All-Time Marlins Countdown: Chapter II

The Marlins were nice enough to finish the season with exactly 500 players on their all-time role-call. This list will count them down to number one using the Wins Above Replacement (WAR) metric. I use WAR to rate and rank players against one another because even though the same number may mean slightly different things from year-to-year, it's always a relative rank against current competition. I totaled up WAR for each Marlin to play in a major league regular season game, including hitting for every player and pitching for each applicable player (even if it was only for one inning). This lets us use one measure for everyone, regardless of position or exactly when they played the game. We will start out with five players per day for the first 60 articles. Once we get to 200, we will do four per day for 20 days, three per day for 20 days, and so on. This countdown will keep you (and me) busy all the way until spring training.

495. David Weathers

David Weathers was a 6’3", 205 lb. right-handed pitcher from Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. Born on September 25th, 1969, he was a third round pick of the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1988 amateur draft. He joined the St. Catharines Blue Jays in the low-A level New York-Penn League to close out the season, going 4-4 with a 3.02 ERA in 15 appearances (12 starts). He walked 26 and struck out 36 in 62.2 innings with a 1.34 WHIP. 1989 would see him spend the year with the Myrtle Beach Blue Jays in the single-A Southern Atlantic League, starting 31 games and posting an 11-13 record with a 3.86 ERA. He struck out 111 in 172.2 innings and allowed 1.44 walks and hits per inning.

In 1990, Weathers spent the season with the Dunedin Blue Jays, Toronto’s single-A Florida State League team, going 10-7 with a 3.70 ERA over 27 starts. He posted a 1.37 WHIP and struck out 96 in 158 innings. 1991 would see him graduate to the double-A level Knoxville Blue Jays in the Southern League, and go 10-7 over 24 appearances (22 starts) with 114 strikeouts in 139.1 innings. He joined the Blue Jays at the beginning of August, and stayed with the major league club through the rest of the season. He appeared 15 times, all in relief. In the last game of the season, he picked up his first major league win, pitching a single inning of relief and allowing a single walk with two strikeouts as the Jays defeated the Minnesota Twins, 3-2.

1992 would see Weathers spend the balance of the campaign with the triple-A Syracuse Chiefs in the International League, going 1-4 over 12 appearances (10 starts). He struck out 30 batters in 48.1 innings, with a 4.66 ERA. He also played in two games with Toronto, allowing two walks and five hits in 3.1 innings for an 8.10 ERA.

On November 17th, 1992, the Marlins selected Weathers as the 29th pick in the 1992 expansion draft. He went 11-4 for the Edmonton Trappers, Florida’s triple-A Pacific Coast League affiliate. He had a 3.83 ERA over 22 starts, striking out 117 in 141 innings. He was called up twice to join the Marlins. On July 6th he joined the bullpen, and got into eight games over the next four weeks, posting a 6.97 ERA. After spending a month back in Edmonton, he joined Florida’s rotation for the final month of the season, starting six games and going 2-3 with a 4.58 ERA. In his first start, on September 6th, he pitched eight innings, striking out seven and allowing three hits and a walk in a 2-0 win over the San Diego Padres.

1994 would see Weathers join Florida’s rotation as the number four starter. On April 25th, he sent 7.1 innings and earned the 4-3 win over the Atlanta Braves by allowing a single earned run on six hits. In his next start, on April 30th, he won another 4-3 decision, this time over the Cincinnati Reds by going 7.2 innings and striking out six along with three runs (all unearned). He went 8-12 over 24 starts, with a 5.27 ERA, striking out 72 in 135 innings with a 1.667 WHIP.

In 1995, Weathers remained in the bullpen for the Marlins, and was in and out of the rotation, starting in 15 of his 28 appearances over the course of the season. He went 4-5 with a 5.98 ERA, 60 strikeouts in 90.1 innings, and a 1.727 WHIP. On May 11th, he pitched well enough to win, going seven innings and allowing one earned run of four hits of a game the Marlins eventually lost in 15 innings, 3-1 to the Reds. On June 25th, he earned his second win of the season by going five innings and allowing only two walks in a 5-1 win against Cincinnati.

