Month: June 2014

2014 NBA Mock Draft

/ Jason / Leave a comment

I want to start this post by focusing on Isaiah Austin. But first, Houston Astros top prospect Carlos Correa recently suffered a serious and still undiagnosed leg injury while running the bases in A-ball. Peter Gammons, one of the greatest scribes and voices in the history of baseball tweeted the following morning “Pray the Carlos Correa injury isn’t serious.” This tweet was of course followed by the easy-to-predict replies of “There are more important things to pray for in this world, Peter.”

I found this particular type of reply callous, cold, harsh, and inhumane. Society’s treatment of athletes is a very conflicted one. We want our athletes to give 100% always, do great charity work, never drive their cars too fast, have 2.4 children (of course, from their high school sweetheart), and rescue kittens from trees during the offseason. But when those athletes suffer some sort of malady, well, they become useless to us. Joey Votto received a heaping load of criticism recently for taking “too much time” to recover from a knee injury. He was being “selfish.” Bryce Harper has got some of that here in Washington. I mean, “WHAT IS TAKING HIM SO LONG TO RECOVER FROM A SIMPLE BROKEN THUMB?!?!” In short, we treat our athletes like they’re not human.

Chances are, the godly or God-fearing amongst us would see no harm in asking for our next door neighbor’s broken leg to heal. Hell, I have family members who say they pray for me to land a job and I’m unemployed because I chose to be. But shame on the person who wishes that a very talented 19 year old shortstop doesn’t have a career-threatening injury.

This brings me back to Isaiah Austin. I’ve never met the 7’1″ former Baylor center. In fact, I’ve never met anyone over 7 feet tall in my life. I’m as separated from Isaiah Austin personally as one could be. But I was filled with sadness on Sunday when I read about his being diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, ending his NBA career before it started. Knowing the Isaiah Austin story (that he’s also been playing basketball at a really high level while being blind in one eye) made this revelation that much sadder. I assume that Austin will return to Baylor and finish his degree. But Marfan syndrome is a dangerous thing, often afflicting the very tall. In short and very unmedical terms, his heart isn’t large enough to sustain him during physical activity. You know, like playing basketball competitively. Or living like a human being. There are people all of the world battling any number of terrible illnesses. But that doesn’t make the Isaiah Austin story any more unfortunate.

I’m happy that NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who has been excellent in his short time on the job, has invited Austin to the Draft. And I hope that one team drafting in the second round uses a pick that they would’ve otherwise spent on a draft-and-stash European prospect on Austin, knowing that he’ll never get to play a game for them, but allowing him to achieve his goal of being drafted by an NBA team.

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Generally speaking, when an NBA Draft seems like an afterthought, it’s because the talent pool is shallow. For example: last year. This year’s draft is not like that. The 2014 talent pool is incredibly deep. You can travel down a list of the top prospects until about the 40s before you start to see a real drop off. There are players who will be selected late in the second round of this draft who would have been first rounders last year. There might not be a LeBron or Durant here, but unlike some recent drafts, there aren’t a lot of Thomas Robinsons or Joe Alexanders likely to go in the lottery.

The afterthought aspect is due to three current NBA players: Kevin Love, LeBron James, and Carmelo Anthony.

Love is not a free agent, but is a “must-trade” for the Minnesota Timberwolves who need get something in return for him before his contract expires after this next season. It’s likely that Minnesota only ends up with $.85 for their $1.00, but that’s better than getting $0.00 for it when Love is a free agent next summer. Love’s list of suitors include the Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, and surely others. Boston is considered the favorite because they have a stockpile of first round draft picks in the coming years (their own and Brooklyn’s) and a smattering of young and somewhat useful players, including Jared Sullinger, Kelly Olynyk, and Avery Bradley. Golden State has the best player to offer in Klay Thompson, but not much in the way of potential high-upside draft picks. Same for Houston. Los Angeles falls into a similar boat as the Celtics’ except they don’t have useful young players to trade or a lot of draft picks. Where Love goes before the Draft could have a huge impact on what happens starting at pick 6 with Boston.

Add to that the idea that if the Celtics can’t acquire Love, they might trade Rajon Rondo to a team, like Sacramento, who needs a true point guard and has young assets (including draft picks). And so, by the end of Sunday night, a team like the Celtics could have a core of Rajon Rondo, Avery Bradley, Jeff Green, Kevin Love, and a tall person, or a core of rookies and future first round draft picks. In other words, a complete, bottom-up rebuild. No player personnel man in basketball has a more interesting next 48 hours than Danny Ainge.

