It is amazing how much has changed in the past 37 games. At the beginning of the year, I think you would be hard pressed to find more than 1 Marlin player - Hanley Ramirez. And most of the media would have said Hanley would only make it because every team needs a representative. (And then the national media would have said that Rollins, Reyes, and Tulowitzki were just as deserving).
Now that a significant number of games have been played, the Marlins have legitimately 5 or 6 potential allstars.
Mike Jacobs 1st Base- .271 9HR 21 RBI's - probably needs a good run through the end of June to get consideration. Even then, this is probably the most crowded position in the National League when it comes to allstar potential. Lance Berkman would be my choice hitting .382 with 12 HR and 36 RBI. Derek Lee would be next hitting .318 with 10 HR and .318 RBI. Albert Pujols is having another great year hitting .348 with 7 HR and 25 RBI. And then you have to think the Padres might need another representative after Peavy. Adrian Gonzalez is hitting .298 with 9 HR and 29 RBI. Thus Jacobs has a tough hill to climb.
Dan Uggla 2nd Base - .279 11HR 27 RBI's - this one is a little closer to a sure thing at this point. He is probably the second best offensive 2nd Baseman in the NL behind Chase Utley....and it is closer than people think. Chace Utley would be my choice to start hitting .327 with 13HR and 28 RBI. Uggla would be a reserve. Brandon Phillips is the only other guy to even consider hitting .284 with 6 HR and 16 RBI.
Hanley Ramirez Shortstop - .336 8HR 21 RBI's - another should be sure thing. Rollins has been injured most of the first part of the season. Reyes has not put up allstar numbers. And Tulowitzki was plain bad before he got hurt. That leaves Hanley as the best shortstop in the NL. Miguel Tejada hitting .342 with 5HR and 28 RBI should get consideration. Rafael Furcal hitting .366 with 5HR and 16 RBI's will also get consideration. What hurts Hanley is that he will probably not win the fans voting. And there are teams who's best players to this point play his position. They include Christian Guzman hitting .308 with 3 HR and 16 RBI and Jeff Keppinger hitting .324 with 2 HR and 18 RBI. But Hanley should pretty comfortably make it.
Josh Willingham Left Field - .341 6HR 16 RBI - Like Jacobs, Josh has a steep uphill climb. Being hurt does not help his power numbers. Too many outfielders are having comparable seasons to this point. They include Ryan Braun, Chris Young, Matt Holiday, Nate McLouth, Carlos Lee, Xavier Nady, Fukudome, Ryan Church, Matt Kemp, Patt Burrell, Aaron Rowand, Ryan Ludwick...ect. Thus, unless Josh comes back tearing up the baseball, he will probably be left out. This goes for any chance Jeremy Hermeida has as well.
Scott Olson Starting Pitcher - 4-1 2.63 ERA and Mark Hendrickson Starting Pitcher - 5-1 3.56 ERA. I would like to think that both still have a shot but this will be close. There are actually 12 or 13 starting pitchers in the NL that have had amazing starts, including the two Marlins. And almost all of them have more name recognition and national media following. Thus it will be an uphill climb. But if they continue to excel through June, some of these other names will probably slide off the list and give them a shot. The locks at this point include Brandon Webb 8-0 2.41 ERA, Aaron Cook 6-1 2.26 ERA (in Colorado!!!), Carlos Zambrano 5-1 1.80 ERA, Jake Peavy 4-2 2.47 ERA, Johan Santana 4-2 3.10 ERA, Adam Wainwright 3-1 2.25 ERA, Dan Haren 4-2 3.04 ERA, Matt Lincecum 5-1 1.61 ERA, Tim Hudson 5-2 2.76 ERA, and Ryan Dempster 4-1 2.76 ERA. Lets also not forget that fan favorite Greg Maddux just won his 350th game. So he might take a spot. And Ben Sheets was having a great start before he got hurt.
I believe the Marlins have the best bullpen in baseball. However they do not have great numbers at the closer position. They have the least amount of saves in the NL. Closers generally make the team as reserves. This hurts Pinto's chances. However it has been done before.
After looking at all the numbers, I think the Marlins get 3. Hanley, Uggla and either Olson or Hendrickson.
