Kuzul

After watching him help the Angels sweep the Red Sox earlier this week, and based on his entire body of work this season, it's clear that Mike Trout is one of the most exciting young players in the majors. He may even be the American League MVP when all is said and done, but there is one thing I don't think the 21-year-old phenom should be: Rookie of the Year. Technically, Trout is a rookie. As the MLB rules state, “A player shall be considered a rookie unless, during a previous season or seasons, he has (a) exceeded 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the Major Leagues; or (b) accumulated more than 45 days on the active roster of a Major League club or clubs during the period of 25-player limit (excluding time in the military service and time on the disabled list). Trout makes the cut...barely. He played ...

It's no secret the Miami Marlins were in heavy pursuit of free agent slugger Albert Pujols this past offseason and dangled nearly $200 million for 10 years to get him signed, sealed and delivered to sunny South Beach. Fast forward to May 15 and the front office should be breathing a sign of relief they missed out on him, but maybe kicking themselves that they didn't deal their own first baseman, Gaby Sanchez, after an All-Star season in 2011. Here is the tale of the tape on both Sanchez and Pujols this season (via ESPN): Sanchez, who had a 2.4 WAR (wins above replacement) in 2011, currently has a WAR of -0.8. And while Pujols is getting all the headlines—and with good reason after signing a massive contract with the Angels—Gaby's struggles have gone under the radar. A deeper look reveals Sanchez's struggles could be tied with an increased tendency to extend the strike ...

During his last few years with the Chicago Cubs, new Miami Marlins starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano made headlines for his temper tantrums more than his work on the mound, but the change of scenery will bring Big Z back to relevancy in 2012.Zambrano is an interesting name for fantasy managers every season. On one hand, he knows how to strike batters out and is a solid veteran; on the other hand, he can be a monster headache with all his random outbursts and foot-in-mouth type of comments.That being said, the Marlins didn't go out and acquire the former Cubs hurler without thinking they can control the big man. Who better to control Big Z than manager Ozzie Guillen, right? Exactly.While I don't expect Zambrano to pull any more of his usual outbursts during his first year on a new team, if he tries that stuff with Guillen, he's going to get ...

In 2011, the Miami Marlins possessed one of the worst minor league systems in the major leagues. Matt Dominguez was supposed to be the next top prospect to make the jump after Mike Stanton, but with a sub-par 2011 and Hanley Ramirez taking over the duties at third base, he may have missed his big opportunity. This left the Marlins without a highly touted bat for the future.  Going into 2012, there are going to be few players in the lower levels of the Marlins' system that will be on everyone's radar. Two players who really started to make a name for themselves are outfielders Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna.Both in single-A during the 2011 season, these two young prospects put together years that put them on the map and on top of most Marlins' top prospect lists.Let's take a look at each of these prospects and try to get a clearer view of how they might give the Marlins one ...

Just as the Marlins were coasting enthusiastically through the offseason, wining and dining, and recently signing closer Heath Bell to a lucrative deal, they were dealt the usual blow when the US Securities & Exchanges Commission (SEC) opened a probe Friday investigating the controversial stadium deal green-lit by the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County. Usual you say? Why of course. The Marlins have gotten used to the highs and lows since their inception. They began as a thriving franchise with booming attendance numbers in 1993 but not even two seasons in and MLB grew dark as part of a players strike in 1994. This caused the attendance figures to never even come close to the over three million achieved during the inaugural season and with continuing mediocre play for these figures to get lower. Then a savior for the "Fighting Fish" was the 1997 season which saw the ballclub make strides and finally make ...

With a young team, a pair of superstars and a new stadium set to open in 2012, the Florida Marlins are poised to begin a new chapter in their short but illustrious history. While the 2011 season was set to be a year full of promise, the young Marlins could not live up to the weight of their own early season expectations and squandered the chance to be in the Wildcard chase with a historically bad month of June.In retrospect, it's obvious that while the team has some legitimately talented pieces in Gaby Sanchez, Mike Stanton, Josh Johnson and Hanley Ramirez to build around, with top prospect Matt Dominguez on the way, there's still quite a few holes the franchise needs to plug before taking the next step.Here's a few folks who should probably be thrown overboard if the Miami faithful wants to see their boys bring home a third World ...

The Florida Marlins are well-known for dealing players such as Dontrelle Willis, Miguel Cabrera, Gary Sheffield and Edgar Renteria.In fact, tracing back to 2004, the Marlins have been talking about becoming a spender once the new ballpark is constructed.Unfortunately, despite placing clauses in player contracts such as Mike Lowell, the deal was delayed and the Marlins continued to gut the roster of talent throughout the years.Surprisingly, there have been five moves during 2011 that indicate that the Marlins may finally be dedicated to build a contender for years. Begin Slideshow

Already, the Florida Marlins are in excellent shape to make a run at the postseason for the first time since 2003. The Marlins have gotten a Cy Young worthy performance out of Josh Johnson and solid outings out of Ricky Nolasco and Anibal Sanchez, who nearly repeated his gem from 2006. Yet, they're still waiting on Chris Volstad and Javier Vazquez to follow suit. The bullpen has been tremendous, leading MLB in ERA (1.63) and BAA (.178), as of Saturday, they are one of two teams that has yet to blow a save this season (Dodgers).  The starting lineup has gotten surprises from Logan Morrison, leading the team in home runs and RBIs despite now being out for the next two to three weeks with a foot injury, Gaby Sanchez, Emilio Bonifacio and even Brett Hayes. Nevertheless, they have yet to get production from their best bats in Hanley Ramirez and Mike Stanton ...

With the new season just underway, the Marlins are now focusing on trying to seal the deal on the name of their new stadium set to open in 2012. Originally, the ballclub had hoped to have had the deal sealed during Spring Training and then again much earlier in the offseason but there have been delays along the way.   Team President David Samson told Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal that the ballclub is in discussions to reel in one of the three companies for which the stadium will be named after. Samson did not disclose the companies with whom the Marlins are talking for obvious reasons. All signs point to a deal being completed sometime by the end of April.  Currently, the ballpark as been referred to publicly as "New Marlins Stadium" or "Miami Ballpark" in documents.  The team is also pitching naming rights for the four ballpark quadrants/entrances, and could go to market for a sixth ...

According to the Palm Beach Post's Joe Capozzi, the Marlins have begun discussions on bringing back former Marlin great Luis Castillo, who was recently released by the New York Mets.  Castillo, 35, won three Gold Gloves with the Marlins and was a three-time All-Star while winning World Series rings in 1997 (though he didn't play in the postseason) and 2003. Currently Castillo holds the franchise records in games played (1,128), runs scored (675), hits (1,273), stolen bases (281), walks (533) and triples (42). A Castillo return to Miami wouldn't be a response to reuniting the former Marlin to finish his career where it all began but, in part, due to the recent struggles of Matt Dominguez. A week and a half ago, his average was at .353 but that has dipped to near the Mendoza Line as more of the seasoned pitchers have been out there, as opposed to the ...