Kevin Love would be a big enough story alone, but the best basketball player in the world is also now a free agent. His suitors include every team in the NBA, from the Heat to the Bucks. LeBron is in a truly fascinating position, because unlike his 2010 free agency, he’s not hunting for championships to begin to craft his legacy. He has two titles now. LeBron could decide to stay loyal to Miami (why, I do not know), rebuild a Cavaliers team he left in shambles and instantly make them a contender, go to Phoenix and form the most exciting team since the 1980s Showtime Lakers, sign with the Clippers and join forces with his best friend Chris Paul and coach Doc Rivers, or go to Chicago and play in the shadow of Michael Jordan with an ailing Derrick Rose (I do not know why this is an option, but I’m not the expert, so…). LeBron could also, in a theoretical world, stun everyone and decide to turn the Milwaukee Bucks or Utah Jazz into his project, propelling them to instant success and consequence. Or he could, in a theoretical world, play for the veteran minimum and join forces with Kevin Durant in Oklahoma City. He could do similar things in Golden State with Steph Curry. The possibilities are endless for LeBron. It’s just a matter of how much of an outside-the-box thinker he and his camp is/are. And how much fun they want to have over the next 4-5 years. My money is on a boring return to a mediocre Miami team (seriously, take him off that roster and tell me how good they are. Do they win 35 games next season?) with Dwyane Wade and his knees and Chris Bosh and his lack of an interior presence. But my heart is with a young, exciting nucleus in Cleveland, being coached by a  total wild card in former Maccabi Tel Aviv coach David Blatt.

Finally, there is Carmelo Anthony, the least interesting of these story lines because he doesn’t make any team a contender automatically. I think he goes to Chicago and Tom Thibodeau kills him before training camp ends for lack of defensive hustle.

All of that brings us to the draft. In the past two years, I’ve made more of a big board because the draft is so impossible to project because of the constant trades. However, I won’t do that here. I’ll give an actual mock draft of the lottery portion, bearing in mind all of the machinations that could occur before and during my favorite annual event. After, I’ll list a few of my favorite players in the Draft, which we’ll call the Kyle Anderson Section.

THE LOTTERY

1. Cleveland Cavaliers select Andrew Wiggins (SG/Kansas): No one, save for one mysterious Australian, has Andrew Wiggins’ upside in this draft. He’s a developed talent defensively who struggled at times as a freshman to take over games in the way that Jabari Parker did at Duke. That said, his athleticism if off the charts. He slots in very well at the 2-guard in most NBA lineups and has the potential to be a perennial All-Star. I think Cleveland likely takes him with the first overall pick. And as I tweeted earlier today, a lineup of: Kyrie Irving, Andrew Wiggins, LeBron James, Tristan Thompson, and Anderson Varajeo isn’t bad at all. In fact, I think it becomes the best lineup in the East. Especially with Dion Waiters, Tyler Zeller, and last year’s top pick Anthony Bennett coming off the bench with an early second round pick and an inexpensive free agent piece or two.

2. Milwaukee Bucks select Jabari Parker (SF/Duke): Parker is not a defensive wizard. In fact, he’s not even good defensively. But he seems to be a coachable player and to be fair to him, he didn’t exactly go to the Jim Boeheim school of Defense in college. Parker is a slasher, shooter, and scorer. He’s polished in that respect and could very easily average 20 points per game as a rookie. He is the safest bet in this draft and given his immense talent, I think he fits in nicely in either of the top two spots, though Milwaukee stylistically is the best fit for him if the Cavaliers (drafting first) think they have a shot at LeBron. And so that’s why he ends up here.

3. Philadelphia 76ers select Dante Exum (PG/Australia): Most high-ranking NBA scouts have only seen Dante Exum play basketball once. That’s not a typo. He played in the Nike Hoops Summit and performed very well against some of the top players in college basketball (many of whom you see here). He is the son of a former North Carolina basketball player. He possesses size (6’6″) that makes him a versatile guard. He is by all accounts a great ball handler with an incredible motor. One NBA GM has said (to ESPN’s Chad Ford) that Exum is the closest he’s seen to Kobe Bryant. And yet, Exum is a total wild card. Philadelphia is his landing spot and it’s not a natural one. Philly would have two very young and very raw 6’6″ hybrid guards in Exum and Michael Carter-Williams. This is a pick built entirely on potential and made slightly easier by the fact that Philly will draft again in this lottery.

4. Orlando Magic select Aaron Gordon (PF/Arizona): Orlando ends up in a really unfortunate position. They miss out on the upside of Exum and the star power of Wiggins and Parker and are left with a choice between three raw power forwards, an injured center, or a volatile point guard. I think they take Gordon because of his upside. There’s a little bit of Blake Griffin in there. Gordon is an athletic freak who will be a rebounding force from Day 1 for whomever drafts him. Like Griffin, the offensive game (outside of alley-oops) will have to be developed, but there’s more to work with in Aaron Gordon than in the alternatives.

