Moving Up: Chris Coghlan

The Marlins have called up second base prospect Chris Coghlan and it appears that he will soon replace week one hero Emilio Bonifacio in the starting lineup. The early plan is to have Coghlan play multiple positions but as essentially a regular in the lineup. He made his first start at his natural second base position and the next in the outfield. If Coghlan is productive and Bonifacio continues to slump a change could be made very quickly.

Coghlan is a disciplined hitter with strong contact skills. He has some pop and could hit around ten homers in a full season. He has just slightly above average speed but is a very good base stealer. He should accumulate 20-plus in a full season of at-bats. He is the player the Marlins project to eventually replace Dan Uggla at second base. Coghlan is a real prospect (Marlins #9 according to Baseball America) in a way that the well-traveled Bonifacio could never be. He will receive opportunities despite his production when Bonifacio could be replaced under similar circumstances.

Season	Team	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	R	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG
2006	Marlins (R)	2	7	2	0	0	0	2	3	0	1	0	0	0.286
2006	Marlins (A-)	28	94	28	5	1	0	14	12	13	9	5	2	0.298
2007	Marlins (A)	81	305	99	26	4	10	60	64	47	43	19	4	0.325
2007	Marlins (A+)	34	130	26	5	3	2	17	18	15	19	5	1	0.200
2008	Marlins (AA)	132	483	144	32	5	7	83	74	67	65	34	10	0.298
2009	Marlins (AAA)	25	96	33	9	1	3	21	22	12	10	9	1	0.344

Sleeper Alert: Emilio Bonifacio

It looks like the Florida Marlins have chosen a winner in the battle for the job of starting first baseman. That winner appears to be Emilio Bonifacio who has started the last few games at the position. This results in Jorge Cantu moving from third base to first base and Gaby Sanchez going to triple-A. Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez has also suggested that if he makes the team he will hit leadoff. Cameron Maybin would hit second (an excellent place for a talented rookie to hit).

In most leagues Bonifacio will only qualify at second base. However, he should soon qualify at third base and may give Hanley Ramirez the occasional day off at shortstop. Most analysts expected the switch-hitting Bonifacio to be a utility player and that may be his ultimate role but he does have good on-base skills and the speed to steal bases. As with most speed reliant players he hits more than 50 percent of his balls in play on the ground. He does not have much power but will crush a mistake pitch.

Presently you can draft Bonifacio in the later rounds of NL-only drafts and he'll probably be available in shallow mixed leagues. If given 500 at-bats the upside looks something like this:

.270/.340/.400 w/3-5 homeruns, 70 runs, 40 RBI, 40 stolen bases

Bonifacio Leading Off

The Marlins' Prized Possession