Weathers pitched in 31 games for the Marlins in 1996, starting eight and going 2-2 with a 4.54 ERA and a 1.584 WHIP, striking out 40 in 71.1 innings. On May 21st, he pitched six innings and gave up on zero runs on four hits as the Marlins again defeated the Reds, 3-2. On July 31st, the Marlins traded him to the New York Yankees for Mark Hutton.

Weathers played with the Yankees for parts of the next two seasons, going 0-3 with a 9.57 ERA in 21 games, striking out 17 in 26.1 innings along with a 2.241 WHIP. On June 9th, 1997, the Bombers sent him to the Cleveland Indians for Chad Curtis. He went 1-2 for the Tribe, posting a 7.56 ERA and a 1.860 WHIP and 14 strikeouts in 16.1 innings. He then spent time with the Reds (16 games, 2-4, 6.21, 62.1 IP, 51 K’s, 1.813 WHIP), the Milwaukee Brewers (71 games, 18-17, 3.53 ERA, 298.2 IP, 223 K’s, 1.346 WHIP), the Chicago Cubs (28 games, 1-1, 3.18 ERA, 28.1 IP, 20 K’s, 1.306 WHIP), the New York Mets (42 games, 12-12, 3.22 ERA, 198.2 IP, 161 K’s, 1.450 WHIP), and the Houston Astros (26 games, 1-4, 4.78 ERA, 32 IP, 26 K’s, 1.375 WHIP). The Astros cut ties with Weathers via waivers on September 7th, 2004, and the Marlins picked him up the next day.

On September 20th, Weathers struck out six in five innings in his first start for the Marlins in eight seasons, allowing two hits and earning the win over the Cubs, 5-2. He was 1-0 in eight games, with a 2.70 ERA and a 1.200 WHIP over 16.2 innings. Weathers rejoined the Reds in 2005, and stayed four and a half seasons with the team, going 20-23 in 325 games with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.376 WHIP. He closed out his career with the Brewers in the second half of the 2009 season, going 1-3 with a 4.88 ERA and a 1.542 WHIP. He made his final appearance eight days after his 40th birthday.

All-Time Statline: 55 games, 11 starts, 17-22, 5.16 ERA, 359 IP, 159 BB, 216 SO, 1.627 WHIP, -1.8 WAR

494. Darrell Whitmore

Darrell Whitmore was a 6’1", 210 lb. right fielder from Front Royal, VA. Born on November 18th, 1968, he was originally drafted in the second round of the 1990 amateur draft by the Cleveland Indians out of Warren County High School. He joined the Burlington Indians of the Rookie level Appalachian League for the latter part of the 1990 season, hitting .241/.306/.304/.610 with 13 RBI in 30 games. He joined the Watertown Indians in the single-A level New York-Penn League in 1991, playing in six games and going seven-for-19 while recovering from an injury.

Whitmore played in the Carolina League with the high-A Kinston Indians in 1992, appearing in 121 games and hitting .280/.363/.406/.769 with 10 home runs and 52 RBI. After the season, on November 17th, he was selected as the 16th pick in the expansion draft by the Marlins.

1993 would see Whitmore spend the first part of his season with the Edmonton Trappers, the Marlins triple-A Pacific Coast League affiliate, and hit .355/.399/.557/.956 with nine home runs and 62 RBI in 73 games. On June 25th, he was called up to the parent club, where he hit a double and an RBI triple, scoring two runs and accounting for all the offense in a 3-1 win over the Montreal Expos. On August 1st, he hit an RBI single in the sixth and a double in the ninth, later scoring the winning run in a 5-4 win over the Expos. Whitmore hit .204/.249/.300/.549 with four home runs and 19 RBI, striking out 72 times in 250 at bats.

Whitmore played 115 games for the Trappers in 1994, hitting .283/.347/.506/.853 with 20 round trippers and 61 RBI. He spent a week in a half with the Marlins starting in late-July. On the 26th, he hit two singles and a double in a 10-8 loss to the Philadephia Phillies. Over nine games, he went 5-for-22 with five strikeouts.