5. Utah Jazz select Jabari Parker (SF/Duke): In an act of total spite for the draft system, the Jazz get the player they wanted all along, by taking recently drafted Milwaukee Bucks forward Jabari Parker. Jazz fans rejoice forever, while Adam Silver looks on in disbelief.

5. Utah Jazz actually select Nik Stauskas (SG/Michigan): This isn’t so much a matter of pairing Trey Burke with his college teammate or pairing a white guard with the Utah Jazz as much as it is Stauskas deserving to go this high and fulfilling a need for Utah: he’s a scorer, especially from distance, who showed a real ability to get to the basket and make things happen playing in the physical B1G. With Gordon Hayward a restricted free agent, Stauskas would give Utah some flexibility should someone put forth a hefty offer sheet for Hayward. There’s no doubt in my mind Stauskas is the better player, given his shooting and ball-handling ability.

6. Boston Celtics select Joel Embiid (C/Kansas): If you’re going to rebuild, you rebuild from the ground up. I think this is what the Celtics are finally going to do. In this case, they’ll be rebuilding from the foot up. Embiid has drawn comparisons to Hakeem Olajuwon and Sam Bowie. The risk in drafting him is enormous. But if Boston doesn’t get Kevin Love on Draft night and Embiid falls to them, he’s a must-pick for the future. If his injuries turn out to be a part of a young man growing into his frame, the Celtics could have a Hall of Fame type player fall into their lap. If his injuries turn out to be, like so many other big men, a common side effect of being very big, then they’ll have missed badly, but have enough future assets (including another first round pick in this draft) to attempt to gloss over that miss.

7. Los Angeles Lakers select Marcus Smart (PG/Oklahoma State): This pick just makes too much sense. Smart instantly becomes the best point guard Kobe Bryant has had in a long time (because, you’ll remember, 2005 Steve Nash was not playing for the 2013 Los Angeles Lakers). Smart is a fiery competitor. His temper has gotten the best of him, sure. But he defends well and gives max effort. If Kobe Bryant has anything left in the tank, the two could be a really interesting duo to watch.

8. Sacramento Kings select Elfrid Payton (PG/Louisiana): No one’s stock has risen as much as Payton’s has during the draft process. He draws comparisons to Rajon Rondo because of his defensive ability, length, and unrefined offensive game. The Kings have needed a true point guard since Mike Bibby left 100 years ago. If they’re ever going to get out of the Lottery, it’s going to have to be through developing a team leader. Payton is a reach here, but if the comparisons to Rondo hold true, the 8 spot is a nice place to land a floor general.

9. Charlotte Hornets select Doug McDermott (SF/Creighton): The surprise playoff team of 2013-14, the Hornets own the Pistons pick here because, really, Detroit doesn’t need a first round draft pick, right? McDermott is one of the most accomplished scorers in NCAA Division I history. He can shoot the ball from anywhere on the court and has the size to play and score inside. Charlotte desperately lacks a true scoring threat, as Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has failed to develop that part of his game. McDermott gives them the best pure scorer and shooter in this draft and further improves an already improving basketball team.

10. Philadelphia 76ers select Julius Randle (PF/Kentucky): The Sixers took a risk with the unknown Exum at 3 and now take the safe pick with the former Kentucky standout who still sits on the board because of fears that he’s not quite ready to be an interior player in the NBA and isn’t quite an outside shooter. So if Randle is a ‘tweener, the Sixers still get a known commodity. He’s a guy who is going to rebound the basketball. The comparisons to Zach Randolph are not that far off, even if they are a little obvious. For a team like Philadelphia with little to no interior presence, Randle combined with a potentially healthy Nerlens Noel, could drastically improve their ability to rebound and defend inside. Because they were truly awful at that in 2013-14.

11. Denver Nuggets select Gary Harris (SG/Michigan State): The Nuggets are an interesting case of a talented team that just played bad basketball in 2013-14. The talent is there with Ty Lawson, Danilo Galinari, and Kenneth Faried and a decent supporting cast, but injuries and inconsistent play hampered them last season. Harris gives them a scoring threat at the 2-guard, which is probably what they wanted from 2012 First Rounder Evan Fournier who to this date has averaged 7.4 ppg in his NBA career.

12. Orlando Magic select Dario Saric (SF/Croatia): Draft and stash alert! Saric has signed to play with a team in Turkey, meaning the earliest Orlando will see him (or he will see Orlando, bless his heart) is 2016-17. He is, by all accounts (because I don’t watch Adriatic League basketball) a great passer and ball-handler, with impressive length and size (6’10”). He probably would have been drafted earlier had he committed to playing in the NBA. Orlando can afford this risk, given their two first round picks.

