Tuesday Night in Major League Baseball featured the much-anticipated debut of a top prospect who has seen unrivaled success during his time this season in the minor leagues. The anticipation for this prospect’s National League East fan base was palpable. The future is now…for the Florida Marlins.↵↵You thought this was going to be another Stephen Strasburg Hall of Fame dedication speech, didn’t you? ↵
Mike Stanton Shines In His Completely Overshadowed MLB Debut
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↵↵While the National Phenom was dominating headlines around the sports world – Bob Costas likened Strasburg to at least eight different Hall of Famers during the MLB Network telecast of his debut – Marlins outfielder Mike Stanton was able to completely sneak into the big leagues under the radar. The 20-year old promptly went 3-for-5 with two runs scored while playing solid right field in a 10-8 debut loss to the Phillies. Sure his three hits were all singles, with two not even getting out of the infield, but still a very solid start for the other phenom making his debut last night. (Watch his three hits here.)↵
↵↵Stanton is the second-youngest Marlin in franchise history at 20 years, 212 days old. He is just about five months older than Miguel Cabrera was when he got the call in 2003, and baseball fans remember how that turned out for the Fish. After the game, Stanton told reporters, “I was definitely a little more relaxed than I thought I’d be.” Facing Phillies’ fifth starter Kyle Kendrick probably didn’t hurt.↵
↵↵While Strasburg has been gobbled up, swished around and spit out by the hype machine too many times to count, Stanton obviously didn’t have to face anything close to that kind of scrutiny nor expectations this season in the minors. But for a slugger, he put up his own mind-boggling numbers just the same.↵
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↵Playing for the Marlins' Double-A squad in Jacksonville, Stanton hit .311 while slugging .726 with an OPS of 1.167. He played in 52 games and racked up 59 hits and 21 home runs. That's a home run in every nine at bats and nearly every 11 trips to the plate. Put that kind of production in the majors and you're talking Babe Ruth in 1927 and Sammy Sosa in 2001 kind of per-at bat home run production. I know, I know it was only Double-A and only 52 games, but still, 21 homers in 190 at bats is pretty crazy.↵
↵↵So it was just a matter of time before he got called up to the majors and it just so happened that his debut for the Marlins came on the same night as the most heralded debut for a rookie in the history of the sport. Short of hitting for the cycle with a game-winning grand slam, nothing Stanton could do would have overshadowed Strasburg’s performance last night. Then again, Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez isn’t putting that kind of pressure on the kid just yet.↵
↵↵⇥“It’s a good spot for him,” Gonzalez said. “Let him have fun. Whether we win, lose or draw, I want him to have a big smile on his face. You only get your first hit in the big leagues once. We want him to enjoy that.↵⇥↵⇥“We’ve got some other guys -- Hanley Ramirez, Jorge Cantu, Dan Uggla, Cody Ross -- let those guys carry the weight.”↵⇥
↵↵Of course, that doesn’t stop local reporters from putting more expectations on the slugger. In his “Hype-o-Meter” on the Miami Herald blog “Random Evidence of a Cluttered Blog,” Greg Cote compared the debut for each superstar rookie:↵↵⇥No criticism of 20-year-old Marlins sensation Mike Stanton in his big-league debut tonight. He went 3-for-5, albeit two hits of the infield variety. But Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg? Otherworldly. Fourteen strikeouts in a seven-inning victory.↵⇥↵⇥Pitchers have an advantage in facing hitters for the first time. Having said that, give Stanton a solid B grade in his debut, and Strasburg an A-plus.↵⇥
↵↵Three hits in his first game and he only gets a “solid B grade” for his effort? Maybe he
will
have some of the same “Strasburgian” expectations this year, at least from the locals.↵
This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.
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