Florida / Miami Marlins All-Time Top 20 Players

In 27 seasons of major league play, the Florida and Miami Marlins have had nearly 600 players take the field for at least one plate appearance or batter faced.

We’ve been going over the 50 best Marlins of all-time, as measured by the Wins Above Replacement (WAR) metric. Its not a perfect stat, but I’ve found nothing better to measure pitcher against fielder, starter against reliever, and 1993 versus 2019.

Before we get started, here’s what we’ve covered over the past week:

Just Missed

60. Sandy Alcantara (3.3)

59. Mark Buehrle (3.5)

58. Emilio Bonifacio (3.5)

57. Moises Alou (3.5)

56. Braden Looper (3.6)

55. Alfredo Amezaga (3.7)

54. Quilvio Veras (3.9)

53. Bryan Harvey (4.0)

52. Starlin Castro (4.0)

51. Chris Volstad (4.2)

Day One

50. Omar Infante (4.3)

49. Livan Hernandez (4.5)

48. Devon White (4.5)

47. Ivan Rodriguez (4.5)

46. Al Leiter (4.8)

45. Derek Dietrich (4.8)

44. Chris Hammond (4.9)

43. Steve Cishek (4.9)

42. Robb Nen (4.9)

41. Edgar Renteria (5.0)

Day Two

40. Justin Bour (5.0)

39. Pat Rapp (5.3)

38. Mike Redmond (5.3)

37. Preston Wilson (6.2)

36. Henderson Alvarez (6.3)

35. A.J. Ramos (6.4)

34. Josh Willingham (6.4)

33. Martin Prado (6.5)

32. Mark Kotsay (6.8)

31. Brad Penny (7.5)

Day Three

30. Juan Pierre (7.6)

29. Brian Anderson (7.6)

28. Kevin Millar (7.7)

27. Miguel Rojas (7.9)

26. Alex Fernandez (8.1)

25. Carl Pavano (8.1)

24. Dee Gordon (9.2)

23. Cody Ross (9.4)

22. Derrek Lee (9.9)

21. Ricky Nolasco (10.7)

And now, part four of our five-part series on the best 50 players in Marlins history.

20. Josh Beckett (10.9)

Josh Beckett was a 6-foot-5, 230 lb. right-handed pitcher from Spring, TX. Born on May 15th, 1980, the Marlins spent their first round choice on him in 1999, second overall off the board.

Just over two years later, Beckett made his major league debut with the 2001 Marlins. He went 2-2 with a 1.50 ERA over four starts, striking out 24 batters in as many innings while surrendering only 14 hits.

In 2002, Beckett started 21 times, appearing in 23 games in total. Over 107 2/3 innings he struck out 113, logging a 1.272 WHIP leading the team with 9.4 K/9. He went 6-7 with a 4.10 ERA for the 79-83 ball club.

Beckett started 23 games for the 2003 Marlins in their march to their second World Series Championship. He was 9-8 with a rotation-best 3.04 ERA, with 152 whiffs in 142 innings for a K/9 rate of 9.6 and a 1.324 WHIP. In six postseason appearances, including five starts, he went 2-2 and finished with 47 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings. Opponents collected only 21 hits against him, for an oppBA of .145 while he collected his first two major league shutouts. He was named the World Series Most Valuable Player after striking out 19 Yankees and allowing only eight hits and two runs over his two starts, covering 16 1/3 innings.

In 2004, Beckett started 26 contests for the Marlins, and he again led the team in K/9, with a mark of 8.7. He went 9-9 with a 3.79 ERA and a 3.59 FIP and a 1.219 WHIP, helping the Marlins to an 83-79 record.

Beckett’s last season in Florida, 2005, would see him pick up a career-high with 15 wins against eight losses. He posted a 3.38 ERA over 29 starts, with a 1.181 WHIP and 166 whiffs in 178 2/3 innings. With 9.0 K/9, he’s ranked seventh on the Marlins all-time whiff-frequency list, minimum 200 IP.

Following the 2005 season, Beckett was traded with Mike Lowell and Guillermo Mota to the Boston Red Sox for Jesus Delgado, Harvey Garcia, Hanley Ramirez, and Anibal Sanchez. He made the all-star team three times in seven years with Boston, closing out his career with three seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

19. Charles Johnson (11.7)

Charles Johnson was a 6’2″, 215 lb. catcher from Fort Pierce, FL. Born on July 20th, 1971, the Marlins made him their first round pick in the 1992 MLB Amateur Entry Draft, with the 28th overall choice.

