Nov 2, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins new manager Mike Redmond (center) field questions from reporters next to president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest (right) and vice president

The Miami Marlins 2013 season has been an epic disaster. Due to the struggles the team has gone through, fans are growing frustrated and don’t want to wait for the big prospects in the minor leagues to get ready so they can start winning. We want to win now!

With the frustration growing, we are going to try a fun new game on Marlin Maniac that puts you in the Marlins General Manager’s chair.

There are some interesting decisions that need to be made about the Miami Marlins in the next month or so.  With so many players coming back from injury, there is going to be a roster crunch and some big personal decisions will be needed to be made.

Hitters like Logan Morrison and Giancarlo Stanton are on their way back from injury. Where do they fit into the Marlins lineup upon return? With the emergence of the Marlins top infield prospect, Derek Dietrich, what happens to incumbent second baseman Donovan Solano returns from the DL. When do you promote top hitting prospect Christian Yelich? With Chris Coghlan heating up as of late and Placido Polanco still struggling at the plate, do you try Coghlan in the infield?

On the pitching side, Nathan Eovaldi and Henderson Alvarez will return to the Marlins soon, how will they be slotted into the rotation? Does Tom Koehler get the boot despite an impressive run as a starter or does Kevin Slowey‘s recent issues get him ousted from the rotation?

Do the Marlins consider trading Stanton at the trade deadline for a huge prospect haul? Will closer Steve Cishek hit the trade market? What kind of return can Ricky Nolasco bring in?

Email us at marlinmaniacFS@gmail.com what you would do in the scenario if you were the Miami Marlins GM. Our staff will pick the top 3 GM moves and post them sometime in the next two weeks. We will then put the top 3 to a vote for you guys to decide who did the best job as the mock Marlins GM.

The winner with the readers will collect a prize that we have not determined yet, but it will be something awesome, I can promise that!

There is one catch though, to be eligible for the prize, you have to “like” our Facebook Page as well as follow us on Twitter @MarlinManiac.

Get your General Manager cap on and see if you can do a better job than the Marlins front office has done in 2013.

Dec 5, 2011; Dallas, TX, USA; Miami Marlins president of baseball operstions Larry Beinfest (left) announces the signing of closer Heath Bell (not pictured) during the MLB winter meetings at Hilton Anatole. Bell was signed for 3 years and $27 million. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Marlins 2013 season has been an epic disaster. Due to the struggles the team has gone through, fans are growing frustrated and don’t want to wait for the big prospects in the minor leagues to get ready so they can start winning. We want to win now!

With the frustration growing, we are going to try a fun new game on Marlin Maniac that puts you in the Marlins General Manager’s chair.

There are some interesting decisions that need to be made about the Miami Marlins in the next month or so.  With so many players coming back from injury, there is going to be a roster crunch and some big personal decisions will be needed to be made.

Hitters like Logan Morrison and Giancarlo Stanton are on their way back from injury. Where do they fit into the Marlins lineup upon return? With the emergence of the Marlins top infield prospect, Derek Dietrich, what happens to incumbent second baseman Donovan Solano returns from the DL. When do you promote top hitting prospect Christian Yelich?

On the pitching side, Nathan Eovaldi and Henderson Alvarez will return to the Marlins soon, how will they be slotted into the rotation?

Do the Marlins consider trading Stanton at the trade deadline for a huge prospect haul? Will closer Steve Cishek hit the trade market?

Email us at marlinmaniacFS@gmail.com what you would do in the scenario if you were the Miami Marlins GM. Our staff will pick the top 3 GM moves and post them sometime in the next two weeks. We will then put the top 3 to a vote for you guys to decide who did the best job as the mock Marlins GM.

The winner with the readers will collect a prize that we have not determined yet.

There is one catch though, to be eligible for the prize, you have to “like” our Facebook Page as well as follow us on Twitter @MarlinManiac.

Get your General Manager cap on and see if you can do a better job than the Marlins front office has done in 2013.

Catchers:

Rob Brantly:

Brantly is an interesting backup candidate for fantasy. He’s hit at all levels and put together a .290/.372/.460 line in 113 major league PAs. Brantly doesn’t offer much power, but any catcher not hurting your team’s average is a blessing.

It is worthy to note that Brantly isn’t the best defender behind the plate. His defensive woes may not be a problem if he’s hitting .290, but an extended slump could have him seeing bench time in favor of a sure glove. For someone who plays in about 130 games maximum, any extended bench time could hurt Brantly’s value.

Out of pure speculation, first base for the Marlins may be a revolving door if Logan Morrison’s injury bothers him and newly signed Casey Kotchman isn’t performing, and Brantly may see time there for some extra at-bats. Even with this added flexibility, the Marlins catcher doesn’t crack the top 20 catchers in the league quite yet and only has fantasy value for NL-only leagues.

Pitchers:

Ricky Nolasco:

Nolasco has pitched at least 150 innings the last four years. So while he doesn’t rack up the strikeouts or post an impressive ERA or WHIP, it seems he will always be an arm on the waiver wire. Is your team injury-laden or full of busts? Are you in a weird points league where IP counts? Claim Nolasco off waivers—he probably won’t be drafted.

2013 Breakout?
Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

Jacob Turner:

Turner was a joy to watch in his seven major league starts for the Marlins in ’12. And the best is yet to come with scouting reports claiming he’s a little polish away from being a dominant starter in the league. Turner is only 22 and deserves a little patience as we wait for a breakout, but he’s worth a late-round draft pick just in case the righty puts it together early.At worst, Turner’s excellent control will allow him eat innings the same way Nolasco does: Few strikeouts, few walks. If Turner does happen to progress towards his lofty potential, look for a pitcher who can benefit every pitching category besides Wins.

