Youth still being served in Florida

During the 2006 season, the Florida Marlins used more than 20 rookies on their big-league roster. The youth movement, fueled largely by offseason trades that flooded the system with upper-level talent, led to a surprising season in which the Marlins won 78 games and hung around in the Wild Card race. Not bad for a team most had assumed would finish in last place.

From homegrown talent like Josh Johnson, Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham to prospects acquired by trade like Hanley Ramirez and Anibal Sanchez to Rule 5 wunderkind Dan Uggla, the Marlins' immediate future looks extremely rosy. Ramirez, Uggla and Johnson all should finish high in Rookie of the Year voting, with Sanchez and Willingham not far behind.

With all of this young talent in the big leagues, no one would complain if things were a little thin down on the farm. But that's not the case. Most of the strength lies in pitching, with some upper-level talent still there (guys who rode the shuttle between Triple-A and the bigs like Renyel Pinto and Yusmeiro Petit). There's a little gap in the middle ranks, but right behind is a group of young and talented arms, added mostly through the 2005 draft, that should keep the Marlins' staff flush for years and provide the pieces necessary for Florida to trade for the bats they need. There's not too much in the Minors in the way of impact offensive players right now, but when every position in the big leagues is manned by 20-somethings, there isn't the same sense of urgency.

Five Faves

At the start of the season, MLB.com identified five prospects to keep an eye on. Here's how they fared in 2006:

Anibal Sanchez, RHP
Sanchez came along with Hanley Ramirez (and a host of others) in the Josh Beckett deal, and in many ways he outpitched Beckett once he got to the Majors. The year started out a little dubiously, as a tight shoulder limited him in the spring. Once he got going, though, he was tough to stop. He had a 3.15 ERA in 15 starts for Double-A Carolina, striking out 92 in 85 2/3 innings. He made his big-league debut at Yankee Stadium on June 25, tossing 5 2/3 shutout innings. He got past a rough stretch in July (three bad starts led to a 5.19 ERA for the month), then went 6-2 with a 1.95 ERA in August and September, punctuated by a no-hitter on Sept. 6. Overall with Florida, he was 10-3 with a 2.83 ERA and .217 opponents' batting average in 114 1/3 innings, putting him into the conversation for NL Rookie of the Year.
Video: Sanchez no-hits the Diamondbacks
Video: Sanchez talks about his no-no

Yusmeiro Petit, RHP
Petit came over from the Mets in the Carlos Delgado deal and his Marlins debut did not go quite as well as Sanchez's. A pitcher who has always relied on command and a deceptive delivery, there have been some who were unconvinced of Petit's ability to maintain his performance at higher levels. He didn't really allay those concerns in 2006. Petit had a 4.28 ERA in 17 starts for Triple-A Albuquerque, giving up 101 hits (14 homers) in 96 2/3 innings. His walk rate went up while his strikeout rate went down in the hitting-friendly PCL. To be fair, he won't turn 22 until late November and had to ride the Albuquerque-Florida shuttle a few times this year. Pitching almost entirely out of the 'pen for the Marlins, Petit started well, with a 3.38 ERA in his first six outings. He struggled later on, finishing the season with a 9.57 ERA in 26 1/3 IP.
Video: Petit makes his big-league debut

Renyel Pinto, LHP
A starter throughout his Minor League career (he came from the Cubs in the Juan Pierre deal), including 2006 with Triple-A Albuquerque, Pinto found a niche as a left-handed reliever in the Marlins' 'pen as he rode the shuttle with Petit throughout the season. With the Isotopes, Pinto pitched well in Triple-A for the first time in three tries, going 8-2 with a 3.40 ERA in 18 starts. With Florida, he appeared in 27 games and had a 3.03 ERA in 29 2/3 innings. He walked too many (27) but struck out 36 and held big-league hitters to a .190 average (.171 for lefties). There were rumors that the Marlins, flush with young pitching talent, might try to use Pinto as trade bait this offseason.
Audio: Pinto registers a punchout

2006 Organizational Record
LEVEL AAA AA A (Adv) A SS R	LEAGUE PCL SL FSL SAL NYP GCL	TEAM Albuquerque Carolina Jupiter Greensboro Jamestown Marlins TOTAL:	W 70 61 55 68 33 29 316	L 72 79 80 69 39 24 363	PCT .493 .436 .407 .496 .458 .547 .465

Gaby Hernandez, RHP
Acquired from the Mets in the Paul LoDuca trade, Hernandez had struggled a year ago in his first taste of the Florida State League. He spent all of 2006 there, going 9-7 with a 3.68 ERA for Jupiter. In 120 innings, Hernandez gave up 35 walks and struck out 115. The 20-year-old pitched very well after a 6.48 ERA in April but was shut down for the rest of the year after his start on July 23 due to a small stress fracture in his foot. He's fine now and was slated to pitch winter ball in Puerto Rico.