Johnson didn’t appear professionally in baseball in that calendar year, making his debut in 1993 with the Kane County Cougars in the Single-A Midwest League. He hit .275/.356/.471 with 19 home runs and 94 RBI in 135 games, stealing nine bases in 10 tries.

Johnson made his major league debut with the Marlins in 1994, going five-for-11 with a double and a homer in a four game look. He spent his rookie status proper in 1995, when he slashed .251/.351/.410 with 11 home runs and 39 RBI in 97 contests. More importantly, he won his first Gold Glove behind the plate, throwing out 43 percent of base stealers and earning 12 DRS above the “average” catcher.

In 1996, Johnson won his second National League Gold Glove, throwing out 48 percent of would-be basestealers. He only made four errors and committed five passed balls in 997 innings behind the plate, gaining another 14 DRS. Offensively, he took a giant step backwards with a line of .218/.292/.358 and a 73 OPS+, with 13 homers and 37 RBI.

Johnson made his first all-star team and won his third straight Gold Glove in 1997, hitting .250/.347/.454 with 19 round-trippers and 63 RBI. He threw out 47 percent and earned a 1.000 fPCT with a career-best 19 DRS above average. He went 14-for-53 with a home run and 10 RBI in the playoffs, helping the Marlins to their first World Series Championship.

Johnson hit .221 in 31 games for Florida in 1998 before getting traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he won his fourth Gold Glove. He joined Manuel Barrios, Bobby Bonilla, Jim Eisenreich and Gary Sheffield for the quickly flipped Mike Piazza and Todd Zeile. After finishing that season, he played a year-and-a-half for the Baltimore Orioles and finished 2000 with the Chicago White Sox.

Johnson came back to the Marlins through free agency in 2001, and made his second all-star team with his efforts. In 128 contests, he hit .259/.321/.450 with 18 home runs and 75 RBI. Still just-29-years-old, Johnson threw out another 42 percent of basestealers.

In 83 injury-plagued games with the 2002 Fish, Johnson hit just .217 with six home runs and 36 RBI. In response, then-manager Jeff Torborg informed him he would likely be limited to 90 games or less in 2003. Johnson wasn’t happy, according to the Orlando Sentinel:

For my time to get cut short is a bunch of bull. It’s not fair to me as far as my talent.

The Marlins had different plans – sending Johnson with Vic Darensbourg, Pablo Ozuna, and Preston Wilson to the Colorado Rockies for Mike Hampton and Mike Pierre. Johnson played two seasons with the Rockies and spent the 2005 season with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

18. A.J. Burnett (12.2)

A.J. Burnett was a 6-foot-5, 205 lb. right-handed pitcher from North Little Rock, AR when chosen in the eighth round of the 1995 MLB Amateur Entry Draft by the New York Mets. Born on January 3rd, 1977, he joined the Marlins prior to 1998 Spring Training when the Mets traded him with Robert Stratton and Jesus Sanchez for Ralph Milliard and Al Leiter.

Burnett made his major league debut in 1999 for the Marlins, where he went 4-2 and posted a 3.48 ERA with 33 K’s in 41 1/3 innings. He also walked 5.4 batters per nine innings, but wouldn’t again approach that number in a full season. Y2K would see Burnett go 3-7 with a 4.79 ERA over 13 starts, with 57 whiffs in 82 2/3 innings, with an identical 1.500 WHIP from his first season.

In 2001, Burnett went 11-12 over 27 starts, along with his first shutout. He struck out another 128 in 173 1/3 innings, lowering his WHIP to 1.315 while dropping his walk-rate to 4.3. He led the Marlins with 7.5 H/9 allowed.

In 2002, Burnett led the National League with five shutouts and only 6.7 hits allowed per nine innings. He went 12-9 with a 3.30 ERA and 203 whiffs in 204 1/3 innings, along with a then-career-best 1.189 WHIP.

Burnett made four starts to begin Florida’s 2003 campaign, going 0-2 before landing on the injured list for the balance of the season for Tommy John Surgery. Apparently, the Marlins didn’t suffer much, going the distance for their second World Series Championship.

Burnett returned in 2004 to go 7-6 with a 3.68 ERA and 113 K’s in 120 innings while posting the lowest WHIP of his career, at 1.167. He also walked less than three batters per nine innings for the first time, at 2.9.

2005 would be Burnett’s last season with the Marlins, and the first in which he didn’t miss any starts. He made 32 in total, going 12-12 with a 3.44 ERA, 198 strikeouts in 209 innings, and a. 1.258 WHIP. His 3.11 FIP was the best mark of his career until he registered a 2.80 in 2013 for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Granted free agency following the season, Burnett joined the Toronto Blue Jays.

