Imagine this.
Imagine this. Chris Davis keeps adjusting in 2009, as he showed in September that he can (.325/.349/.554 after a .228/.307/.406 August), solidifying his place as a middle-of-the-lineup, .300/.375/.540-type who belongs in the All-Star discussion every year. And his development into a team leader takes firm hold. Josh Hamilton repeats. A lot more stamina, a little more consistency. Rangers catchers hit .275/.360/.420, suppress the running game reasonably well, and develop the kind of connection with the pitching staff that you have to have. By the time he reaches 200 hits, Michael Young is as dependable a defensive third baseman as there is in the league. Ian Kinsler takes another step. Nelson Cruz: 90 RBI, 80 walks. Hank Blalock: .290/.347/.524 in 466 at-bats. In other words, the same thing in 2009 that he did in 2007 and 2008 combined. And Max Ramirez will be primed to be that same hitter going forward, maybe better. Elvis Andrus: .230/.290/.325 with 15 errors in the first half; .270/.325/.380 with seven errors in the second half. Everyone will have had a year of Mike Maddux to their credit. Matt Harrison and Brandon McCarthy win 12 each. Derek Holland 2009 = Matt Harrison 2008. Michael Main 2009 = Derek Holland 2008. Joe Wieland 2009 = Martin Perez 2008. Martin Perez 2010 = Michael Main 2009. Tommy Hunter logs 180 AAA innings and wins 14. Omar Poveda logs 180 AA and AAA innings, and wins 12. Tim Murphy logs 160 Class A innings, and wins 12. Thomas Diamond finishes the year as an eighth-inning monster. In Arlington. Julio Borbon repeats his 2008 – .322/.363/.427 between High A and AA – but does so primarily in AAA, and his 53 out of 71 on stolen base attempts becomes 43 out of 51. David Murphy: .285/.345/.480. Marlon Byrd: .295/.380/.455 – in Boston. Those things won't all happen, but I think it's fair to say they're all well within the realm of reasonability. So imagine two-thirds of them happening. And then imagine yesterday's John Sickels prediction coming true: Excluding Steven Strasburg, the top five prospects in baseball 12 months from now: 1. Pedro Alvarez 2. Lars Anderson 3. Neftali Feliz 4. Rick Porcello 5. Justin Smoak And imagine Ben Sheets or an equivalent acquired to front the rotation. With the exception of Blalock (and the departed Byrd), everyone above is under control here through at least 2012, many considerably longer than that, though if McCarthy spends most of his time the next three years in the big leagues he'll be free to hit the market after the 2011 season. But dial your imagination back to 12 months from now, at a time when Sickels thinks Feliz will be the number one pitching prospect in baseball and Smoak will be the number three hitting prospect in the game. And Main and Perez won't be terribly far behind. Can you see where this thing might be headed? =========================================================== To join the free Newberg Report mailing list so you can get e-mail deliveries of every edition of the newsletter, daily minor league game recaps, and frequent Newberg Report News Flashes, go to www.newbergreport.com and click the "Mailing List" link on the top menu bar. (c) Jamey Newberg http://www.newbergreport.com If you want to be removed from this list, please e-mail me at newbergreport@sbcglobal.net