I just noticed the Marlins have only 3 bench guys. That is the absolute minimum for the number of bench guys allowed in MLB. So far it has become clear only 3 guys in the current rotation is going to stick around. Ricky Nolasco, Andrew Miller, and Scott Olsen are the most consistent starters we have, and all 3 have been solid in the past month.
Mark Hendrickson, Burk Badenhop, and Ryan Tucker seem to be the likely men out. Josh Johnson, Anibel Sanchez, and Sergio Mitre could be around anytime starting aroud the All-Star break. Josh Johnson is the main guy that should give this team a major boost. Just a few seasons ago when he was healthy he won around 11 games. Anibel Sanchez came up with his stellar no-hitter and was serviceable for a while, though he lacks experience. I can see Mitre going to the bullpen.
Lee Gardner and Henry Owens won't be back this year it appears so a few guys in the Marlins pen are safe for now, but there is young elite pitching prospect Gaby Hernandez that could be up later this year. We have seen Ryan Tucker get called up after Tankersley got shipped down. Gaby Hernandez will be an interesting call up. He's a former met, Miami-Dade resident and UM-Hurricane star pitcher. He would fit perfectly in our rotation.
Right now the Marlins have the most options as far as pitching prospects. It is just a matter of who is ready to step up and lead this team. People say they are too young and inexperienced, but hey so was Josh Beckett and Dontrelle Willis in 2003. Neither of those pitchers ever pitched a complete season up to that point. Pavano was a trainwreck up to that year and Mark Redman had no experience in the NL, and only a few years in the majors prior, same with Brad Penny. Experience in the league is meaningless. That Marlins pitching staff was very young. Looper and Urbina was the only guys with 5+ years experience while the rest was late callups with just a couple year service time.