Countdown to Opening Day - 13: Year 1 of Stanton contract comes with high expectations

In this 30-day series, theScore's MLB editors will preview the 2015 season with an in-depth look at some of the significant numbers - statistical milestones, jersey numbers and general miscellanea - poised to pop up throughout the campaign. 

Roughly four months ago, Giancarlo Stanton sat behind a podium at Marlins Park accompanied by a gaggle of executives, his cartoonish musculature barely contained by a finely tailored suit, and signed the biggest contract in the history of professional baseball.

Only two years after Stanton publicly slammed his team's decision to jettison veteran players in an aggressive offseason overhaul, the 25-year-old signed a 13-year, $325-million deal that guaranteed his prime years to a franchise that hasn't played a postseason game in more than a decade.

Stanton's commitment to the Marlins, however, was something of a quid pro quo, a deal made possible only by a corresponding vow from the club to surround the hulking slugger with a cast capable of halting Miami's recent stretch of futility.

"You can't keep saying, 'We're going to win this year. We're going to do it this year,' " Stanton told ESPN in November. "I'm sick of hearing that. Everyone is sick of hearing that. It's doing something about it."

In the weeks and months following Stanton's introductory press conference, the Marlins attempted in earnest to hold up their end of the bargain. A series of deals added some more prominent names to Miami's roster - Mat Latos, Dee Gordon, Michael Morse and Martin Prado, among them - putting the Marlins in position to, at the very least, contend for a National League wild-card berth.

In about two weeks, Stanton will step into the batter's box at Marlins Park - to a raucous ovation, presumably - and get his first opportunity to make good on the Marlins' mammoth investment, which, of course, comes with mammoth expectations. Though a contract of this size is unprecedented, Stanton is uniquely qualified to deliver.

Stanton's offensive accomplishments through the nascent stages of his career are truly historic, as only eight other players - five of them already enshrined in Cooperstown - managed 150 homers and a .900 OPS through their age-24 season. 

A behemoth of a man, Stanton wields majestic power that's complemented by impressive barrel control, a combination of skills that enables him to hit home runs that no other person on the planet could hit.

(Courtesy: MLB.com)

Stanton enjoyed the finest season of his young career in 2014. Despite missing the final two weeks of the campaign, Stanton still led the National League with 37 home runs and a .267 isolated power, while improving his contact skills and continuing to demonstrate strong plate discipline. 

Things will be different this season, though. Stanton's new deal accelerated his ascent to stardom, placing him squarely among the game's richest (and therefore, most scrutinized) players. A new chapter in Marlins history begins in 2015, and Stanton - armed with preternatural abilities and a contract that inspires comparable awe - is the hero.

For now.