13. Minnesota Timberwolves select Noah Vonleh (PF/Indiana): Call this Kevin Love Insurance. Vonleh is raw, raw, raw, but showed flashes of brilliance in his one year at Indiana. He’s got everything you want from a college freshman, but his game needs a lot of refinement before he’s ready for the NBA. There’s a little bit of Kevin Love in Vonleh (cross-racial comparison for $500, Alex) in that Vonleh can rebound very well, but also step out and shoot the 3. He’s not the passer that Love is, but frankly, half of the NBA’s point guards aren’t the passer that Love is. He’s not an immediate replacement, but if he falls this far (reports are that some teams love Vonleh and others do not like him, as a prospect, at all) he’s a great value pick as a developmental project for Minnesota as they re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-build.

14. Phoenix Suns select Rodney Hood (SF/Duke): The Suns proved to be one of the NBA’s most exciting teams in 2013-14, built on a roster of versatile players and they get another in Hood who can score from anywhere on the court. Hood would be an immediate upgrade at the 3 over PJ Tucker or could be a game-changing 6th/7th man option for coach Jeff Hornacek. There’s little here that Phoenix could get wrong. This is a team I completely misjudged going into last season that was able to take an unconventional roster and win immediately.

KYLE ANDERSON SECTION (players I love at each position)

DeAndre Kane (PG/Iowa State): Kane may go undrafted, due largely to his being 25 years old, but he’s a big, physical point guard with great court vision and a knack for leading the fast break.

Zach LaVine (SG/UCLA): Rawer than Noah Vonleh and the meat of a still living cow, LaVine’s athleticism is the reason to draft him. I think his floor in the NBA is Gerald Green, a guy who started for a near-playoff team (Phoenix) this past season. His ceiling is much, much higher.

Cleanthony Early (SF/Wichita State): Early gets to the basket and scores. He’s also an improving outside shooter and a very good player on the glass for his size. In the right system, he could be starting by the end of his rookie season, despite being a likely late first round pick.

Kyle Anderson (PF/UCLA): If we’re talking unconventional players, we have to talk about my favorite prospect in this draft, UCLA’s Kyle Anderson. I watched Anderson in person dominate USC to the tune of 23/12/5. Anderson is 6’9″ but is naturally a point guard. Because of his size, Anderson isn’t necessarily fast enough to play the point in the NBA, which makes him the most intriguing project in the draft. If someone can find a role for a game-changing point forward, who can rebound the basketball, pass like a point guard, and shoot from 15-23′, they’re going to have a gem in Anderson. This is not a potential rookie of the year candidate. But this is a potentially transformative player.

Sim Bhullar (C/New Mexico State): This is more of an opportunity to talk about Sim Bhullar than anything else. Bhullar is 7’5″, weighs over 350 lbs, and rarely played more than 25 minutes a game at New Mexico State because he just wasn’t conditioned for it. Bhullar came out early, as a sophomore, because, really, there wasn’t much more to improve upon. As they say, you can’t teach “big.” He could be an impact shot blocker/rebounder off the bench, and absolutely nothing more. His inclusion here is a testament to how weak the center position is in the 2014 Draft. It’s really Joel Embiid, a bunch of European guys, and some fringe college players who could get drafted based solely on their size.

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And so there you have it. I won’t continue to mock the first round because I will literally start mocking teams that I think will draft players like Shabazz Napier and Tyler Ennis. There are some other players of note (PJ Hairston and Adreian Payne for example) who I think will be solid NBA players at their positions, but really, the rest of the first round always becomes a mess of trades and European players. So, with apologies to Bosnian center Jusuf Nurkic, enjoy the 2014 NBA Draft.

In Defense of Michael Bradley

/ Jason / Leave a comment

Michael Bradley does not need to be defended by a slob on the Internet WITH OPINIONS any more than he deserves to be criticized by a slob on the Internet WITH OPINIONS. Michael Bradley has done enough in his career both for clubs and for country that the product should speak for itself. 

That said, I hope Michael Bradley and the members of his family did not read any tweets after yesterday’s match. Twitter is a lot of things. One of them is a dumping ground for the misspelled thoughts of the blissfully unaware. And so once the final whistle sounded in Manaus, the masses took to their Twitter accounts to call for the benching of Michael Bradley, using the very clever hashtag #BenchBradley.

My guess is that most of these people calling for Bradley’s benching are neophytes. I’ve yet to talk with one person that follows the US Men’s National Team religiously who thinks that benching the team’s best field player is even a remotely decent idea. 