Burnett played three seasons for Toronto, then three for the New York Yankees and two for the Pirates. After a season spent with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2014, he returned to Pittsburgh for his final season. At the age of 38, he made the all-star team for the first time before retiring.

17. Anibal Sanchez (13.0)

Anibal Sanchez is a 6-foot, 205 lb. right-handed native of Maracay, Venezuela. Born on February 27th, 1984, he signed with the Boston Red Sox in 2001 and made his professional debut with them in 2003. After the 2005 season, the Sox traded him with Hanley Ramirez, Jesus Delgado, and Harvey Garcia to Florida for Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, and Guillermo Mota.

Sanchez made his major league debut with the Marlins in the 2006 season, cruising to a 10-3 record and a sparkling 2.83 ERA. On September 6th, in just his 13th career start, Sanchez struck out six and walked four in a no-hit, 2-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. At this point of his career, Sanchez was not considered a strikeout pitcher, as evidenced by his 72 whiffs in 114 1/3 innings, but his solid 1.190 WHIP was plenty good enough for him to finish ninth on the National League Rookie of the Year Award voting.

In 2007, a labrum tear limited Sanchez to only six starts with Florida. He was 2-1 with a 4.80 ERA and a frightening 2.067 WHIP in 30 innings. He would never again approach that level of inefficiency.

2008 and 2009 would see Sanchez start just 26 games for the Marlins, with a 6-13 record and a 4.51 ERA. His WHIP subsided to a more palatable but still concerning mark of 1.533 between the two seasons combined.

2010 would be Sanchez’ first actual full season of play in the major leagues. He led the Marlins with 195 innings pitched and 32 games started, with a team-second 157 strikeouts. He finished with a 13-12 record and a 3.55 ERA to his credit, along with a 1.344 WHIP that hinted at even better things to come.

In 2011, Sanchez set a career high with 202 whiffs in 196 1/3 innings, to date just one of two seasons where he struck out over a batter per inning. Despite starting in 32 games, he registered just 17 decisions, going 8-9 with a 3.67 ERA and a 1.278 WHIP.

2012 began for Sanchez on the rechristened Miami Marlins, and in 121 innings he struck out 110 batters with a 1.256 WHIP. He was 5-7 with a 3.94 ERA when Miami traded him with Omar Infante to the Detroit Tigers for Rob Brantly, Brian Flynn, and Jacob Turner.

Sanchez played five-and-a-half seasons with Detroit, then played a season with the Atlanta Braves. In 2019, he went 11-8 for the eventual World Series Champion Washington Nationals.

16. Gary Sheffield (13.2)

Gary Sheffield was a 5-foot-11, 190 lb. third baseman and right fielder for the Marlins through their early seasons. Born on November 18th, 1968, he was a first round choice of the Milwaukee Brewers in 1986, with the sixth pick off the board.

Two seasons later, Sheffield made his major league debut with the Brewers, playing four middling seasons for them before joining the San Diego Padres for his first all-star campaign in 1992. Sheffield led the N.L. with a .330 batting average, clubbing 33 homers after totaling only 21 in his first four seasons. In late June, 1993, the brand-new Marlins got a shot-in-the-arm when the Padres traded Sheffield with Rich Rodriguez to Florida for Andres Beruman, Trevor Hoffman, and Jose Martinez.

Between the two clubs, Sheffield did enough to make his second all-star team, hitting .294/.361/.476 with 20 round-trippers and 73 RBI. He also stole 17 bases in 22 tries, helping lead the nascent Marlins to a 64-98 record. Not so great, but par-for-the-course for an expansion franchise.

In the lockout-shortened 1994 campaign, Sheffield played in 87 games for Florida, hitting .276/.380/.584 with 27 homers and 78 RBI, leading the team in slugging percentage and homers (Jeff Conine finished with 82 RBI, but more on him later).

The 1995 season started late due to the World Series-cancelling lockout, and Sheffield only appeared in 63 games for Florida. He hit .324/.467/.587 with another 16 homers and 46 RBI, along with 19 stolen bases in 23 tries.

1996 would see Sheffield make his third career all-star team with his solid campaign. A .314/.465/.624 slashline, 42 homers, and 120 RBI, with 16 stolen bases would see Sheff earn his first Silver Slugger and finish sixth in the N.L. Most Valuable Player Award vote. He led the Senior Circuit with his OBP and his 1.090 OPS over 161 games. His sky-high OBP was due to his career-high 142 walks drawn, versus only 66 strikeouts.

1997 would be a bit of a comedown for Sheffield, although it didn’t really hurt the Marlins in the long run. Sheff hit .250/.424/.446 with 21 homers and 71 RBI while appearing in 135 games. Even though he was 16-for-50 in the postseason, Sheffield also drew an incredible 20 walks for a slashline of .320/.514/.540.

