Honorable Mention:
Brian Kim (1B) (Durham Bulls)
Odalis Montanez (2B) (Colorado Sky Sox)
Juan Amaro (SS) (Anaheim Beefpound)
Brook Diaz (3B) (Tacoma Pioneers)
Alex Lee (RF) (Kansas City Dirt Bags)
Lewis Shouse (CF) (Cheyenne Featherwound)
Jim Little (P) (Fargo Woodchippers)
Shane Haad (P) (San Jose SaberCats)
Buzz Jones (P) (Durham Bulls)
Gary Clark (P) (Louisville Colonels)
25 -
At 24 Newhan has already established himself as one of the top closer in the league. He added the Fireman of the Year award last year for the National League and with a recent trade to the Tucson Xpress he'll bring stability and depth to there bullpen. I figure he will be one of the greatest closer this league will see and if injuries that hit him probably a hall of famer.
24 -
At 23 May will be entering his first full season as the starting as the teams DH. He will probably hit around 25-35 homeruns a year but his biggest strength is hitting the ball all around the field. You can easily see him having a .300 batting average and .400 on-base percentage at the end of his career. Being that he will probably only play DH though out his career, he really won't play more then 140 games a year which will hurt is numbers a little.
23 -
At 25 Ward is back at the major league level after spending all of last year at the Triple-A level. Ward is dominating against left-handers allowing them only to hit .167 against him this year. He is the perfect left-handed specialist as left-handers are going always struggle to hit him. He will probably have a nice long career just facing left-handers as every team needs his kind of pitcher. He can close games as well if needed.
22 -
At 23 Armstrong is entering his third season pitching for Madison. He won the Cy Young and Rookie of the Year his first season but struggled last season winning only 14 games and an ERA almost at 5.00. His struggles last season and early season I believe is just a young pitcher going through some growing pains. He probably won't win another Cy Young award in his career but I see him as a solid pitcher and the ace of the Lasers for some time to come.
21 -
At 25 Turner will be entering his second season for the Bulls. He had a good rookie season that saw him win 12 games and pitch 233 innings but his 1.39 whip will need to improve. So far early in the season Turner as been one of the top pitchers in the league. His early season success is how I see him pitching in the future as well, as he will probably win a Cy Young award sometime during his career and will be the Bulls ace in a couple seasons if not this year.
20 -
At 24 Nitkowski is stuck between being a great closer and being a great starting pitcher for the Brave Vawts. It doesn't matter where he's pitching he's been dominating hitters so far this season and last year. I believe that eventually Nitkowski will settle down as the closer and be one of the best that his league will see at the end of his career. I think that Nitkowski can become a hall of famer as a closer and not as a starting pitching as he won't be able to go deep into the games to get many victories.
19 -
At the age of 20 Hitchcock has made the jump from Hi-A last season to the major this season. He was the second overall pick two years ago for the Pioneers. Hitchcock isn't going to scare many pitchers with his bat but his defense will amaze the fans in a couple seasons. I believe he will have many gold glove awards added to his trophy case and go down as one of the best defensive shortstops in this league.
18 -
At 23 Olivares had a nice rookie season last year hitting around .300. Olivares won't provide a ton of power but hits the ball really well around the diamond. He is close to being the perfect number two hitter in the lineup as he finds way to make contact with the ball and can steal some bases through out the year. Olivares will finish with a nice career as he may not be hall of fame caliber but still a solid player.
17 -
At 23 Surtain made it to the majors last season and had himself a good rookie season, getting over 100 RBI's for the year. This year is power numbers are way up and I believe that Surtain will be around a 40 homerun hitter a year with a ton of 100 RBI season ahead of him. His defensive will improve and be a solid third baseman for his career. I see quite a few all-star appearance for him but will probably fall short of being a hall of famer.
16 -
At 24 Carpenter is already a all-star second basemen for the Blazers. Carpenter will probably be a great lead-off hitter or a solid second hitter in the lineup. He has some pop in his bat and is able to bring runners home if he needs to and steal some bases. Hitting around 20 homeruns, stealing around 30 bases, having about 75 RBI's and 100 runs scored a year isn't out of the question for Carpenter. I see many more all-star appearances for Carpenter and probably on the fringe of being a hall of famer.
15 -
At 25 Mota has already had himself a good start to his career, as he made the all-star team last season and scored over 130 runs. Mota will have no problem putting up good offensive number for the Talley Wackers as the team has one of the deepest lineups in the majors. If he stays in Texas is believe he'll score around 125 runs a year, hit around 25 homeruns and 30 stolen bases. I believe if he stays at Texas for his whole career he will probably be one of the most productive second basemen in all of the offensive categories and that might push him into the hall of fame.
14 -
At the age of 20 Gabriel started the season in Triple-A but was moved up the majors to take advantage of his great hitting abilities. He was the 11th overall pick from last season draft, so making it to the majors already is a great accomplishment for Gabriel. . He has great defensive abilities and can hit the ball very well. Probably his only knock on him is that he has very little pop in his bat and he doesn't have a lot of speed for the position. If he can hit the ball like his expectations say he will, he might just have a great career hitting around .300. Is he a hall of famer I really can't tell right now.
