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| Hanley Ramirez went 1-for-3 with an RBI double in Thursday's 3-0 win at Philadelphia. He also registered two walks, and a stolen base, his 27th of the season. |
Our View: Ramirez should remain productive down the stretch for Florida, even if his batting average remains below .300. |
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| Chris Volstad hurled six scoreless innings, with only three hits allowed, in Thursday's 3-0 win over the Phillies. He also registered three strikeouts and four walks. |
Our View: Volstad claimed his third win of the season, and trimmed his ERA to 2.67. He should remain active in NL-only leagues. |
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| Anibal Sanchez looked rusty in his second start back from the DL Wednesday, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits and three walks over five innings. He struck out two. |
Our View: Sanchez, who is coming back from Tommy John surgery, will have a few of these types of outings while he regains his command. He should not be used as a mixed league option right now. |
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| Paul Hoover has been optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque, according to Marlins.com. The Marlins activated Matt Treanor from the DL as the adjoining move. |
Our View: Hoover held no fantasy value prior to his demotion, with a .200 average (no homers) over 40 at-bats. |
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| Matt Treanor has been activated from the DL, according to Marlins.com. |
Our View: He could play as early as Thursday, and is slated to initially platoon with John Baker. Treanor is displaying dedication and toughness by postponing his hip surgery, but will remain a non-factor in standard leagues, as he holds a .240 average over 54 games, with only two home runs. |
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| Florida RHP Josh Johnson got a late start on the season, but he's starting to get his groove. Tonight he led his Marlins to an 8-2 win over the Phillies, pitching six innings of shutout baseball, allowing five hits, four walks, and three strikeouts. |
Our View: That's two wins over his last two starts for Johnson, bringing his ERA to 3.34. His control continues to be a slight problem, but the results speak for themselves. |
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| Florida shortstop Hanley Ramirez was up to his old tricks again tonight, going 2-for-3 with two walks and his 26th stolen base of the season in the Marlins' 8-2 win over Philadelphia. Ramirez walked off the field with one RBI and two runs scored on the night. |
Our View: Ramirez is the leader of the cause for the Marlins and games like this show why. He gets 'em moving towards success and the rest follow. |
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| The Phillies did what they could withstand the onslaught of offense from the Marlins, but it was too much, taking the 8-2 loss in disappointing fashion. The Marlins did their damage with outfielder Jeremy Hermida , going 2-for-4 with one walk to total four RBIs. |
Our View: Hermida comes off seven July homers with hopes of getting his team into the playoffs. Thus far things have been tough in August, hitting just .154 over three games coming into this game, but this may get him going in the right direction. |
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| Florida catcher Matt Treanor continues to progress through his rehab stint in the minors, according to MLB.com. On Tuesday night, the 32-year-old catcher worked back-to-back games with Class-A Jupiter. On Monday night, he caught nine innings, another encouraging sign that a return to the Marlins is getting closer. |
Our View: Treanor went on the DL with a left hip strain on July 8. Tuesday was his fifth rehab game. On Sunday, he was used exclusively as the designated hitter. Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez noted that when Treanor returned, at least initially, he wouldn't step in five days a week. So the breakdown with left-handed hitter John Baker may come down to a platoon situation since Treanor is a right-handed hitter. |
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| Josh Johnson won for the first time since Aug. 28, 2006 in his last start against the Mets, allowing four runs in nearly seven innings of work. The big right-hander faces off against the Fighting Phils tonight, a club he's faced once this year already. Johnson allowed two runs in 6.2 innings against Philadelphia on July 20. He is 1-1 with a 4.64 ERA in three starts against the Phillies. |
Our View: It's been only four starts since his return to the rotation, but there have been some positive signs for Johnson. His peripherals match that of a pitcher getting better following TJ surgery. Besides the good surface numbers J.J. brings to the table, his velocity is up and his control has improved (which is the most important factor for TJ survivors). The Florida starter's K rate has risen to 10.5 per nine over his first 23.2 innings this year, and everything points to a successful final two months of the season. |
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| The Marlins intend to work on rookie hurler Chris Volstad's delivery, according to the Miami Herald. He looked vulnerable during his start Friday, as the Rockies stole three bases against him, and the Marlins want to speed up his delivery. Manager Fredi Gonzalez said, "He's got to speed it up a little bit. He is about a 1.3 seconds to the plate, and that's fine, but sometimes he gets up to 1.6 or 1.7. It's all learning. It's all experience. He's a very, very smart kid. I think he will learn to be quicker to the plate with no problem."
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Our View: The Marlins will be careful with their adjustments, however. They don't want to hurry him up too much, with the risk of putting pressure on his arm. |
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| The lack of relief pitching might be a worry in Florida following today's collapse against the Colorado Rockies, wasting a strong effort by LHP Scott Olsen . Olsen pitched six innings, allowing just one hit with no runs, two walks, and six strikeouts. |
Our View: Olsen walks with no decision and a 3.87 ERA after his relief support surrendered one run in each of the final three innings to take the fall. It is not the first time the Marlins have seen a good pitching effort go to waste this season, reminding the fans in Florida that challenges lay in wait as we look towards the playoff stretch. |
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| All-Star Florida shortstop Hanley Ramirez isn’t in the starting lineup today, according to the Palm Beach Post. |
Our View: Manager Fredi Gonzalez wasn’t available to explain why, but he said through a spokesman that Ramirez was just getting a day off. |
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| Josh Willingham went 2-for-3 with an RBI in Saturday's 5-3 win over the Rockies at home. He hit a double and a triple, and scored two runs. |
Our View: Willingham is hitting .473 (9-for-19) over his last six games. He has also registered an RBI in three straight contests, and should remain active in fantasy lineups while he is hot. |
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| Ricky Nolasco allowed three earned runs on four hits over eight innings in Saturday's 5-3 victory over the Rockies, with no walks and 13 strikeouts. |
Our View: He improves to 11-6 for the season, and reached double digits in strikeouts for the second time (registered 12 against the Rays on June 15). He also snapped a four-game skid without a win. |
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| Josh Willingham had a hit and an RBI out of the cleanup spot for the Marlins on Friday night. |
Our View: Well, at least he can relax now as it appears that he will be a Marlin for the rest of the year. Willingham is hitting .276 though his total of 29 RBI in 199 AB isn't quite the pace that the club, or his owners, had hoped for. |
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| Chris Volstad was all over the map on Friday as he allowed eight hits, walked three, struck out six and allowed five runs (four earned) in five innings against the Rockies. |
Our View: Volsted just didn't have it on this night, though he still sports a 3.25 ERA through 27.2 innings this season. Youngster often struggle with control, so don't go throwing in the towel quite yet with this young phenom. |
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