The Marlins are Alive and So Am I

After a short hiatus due to an extremely busy stretch, I'm back posting about the Marlins. I'll start here with a look at some post-All-Star thoughts and what we can expect in the weeks ahead.

The return of Josh Johnson and the rising of Chris Volstad has already been a major boost for the team in a number of ways. First, the concept of having a capable rotation from top to bottom does spades for the team's confidence. It gives more flexibility and depth in the bullpen, which is definitely needed by this team. Most importantly, JJ and Vol-stud have both been nails so far, and could really anchor the team for the rest of the year.

Unfortunately, about the same time the pitching came back, the bats went away. Hanley and Uggla are both locked in slumps right now, and Willingham hasn't been hitting since he came back from the DL. Can-do Cantu and Toy Cannon Cody Ross have been picking up the slack, but this team will need a balanced lineup if they want to get into the playoffs this year. I look for Hanley and Uggla to get back on track in Wrigley this weekend and send a few balls over the ivy.

The last thing I'll touch on is the trade deadline. About a month ago, the Marlins were looking for a centerfielder, catcher and bullpen help. At this point, the team is happy with Cody Ross in center, as he's become much more consistent at the dish, and the team will stand pat with Matt Treanor and John Baker behind the plate, as there simply aren't any catching upgrades in the trade market.

That leaves us with the bullpen. The front office has been aggressively pursuing Brian Fuentes as a setup man, but about 5 other teams are as well. The asking price is quite steep, usually 2-3 high-level prospects. We may see some of the same that happened with the Johan Santana sweepstakes, with several teams dropping out due to the price, which will lower the cost for another team. There's a good chance the Marlins may end up with Fuentes, as the team has a trade history with Colorado and they usually get their man. There's a lot of pitching depth in the minors, which might get the deal done.

I'm not a huge fan of getting Fuentes if it costs an arm and a leg, and I wouldn't be upset if somebody else made the deal. The Rockies have been asking for guys like Clay Buchholz, Ian Kennedy, and Wade Davis, so the Marlins would be mortgaging the future for 60 games of a lefty setup man. I think we're better off standing pat, especially with Anibal Sanchez only about a week away from being up in the Majors.

One last note: How exciting has the past week been? It's like every night the division lead is on the line! This kind of competition is what you expect to see in September, not July. Good stuff.

Marlins Rotation Just Got 40% Better

Over the weekend, there was one piece of news to take away from an abysmal series against Colorado for the Florida Marlins. Chris Volstad, the Marlins' top pitching prospect, was called up from Double-A Carolina, and righthander Josh Johnson proved he was ready to return to the big leagues after Tommy John surgery.

Volstad and Johnson will take the spots of antichrist Mark Hendrickson and rookie Ryan Tucker in the rotation. While Hendrickson had a fine start to the season, his regression to the mean has hurt the team tremendously, as he has proved incapable of lasting beyond the fourth inning or allowing fewer than 5-6 runs per game.

Tucker has shown a very live fastball, but little else as a starter. The kid will make a fine reliever and could project as the team's future closer, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him head out to the bullpen with Hendrickson. I certainly would have a lot more faith putting in Tucker with the lead than some of the other arms back there in the pen.

Volstad has had an outstanding year in Carolina and was one of six Mudcats named to the Southern League All-Star game. He's certainly an upgrade over Tucker, as he has three quality pitches to Tucker's one. It will be interesting to see Volstad's progression and how difficult his adjustment will be.

Johnson was arguably the team's finest pitcher in 2006, when each of the Marlins' five starters won at least 10 games. Last year, however, he made just four starts before heading down to visit Dr. James Andrews. Johnson is coming off a dominating 8-inning shutout performance for Carolina, in which he also hit a home run. It seems like he is being rushed back a little bit quickly, as he had surgery approximately one year ago, but he has passed all the tests in his rehab and has made several 100+ pitch outings. He's proven before he can get out Major League hitters and he may even have more velocity coming off the Tommy John.

All in all, the addition of these two pitchers (and more importantly, the removal of Hendrickson from the rotation), will be a tremendous boost to a club that has struggled to build momentum, particularly due to inconsistent starting pitching. A rotation of Ricky Nolasco, Andrew Miller, Scott Olsen, Johnson, and Volstad gives this team a very good chance to get things rolling.