Chris Coghlan. Photo: Icon SMI

Chris Coghlan plays the outfield for the Florida Marlins. He won the 2009 Jackie Robinson award for Rookie of the Year in the National League. Coghlan’s offensive strength came from his ability to get on base. He collected 162 hits and 53 walks in 128 games, good for a .390 OBP. His power came from doubles, so he had a rather low .460 slugging percentage for his batting average. In looking at his minor league seasons, his 2009 major league numbers exceeded expectations. That might lead to a disappointing 2010.

There are a number of items in his splits that argue against that, however. A left-handed hitter, Coghlan hit lefties almost as good as righties. He did his best work getting on base from the lead-off slot. I like that as he spent more time in the majors, he improved. I’ll take that as a sign that he adjusted better to the competition than they adjusted to him.

Despite hitting from the lead-off slot most of the time Coghlan was a dangerous hitter with men in scoring position. He also went 10 for 23 with a man on third and less than two outs with one sacrifice fly. All-in-all, he’s an exciting young player who should do a good job of setting up Hanley Ramirez for RBI opportunities.