As trade season heats up, here's a fun exercise to get the juices flowing. -jbopp
Lets say you were given a Major League expansion team to run. (obviously this is all hypothetical) You are allowed to pick ANY 3 players in all of baseball to anchor your team. These 3 players would come with 10 year contracts. Who would you choose to anchor your team for the next 10 years? Here are my 3.
Clayton Kershaw - 23 Years old. Already one of the best pitchers in Baseball.
Justin Upton - 23 Years old. Really showing his talents this year. I choose him with the hope that he will not regress like his older brother did.
Carlos Gonzalez - 25 Years old. Extremely athletic and would expect him to be an excellent player until 33 or 34.
I think all 3 of these guys will be amongst the best in the league for the next 9-10 seasons. I would build my team around them.
Almost but not quite guys.
Troy Tulowitzki - 26 Years old. I love him and think he is all around one of the best players in baseball. However I'm a little afraid that he would only be premium until 30 or 31.
Elvis Andrus - 22 Years old. I think as long as he stays in Texas and hits in a nice lineup he'll be a premium shortstop. Somewhere else with a less potent lineup and less hitter friendly park I think he would be above average but not as good as he is in Texas.
David Price - 25 Years old. I see him as being durable and excellent for the next 10 years but I see Kershaw as a bit better. If I went with 2 pitchers and 1 hitter Price would be the second pitcher.
Who would you choose?