Sheffield was traded by the Marlins in May of 1998 with Manuel Barrios, Bobby Bonilla, Jim Eisenreich, and Charles Johnson to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Mike Piazza and Todd Zeile. He played four seasons for the Dodgers, followed by two with the Atlanta Braves, three with the New York Yankees, two with the Detroit Tigers, and one with the New York Mets. After 22 seasons, he amassed 509 career home runs, ranking 26th on the all-time list.

15. J.T. Realmuto (13.2)

J.T. Realmuto‘s time with the Marlins was all too short, but he had a lot of impact during his time with the club. A third round pick in the 2010 MLB Amateur Entry Draft, Realmuto joined the organization as a 6-foot-1, 210 lb. catcher out of Midwest City, OK.

Four seasons later, Realmuto made his big league debut with Miami, going seven-for-29 in 11 games, with nine RBI. 2015 would be Realmuto’s first full major league season. He appeared in 126 games as the Marlins primary catcher, slashing .259/.290/.406 with 10 home runs and 47 RBI, while ranking fifth in the N.L. with seven triples. He only cut down 27 percent of base-stealers, a number he has bested by at least five percent in every season since.

In 2016, Realmuto got better. For the second time in now five consecutive seasons, he posted a career high with 11 home runs. In 137 games, he slashed .303/.343/.428, with career-best figures in batting average and OBP, also stealing 12 bases in 16 tries. Defensively, he earned a .991 fPCT while throwing out 35 percent of runners.

2017 would see Realmuto continue to improve behind the plate. He earned a .994 fPCT and was worth four zone runs above average in 1095 2/3 innings. Offensively, Realmuto played in 141 games and hit .278/.332/.451 with 17 home runs and 65 RBI.

Realmuto spent his last season with the Marlins in 2018, playing in 125 games and clubbing 21 home runs with 74 RBI while slashing .277/.340/.484. He took home his first Silver Slugger Award at catcher for his efforts. Realmuto also threw out 38 percent of stealers while manning the backstop for 952 frames and made his first all-star team.

Although the Marlins still owned exclusive rights to Realmuto through the 2020 campaign, they decided to gain what they could in trade for him. Just prior to Spring Training, they traded him to the Philadelphia Phillies for top pitching prospect Sixto Sanchez, Will Stewart, and major-league starting catcher Jorge Alfaro.

In his first season with the Phillies, Realmuto hit .275/.328/.493, earning another all-star bid, another Silver Slugger, and his first Gold Glove. He threw out an N.L. leading 47 percent of base stealers.

13. Jose Fernandez (13.9)

Jose Fernandez was a 6-foot-3, 240 lb. right-handed wizard from Santa Clara, Cuba. Born on July 31st, 1992, the legend of his Cuban defection are well known. After three failed attempts, and a prison sentence in his young teenage years, Fernandez was successful in getting out by boat in the Gulf of Mexico.

Fernandez was a first round choice of Florida in the 2011 MLB Amateur Entry Draft, taken 14th off the board out of Braulio Alonso HS in Tampa, FL. He made his major league debut in 2013, making the all-star team and winning the National League Rookie of the Year Award. He was 12-6 with a 2.19 ERA and 187 strikeouts in 172 2/3 innings, along with a 0.979 WHIP and an NL-best 5.8 H/9 allowed. Fernandez finished third in the NL Cy Young Award vote, just months after his 21st birthday.

Fernandez started out the 2014 season going 4-2 over eight starts, with a 2.44 ERA, a 0.948 WHIP and 70 K’s in only 51 2/3 innings. In mid-May, he learned that he would have to miss a significant chunk of time to go through Tommy John Surgery. According to Steve Dorsey at MLB.COM:

It was sad, because I felt I let my team down. It’s sad I left my teammates hanging. That’s the painful part. Forget about pain, it’s just sitting at home watching my teammates.

Better than ever upon his return just 12 months later, Fernandez closed out the 2015 season by going 6-1 in 11 starts. His 2.92 ERA was a career-worst, and still well better than the NL average of 4.11. He whiffed another 79 batters in 64 2/3 innings and finished the season with a 1.160 WHIP.

Fernandez went 16-8 with a 2.86 ERA in 29 starts in 2016, making another all-star team. Sadly, we were sure it was the second of many at the time. He struck out 253 batters in 182 1/3 innings and earned a 1.119 WHIP. His 12.5 K/9 was a career-high and led the N.L. evidence pointed to Fernandez only getting better from there.

