The rumor mill is swirling with talk of the Marlins potentially recalling super prospect Mike Stanton as soon as today (Mike Lamb was recalled instead).
It never made sense (especially considering the financial implications of waiting another week), but there is no doubt that now is the time to stash him away if you are in need of a power boost.
Chris Coghlan has been awful this season, hitting just .212 with two home runs, 12 RBI, 18 R and five SB over 165 AB. The 2009 NL Rookie of the Year was buoyed by a .365 BABIP last season, but that has taken a huge hit as expected (.266 in 2010), helping lead to the poor average. The other issue is the strikeouts, increasing to a rate over 24 percent.
Coghlan lacks big speed and power, meaning he never had much of an opportunity to be a must-use fantasy OF option, even in five-outfielder formats.
The fact that he could be the odd man out to make room for Stanton should be music to fantasy owners’ ears, because they no longer would need to decide on his potential value.
Cameron Maybin, the perpetual breakout option, has shown signs of coming around and has the potential to force Coghlan to the bench full-time. Still, the likelihood is that the two share time in LF, as neither has been overly impressive. In 155 AB, Maybin has hit .239 with four home runs, 16 RBI, 29 R and four SB.
The major problem with Maybin is that he continues to simply look overmatched at the plate. He’s currently striking out 31.6 percent of the time, consistent with his 31.3 percent career mark. He’s only gone back-to-back games without a strikeout twice this season. He is currently tied for 10th in the league with 49 Ks, an unacceptable number considering his lack of power.
The only other way he could get around it would be with exceptional stolen base totals (like Will Venable, who has 12 SBs despite 50 Ks), but he’s not doing that either.
The current Marlins OFer who appears safe is Cody Ross, who would likely take over full-time duty in center field. Ross has been heating up of late, with his average up to .308 with four home runs, 26 RBI, 23 R and two SB.
There is a concern with his power, a big reason why fantasy owners were originally drawn to him, but there’s an anomaly in his underlying statistics.
Ross’s HR/FB rate is consistent (currently at 11.8 percent), but his fly-ball rate has seemingly fallen off a cliff. Just look at his last three years:
2008 – 43.3 percent
2009 – 47.6 percent
2010 – 25.6 percent
There’s just no way that continues. He’s shown that the power is there, he just needs to start getting the ball in the air once again.
For his major league career he’s at 42.3 percent. From 2005-2007 in the minor leagues he was at 50.1 percent.
There’s little doubt that the power is coming, all the Marlins (and fantasy owners) need to do is not panic. He has been productive in other areas thus far, but the best is yet to come.
The Marlins aren’t going to recall Stanton to have him platoon, so someone is going to lose playing time. In looking at the numbers, the move that makes the most sense, at least offensively, is for Coghlan and Maybin to share time (unless one gets hot), leaving Ross and Stanton to play virtually everyday.
While we still don’t know exactly when Stanton will join the Marlins, in all likelihood it will be sooner rather then later. If you are in a five-outfielder format and are using either Coghlan or Maybin, it’s time to start looking at a potential replacement before it’s too late.
What do you think? Should the Marlins use a Coghlan/Maybin platoon or should one play more then the other?
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