Olsen praises Marlins

Considering his inside knowledge, Scott Olsen is not surprised by Florida’s fast start.

Drafted by the Marlins in 2002, Olsen came up through the system, and now he’s seeing his former teammates emerging as a serious contender in the NL East.

“Am I surprised? No. I’m not surprised at all because of Johnson, Ricky and Volstad, and Sanchez and Miller,” Olsen said. “I know that their starters can throw.”

A reason the Marlins traded Olsen to the Nationals is because their rotation already had Josh Johnson, Ricky Nolasco, Chris Volstad, Anibal Sanchez and Andrew Miller.

Because of the rotation, Olsen feels the Marlins will be in the hunt.

“I think they’ll keep it up, too,” the left-hander said. “This is a good team from top-to-bottom. The bullpen is good. The bench is much improved over last year. I think they’re going to be in the thick of if, right until the end.”

– Joe Frisaro