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Projected Lineup (2003 stats) Pos. Player Avg. HR RBI SB CF Juan Pierre .305 1 41 65 2B Luis Castillo .314 6 39 21 RF Miguel Cabrera .268 12 62 0 3B Mike Lowell .276 32 105 3 LF Jeff Conine .282 20 95 5 1B Hee Seop Choi .218 8 28 1 SS Alex Gonzalez .256 18 77 0 C Ramon Castro .283 5 8 0 Projected Rotation (2003 stats) H Player W-L ERA WHIP RH Josh Beckett 9-8 3.04 1.32 LH Dontrelle Willis 14-6 3.30 1.28 RH Carl Pavano 12-13 4.30 1.26 RH Brad Penny 14-10 4.13 1.28 RH Darren Oliver 13-11 5.04 1.45 RH A.J. Burnett* 0-2 4.70 1.57 *will begin season on D.L. FANTASY BASEBALL Sign up Today! • NEW! Baseball Commissioner Full service league management tool. $99.95 per league • NEW! Fantasy Baseball Conquer your league and take home the pennant. $19.95 per team • NEW! Salary Cap Challenge Select your dream team with a $75 million budget. $9.95 per team

By winning the World Series on a shoestring budget, the Marlins showed small market clubs that success without overspending is possible. This season the loss of fantasy standouts Pudge Rodriguez, Derek Lee and Mark Redman, puts Florida's young stud pitching corps of Josh Beckett, Carl Pavano, Brad Penny, Dontrelle Willis and A.J. Burnett to the test.

After hitting .365 for Class AA Carolina, Miguel Cabrera was impressive when he was called up during the regular season. Then, in October, he showed how good he can be, hitting .318 with three homers and nine runs batted in the NL playoffs. He'll be Pudge Rodriguez's replacement in the three-hole, behind Juan Pierre and Luis Castillo. In that spot he could drive in 125 runs, although he may not approach 25 home runs. An added bonus: he's position-eligible at third base in most leagues.

Florida's philosophy is balancing a few useful veterans with young, pre-arbitration eligible players. With the exception of Jeff Conine, who has been the model of consistency throughout his career, no Marlin being counted on to make major contributions this season is past his prime.

Catcher: The Marlins aren't ready to choose between veteran backup Mike Redmond, 33, who knows the staff as well as anyone, and Ramon Castro, who has a superior throwing arm and more power. Look for Castro to eventually win out and put up numbers similar to Rodriguez's last season.

Last season Florida led the majors with 150 steals, but with the departure of Rodriguez and Juan Encarnacion that won't happen again. To get the Marlins' speed you'll have to pay premium prices for Pierre and Castillo. However, rookie Abraham Nunez has flashed five tools during the spring and is the favorite to lock up the fourth outfielder's job. If he plays semi-regularly, Nunez could approach 15 home runs and 15 steals.

Benitez still possesses a fastball in the mid- to upper-90s and will again be an effective closer. Should he stumble or get injured, hard-throwing Chad Fox, a former Milwaukee stopper who was effective last year, is primed to step in.

On the surface trading Derrek Lee to the Cubs for Hee Seop Choi looks like a huge loss for Florida. Although the 6-foot-5 Choi hit just .218 as a rookie last season, his confidence level this spring is high and he's primed to show the major leagues (plus his large fan-base in Asia) that he's ready to bust out.

Alex Gonzalez, Mike Lowell, Carl Pavano

Mike Redmond, Michael Neu, Darren Oliver