On the heels of zhawks fine writeup for the all decade team celebrating Ripken, Jr's adventures thru the first 10 years, I present to you my "next 10" team. Simply put, its a team of players, all 26 or young, all in AA or higher, with at least a couple of years of minor league development to guide me in predicting their future, that I think will lead represent Ripken, Jr as the "best of the best" over its 2nd decade. What its not is a selection of the 25 guys most likely to hit in the 3 hole, or start game 1 of the WS. While those high standards are certainly well placed, my goal is to prevent a more diverse team that will have guys hitting in positions that make sense w/n the batting order, reward some for outstanding defense at key defensive positions, and basically attempt to cover all bases. Certainly there will be more top sluggers than you can shake a stick out, but hopefully there's a handful of guys that you'd be happy hitting in the 8 hole while providing gold glove defense, or acting as a long A bridge when the starter gets pulled early.
So w/o further ado lets start with the pitchers, more specifically the starting rotation. Despite my diatribe above, there are no specialist here. I may miss a name or two thru this process, I may favor one guy over your guy, but no doubt, anyone should be proud to send any of these 5 to the mound in a key game.
TrevorDouglass This list will spend a of time visiting Las Vegas, and as you'll soon discover, saintonan has discovered more ripe talent than Spearmint Rhino. Trevor was the 3rd overall pick back in season 4 and despite a freak injury in season 9, has already accumulated 51 wins. Douglass is the rare bread of right handers that are even more dominate verse lefties. Sporting a Adam Wainwrightesque 12-6 curveball, along with a solid fastball and slider, Douglass has buckled his share of knees. On top of everything, as if his stuff wasn't good enough, his stamina/durability combo of 94/28 may well be the strongest of any legitimate starter in this world.
MaglioBennett $23 mil is all it took to bring this ace off the islands and into the Saint Louis fold. Bennett has one of the most devistating fastballs in all of Ripken, complianted by an additional 4 averate to above average pitches that makes him tough to hit. Sit on his fastball and he'll dazzle you w/ breaking stuff. Look for something with some bend, and the fastball blows by you before you can blink. Despite being just 23, Magglio has already spend 2+ full seasons in the bigs, accumulating 33 wins. As the team builds up around him, expect to see Magglio as a fixture in the All star game.
JulianChavez Back to Las Vegas for our #3. An absolute steal in season 8 for just $14.2 mil, Julian makes up for a lack of stamina with solid control, great splits, great sink and 3 top shelf pitches to go along with a solid enough Circle Change as a 4th option. Julian made his debut a few games into season 10 last year, and managed to pick up 11 wins in his rookie campaign.
CorbanWalters One of the key pieces in the huge Lamb-Dale trade to Salem, Corban has produced rewards in spades for Florida/Austin. The first pick in the season 4 draft, has amassed 68 wins with a 2.8 k/bb ratio and a career 1.28 WHIP. Great control, splits, veolocity, and sink on 4 solid pitches plus a show me curveball lead to Corban's first all star selection last year.
KarlSanders While Karl possesses just average ML splits, he more than makes up for it in control, zip, and pitch selection. A season 9 all star, Karl has already won 15 games and 19 games in seperate seasons. A 1.20 whip and mid 3.00 era are signs that this 24 year old is going to be headlining games for years to come.
Next, we'll look at long relievers. All of these guys have the stuff to be #1s or #2 on the ML level, however each lacks the stamina to routinely go deep into games. Surely some teams will temp fate trying to shorten innings and squeeze as much rest b/w games, but either way, each would be able to push 150+ innings out of the pen, or out of the starting rotation.
LouGrieve there is little doubt that Lou has some of the best stuff in Ripken. Unfortunetly, he'll struggle to get past 5 innings during any start. However, his first go at it in Burlington is going as well as expected, 6 up, 1 down over 52 innings in 9 starts. Prior to this season, he was the heart of Fresno's championship bullpen, dominating thru 2 WS runs, including last season's championship. Lou is likely this generation's Pablo Bonilla, if someone is willing to push him to 180+ innings a year out of the pen, a cy young nomination is w/n reach.
VirgilVazquez Our first venture into minors brings us another Lou Grieve type. Its yet to be determined if Virgil has the stamina to ever start in the show, but 60 minor league games have seen him sport a tidy 0.98 whip and a 5.0+ k/bb ratio. The key piece in the Keith Bagwell deal this offseason, Virgil profiles to a ++ slider, two + pitches, and an average change up. Topping out near 100 mph, Virgil has the command to paint both corners and should prove an assist as Pablo Bonilla's career begins to wind down.
TrenidadFernandez Did I mention that Las Vegas is loaded? Another guy with dominat stuff, but questionable stamina. Trenidad has dominated 3 levels of minor league baseball, dominating AAA hitters as I write. A near 1.00 whip and 3.0+ k/bb ratio profiles this lefties future dominace in the majors. A dominating fastball, to go along with a ++ change and average breaking stuff should eat up oppossing hitters once he reaches the show.
Short Relievers: These are the guys who shouldn't ever top 100 innings any season, but should be dominate in key situations late in the game. The world appears to be a little shy of young top end, late game situation, but these four are worthy of making any team.
AlexFlores durability and health are a key factor in Pittsburgh's top setup man's future. Possessing near perfect control of both sides of the plate with a fastball topping out in the upper 90s, Flores has been a stellar pickup for Pittsburgh this offseason. The 26 year old is coming into his own, sporting a 0.80 WHIP and Sub 2.00 era in 25 appearances so far. Flores compliments his killer 4 seamer w/ 3 additional average to above average pitches. As long as he stays healthy, get ready to turn the lights out when he takes the mound.
OmarFranco lets stay in Pittsburgh and add dominate righty Franco. A true one inning specialists, Franco can often go back to back nights, featuring precision control on a ++ fastball and changeup combo. Franco was able to convert 42/48 saves back in season 9 before moving from the 9th to a setup role in season 10. The transition has taken well to Franco as he's allowed only 4 hits and no runs this season.
EduardoGalarraga is still sporting his WS bling from last season's run in Fresno. Over the last two postseasons, Galarrag has allowed only 1 run and 2 hits over 8 apperances. Unfortunetly, Eddie, ain't exactly an "everyday" man, and will strain to reach 50 innings most seasons. With a WHIP slightly above 1.10 the last two years, Eddie makes each appearance count pounding the bottom of the strike zone with a league tops sinker, devestating slider, and above average change up.
ButchOmalley If Franco had to move out of the closer role, then the guy who took over must be pretty good, right? Well let me present Pittsburgh 3rd musketeer of the pen, Buth O'Malley, a season 10 all star rep and a perfect 20/20 in save opportunities this season. The 4th year pro is still polishing up his skill set, but features a 12-6 curve and a fastball coming in just behind Aroldis Chapman in velocity.
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