Did Bradley play well against Ghana? No. He had probably his worst match under Jurgen Klinsmann. But Bradley didn’t play poorly yesterday against Portugal. There are, of course, the two obvious instances where the casual football observer would think that he was some kind of choking dog. But I’m not sure that casual observer is capable of noticing what a player like Bradley does over the course of 90 minutes. 

Never in my life has the US had a box-to-box midfielder with Bradley’s skill and adeptness. By American standards, he’s a terrific passer and a player you want with the ball at his feet leading a break. He’s also a guy who defends the middle of the pitch very well. He is certainly not of the class of an Arturo Vidal, Yaya Toure, or Xavi, but Bradley is undoubtedly a world football player. 

Soccer is not a sport where end of game statistics tell the entire story. Case in point: Spain out-possessed Holland 57/43 in their Group B match and still lost 5-1. For players like Bradley and Xavi, statistics aren’t the story. The world’s best goal scorers are often diminished talents without the supporting cast behind them (see: Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s international careers versus their club careers). 

A prevalent (and wholly stupid) argument is that “Well, if Bradley was so good he should have scored on that “easy” shot and then the US would have won 3-2.” Soccer does not work that way. It’s often said that a 2-0 lead is the most dangerous type of lead in soccer. That is because teams will change their tactics on the fly to attack more. Portugal dominated possession in the first five minutes of yesterday’s match, leading to Nani’s goal. After that goal, the US attack built and the Portuguese seemed content to sit back, defend, and counter attack. When the US went up 2-1, Portugal stopped that tactic and started possessing the ball more, forcing the US into defend-for-your-lives mode.

It’s never as cut and dry as “tally up the shots on goal and viola! soccer!”At the risk of sounding like “That American Soccer Fan Guy,” it’s called the beautiful game for a number of reasons. One of those reasons is the amount of tactical thought and maneuvering that goes into a 90 minute match. This isn’t basketball. In the final minutes, Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t holding the ball at his feet, waving off teammates to clear a path so he could go iso with Matt Besler. Like no other sport, soccer is a team game. All 10 field players need to be in tune with each other at all times. A central midfielder, like Michael Bradley, needs to know the exact moment that his right back is going to streak up the touchline. If not, you risk a.) a pass going out of play b.) a pass being intercepted c.) that right back ending up in an offside position d.) any other number of scenarios. 

All of this leads to one central point: if you’ve watched the US Mens National Team closely since Jurgen took over, you know very well that Michael Bradley is the nucleus of the cell that is our team. With all due respect to his father, Michael was never this valuable when his dad was the at the helm of US Soccer. Jurgen has brought out the best in Bradley. To give that up now because of roughly 100 minutes of somewhat shaky football would be utterly foolish. This is not an aging, out of shape, whiny Landon Donovan, who wasn’t going to contribute much at all in this World Cup. This is a player in his prime who is maybe the primary reason why US Soccer is where it is today and a primary reason why US Soccer is headed in the direction it is tomorrow and every day after. Michael Bradley got us to this point. To turn our back on him now would seem to be quite contradictory to that other hashtag I’ve seen a lot of, #OneNationOneTeam. 

MLB 25 And Under Dream Team

/ Jason / Leave a comment

This is a sequel to a post from 2012. You can read that post here.

In the above referenced post from 2012, I attempted to build a roster of the best 25 and under players. Unlike some lists you’ll find on the Internet, I didn’t make it a list of the 25 best players aged 25 and under. I used relief pitchers and bench bats and tried to build a great team.

The 2012 list came at a time when a number of star players just barely made the qualifying mark of “25 by the time I publish this.” Gone from that list, because of age, are stars like Yu Darvish, Clayton Kershaw, Stephen Strasburg, Andrew McCutchen, Buster Posey, and Craig Kimbrel. And a quick glance will show that even some guys who are past the age cut-off wouldn’t make this team today even if they did qualify (Justin Upton, Jason Kipnis).

This is an exercise that I would like to revisit every 2 seasons. One rule that I’m changing is that to qualify, players need to be 25 years old not today, but on the last day of the regular season. As with the previous iteration, players with no Major League service time are eligible. And so without further writing that most of you probably skipped over, here is my team:

 

STARTING LINEUP

Catcher: Derek Norris (Oakland Athletics): The talent pool at this position is not very deep. The 2012 catcher, Buster Posey, has graduated to age 27 and with prospects like Travis d’Arnaud and Mike Zunino struggling to be useful to the Mets and Mariners respectively, Norris and his high-OBP finds himself here. Norris may not be a long-term catcher as he’s not known for his incredible defensive prowess, but any player with his ability to get on-base has value in a pool this shallow.

