When Jose Fernandez was 15, he and his mother successfully defected from Cuba (on their fourth attempt) and settled in Florida.  A baseball prodigy, Fernandez would become a First Round Pick in the Amateur Draft in 2011, and two years later, he was a Miami Marlin.

Fernandez wasn't just a rookie with a great story, and he was a phenom who won the National League Rookie of the Year with a 12-6 Record, a 2.19 ERA, and a league-leading 5.8 H/9.  Fernandez had a sub-1.000 WHIP, was an All-Star, and finished third in Cy Young voting, completing one of the most dynamic seasons by a Pitcher under 21.  

Named the youngest Opening Day Pitcher since Dwight Gooden in 1986, Fernandez's second MLB year went off the rails with a torn UCL in May.  Fernandez underwent Tommy John Surgery and returned late in July of 2015.  With an advanced repertoire, Fernandez was an All-Star again in 2016, and by late September, he had 16 Wins and 253 Strikeouts, but tragedy would rear its ugly head.

Fernandez died in a boating accident on September 25, 2016, at the age of 24, ending what could have been one of been a spectacular career.  As it stood, Fernandez left us with what might have been.

A Rule 5 Pick from the Diamondbacks organization, Dan Uggla proved to be an excellent pickup for the Marlins.

Uggla's best year was arguably his rookie season, where he finished third in Rookie of the Year voting, had a career-high 172 Hits, and batted .282.  The Second Baseman was an All-Star that year and was so again in 2007, where he batted .260 with 32 Hits.  

After his third year, Uggla was established as a good power-hitting infielder with respectable defense.  Uggla blasted over 30 Home Runs in his fourth and fifth year, giving him four straight 30-plus years in the HR stat column.  

The Marlins did what they always do, and they traded Uggla for younger players after the 2010 Season.  With Florida, Uggla had 154 Home Runs, 465 RBIs, and an OPS of .837.

Kevin Brown was only with the Marlins for two seasons, but over Brown's excellent career, it was arguably the best back-to-back campaign that he had.

An All-Star with Texas in 1992, Brown signed with Baltimore for one year in 1995 before joining Florida the following season.  Brown rewarded the Marlins with a spectacular year, posting a 17-11 record while leading the NL in ERA (1.89), 215 (ERA+), and WHIP (0.944), and he was the runner-up for the Cy Young.  The Marlins ace had another great year in 1997 (16-8, 2.69 ERA & 205 SO) and was an All-Star for the second year in a row.  Largely off of the arm of Brown, the Marlins won the Pennant and shocked the baseball world by winning the World Series.  Brown did not have a good Series (0-2 8.18 ERA), but without his contributions, the team never would have made it to the playoffs.

After the Marlins won it all, they traded many of the critical components that won them the title, including Brown (to San Diego), who had one year left in his contract.  Brown had a 33-19 record with a 2.83 ERA with the Marlins.

We may have stated that Josh Johnson was the best Marlins Pitcher of all time, but the most dynamic was Dontrelle Willis.

While he was in the minors in the Cubs organization, Willis was traded to the Marlins and would debut the following year.  The southpaw was an instant sensation, winning the Rookie of the Year with a 14-6 record.  Willis had a sophomore slump (10-11 4.02 ERA), but his 2005 was phenomenal.  Not only did Willis return to the All-Star Game, but he also led the National League in Wins (22), Complete Games (7), and Shutouts (5) and would have career highs in ERA (2.63) and Strikeouts (170).  He narrowly lost out on the Cy Young to St. Louis' Chris Carpenter.

After an average 2006 (12-12, 3.87 ERA), Willis' career eroded in 2007, where his ERA ballooned over five and allowed more Earned Runs (118) than any other Pitcher in the NL.  Willis was traded to Detroit, and he was beset with injuries and was never the same again.  

Willis would likely be ranked a little higher had his WHIP not been over 1.350 and his poor final year as a Marlin, though it somewhat evened out with his .234 Batting Average (82 Hits) and 8 Home Runs.