Coghlan was chosen by the Marlins in the first round of the 2006 draft out of the University of Mississippi with the 36th overall pick.
He made his first Major League appearance in May of 2009, hitting a disappointing .245 with two home runs in 56 games for the Marlins through the All-Star break. He would pick up the pace in July, hitting a Major League best .372 through the rest of the season and winning the NL Rookie of the Year honors. He finished the season at .321 with 46 multi-base hits and 47 RBI on the season. He also set the Marlins record for consecutive multi-hit games, with eight.
In 2010, Coghlan was hitting .268 with five home runs and 28 RBI through his first 91 games. What followed was a Gramatica-sized mishap, according to Joe Frisaro, at MLB.com.
During the elation in the aftermath of the Marlins' 5-4 win over the Braves in 11 innings Sunday afternoon at Sun Life Stadium, Chris Coghlan was injured while attempting to smash a shaving-cream pie in the face of Wes Helms, who delivered the walk-off single.
It would turn out that Coghlan had torn his meniscus in the celebration. He would go on the disabled list for the balance of the season.
Coghlan was struggling in 2011 for the Marlins, hitting .230 in 65 games with five home runs and 22 RBI when he was informed that he would be reporting to the Marlins Triple-A affiliate, the New Orleans Zephyrs. Coghlan instead informed the team of a lingering knee injury that could be affecting his performance at the plate. Instead of a demotion, he would wind up on the DL for the rest of the season.
In three seasons with the Fish, Coghlan has hit .283 with 19 home runs, 25 stolen bases and 97 RBI.