First Baseman: Freddie Freeman (Atlanta Braves): I overlooked Freddie Freeman on my 2012 team. I gave him mention but didn’t think that he could be a patient enough hitter to have true long-term value over someone like Eric Hosmer, who is excellent defensively. Hosmer, however, has been an abysmal hitter. Meanwhile, since I published my 2012 team, Freeman has become not only the best young first baseman in baseball, but maybe the best overall first baseman, short of Miguel Cabrera. Defensively, Freeman has been inconsistent, ending 2013 on the positive side of Defensive Runs Saved. This season has been a very different story defensively. But we’re not really building this all-star team solely on defense. Freeman’s bat can play almost anywhere in the lineup because of his versatility as a hitter. That’s immensely more valuable when building a team like this.

Second Baseman: Rougned Odor (Texas Rangers): The player who you wish had an “h” in his first name is also the youngest player in the Majors. Odor has played in a very limited fashion as a 20 year old for Texas, but has shown a mature approach at the plate and solid defensive prowess. He finds himself here for the same reason that he finds himself playing for the Rangers: Jurickson Profar’s ailing shoulder. With Profar likely out for the rest of the season, Odor might be just a placeholder here, but in his brief stint in the Majors (<100 PA) he has been a much better hitter than Profar was. And so as much as it pains me to leave Profar off this team, I have to give the nod to Odor.

Third Baseman: Anthony Rendon (Washington Nationals): Injuries are always a concern for Rendon and so a long-term investment is a risk, but in his nearly full season (158 games at the time of writing this blurb) as a Major Leaguer, he sports a 107 OPS+ and plays a very good defensive third base. There are other names you could put here (see the bench section and the shortstop) but Rendon has produced and has shown improvement in his ability to drive the ball (his slugging pct. is 65 points higher in 2014 than it was in 2013).

Shortstop: Xander Bogaerts (Boston Red Sox): Just an astounding player. At 21, Bogaerts is getting on-base at a 36% clip, has an OPS approaching .800, and isn’t striking out at a rate you’d expect from someone so young. His approach is so developed for a 21 year old that you forget his age. Defensively, he’s probably a third baseman long-term and he’s playing there now for Boston with the recent signing of Stephen Drew, but in the interim, Bogaerts can play shortstop in the Majors without much difficulty. It’s shocking to me that he doesn’t get more publicity considering the team he plays for.

Left Field: Bryce Harper (Washington Nationals): A homer pick? Probably. But let’s take a look at what the 21 year old Harper has done in his career to date:

.273/.353/.476, 125 OPS+, 43 HR, 126 RBI, 8.9 WAR (279 career games)

Harper is the victim, so to speak, of Mike Trout’s success. LeBron James recently called himself the most scrutinized player in sports, which very well may be true. Harper though may be Major League Baseball’s most scrutinized player (if not him, it’s my right fielder), even at times by his own inept manager. It all seems pretty unfair when you look at the production. Statistically speaking, at his age, Harper still compares favorably to Ken Griffey Jr. and Micky Mantle. So maybe we should cool off on the criticism just a bit.

Center Field: Mike Trout (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, California Angels): Simply put, Trout is the best all-around player in baseball today and the best all-around player in baseball probably since early 1990’s Barry Bonds, aka the greatest player in the history of baseball. Trout will turn 23 this August and has shown some signs of being human this season, as his overall slash line is down across the board from his 2013 total. But there’s no question that he owns this spot until the moment he’s no longer age-eligible, or scientists create a more perfect baseball player (unlikely).

Right Field: Yasiel Puig (Los Angeles Dodgers): Rounding out an outfield of the most dynamic players in baseball who all also happen to be under the age of 25 is Yasiel Puig, arguably the most exciting player in the game. Puig is only 23 (and won’t turn 24 until December) and has only played 164 games in his Major League career (so, call it a full season). He sports a career OBP of .403, which is relatively unheard of for such a young hitter from Latin America, where patience at the plate is not necessarily treated as a virtue. Puig’s slugging percentage of .549 would have been topped by only 4 other Major Leaguers last season. His arm in right field is Vladimir Guerrero-esque. And for every base running blunder that gets shown on MLB Tonight and criticized by the Billy Ripkens and Harold Reynolds of the world, Puig evens those out by stretching the sort of hits most players give up on at first base into doubles. Puig is on a path to becoming the best import hitter in baseball history. And if you’re whining about Roberto Clemente right now, it took him 6 seasons to put up numbers even close to what Puig has done in one full season. Viva Puig.