On September 25th, 2016, Fernandez and two of his friends lost their lives in a boating accident. Now forever 24-years-old, Fernandez’ loss shocked the baseball world and shook the Marlins organization to its core.

12. Mike Lowell (14.2)

Mike Lowell was a 6-foot-4, 195 lb. third baseman from San Juan, PR. Born on February 24th, 1974, Lowell was a 20th round choice of the New York Yankees in the 1995 MLB Amateur Entry Draft. He made his major league debut with them in 1998, going four-for-15 in eight games.

Prior to 1999 Spring Training, Lowell was traded to Florida for Todd Noel, Mark Johnson, and Ed Yarnall. He appeared in 97 games for the Marlins, hitting .253/.317/.419 with 12 home runs and 47 RBI.

In 2000, Lowell played in 140 games for Florida, and improved his slashline to .270/.344/.474 for a 110 OPS+. He would remain above the “league average” of 100 for the next five seasons. Lowell hit a team-leading 38 doubles and 22 homers with 91 RBI.

2001 would see Lowell hit 18 home runs and collect a club-second 100 RBI, the first of three times he eclipsed the total in his 13-season MLB career. He hit .283/.340/.448 over 146 games.

In 2002, Lowell made the all-star team for the first time. In 160 games, he hit .276/346/.471 with a team-leading 44 doubles, a team-second 24 homers, and a team-best 92 RBI.

Lowell made the all-star team for the second time in 2003, also earning his only career Silver Slugger Award. Limited by injury to 130 games, Lowell led the eventual World Champions with 32 homers and 105 RBI. He slashed .276/.350/.530, leading the team and setting a career-high with his SLG. He later went nine-for-46 in the playoffs, including two home runs against the Chicago Cubs

In 2004, Lowell again led the team with 44 doubles, hitting 27 homers and collecting a team-second 85 RBI. He slashed a .293/.365/.505 line, with a 127 OPS+ to make the all-star team for a third-straight year.

Lowell failed to make the all-star team in 2005, but did win his only Gold Glove for his work at third base. He committed only six errors in 1126 2/3 innings at the hot corner, and was 12 total zone fielding runs better than the average third baseman. Offensively, he regressed to a line of .236/.298/.360, with only eight hors and 58 RBI in 150 games.

After the conclusion of the 2005 season, the Marlins traded Lowell with Josh Beckett and Guillermo Mota to the Boston Red Sox for Jesus Delgado, Harvey Garcia, Anibal Sanchez, and Hanley Ramirez.

Lowell played five seasons for the Red Sox, again making the all-star team in 2007 and earning the 2007 World Series MVP Award.

11. Marcell Ozuna (14.4)

Marcell Ozuna is a 6-foot-1, 225 lb. outfielder from Santo Domingo, DR. Born on November 12th, 1990, he made his major league debut with the Miami Marlins in 2013, hitting .265/.303/.389 in 70 games, with his first three home runs and 32 RBI.

Although Ozuna spent his rookie status in 2013, his first full proper major league season occured in 2014. In 153 contests he hit .269/.317/.455 with a team-second 23 home runs and 85 RBI. The club finished with a 77-85 record, Ozuna with a 4.4 WAR.

In 2015, Ozuna was plagued by a slow start, and eventually relegated to the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs in the Pacific Coast League. At the major league level with the Marlins, he appeared in 123 games and hit .259/.308/.383 with 10 homers and 44 RBI.

More from Marlins History

• Miami Marlins One-Year Wonder 1B
• Miami Marlins players & the 2023 Hall of Fame
• Former Miami Marlins star is retiring
• Gary Sheffield or Mark Buehrle, will either Marlin make the Hall of Fame?
• Why don’t we see more dynasties? Part 3

Ozuna would play well enough in 2016 to make his first all-star team, hitting .266/.321/.452 with a team-second 23 home runs and 76 RBI. In 148 games, Ozuna finished at 2.6 WAR with a .986 fPCT.

2017 would see Ozuna club a career-best 37 homers with 124 RBI in 159 games. He hit .312/.376/.548, all career-best marks along with an all-league worthy 149 OPS+. Named to his second all-star team, he also won the Gold Glove and the Silver Slugger Awards, both for the first time.

After the 2017 season, the Marlins sent Ozuna to the St. Louis Cardinals for Zac Gallen, Daniel Castano, Sandy Alcantara, and Magneuris Sierra. Since then, Gallen has been traded away for shortstop prospect Jazz Chisholm, Alcantara has emerged as a possible staff ace, and Sierra has turned heads with his game-changing speed.

In the meantime, Ozuna has hit .262/.327/.451 with 52 home runs and 177 RBI in 278 games over two seasons.