A while ago, when I started playing fantasy baseball (sadly even I have been bitten by that bug), a friend started asking me about who I was likely to pick and he'd throw names at me and I would say if they were on my list or not. Since then The List has evolved into something more than players who would be handy to have on your fantasy roster to something far less quantifiable and now it's a compilation of my favourite players in the game.
It must be noted that this is not a list of the best or most talented players around (there is no place in Spurious Baseball for such clear cut things) but the characters around the league and players who play this beautiful game the way I think it should be played so sit back and enjoy this feature which should keep things ticking over in here. At least until the winter meetings get under way.
100 Brandon Stricklen, P, Houston Astros
A 42nd round draft choice in his first year of pro ball who can throw hard might not sound too exciting but this is a guy who, if he hadn’t been a ball player, would be on his way to being an FBI agent. How cool is that?
99 Taylor Teagarden, C, Texas Rangers
Like many of Scott Boras’ clients going into the draft, Teagarden was drafted later than he might have been (3rd round) but some scouts have likened his potential to that of über-prospect Joe Mauer. Needless to say this is a guy worth watching.
98 Coco Crisp, LF, Cleveland Indians
How can you not think of Coco Crisp and not smile? He has the coolest name in all of sports. Add to that he is a dynamic and speedy player who is capable of some spectacular plays and spectacular misplays. You have to love this guy.
97 Troy Tulowitzki, SS, Colorado Rockies
They say this guy is like Bobby Crosby but with potentially better tools. The fact that Colorado feel that Tulowitzki might be able to join the big club within another year, maybe two, just emphasises what kind of potential he has. He could be special.
96 Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C, Atlanta Braves
This guy has too many A’s in his name not to be compelling. Everything you hear about this guy makes him sound like Jason Varitek with a better bat. The organisation raves about his play calling and handling of pitchers and you just have to look up the numbers to see what he can do with the bat. They are even confident he can improve his ability to throw out runners. We shall see.
95 Bobby Jenks, P, Chicago White Sox
The guy is the size of a tank and once he wheels out of the of the pen to the mound, it must seem like he’s firing shells at the catchers glove. His fastball can get into triple digits and when he gets his curveball going its just lights out.
94 Jeff Francoeur, RF, Atlanta Braves
There’s no denying the amount of talent this guy has both at the plate and in the field but the thing I love about this guy is that he will not be walked. If its around the plate he’s going to swing at it and his hand-eye coordination is good enough that he’ll hit most of them.
93 BJ Upton, SS, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
The prodigal E6 Upton is endless entertainment. All last year I would look at the reports and see if he had added another error to his prolific total. Most people would love to have as many doubles as Upton had errors last year. With the errors does come a lot of other huge numbers and that is why he is near the top of most of the lists of top prospects. This guy can do it all…almost.
92 Erick Aybar, SS, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
I remember a day when everyone would think of shortstops and think of players like Erick Aybar. Aybar is a slick fielding and rangy fielder with a bit of pop and very good speed on the bases. It’s a shame that the demands of the modern day shortstop have changed and defensive wizardry seems less important than sticking another bat in the line-up in an attempt to strip baseball of any athleticism in exchange for big burly blokes trotting around the bases and plodding about the field hoping that balls get hit straight at them. We need more Erick Aybar’s.
91 Chad Bradford, P, Boston Red Sox
This guy scrapes his knuckles on the floor from time to time in his delivery. What else do you need to know?
90 Yusmeiro Petit, P, Florida Marlins
He’s had problems adjusting to AAA but control pitchers who struggle to get into the 90’s have such a small margin for error. Prior to this year all he had dominated everyone he had faced and did it all by using his guile and pitching rather than just being a thrower like so many. Time will tell if he can get back to his crafty winning ways.
89 Yuniesky Betancourt, SS, Seattle Mariners
What can I say? I love slick defensive shortstops who slap the ball about and trust their speed. It won’t be long till this guy is a regular on highlight reels.
88 Greg Maddux, P, Chicago Cubs
Since I first started watching baseball some twenty years ago, no pitcher has filled me with as much wonder as Greg Maddux. In an age where pitching seems to be about radar guns, Maddux has made a career out of carving line-ups apart with tremendous guts and intelligence and it has been beautiful to watch. The reason he is so far down this list (he would easily make my top 10 of all time players) is because seeing him pitch now only reminds me that those amazing years in the mid-90’s are gone and day to day he just isn’t the pitcher he used to be. Though he might be right at the end of his career but you just feel he has another 80 pitch complete game shutout somewhere and I want to be there when it happens.
87 Brandon Wood, SS, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Before last season Brandon Wood was just another one of the talented middle infield prospects that Anaheim seem laden with. Now he is one of the most explosive young talents in baseball. The season he just had in Rancho Cucamonga was unbelievable leading the minors in homeruns, doubles, extra-base hits and total bases and this was a guy who was drafted for his glove.
86 Russ Adams, SS, Toronto Blue Jays
This is a genuine energy guy who is the sort of person you find on winning teams. He might not have the best speed but he steals bases, he might not be the best or most disciplined hitter but he gets on base, he might not be the strongest guy but he’ll hit one out from time to time, he just plugs away and does what he can for the team.
85 Marcus Giles, 2B, Atlanta Braves
I could watch Marcus Giles turn double plays all day. No one hangs in longer to make the turn than he does. Its almost like every time he makes the pivot he has some ones cleats in his gut.
84 Bobby Crosby, SS, Oakland A’s
Not the sort of guy who will hit 40 homeruns or steal 40 but Bobby Crosby is one of those guys who just seems to make the whole team around him better and players like that are hard to find. If he played on an east coast team people would talk about him a whole lot more.
83 Paul Konerko, 1B, Chicago White Sox
Paul Konerko mulled about the league for ages as an OK slugger who was good enough to put in the middle of the order but not good enough to warrant paying big bucks to keep around. Then he went to Chicago and became an MVP calibre run producer and the sort of guy your team can’t do without. A stabilising presence in the clubhouse and on the field and he’ll richly deserve the big contract he got this off season.
82 Travis Hafner, DH, Cleveland Indians
There is something so satisfying about regaling Hafner with praise as he’s one of those guys who plays for an unfashionable team, puts up great numbers but never seems to get much press. It’s like discovering some great band playing in front of fifty people in some obscure music venue before they hit the charts. He truly deserves to be given MVP consideration but if he ever threatened to win it he’d be far less compelling.
81 Felix Pie, CF, Chicago Cubs
Not only is he blessed with a tremendous array of tools, his name is Pie. You can bet there will be a lot of people who have watched certain TV shows and will be forever amusing themselves by uttering the phrase, “I am a big fan of Pie.”
80 Chase Utley, 2B, Philadelphia Phillies
The Phils always seem to disappoint me but whenever I see them play Utley does not. He always seems to really work hard and get the most out of himself and never takes a play off. On a Philadelphia team that is carrying a lot of deadwood and is in need of refurbishment, Utley is the sort of player they can rebuild with.
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