Designated HItter: Giancarlo Stanton (Miami Marlins): As I stated in my 2012 piece, I don’t believe that pitchers should hit. I love the pace of National League baseball, but I don’t love pitchers hurting themselves running the bases or being automatic outs because for every Mike Leake, there are 30 Johnny Cuetos and Bartolo Colons. So we use a DH and in this case, the perfect DH, in Stanton. His glove is not a true detriment, but his body has proven to be not entirely made of steel. Giving him the ability to focus on the one thing he does better than anyone (murdering baseballs) is a true asset to this squad. Stanton certainly isn’t on the same Hall of Fame path that Trout and Puig are (I know it’s a long time off before we elect players from this team to the Hall, relax), but no one in baseball has the raw power that Stanton does. And unlike a lot of raw power hitters, Stanton doesn’t strike out at an historic rate and knows how to draw walks.

BATTING ORDER

Xander Bogaerts
Yasiel Puig
Mike Trout
Giancarlo Stanton
Freddie Freeman
Bryce Harper
Derek Norris
Anthony Rendon
Rougned Odor

 

BENCH PLAYERS

Salvador Perez (C, Kansas City Royals): Perez is a big catcher who has managed to stay healthy while catching every day. His offensive numbers are not terribly impressive, but again, the talent pool at this position is not full of recent success stories.

Anthony Rizzo (1B, Chicago Cubs): Quietly, because he plays for a terrible baseball team, Rizzo is putting together a very nice season, seeing his walks increase and his strikeout rate drop at a very high rate. In short, he’s turning into a Freddie Freeman-type player and I’m okay with having two of those on my roster.

Andrelton Simmons (SS, Atlanta Braves): Simmons beat out slick fielding Indians prospect Francisco Lindor because his defense is unrivaled and he already has the Major League experience that the very young (but very developed) Lindor does not. Simmons will not be a late game pinch-hitting option.

Manny Machado (3B/SS, Baltimore Orioles): You would think, given the hype, that Machado has been a great hitter, but he hasn’t. It’s his glove that has been very valuable, leading the Majors in dWAR last season. The bat should come (hopefully with some maturity) and even if it doesn’t, the defensive flexibility that he provides is a big plus. With him, Rendon, and Bogaerts, you have three guys who can play at least two different positions in the infield each.

Billy Hamilton (OF, Cincinnati Reds): Hamilton was the toughest add here, beating out Pirates prospect Gregory Polanco, Marlins outfielder Christian Yelich, and Astros center fielder George Springer, because he brings something to the table that few players in recent memory have brought: blinding speed. In a late game situation, with someone like Derek Norris standing on first, Hamilton would be the ideal game changer.

 

PITCHING ROTATION

Chris Sale (LHP, Chicago White Sox): I tried for years to write off Chris Sale. His slight frame and terrifying delivery screamed “ARM INJURY!!!!” And yet, other than some time missed earlier this season with minor soreness, Sale has been healthy in his now 3rd season as a Major League starting pitcher. In his two previous seasons (I’m largely discounting the years the White Sox used him as a reliever), Sale was a sure-fire top of the rotation guy who finished in the top 6 in Cy Young voting each year, but was not necessarily someone you’d lump into the “Best Pitcher in the Game” category immediately. That has changed this year. Sale currently sports a sub 2.00 ERA, his highest K/9 as a starter, and a WHIP so microscopic (0.67) that he is entering not just “Best Pitcher in the Game” category, but “Best Pitching Season in the Modern Era” category. Of course, pitchers have half seasons like this (we call it Ubaldo Jimenzing), but everything Sale has done so far leans toward not just a stretch of good luck, but a pitcher who is beginning to peak. And that peak might be rising up to Mount Kershaw before long.

Masahiro Tanaka (RHP, New York Yankees): Tanaka just qualifies for this team, as he won’t turn 26 until November 1 and that’s good because he deserves to be on any list, created by any person, on the Internet. At the time of his signing, many made Hideki Irabu or Kei Igawa comparisons because Tanaka, like Irabu and Igawa, is Japanese. That and the fact that they have pitched for the New York Yankees is literally the only thing those three men have in common. Tanaka has been a revelation in the Majors and is the sole driving force behind the Yankees not chasing the Tampa Bay Rays and Houston Astros for the worst record in the American League. Tanaka is 10-1 (I don’t care about w-l record, but it looks pretty), sports a sub-1.00 WHIP and an ERA+ of 200. Those numbers for a rookie pitcher, even though Tanaka had great success pitching professionally in Japan, are incredible. Consider those numbers only in the context of a 25 year old prospect and they’re incredible. The race between Tanaka and Chris Sale for the American League Cy Young should be fantastic to watch, even if their respective teams aren’t. Tanaka has already been worth 3.5 wins to the Yankees, making his $22 million annual salary seem more than deserved so far in his young career.

