Here is my entry for the 2012 MLB Fan Cave. 500 glorious words (exactly), but I wanted to write so much on more. This was especially difficult as a Braves fan to write so positively about a player on an NL East rival, but I truly believe Mike Stanton is on his way to super-stardom. I thought the same about Matt Kemp and Ryan Braun when they came up and was right. But I also have the biggest collection of 1998 AL Rookie of the Year Ben Grieve memorabilia outside of the Grieve family. So take it with a grain of salt. And Ben if you're out there somewhere reading this, please at least give me a follow on Twitter @Mapes4FanCave you owe me it for all the allowance I spent on your rookie cards when I was fourteen. Thanks.

In a sport that is packed with budding talents like Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw, 2011 All-Stars Justin Upton, Michael Pineda, Craig Kimbrel, Starlin Castro, and Andrew McCutchen, 2010 Rookies of the Year Buster Posey and Neftali Feliz, plus future stars Jason Heyward, Mike Trout, Eric Hosmer, and Stephen Strasburg under the age of 25; I'm taking my pick for young player to become a MVP candidate to South Beach. Mike Stanton, the 22 year-old emerging superstar for the Marlins is ready to leap from young slugger to MVP candidate. The best trait that shows how great Stanton has been in his two seasons is his prodigious power. He had 34 homers for Miami in 2011 as a 21 year-old! That total has occurred three times at that age in history. He had more bombs at 21 than Griffey, Aaron, and Bonds. Stanton also had a wins above replacement of 5.7, 10th in the NL (better than Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder), he was 5th in home runs (more than NL MVP Ryan Braun), and 8th in OPS (ahead of 2010 NL MVP Joey Votto). You would think being a power hitter, would infer Stanton is a terrible defender, but he isn't. Stanton's defensive WAR of 2.1 was tied for tops in NL. Somehow, he was not voted an All-Star and received one, lonely 10th place vote for 2011 NL MVP.

How does Stanton grow in 2012? First, is continued maturation and plate discipline as he learns the game. In 2011, he struck out every 3.62 plate appearances and walked in every 8.58 PA. This was improvement from his rookie year of 3.22 PA/K and 11.65 PA/BB. This led to Stanton increasing his OBP by .30 and OPS by .60 in 2011. Better patience will make him a tougher out in the Miami lineup.

The second, underrated reason Stanton will improve is the Marlins new ballpark. During summer, the average temperature in Miami is 89 degrees with unbearable humidity. Instead of playing outdoors in a football stadium turned ballpark, that is a below average for homers, plus the 3rd worst attendance in MLB, the Marlins will have perfect conditions and more fans in a smaller stadium supporting him.

Lastly, why Stanton will be a MVP contender is new teammate Jose Reyes. Stanton had great power numbers, but didn't score or drive in enough runs. Stanton's 87 RBI was 18th in the NL, while 79 runs were only good for 29th. No offense to Emilio Bonifacio, but you'd have to think that Jose Reyes is a certain upgrade. Also, a healthy Hanley Ramirez, who played in 92 games last season hitting ahead of him will set the table to put up better counting numbers and get the respect that he deserves.

There are plenty of worthy candidates, but if I was investing in rookie cards before the season started, I believe Mike Stanton's have the best return on investment.