against the Braves, and the Marlins improve to 17-4 when he starts. He also extended his streak to 18 consecutive starts of allowing three runs or less.

Johnson did what he does best, which is pitching well enough to win. He was able to get the Braves out early in the game, and the Marlins scored a couple of runs to give him a lead to work with.

Once he gets the lead, it might as well be game over because he is the type of player who will never give the lead up. It's like he steps up to another level when he has the lead.

To make sure the game was going to be over, he hit a three-run blast after he got a 2-1 lead. It was Johnson's second home run of the year, and the Marlins took a 5-1 lead.

That's another thing to like about Johnson; he is a good hitter.

He adds another dimension to the offense when he is batting, and anytime a pitcher can hit, that makes the lineup dangerous.

Right now, he has to be a good candidate to win the Cy Young, especially if the Marlins somehow make the playoffs as a Wild-Card contender.

If he wins all of his starts for the remaining of the season and the Marlins gain games in the Wild-Card standings, how does he not win the award?

Johan Santana is having a great season, but the Mets are struggling and odds are he is going to lose several more games as a result of lack of run support.

Maybe Tim Lincecum could be Johnson's threat, but even then, how does anyone not like the run Johnson is having right now?

The Marlins ace has a 2.87 ERA and has struck out 114 hitters.

It's disappointing ESPN and even the MLB Network have not taken notice on the year Johnson is having this year. If Johnson is not even getting promoted nationally, how will writers know?

That's the unfortunate part of all this.

From this writer's perspective, Johnson not only is this year's Cy Young, but he is the best player on the Marlins.