Julio Teheran (RHP, Atlanta Braves): It’s not that Julio Teheran came out of nowhere. He has been a highly touted pitcher for many years. He was a fixture on Top 100 prospect lists before making his debut, along with two other Braves prospects (Arodys Vizcaino and Randall Delgado) both of whom have flamed out to this point. For a while, Teheran looked like a potential flame out as well. In spot starts for the Braves in 2011 and 2012, Teheran was wildly inconsistent and prone to pitching too much to contact, despite his great arsenal. Last season, he put together a campaign good enough to finish 5th in NL Rookie of the Year voting, but wasn’t the kind of pitcher who was going to make a list of the five best starting pitchers under 25. 2014 has shown that Teheran was really just not far enough along in his development in those first two seasons of spot starts. His ERA+ has skyrocketed over 150 and his WHIP has dipped below 1.00 and while his strikeouts have dropped, he is on pace to throw close to 200 innings, anchoring a very depleted pitching staff. And at age 23, we’re likely only seeing the start of what Teheran can be.

Madison Bumgarner (LHP, San Francisco Giants): Along with Sale, the only holdover from the 2012 staff, Bumgarner continues to pitch solidly for the Giants. His numbers compared to 2013 are seemingly all different (+ and -) but all within a similar range, showing something that I guess we can call consistency (example: His ERA is 1/10 of a run lower and his K/9 is about 1 strikeout higher, while his WHIP is .14 higher than last season). In short, he’s striking more guys out and pitching to contact more (almost 2 more hits/9) but the results are the same (in fact, his FIP is actually lower in 2014 than in 2013, which you wouldn’t expect given the jump in hits allowed). All of these statistics are a long way of saying, when you’ve got a 6’5″ lefty with a 4-pitch arsenal, who strikes out nearly 10 batters per 9 innings AND he’s under 25, he makes your rotation each and every time.

Sonny Gray (RHP, Oakland Athletics): Our fifth starter doesn’t fit the mold of your typical Major League starting pitcher. Gray stands only 5’11”. Generally, right handed pitchers below 6′ have a difficult time finding success because they’re pitching on a lower plane than their taller rivals. Pitching from that lower plane will allow most hitters to see the ball sooner at eye level, giving them that fraction of time that makes identifying a pitch that much easier. Gray has defied the 6′ or over notion in his 24 career starts. The former Vanderbilt standout offers a fastball in the mid-90s, an excellent sinker, and his best swing-and-miss pitch, a curveball. Gray has also been throwing a changeup more often as he develops as a full-time starter. In addition, Gray isn’t just a product of pitching at O.co Coliseum, as his road splits are dramatically better than his home (lower ERA and WHIP with a higher K/9). There were a number of options at the #5 spot, including current starters who you’ll find in the bullpen below and two of the game’s best pitchers who you’ll find in a special section, but Gray has shown little signs of being a one-year wonder and I think spends the next handful of years as the ace of one of the best real-life staffs in baseball.

BULLPEN

Michael Wacha (RHP, St. Louis Cardinals)

Trevor Rosenthal (RHP, St. Louis Cardinals)

Carlos Martinez (RHP, St. Louis Cardinals)

Addison Reed (RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks)

Yordano Ventura (RHP, Kansas City Royals)

Ian Krol (LHP, Detroit Tigers

-There’s no real need for individual analysis here. Until Wacha develops a useful third pitch, I like him better in a relief role, despite his great success to this point in his young career. Ventura, who is a starter, finds himself in the bullpen for similar reasons and additionally because he’s just a little too short to be a right-handed two pitch pitcher. The list of those guys who were successful starting pitchers is not a long or existent one. The rest of the bullpen is high-upside filler, really. The bullpen talent pool does not feature many dynamic youngsters outside of the few you see here (plus Addison Reed, by default).

OF NOTE

Jose Fernandez (RHP, Miami Marlins)

Matt Harvey (RHP, New York Mets)

-Not including these two pitchers felt wrong. But with both recovering from Tommy John surgery, it’s very hard to leave off a healthy pitcher like Sonny Gray or Julio Teheran. As much as we’ve all been programmed to think that pitchers can come back from Tommy John surgery “as good as ever” that’s not always the case, as no two bodies (and thus no two arms) are the same. Fernandez’s injury was especially unfortunate because the Marlins look like a contender for a playoff spot this season, with big improvements from Nathan Eovaldi and Henderson Alvarez in the rotation. For Harvey, he made New York Mets games must-watch spectacles, which they most certainly are not now in his absence.  If healthy, and where they were before their injuries, they’d both be the centerpieces of this rotation,bumping out Gray and Teheran. Until then, I’m going with healthy arms. But I will say, baseball without Harvey and Fernandez is just slightly less enjoyable.