In 1995, Whitmore appeared in 27 games with the Marlins, hitting .190/.250/.276/.526 with 15 strikeouts in 58 at bats. On May 15th, in a 9-1 win over the Phillies, he hit a solo home run and added an RBI sacrifice fly. He didn’t again appear in the major leagues.

Whitmore played another seven seasons at the triple-A level, with Charlotte in 1996 (55 games, .304/.327/.529/.856, 11 home runs, 36 RBI), the Syracuse Chiefs in the International League in 1997 (Toronto Blue Jays, 58 games, .256./.338/.395/.733, four home runs, 21 RBI), the Pacific Coast League Nashville Sounds in 1998 (Pittsburgh Pirates, 105 games, .309/.389/.579/.968, 21 home runs, 50 RBI), the Indianapolis Indians in 1999 (Cincinnati Reds, 83 games, .282/.351/.487/.838, 10 home runs, 42 RBI), and the Memphis Redbirds in 2000 and 2001 (PCL, St. Louis Cardinals, 201 games, .279/.321/.457/.778, 21 home runs, 86 RBI). 2002 would see him with the Long Island Ducks, an independent club in the Atlantic League (17 games, .460/.547/.825/.1.372, six home runs, 21 RBI).

All-Time Statline: 112 games, 67-for-330, 31 runs, 11 doubles, two triples, five home runs, 21 RBI, four stolen bases, 18 walks, 92 strikeouts, .203/.254/.294/.548, -1.8 win shares.

493. Orestes Destrade

Destrade was a 6’4", 210 lb. switch-hitting first baseman from Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. Born on May 8th, 1962, he signed with the New York Yankees as a free agent in 1981. He joined the Paintsville Yankees in the rookie level Appalachian League, appearing in 63 games and hitting .274/413/.543/.956 with 14 home runs, 46 RBI, and 49 strikeouts in 208 plate appearances.

Destrade started the 1982 season with the low-A Oneonta Yankees in the New York-Penn League, and stayed with them for 4 games (.232/.360/.366/.726, four home runs, 30 RBI) before a mid-season promotion to the eventual South Atlantic League Champion single-A Hornets (43 games, .180/.320/.254/.574, one home run, 14 RBI).

The next season and a half would see Destrade with the high-A Fort Lauderdale Yankees in the Florida State League, where he appeared for 222 games and hit .262/.383/.456/.839, with 30 home runs, 131 RBI. He drew 146 walks against 168 strikeouts in 733 at bats. In mid-1984, he was promoted to the double-A level Nashville Sounds in the Southern League, where he hit six home runs in 35 games, along with 12 RBI and a .240/.321/.438/.759 statline, 36 strikeouts, and 15 walks in 121 at bats.

In 1985, Destrade remained at the double-A level, moving laterally to the Albany/Colonie Yankees in the Eastern League. He led the team in almost every offensive category, playing in 136 games and hitting .253/.365/.471/.836 with 23 home runs and 72 RBI. He drew 86 walks and whiffed 129 times in 471 at bats. The following season saw him with the triple-A Columbus Clippers in the International League, where he hit .276/.346/.515/.861 in 98 games, with 19 round trippers and 56 RBI.

Destrade spent 135 games in 1987 with the Clippers, hitting .256/.368/.486/.854 with 25 home runs and 81 RBI. In addition, he also made his major league debut with the Yankees in September. He went five-for-19 with five runs, five walks, and five strikeouts. Destrade got through spring training with the Yankees, then was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates before the season started for Hipolito Pena.

1988 would see Destrade play 77 games with the Buffalo Bisons, Pittsburgh’s American Association triple-A farm club, hitting .271/.371/.469/.840 with 12 home runs and 42 RBI. He was called up to the Pirates in late June, and spent the rest of the season in Pittsburgh. He appeared in 36 games for the Bucs, going seven-for-47 with one home run and three RBI as an occasional first baseman and more frequent pinch hitter. He put up a statline of .149/.226/.234/.460.