13 -
At 25 Jordan is entering his second full season for the Zone. Jordan has some good pop in his bat and can hit equally against left-handers and right-handers will keep him in the lineup almost every game. He will become a solid defensive shortstop but nothing major. Jordan has a special bat where he will probably finish his career a .300 hitter, with around 20-25 homeruns, 75-90 RBI's and 20 stolen bases a year.
12 -
At 22 Washington is entering his third season as one of the top set-up for the Talley Whackers. Hitters are only hitting .261 against him through out his career so far and I believe that will improve as he gets more control over his pitches. I don't see him as being the future closer for this team as I believe he just doesn't have the makeup to be a closer but he will to go to man in the bullpen for years to come.
11 -
At the age of 24 Chong is entering his second season, his first as the starter for the Bulls. He will be a great centerfield at the end of his career. He can run down any ball hit to centerfield and will probably win a couple gold glove awards through out his career. He will probably be around a .300 hitter for his career.
10 -
At 21 Matheson is already entering his third season playing at the major league level as Texas once again has another great hitter on there hands. Matheson showed what he can do last season hitting 34 homeruns with 119 RBI's. I believe that Matheson will become a hall of famer hitting for Texas has he will probably hit 40-45 homeruns, over 100 RBI's and Runs a season. If he can play till he's 35 and out his current pace he will hit over 500 homeruns for his career.
9 -
At 25 Ball saw his production fall a little after winning the MVP, Rookie of the Year and Silver Slugger award for a third basemen his rookie season. I believe last last season was just a sophomore slump as he will be back to MVP form for many season to come. 50 homeruns a year isn't out of the question for Ball. I believe that when his career is over he will be a hall of famer and one of the greatest players for the Woodchippers.
8 -
At the age of 23 Aguilar has a great future ahead of him. He was the 17th overall pick from last seasons draft but didn't play a game for the Legionaires. Aguilar has some of the greatest speed that this league as seen so far but can you produce that on the field. There's a lot of unknown questions for Aguilar and with so little experience under his belt it's hard to tell at this point what will come out of his career.
7 -
At the age of 23 Barkley will get his chance to be a everyday player for the Demolition. Barkley was the was the third overall pick the first season for the league. With his first season playing full time expect his power numbers to make a nice jump, probably around 35 homeruns this season and probably around 45 a year for his career. With all of Barkley's offensive abilities everyone forgets that he's a great defensive leftfielder as well and might win a gold glove at that position in the future. I believe that Barkley will become a hall of famer, he may not make it his first year up for a hall of fame vote but he will make it soon after that.
6 -
At 24 Sheets is clearly the ace of the Houston staff. The team may have only won 70 games last season but just imagine if Sheets wasn't on that team and his 17 wins went away. Even though is ERA hovered around 5.00 last season, I believe that you will see him improve in that ERA and with him pitching in the American League a 3.50 lifetime ERA will be considered a great success. I believe if Sheets is going to be a hall of famer is team needs to get better around him other wise 17 wins a year might be tough to repeat and a possible great pitcher will suffer for a losing team.
5 -
At 23 Rizzo finds himself being a closer with great abilities but on a team that is struggling to find wins this season. Tuscon didn't show much faith in him win the team traded for Christopher Newhan. Did the Xpress send a message to Rizzo to meet his expatiations or he might find himself on another team real soon.
4 -
At 24 Rooney finds himself as one of the top pure young hitters in the league. A bulging disk in his back cost him a great sophomore season where he was hitting close to .400. Will his back injury hurt him a little this season before he really begins to tear into American League pitching next season, we really don't know yet. If Rooney can stay away from the injury bug he will be a lock for the hall of fame as a career average of 200 hits, 100 runs, 50 stolen bases, a .340 lifetime average is not out of reach for him.
3 -
At 24 Sisk is already the top power hitter in the league. When the historians look back upon the USMLB, Sisk will stand out as he will most likely hold the career homerun record for the USMLB. Vegas has the odds of Sisk hitting 700 homeruns at 2-1 but I think Sisk will approach 800 homeruns if he can stay healthy through out his career. First ballot hall of famer without a doubt.
2 -
At the age of 22 Anderson will begin his rookie campaign this season and big things are expect out of him. Texas is full of young great hitters but Anderson might just be the best of the group. A .300 average, 40 homeruns, 100 RBI's, 200 hits, 100 Runs, 30 stolen bases every season from him is not a pipe dream for the Texas fans. Anderson will without a doubt become a hall of famer when his career is over.
1 -
At 24 Lui probably the best all around hitter in the league with a .300 bat, 25-35 homeruns a year, 100 RBI's, 100 Runs and 70 Stolen bases a year. The chip in Lui's amour is his defense as he would be better suited for second base in my opinion. There are many awards waiting in Lui's future and playing on a good team will help those awards come sooner as he won't have to be the main fixture for his team. Hall of Fame plaque for Lui will be there waiting.