Chris Volstad, RHP
What, an actual homegrown pitcher on this list? While the other four arms were imports who filled the system via trades, Volstad actually was selected by the Marlins in the first round of the 2005 draft. The 16th overall pick had a solid, if unspectacular, first full season pitching as a teenager in the South Atlantic League. He finished with good overall numbers: 11-8, 3.08 ERA, just 36 walks (99 strikeouts) in 152 innings. More important is how he finished the season. The 6-foot-7 right-hander was 5-7 with a 4.05 ERA at the All-Star break, then went 6-1 with a 1.53 ERA in the second half.

Cinderella Story

Kris Harvey, OF
It was a feel-good story when the Marlins took Harvey, the son of former Marlins All-Star closer Bryan Harvey, in the second round of the 2005 draft. After an experiment with a move to third base this past offseason, Harvey remained in the outfield with Greensboro in his first full season. The story didn't feel good when Harvey missed more than a month, including all of August, with an oblique strain.
Audio: Harvey hits a solo homer

Breakout Year

This player was pegged as a breakout candidate before the season began. Did he live up to expectations?

Taylor Tankersley, LHP
The thinking was a switch to the bullpen would allow Tankersley to really take off. And that's exactly what happened. The southpaw spent the first two months of the season with Double-A Carolina, where he went 4-1 with six saves, a 0.95 ERA and a .125 opponents' batting average. In 28 1/3 innings, he struck out 40. That earned him a trip to the big leagues, and he never left. Over 49 games and 41 IP, Tankersley posted a 2.85 ERA and recorded three saves, allowing only 33 hits (.228). While he walked 26, he struck out 46, so it looks like he's found a home in the Marlins' bullpen.
Audio: Tankersley fans four in a row

2006 draft recap

1. Brett Sinkbeil, RHP
The Marlins may have gotten the steal of the first round when Sinkbeil slid to them at No. 19 after missing a chunk of time with a strained oblique. The Missouri State product had a nice debut after signing quickly. He showed that the New York-Penn League was too easy for him, posting a 1.23 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 22 innings there. A promotion to Greensboro was a bit challenging as he gave up 45 hits in 39 2/3 IP en route to a 4.99 ERA. With an offseason of rest, though, he's the type who could move quickly through the Marlins' system.

2. Chris Coghlan, 3B
A supplemental first-round pick out of Mississippi, Coghlan spent most of his pro debut with Jamestown in the NY-Penn League. In 94 at-bats, he hit .298 without much power. He drew 13 walks against only nine strikeouts, showing the advanced hitting approach scouts liked when he was in college.

3. Tom Hickman, OF
The Marlins don't shy away from taking high schoolers (see Hermida, Jeremy), so it wasn't a shock when they went with Hickman in the second round. The Georgia native made his debut in the Gulf Coast League and hit .263 in 50 games. Playing mostly center field and a little left, Hickman had 12 doubles, four triples and a pair of homers in 175 at-bats. He also showed a nice approach at the plate with 30 walks, though he also struck out 43 times.

4. Torre Langley, C
Another Georgia high schooler, Langley is a slightly undersized backstop (5-foot-9) with an excellent defensive reputation. He did nothing to hurt his rep by throwing out 47 percent of would-be base stealers in the GCL this summer. Offensively, he may have a ways to come after hitting just .169 in 77 at-bats. His work behind the plate, though, was trustworthy enough to send him all the way up to the Florida State League for three games.

5. Scott Cousins, OF
The Marlins went back to college with their fourth-round pick, taking Cousins out of the University of San Francisco. He got just 90 pro at-bats under his belt and hit .211 with a homer and three steals over 21 games. His debut ended on July 26 when a groin injury knocked him out for the remainder of the season.
Audio: Cousins delivers an RBI double

2005 draft recap

1. Chris Volstad, RHP
After a slow start in his full-season debut, Volstad came on strong in the second half (see above). The Marlins are never ones to shy away from pushing young pitchers, though they have depth now that could allow them to take their time with Volstad. He may make it hard to do that if he takes off in 2007.

2. Aaron Thompson, RHP
The second of three first-round picks (five, if you count the supplemental round), the left-handed Thompson spent the year in Greensboro with Volstad. He finished with a 3.63 ERA in 136 innings, walking 35 and striking out 114, a pretty nifty ratio for a teenager. His best month was June, when he went 4-0 with a 0.53 ERA, striking out 34 in 33 2/3 IP. He also struck out the side in his lone inning of work to earn South Atlantic League All-Star Game Pitcher of the Game honors.
Audio: Thompson shoots down the Shorebirds

3. Jacob Marceaux, RHP
The Marlins' first five picks in 2005 were all pitchers, but Marceaux was the only one taken from the college ranks. The McNeese State product had an up-and-down year with Jupiter in the Florida State League, posting a 3.99 ERA in 117 1/3 innings. After an awful April (6.26 ERA), he had a very good stretch in May and June (then spent about two weeks on the disabled list) before slowing down in the final two months.
Audio: Marceaux notches his eighth K