After getting 100 at bats over 33 games with Buffalo in 1999 (.230/.333/.320/.653), Destrade headed east. Way east. He joined the Seibu Lions for three and a half seasons. In 471 games, he hit .264/.313/.567/.880 with 154 home runs, 366 RBI, 119 walks and only 100 strikeouts.

Just before the expansion draft in 1992, on November 15th, Destrade signed a free agent contract to join the brand-new Marlins. Destrade was Florida’s everyday first baseman through their inaugural season in 1993, ranking third on the team with 153 games played. He hit .255/.324/.406/.730 with 20 doubles and team leading figures of 20 home runs and 87 RBI. He ranked fourth in the NL with 1313 putouts. On May 4th, in a 9-6 Marlins win over the Cincinnati Reds, he hit a three-run homer in the first, an RBI-single in the fourth, and an RBI groundout in the fifth. He hit two singles and a home run, with three RBI on July 25th in a 7-3 win against the Reds. On August 11th, he hit a two-run double and scored in the fourth, a two-run homer in the fifth, a line-drive single in the seventh, then drew an intentional walk in the eighth of a 12-11 win against the Chicago Cubs. On August 27th, he hit a two-out, two-run single in the third, a three-run homer in the fifth, and a solo homer in the seventh as the Marlins set down the San Francisco Giants, 7-4.

In 1994, Destrade appeared in 39 games for Florida, hitting .208/.316/.354/.670 with five home runs and 15 RBI, with 19 walks and 32 strikeouts in 130 at bats. He didn’t again appear in professional baseball, instead finding work in broadcasting, first with ESPN’s Baseball Tonight and currently as part of the Tampa Bay Rays broadcast team.

All-Time Statline: 192 games, 172-for-699, 73 runs, 24 doubles, three triples, 25 home runs, 102 RBI, one stolen base, 77 walks, 162 strikeouts, .246/.322/.396/.718, -1.6 win shares.

492. Matias Carrillo

Carrillo was a 5’11", 190 lb. outfielder from Los Mochis in Sinaloa, Mexico. Born on February 24th, 1963, his contract from Poza Rica of the Mexican League was purchased by the Pittsburgh Pirates after the 1985 season. He joined the double-A level Eastern League Nashua Pirates in 1986, appearing in 15 games and hitting .154/.214/.173/.387. He played with the high-A Carolina League Salem Buccaneers in 1987 for 90 games, drilling eight home runs with 37 RBI and a .271/.317/.415/.732 statline, striking out 41 times in 284 at bats.

On December 8th, 1987, the Milwaukee Brewers drafted Carillo from the Pirates in the minor league draft. He spent the entire campaign with the double-A Texas League El Paso Diablos, where he hit .298/.338/.442/.780 in 106 contests, with 12 home runs and 55 RBI. He stayed with the Brewers organization for the next three seasons, all spent at the triple-A level with the Denver Zephyrs. He played 266 games, and hit .268/.312/.402/.714 with 20 home runs, 109 RBI, and 191 strikeouts in 896 at bats. After spending the 1992 season with the Mexico City Tigers, the Marlins purchased his contract on September 1st, 1993.

Carrillo appeared in 24 games down the stretch for Florida. In his first appearance (a 13-5 loss to the San Diego Padres), he hit a single and a double with two RBI. Overall, he hit .255/.291/.364/.644 by going 14-for-58 with six doubles, four runs, and three RBI.

1994 would see Carrillo rejoin the Marlins and spend 80 games in the lineup, getting some time at each outfield position. On June 28th, he pinch-hit for Jeff Mutis in the ninth inning, doubling to center and eventually scoring the winning run in a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. It was during this season where he exceeded rookie limits, but it would also be his last season at the major league level. He hit .250/.295/.301/.596 with seven doubles, nine RBI, 13 runs, and 31 strikeouts in 146 plate appearances. The Marlins granted his free agency after the season, and he signed on as a free agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Carrillo didn’t end up playing any major or minor league ball for the Dodgers, retiring for the next six seasons. He came out of retirement in 2000 at the age of 37 to play in the Mexican League with the Angelopolis/Quintana Roo Tigres for 10 seasons. As a Tigre, he hit .318 with 120 home runs and 557 RBI. He is currently the manager of Naranjeros de Hermosillo in the Mexican Pacific League.

