A lot has happened in Major League Baseball since the last Hanging Curve, including an injury to a future Hall of Famer (Mariano Rivera), the benching of another (Albert Pujols) and a career-week for a slugger (Josh Hamilton) on a path that could lead to Cooperstown.
If the Jays front office thinks they can form a starting rotation worthy of contending in the East in the next couple seasons, there is no reason to believe that they will not make a run at Prince Fielder.
Ryan Braun and Troy Tulowitzki talked to RealGM about LeBron James and starting their own big three.
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Over the next few weeks as the NCAA Tournament and Spring Training dominate the month of March, we have combined the two for our own March Madness, which will determine who the readers of RealGM will select in the second edition of our 'Be The GM' series.
Though there are many different potential answers, the question is simple; If you were to start a MLB franchise from scratch and had the option to pick any player in the world, who would you pick?
Here are the two main factors I accounted for when deciding on the nominations from each team:
1. Is he a consistent MVP, Cy Young or All-Star caliber player?
2. Does he have a sizable amount of his prime remaining?
We kick things off to adding one more name to the other 30 and that names get to advance to the second round. These 13 players are in an almost free-for-all of the most deserving names that were not included from their respective teams.
- Josh Beckett, Boston Red Sox
Beckett has been one of the game's best big-time pitchers, posting a 7-1 record and 2.90 ERA in 13 career postseason appearances, including a 1.16 ERA in 23.1 World Series innings. He's also been pretty good in the regular season, throwing 1,188.7 innings while striking out 1,131 with a 3.78 ERA.
- Joba Chamberlain, New York Yankees
Whether coming out of the bullpen or as a starter, the 23-year-old hard-throwing righty has been larger than life with larger than life numbers. He has a 2.17 career ERA and 152 strikeouts in 124.3 innings. If he can remain healthy, Chamberlain may become one of best Yankees' pitchers in their franchise history.
- Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers
Fielder is not yet 25 and has his 114 homers in just over 500 games. His 2007 OPS of 1.013 with 50 homers dropped to .879 with 34 homers. He will be a DH by the time he's 30, but he will continue to be one of game's best mashers for many years to come.
- Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies
Howard was an older rookie in 2005 when he won the ROY, but he followed up that season by winning the MVP with 58 homers and a 1.084 OPS. He has averaged 51 homers per season over the past three years and has a career OPS of .970.
- Jonathan Papelbon, Boston Red Sox
Papelbon has been one of the game's best closers over the past three seasons. The 28-year-old has a career 1.84 ERA and 270 strikeouts in just 230 innings. He has yet to give up an earned run in 25 postseason innings and is firmly entrenched as his generation's Mariano Rivera.
- David Price, Tampa Bay Rays
Price was the first overall pick in the 2007 draft and just over a year later was pitching in the playoffs and recorded the save to send Tampa Bay to their first World Series. He has just one career big league start, but the 23-year-old is expected to be one of the game's best big lefty starters.
- Jose Reyes, New York Mets
Reyes won't turn 26 until June and has been able to dodge the early injury tendencies to become one of the game's premier leadoff hitters. He creates havoc on the bases and at the plate while also projecting developing power.
- CC Sabathia, New York Yankees
Sabathia is a year and a half shy of 30 and has been one of the best two or three pitchers in the game. He has continued to improve, increasing his strikeouts, decreasing his walks and being an absolute innings monster.
- Stephen Strasburg, San Diego State
In this new age of media, Stephen Strasburg is quickly becoming a household name as the expected top overall pick in the 2009 MLB Draft. I would be taking a huge liberty to place him as the Nationals' franchise player even though they haven't selected him yet, but he undoubtedly would fill that role from the very moment his name is called.
He can throw 102 miles per hour with great command and was second in the country in strikeouts and third in ERA in 2008 as a sophomore.
- Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees
Teixeira is a switch-hitter who hits for average and power while also playing an excellent defensive first base. He will turn 29 during his first week with the Yankees and projects to have a productive career well into his 30's.
- B.J. Upton, Tampa Bay Rays
Upton was the 2nd overall pick in 2002 and is an excellent five-tool player who is just 24 and is barely on the cusp of his potential. He had 24 homers in 2007, nine in 2008, but seven during 16 postseason games. Depending on how his power numbers play out, he has perennial 30-30 potential and might even be a 40-40 caliber player, which is a club that has only been reached by Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and Alfonso Soriano.
- Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies
Utley has the potential to become the greatest second baseman of all-time. He hits 25-35 homers per year and has a career OPS of .901.
- David Wright, New York Mets
Wright has been around for five years already, but is still just 26-years-old. He has had a .523 or better slugging percentage in each season, is a solid OBP hitter and has decent speed. He also has improved dramatically at third base.
