Junior Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=cnns...i&type=lgns Dan Uggla was little more than a spare infield body in Arizona's minor leagues when the Marlins rolled the dice and plucked him from the Diamondbacks in last winter's Rule 5 Draft Second base: Dan Uggla, Florida The Swedish-surnamed second sacker, now 26, has worked himself into one tough out. He has the best OPS among all rookie second basemen (.844, third overall among all rookies) and he's second among all rooks in homers (19) and RBIs (67). He's slowed some since the All-Star break, and he's only an average fielder, but he remains the best of a good group. Also considered: Howie Kendrick, Angels; Josh Barfield, San Diego; Ian Kinsler, Texas. Shortstop: Hanley Ramirez, Florida Once a coveted part of the Boston farm system, Ramirez came south in the trade for Josh Beckett and immediately proved he belongs in the bigs. A rangy defender with good speed, he leads all rookies in runs scored (86) and steals (36). He's striking out too much right now for a top-of-the-order bat, but that should change. He's shown some pop, too, with 11 homers. Also considered: Stephen Drew, Arizona. Outfield: Josh Willingham, Florida At 27, Willingham qualifies as a late bloomer, but he is breaking out. At least on the road he is. A .208 hitter in Dolphins Stadium, Willingham improves to .314 on the road. His plus-.800 OPS ranks him behind only Uggla, Fielder and Zimmerman among rookies, and his 17 homers put him third on the rookie list. SP: Josh Johnson, Florida Before beating the Dodgers on Wednesday, he was 10-6 with a league-best 2.69 ERA. He had allowed 105 hits in 126 2/3 innings. And he's only 22 years old. A legitimate Rookie of the Year candidate on a team stacked with them. SP: Scott Olsen, Florida This last spot in the rotation is tough, but Olsen's had 22 starts, has struck out 120 in 126 2/3 innings and, like Johnson, has a winning record (9-6) and a respectable ERA (4.19) for a losing team. Also considered: Chad Billingsley, Dodgers; Matt Cain, San Francisco; Ricky Nolasco, Florida; Cole Hamels, Philadelphia; Jon Lester, Boston; Paul Maholm, Pittsburgh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishfan79 Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 posted last week but can be posted again and all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beetle Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 Yep, already posted. Here's the link: http://www.marlinbaseball.com/forums/index...showtopic=65880 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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