Marlins Player Profile: Josh Willingham
May 10, 2008
Starting in left field for your Florida Marlins is Josh “The Hammer” Willingham. A significant part of the young Marlins’ offense the past couple of seasons, Willingham is again, unsurprisingly, putting up solid numbers for the National League leading Fish. Hampered by injury and currently on the DL, Hammer’s bat is always missed in the lineup, despite the recent string of wins.
But who is Josh Willingham? Where did he come from, and how did he become such a solid force in the Marlins lineup?
Josh Willingham was drafted in the June 2000 amateur draft, in the 17th round, and as a shortstop. And in 2001, Josh became a member of the MWL Champion Kane County Cougars, a Single A affiliate of the Marlins. They finished the year 88-50 behind strong hitting and strong pitching. However, Willingham was most certainly not the star of the team, that distinction went to former Marlins prospect Adrian Gonzalez, now of the Padres.
Josh Willingham was actually most noted for his baserunning ability during his stint in Single A, but would later become more known for other facets of the game. Though, for his minor league career, Josh was 71/89 in stolen bases, good for 80% success. This baserunning prowess translates well, as evidenced by Josh’s 2 SB game earlier this season.
Josh spent all of 2002 with the High A affiliate in Jupiter, slugging 17 homeruns in 376 at bats. He also walked 63 times to 88 strikeouts. He changed positions, splitting time at first base, third base and the outfield. Miguel Cabrera and Jason Stokes/Adrian Gonzalez kept Josh from having a definitive position in his first season by burying him on the depth chart and prospect ranking. Hammer’s limited abilities as a shortstop, combined with his large frame meant that the change was necessary, and the organization was growing fond of the potential of young Hammer.
2003 was a great year for the organization, with the team winning the World Series that year, but it stymied Willingham. Not offensively of course, spending stints with the Rookie League, High A and AA affiliates, Willingham posted a combined .979 OPS; no lower than .955 in any league. His block was of a positional nature. Josh added catching to his resume, at the time being blocked at 1B by Derrek Lee, Mike Lowell at 3B and former minor league peer Miguel Cabrera in LF. It was becoming more and more obvious however, that Willingham was displaying both ML power and plate discipline, though.
2004 saw the first time the ML Marlins were an NL favorite to start the season, and unfortunately, we all remember the collapse and missing the playoffs. Josh, however, remained consistent. He posted a .281/.434/.565 line in a full season with the Carolina squad and established himself as a solid catching prospect, with some sources ranking him with the likes of Joe Mauer and Jarrod Saltalamacchia. He received his first ML callup at the age of 25, and only had as many at bats, in 12 games. He did hit his first ML homerun and simultaneously recorded his first ML RBI off relief pitcher Oscar Villarreal.
2005 saw more of the same, the Marlins were again NL favorites, and again, missed the playoffs despite posting only the fourth winning season in franchise history. Josh kept on hitting though, and the organization was running out of places to keep him, so they settled on the Albuquerque Isotopes’ roster. In this hitter’s paradise, Josh mashed out a 1.131 OPS in only 66 games, a season cut short by injuries. In his second ML call-up, the team was looking for the same spark Miguel Cabrera brought to the team in 2003, and got nothing less than solid play out of Josh, posting a .304/.407/.348 line in only 23 ABs.
In the 2005 offseason, the Marlins suffered their second “Market Correction” in their history, losing every starter on the roster not named Miguel Cabrera or Dontrelle Willis. With history of injuries in mind, the organization thought it best to move Willingham to LF to preserve his health and keep his bat in the lineup. And he’s been there ever since…
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