All-Time Statline: 104 games, 48-for-191, 17 runs, 13 doubles, zero triples, zero home runs, 12 RBI, three stolen bases, 10 walks, 38 strikeouts, .251/.291/.319/.610, -1.5 win shares.

491. Justin Wayne

Justin Wayne was a 6’3", 200 lb. right-handed-pitcher from Honolulu, HI. Born on April 16th, 1979, he was picked by the Montreal Expos with the fifth overall selection in the 2000 draft out of Stanford. He posted a 31-5 record in the NCAA, with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. After the draft he joined the Jupiter Hammerheads, the Expos high-A Florida State League farm team. He started five games to close out the season, going 0-3 with a 5.81 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 26.1 innings.

2001 would see Wayne start the season with the Hammerheads, posting a 2-3 record with a 3.02 ERA over eight games (seven starts). He struck out 35 in 41.2 innings, and kept his WHIP down to 0.958. The good showing led to his promotion to the double-A level Harrisburg Senators in the Eastern League, where he started 14 games and went 9-2 with a 2.62 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 92.2 innings. He went 5-2, 2.37 in 17 starts for them the following season before the Expos traded him with Graeme Lloyd, Mike Mordecai, Carl Pavano, and Don Levinski to the Marlins for Cliff Floyd, Wilton Guerrero, Claudio Vargas, and an undisclosed amount of cash on July 11th, 2002.

Wayne started his Marlins career with the Portland Sea Dogs in the Eastern League. He posted a 3-3 record with a 4.85 ERA over seven starts there, striking out 30 in 42.2 innings. The Marlins promoted him to the triple-A Calgary Cannons in the Pacific Coast League pretty soon after, where he went 0-1 over two starts. Lack of major league depth led to his callup for five starts in September. His best showing was on September 10th, in the back half of a doubleheader, when he allowed no runs on only two hits in 6.2 innings. He struck out four in Florida’s 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. He went 2-3 with a 5.32 ERA, a 1.479 WHIP and 16 strikeouts in 23.2 innings.

2003 would see Wayne go 4-12 for the triple-A Albuquerque Dukes in the PCL, posting a 4.24 ERA in 23 starts and 82 strikeouts in 136 innings. He was recalled to join Florida’s rotation at the end of April. On May 3rd, he gave up three earned runs on three walks and two hits without getting anybody out as the Marlins dropped a 5-2 decision to the Houston Astros. He didn’t appear in the majors again that season.

In 2004, Wayne started 13 games at Albuquerque, going 1-5 with a 6.58 ERA. He played in Florida for the first two months of the season, appearing in 19 games overall. Over his first six appearances, he gave up three hits and three walks over 12 innings, allowing zero runs. Over his next six, he allowed 16 hits and five walks over 8.1 innings, bringing his ERA from 0.00 to 5.31. He was sent back to the Dukes near the beginning of June, then rejoined the Marlins for a start on July 25th. He gave up six runs (four earned) on eight hits and three walks in five innings. It would be his last appearance at the major league level. He closed the campaign with a 3-3 record and a 5.79 ERA.

Wayne started out the 2005 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers’ triple-A PCL club, the Las Vegas 51’s, but after five appearances and a 14.40 ERA, they cut ties with him. Later that season he played in 10 games for the Newark Bears, an independent team in the Atlantic League. He went 1-2 with a 3.00 ERA, striking out 17 in 18 innings. He’s now a Managing Partner and COO of SMART Lab, in Palm Beach Gardens, FL.

All-Time Statline: 26 games, eight starts, 5-8, 6.13 ERA, 61.2 IP, 36 BB, 37 SO, 1.654 WHIP, -1.5 WAR