Baseball - If You Had To Start Your Team With One Person...

[Turd Ferguson]

Quite simply, if you had an expansion team, and you were able to start your franchise with any player in the league, who would it be?

For me, it would be Evan Longoria.

Longoria is a guy who made it to the majors pretty quickly. Since his debut in 2008, he was an all-star as a rookie, he won Rookie of the Year, and improved on his incredible rookie season in 2009. This year, he's already hit 11 HRs, and he's more importantly, blossoming into a more complete hitter. As of this post, he's hitting a .318 BA, with a .957 OPS. He's the main reason why the Rays have become one of the best franchises in baseball, and as long as he continues this pace, he'll have to be in the conversation for MVP when it's all said and done.

So far, as of this post, his career numbers are 71 HRs, 244 RBI, and he's a career .284 hitter with an OPS of .896. He's also only 24 years old, meaning you can probably get at least another productive 10-12 seasons out of him. He's got a real good head on his shoulders. He doesn't even seem like a guy who has even an inkling of an ego problem. In addition to how good a player he is, he's also a good looking guy and he's an easy player to market to fans. He also plays a position where there's not a lot of top talent, which makes him even more valuable to a franchise.

So, Evan Longoria would be who I would build a franchise around. Who would your pick be?

Just remember that if you pick a pitcher, you only get 30 starts a year out of them... which makes a position player more valuable than a starting pitcher.

 

[Theo Mays]

Being a pitcher and only playing every five days doesn't do it for me if I were to start a franchise. Or selecting a closer who pitches an inning (sometimes 2) per appearance isn't going to cut it for me either. So that would obviously leave me with a position player. Longoria is a great choice, as he is the best 3Ber in the game today and I'm not sure it is arguable.

I'll go with someone different. I'm gonna select Matt Kemp. Kemp is a solid fielder and has the ability to play all 3 outfield position. He is a near .300 hitter and he has some pop in his bat. Plus he has good speed and can swipe some bases when need be. He can bat anywhere in the lineup from top to bottom. Plus he is only 25 years old. Now yes I know he isn't the best player in baseball and he may not even be the best at his position, but he is a 5 tool player and a guy worthy of building a team around.

 

[Stormtrooper]

Thank god this isn't 10 years ago, because everyone and their mother would yell at me and call me a homer for picking Derek Jeter. Unfortunately he isn't the one now because he is in his mid 30's, and you don't want to start a franchise with an old player.

If I had my choice of anyone in the league, I would choose Joe Mauer. There is no doubt in anyone's mind that Joe Mauer is the best Catcher in the league. Joe Mauer has the ability offensively and defensively to lead a team to prosperity. He's still only 27 years old, and has won an MVP award and a couple Batting titles.

 

[People's Champ]

I'm going to agree with Storm and pick Mauer. He's still young, is the best at his position, and is skilled on the offensive side. He's one that I would have no problem building a team around.

Here's some stats for my decision. He has won 3 batting titles, most by a catcher in MLB history. Last year he was the first catcher to ever lead the league in all 4 offensive stats: .365 batting average, .444 on-base percentage, .587 slugging percentage, and 1.031 OPS. Since 2006, when he won his first batting title, he has probably been one of the top 3 best offensive players in the American League. He also has won two straight Gold Gloves. He has a .996 fielding percentage, with only 18 errors throughout his career. He's the real deal and someone who will only continue to get better.

 

[Big Sexy]

I'd go with Miguel Cabrera. At 27 he is just starting his prime and is still very young. He also has gotten rid of his demons. Last year his drinking problem got a lot of publicity at the end of the season but after the season he entered an alcohol treatment center and hasn't had a drink since he was taken into custody during the White Sox series at the end of last year.

In 8 seasons he has a .313 batting average with 226 home runs and 805 rbi's. This year he is on pace for the best season of his career and currently has a slugging % of .665. He is an early MVP candidate and the biggest reason the Tigers have a winning record.

 

[Buffalo Dave]

Some very solid choices so far. For my pick I would choose Ryan Braun. He is the 2nd fastest player next to Ryan Howard to hit 100 HR's and only the 2nd player so far to hit 30 or more HR's in his first 3 seasons, Albert Pujols being the other. In his first 3 seasons he has hit 103 HR's 317 RBI's average of .308 a .353 OBP a .579 SLG and a .943 OPS. His fielding has been great since moving to left field. In 08 he had a 1.000 fielding percentage which led the majors for outfielders and led the N.L. in 09 with a .994, also led the N.L. in both of those years in putouts. Not bad for a player that was naturally an infielder at SS and 3b. To add to his creditentials he was 07 N.L. rookie of the year, 2 time Silver Slugger and 2 time All Star.

 

[Megatron]

Honestly, it's gotta be Albert Pujols for me. Even if he's already 30, injuries are not a problem for him and he would probably still have 7-8 great years on him, since first base isn't exactly a demeaning position. He's clearly the best in the game at the moment and will continue to be unless an injury happens or he unexpectedly retires, which I sincerly doubt.

Other than him, I'd say Miguel Cabrera, because he's Pujols-lite, tbh. The man can rip into that baseball and, if he keeps it up, will be onto an MVP season. Mauer, Andre Eithier, and Longoria, probably in that order. If I were to take a pitcher, it'd go Jiminez, Lincecum, Grienke, Hernandez, then probably Verlander. All great pitchers, and Jiminez seems to have hit his prime, which is why he's 1.

 

[jmt225]

I don't care if he's only pitched one game, the answer for me is still Stephen Strasburg.

This guy is only 21-years-old, and could end up being one of the greatest to ever play the game. If he stays healthy, he has the potential to have nearly 20 years of greatness, if not more. And if his career goes like his debut did, then there's no doubt about it... this guy is going to dominate the game for many, many years.

Also, not to mention, with only one game under his belt, Strasburg is already a massive draw. The next game he pitches, at Cleveland, has already sold the 2nd most tickets that stadium has had all year. I have a feeling that's going to be the norm for a lot of places this kid pitches for a while.