2007 Florida Marlins Baseball Preview

Last season’s Florida Marlins (78- 84) stayed in the hunt for the Wild Card spot until the final two weeks, fielded the Rookie of the Year in SS Hanley Ramirez (.291 AVG, 59 RBI, 17 HR) and were coached by the league’s Manager of the Year, Joe Girardi. Girardi was fired and will be replaced by rookie manager Fredi Gonzalez. He inherits a young, talented team, which includes Ramirez and an up and coming pitching staff.

The team returns five starters, each of whom won ten or more games last season. Four of those guys were rookies in 2006. Dontrelle Willis (12- 12, 3.87 ERA) provided amazing leadership, while Anibal Sanchez (10- 3, 2.83 ERA) threw the majors’ first no-hitter in 28 months and Josh Johnson (12- 7, 3.10 ERA) was in the hunt for the ERA title. Closer is up in the air and problematic for the Marlins. I have a feeling the Marlins will be a good baseball bet type of team this season. We all know good pitching beats good hitting and the Marlins have a young and talented staff.

Hanley Ramirez, who had 51 stolen bases last season, was especially phenomenal in September, and third baseman Miguel Cabrera (.339 AVG, 114 RBI, 26 HR) proved that he could provide offense. Second baseman Dan Uggla (.282 AVG, 90 RBI, 27 HR) has pop in his bat and first baseman Mike Jacobs (.262 AVG, 77 RBI, 20 HR) adds even more power. Outfielder Josh Willingham (.277 AVG, 74 RBI, 26 HR) might have been Rookie of the Year but for Ramirez and should continue to be a solid producer.

This team turned 166 double plays, tied for sixth in the NL but accumulated only a .979 fielding percentage, tied for 14th. Overall, the Marlins infield was and is solid but the outfield was and is fairly weak, especially in center.

The Marlins have talent on the mound, in the field and at the plate. But Gonzalez is no Girardi and a young team with a rookie manager will certainly go through some tough growing pains. Follow our baseball picks involving Marlins games in 2008 as we feel like we know this team pretty well.

Read more on the Marlins other NL East division opponents, New York Mets, Washington Nationals, Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves.

For more info on the Marlins check out the MLB official page for Florida.