Envisioning Miami Marlins' Hitting Mount Rushmore

Long before he was belting home runs out of Yankee Stadium alongside Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton (or Mike Stanton, as he was known in his early years) was showing off his prodigious power in South Florida.

Stanton still holds the franchise all-time records for home runs (267), RBI (672), slugging percentage .554%) and total bases (1983). Debuting with what was then the Florida Marlins in 2010, he spent eight seasons crushing opposing pitching, collecting an MVP award and four All-Star invites along the way.

That MVP award recognized Stanton's sensational 2017 season, his last with the Marlins, in which he delivered an MLB-high 59 home runs and 132 RBI to go along with a .631 slugging percentage, 169 OPS+ and an 8.1 WAR.

Miguel Cabrera

When Miguel Cabrera inevitably gets the call for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame (he is eligible as of 2029), it's likely that he will go in as a member of the Detroit Tigers, owing to his 16 years with the organization. That shouldn't, however, take away from the first five years of his career in Miami.

Signed as an amateur free agent at 16 years of age, Cabrera showed some early indications of the type of offensive proclivity that would make him one of the greatest hitters of his generation. The multi-faceted righty slugger hit for average (.313 average, .388 OBP) and power (138 HR, 523 RBI) across 720 games with the Marlins.

Even though Cabrera had departed Miami by his mid-twenties for greater successes in Motown, he still holds the franchise record for all-time average and ranks among the top-10 in most power categories. And were it not for the ill-advised Dontrelle Willis blockbuster in late 2007 that saw him shipped to the Tigers, perhaps the Venezuelan star would have earned his two MVPs as a Marlin.

Luis Castillo

For an organization that has seen its fair share of young stars (Stanton, Cabrera, Willis and plenty more) depart for greener pastures, the most notable statistic for Luis Castillo (the hitter, not the pitcher) might be his franchise-high 1,128 games played.

But Castillo wasn't just a stalwart for Miami because he kept showing up for 10 straight seasons - he was an elite lead-off hitter as well. In 2000, he hit .334 while stealing a league-best 62 bases. He would also lead the majors in stolen bases in 2002, with 48.

After being on the sidelines for the club's 1997 World Series victory, Castillo played a key role in their 2003 triumph. The three-time All-Star second baseman led all Marlins regulars with a .314 average while also earning All-Star honors. Most notably, he hit the foul ball that sparked the 'Steve Bartman incident', culminating in a walk that initiated an eight-run top of the eighth in Game 6 of the NLCS.

Hanley Ramirez

It was an unmistakable blow to Miami when the cost-conscious Marlins dealt away Lowell and 2003 World Series hero Josh Beckett in a late 2005 blockbuster trade. Out of that dark cloud, however, came a silver lining in the form of emerging star shortstop Hanley Ramirez.

Ramirez may not have made fans forget completely about Lowell and Beckett, but he did his best. His first season in Florida earned him the 2006 NL Rookie of the Year Award for his combination of power, speed and ability to hit for average.

Ramirez would continue to be a productive offensive force in the years to follow, leading the league in runs in 2008, winning the battle title and finishing second in MVP voting in 2009 and being named to three All-Star Games. Even as the team largely struggled under the weight of paltry payrolls, the Dominican infielder thrived.

While the Marlins' pitching quartet was fairly clear-cut, the hitting group was a tougher call to make. Between relative longevity, consistent production and high-water moments, however, a Mount Rushmore of Stanton, Cabrera, Castillo and Ramirez seems to encapsulate Miami at its best over the years.

More Marlins on SI