The "next 10" part 1

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.

Knockin' down the door to 500

500 long balls has long been THE standard for hall of famer sluggers. You knock 500 of them offerings over the outfield fences, and you get your plaque hung in Cooperstown. 500 long balls in HBD doesn't hold quite the same prestige, but its not too far behind. In a world as young as Ripken, JR, 500 homers is definently a spectacular feat. Even during the steriod era prior to season 6 or 7, that's still 50 homers a season over 10 years, just to get there. That my friends is nothing to sneeze at. Rather uncermoniously, AchillesCohen bashed thru that door just last season. the 30 year old OF was just approaching his prime as Ripken, Jr was created, and he's used the last 10 years to ensure he'll be sitting pretty atop the all time homer list when it comes time to induct him into our Hall. In fact, even more impressive, Cohen spent season 1 in the minors, meaning that his 500th homer came in his 9th ML season. Despite his struggles to make solid contact each at bat, he's always been a key rbi guy, having hit 39 or more homers each season, save his first where he "struggled to hit 34 in 143 ML games.

While Cohen sits alone on the 500 homer platue, he's about to get some company. Similar to Achilles, BillWeaver sat out much of spent much of season 1 in the minors, gettng a late season call up. Weaver arrived in the showing hitting the ball all over the park, and has yet to stop. Sporting a .311/.401/.617 career line, Weaver has been one of, if not the finest hitter this world has seen. Weaver entered the season in 2nd place on the career homer list at 468, and seems intent to chase down Cohen for the all time lead. Despite the young season, Weaver has already knocked out 18 long balls as he aims to bring home his 3rd MVP award. With 486 homers total, look for Weaver to hit #500 sometime before the all star break.

Syracuse 1b AndyClayton hopes to join Weaver & Cohen on the 500 homer list this season, and appears to be in range of that glorious target. The 8 time all star entered season 11 with 456 long balls, just 44 shy of the 500 mark. Considering that he's topped 42 homers every season but 1 since his full season debut, 44 certainly appears to be range. Despite a solid shot, the fences have contained more of Clayton's hits this season than in season past, limiting to just 5 long balls on the short season. However, noticing that he continues to rope line drives, expect Clayton to pick up the pace and threaten the 500 mark as the season winds down and Syracuse gears up for another penant chase.

The quest for 200 wins, who you got?

For the first time (and certainly not the last) the 200 career wins mark should be eclipsed, not once, but twice (and perhaps even a third time if things break right for Pat Politte). Oscar Baumann and Jesus Fernandez can tie them selves together by reaching this magical HBD mark (keep in mind its significantly tougher to win 300 games in HBD than it is in real life). Considerring that both were in their prime (Baumann was 24, Jesus would have been 27) when the world started, its quite possible that both could have been going for win #250 if this world had been created a few years earlier.

OscarBaumann has been a fixture at the mid-summer classic, having been selected each of his first 9 seasons before finally hanging up the "gone fishin" sign last season. Traded to the early Mexico City/Jacksonville dynasties, then later to the Montreal/Syracuse dynasty, Oscar picked up 4 Cy Young awards, a perfect game, and finally a world series ring with Syracuse in season 8. Blessed with pinpoint control, and blazing fastball and 3 solid secondary pitches, Oscar's most overlooked feature was his ability to bounce back quickly. Though his all out approach often left him drained by the 7th inning, Oscar was able to bounce back on short rest. Despite on 15 complete games, he managed to make 39 - 40 starts 6 times.

JesusFernandez while 3 years older, has also been a main stay at the mid summer classic having made 6 trips over the course of his career. Jesus & Oscar shared dugouts for 3 seasons during the Mexico City/Jacksonville dynasty, before Jesus was shipped back to his orginal franchise once they established roots in Salem. Jesus has thrown 1 no hitter, picked up the Cy Young in season 8, and has two World Series rings to show for his time in Salem. Having grown up without the ability to dazzle radar guns, Jesus learned the miracle of location, location, location, inducing opponents into weak grounders and pop ups on a league best sinker, a plus slider, and 3 solid secondary pitches. Having learned the secrets of P90X before it went commercial, Jesus often went deep into games, having completed 85 of his 347 starts (24%)

Regular season stats:

Baumann: 195-76, .207 OAV, 1.03 WHIP, 2.57 era, 3.66 k/bb ratio.
Fernandez: 190-95, .245 OAV, 1.20 WHIP, 3.32 era, 2.61 k/bb ratio.

Postseason stats:

Baumann: 21 G (20 starts) 7-6, 0 CG, .253 OAV, 1.27 WHIP, 3.95 era
Fernandez: 25 G (24 starts) 8-10, 3 CG, .242 OAV, 1.20 WHIP, 2.79 era

As each man approaches 200 wins, its clear that their best days are behind. Jesus' lone complete game and first ever trip to the DL is an indication that he's not quite the bullpen saver that he used to be. Meanwhile, Baumann's stamina has fallen hard enough that many are begining to question if he needs to make the transition to reliever this year. However, no matter the inning, both remain feared arms each time they take the bump, and leave us wondering how much longer till their enshrinement in Cooperstown. A poll was going to be added to see which pitcher this world would prefer over the course of their careers, however no matter how you slice the numbers, Baumann proves the clear cut answer. Fernandez may be as great in the 8th as he is in the 2nd, but only Baumann's wife is disspointed with his stamina limitations.

Coming next: Andy Clayton & Bill Weaver's quest to join Achilles Cohen on the 500 homer list.