Steve Cishek:

The Team USA representative has an advantage over numerous other fantasy bullpen options: he’s the “established” closer. While some teams will debate who gets to pick up saves throughout the season, Cishek has the spot until something bad happens.

Cishek walks more than desired for a closer and could hurt your team’s WHIP. That is, unless he doesn’t pitch enough to affect your team’s stats. The Marlins aren’t projected to have a season where their closer picks up 30-40 saves. So while there’s no question that Cishek is the guy getting the saves, there’s doubt as to how many he gets. NL-only draft pick.

LoMo back???
Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Logan Morrison:

Morrison is only 25-years old and put up pretty good power numbers in 2011, batting .247/.330/.468 with 25 home runs. Last year, Morrison had a terrible time from May through July batting only .210/.292/.395 before sitting out the rest of the year for knee surgery. Despite his power numbers taking a dip, (.52 point drop in ISO and .69 point drop in SLG) he still managed 11 home runs with limited at bats.

First base is a pretty saturated position for an all-MLB league and Morrison won’t be highly ranked in an NL-only league, especially if he misses games at the beginning of the season recovering from knee surgery. Look for a healthy Morrison in late rounds or off the waiver-wire, as he could be primed for a bounce-back season.

Chone Figgins:

Newly acquired Figgins will compete for a spot in spring training and will likely lose that competition. You have no business drafting a 35-year old infielder with hip problems and a line of .227/.302/.283 for the last three years.

Placido Polanco:

Polanco is the likely starter at third, and will be a low-tier draft pick, even in NL-only leagues. He’s bound to make contact and keep his strikeouts low, and could have a lucky, high-BABIP year in Marlins Park which could translate into a nice AVG boost for your team. Other than that, Polanco has never been a power threat or a base stealer and should probably be a plan-B third baseman rather than your team’s offensive mainstay.

Donovan Solano:

In 2013, where the best analysis is done by advanced sabermetric-slanted research, the terms “hustle” and “grit” are basically punch lines. They’re still punch lines here, but you have to admire a guy like Solano: undrafted international signee who has clawed his way into the majors from the age of 18.

Hustle! Grit! Playing the game the ~right~ way!
Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Solano earned a pretty high BABIP of .375 last season, and will likely regress from that. But I don’t think we’ll see an all-around implosion for the projected second baseman. Solano will likely beat out close plays and take extra bases, all the little “hustle” plays your dad and color commentators love. Solano doesn’t offer a ton of fantasy value, but he’s an all-around .300 hitting, 20 stolen bases type guy who won’t particularly damage your team either.

Adeiny Hechavarria:

Scouts have raved about Hechavarria’s glove, but have very little to say about his bat. This is no good for you, the fantasy owner. He managed good numbers in AAA Las Vegas last season, batting .312/.363/.424 in 490 PA. But dial the numbers back as he adjusts to major league pitching, and then dial them back some more because those numbers were put up in the Pacific Coast League, and you’ve got a sub-.250 guy batting 7th or 8th. At the very least, he will play every day because of his defensive prowess and could go on a week-long slap-hitting tear, but for now, avoid Hechavarria as he develops.

(Assume a 5×5 rotisserie league with standard Runs, RBI, AVG, HR, and Stolen Bases for offense and Wins, Ks, Saves, WHIP, and ERA for pitchers.)

Stanton is a fantasy baseball stud
Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Giancarlo Stanton: This is Stanton’s second year being a top-ten outfielder. Valuable in keeper leagues because of his age, valuable in random season-long leagues because of his numbers. If there was a baseball equivalent to the phrase “He gets buckets” I’d use it here.

There are concerns about Stanton being an unprotected bat in the lineup, and whether the 23-year old can show the discipline to take a walk when he’s being pitched around. Another nit-picky concern is last year’s DL stint that kept Stanton out of twenty five games.

Apart from minor concerns, Stanton’s talent is undeniable. He’ll likely hit 35+ home runs this season and fill up three of your offensive categories nicely.

Justin Ruggiano: Depending on the depth of your league, Ruggiano will likely go undrafted, but do keep an eye on Ruggiano during the last couple rounds of your draft or on the waiver wire. He looks to be the every day starter in 2013 and enjoyed a nice half-season last year, batting .313/.374/.535 and stealing 14 bases. Ruggiano is a good athlete, and his ability to steal bases and beat out the throw are real, but a .400 BABIP is pretty unreal and his triple slash could regress in ’13. Still an interesting thought for an NL-only league.

Juan Pierre: Juan Pierre is personally one of my favorite ballplayers of all time. I remember thinking how rad holding his batting gloves in hand while diving for second base looked. While my memories are sweet, the days of Juan Pierre being an elite fantasy factor have been gone for years. Still, there’s reason to believe there’s value in a late-round pickup of Juan Pierre.

At 34, JP put up a really nice season for the Phillies, batting .307/.351/.371 and stealing 37 bases. Pierre will never put up 50 stolen bases again, so if you’re shopping exclusively for that category maybe consider someone like Tony Campana (assuming he starts.)

As long as he’s leading off and hovers around .300, Juan Pierre will add a nice boost to your stolen base count without hurting your runs and average. He can be a role player for your fantasy team, and hopefully nothing more.