You’re GM of a new franchise and could have any pitcher and position player in baseball. Signability is not a question so you have them for the rest of their careers.
Who do you take? No explanation needed, but you can provide one if you’d like.
I’ll start...
Cole and Acuña Jr.
Why? Cole went five months without a loss. Enough said.
Acuña because he’s six years younger than Trout.
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Great question...
I'd take Mike Trout. The only player in history I would rank ahead of Trout is Willie Mays
the question as to pitchers is tougher, because of durability concerns. Cole is great right now, but has only been great for 2 of his 7 career seasons. I might have to think about that one... Would I go with somebody like Walker Buehler as he might have more great years ahead, or Jacob deGrom?
The Mets would take deGrom and Pete Alonso and still find a way to screw it up!!
Oh wait, they did that already.
I'd go Acuna and Jack Flaherty. Age is the main reason in both cases.
I'll also go young with the man of the hour, Juan Soto, and Blake Snell.
I would take Bergman and move him back to short. For pitcher, probably Flaherty.
Trout
DeGrom
Sorry Shu I would have to defer to rocco. Haven't watched an MLB game in years. Watch only NFL and college football. Mostly college. I used to know every player and was a stat monger. Now I just don't have time. And frankly don't care either. When some of our group has kids in MLB that's when I will watch again!!
Francisco Lindor - still young but proven star, excellent clubhouse influence, avg., power, speed, ++defense in a premium position, ++ attitude and outlook. Can't go wrong with this guy as the face of the franchise.
It would be easy to take Cole, even after last night's loss fresh in everyone's mind. And there are lots of reasons to do so. I think he is the one guy of the top 6-8 pitchers in the game today who is not on the down side starting to decline. I also think his mechanics will allow him to stay at the top of his game for a bit longer than average. So, I think he has at least 4 yrs of ace level performance ahead of him.
But I'm going out on a limb a bit here and taking Walker Buehler. Electric stuff. Great metrics across the board. Obviously very young. Already proven winner, not just in regular season but in playoffs as well. Seems energetic and likable. In a very short time, made effective adjustments. I just see many years of top shelf pitching from this kid. A bit more size would help my confidence level though.
Buehler and Trout
Buehler and Bregman. I would go young because I'd want them for their careers. Buehler has the stuff, he just needs some polish. Bregman is a baller.
I feel like Tatis Jr. at least needs a mention here.
I think this list is accurate but if I miss one or two please forgive me.
Under 25:
Acuna Jr, Soto, Belli, Tatis Jr, Vladdy Jr, Bichette
Flaherty, Jesus Luzardo, Casey Mize, Soroka
Over 25:
Trout, Betts, Yelich, Lindor, Bregman
Buehler, Cole, DeGrom, Thor, Nola
3and2Fastball posted:Great question...
I'd take Mike Trout. The only player in history I would rank ahead of Trout is Willie Mays
the question as to pitchers is tougher, because of durability concerns. Cole is great right now, but has only been great for 2 of his 7 career seasons. I might have to think about that one... Would I go with somebody like Walker Buehler as he might have more great years ahead, or Jacob deGrom?
What’s interesting about Cole is that, by many accounts, the Pirates wanted Cole to sink the baseball and pitch to contact.
Javy Baez isn't a bad place to start either--fan draw, electric player, still young, plays multiple positions.
I'll take Buehler on the bump.
hshuler posted:I think this list is accurate but if I miss one or two please forgive me.
Under 25:
Acuna Jr, Soto, Belli, Tatis Jr, Vladdy Jr, Bichette
Flaherty, Jesus Luzardo, Casey Mize, Soroka
Over 25:
Trout, Betts, Yelich, Lindor, Bregman
Buehler, Cole, DeGrom, Thor, Nola
Judge, Arenado, Bellinger.
Great topic! How refreshing!!
3and2Fastball posted:hshuler posted:I think this list is accurate but if I miss one or two please forgive me.
Under 25:
Acuna Jr, Soto, Belli, Tatis Jr, Vladdy Jr, Bichette
Flaherty, Jesus Luzardo, Casey Mize, Soroka
Over 25:
Trout, Betts, Yelich, Lindor, Bregman
Buehler, Cole, DeGrom, Thor, Nola
Judge, Arenado, Bellinger.
I included “Belli” on my under 25 list. Also, forgot to add Springer to my over 25 list. He was on pace to have a monster season before the hamstring injury.
The guy is money in the postseason, homering in five straight WS games.
Soto and Walker Beuhler. Something about Soto when you watch this series plus the age, and Beuhler is 25 and has a career whip barely above 1 and was a Vandy guy and now a stud with Dodgers. If you aren’t allowing base runners after 3 years in the league, speaks of good things yet to come
Buehler and Jo Adell
