Welcome to the MajorsBy cardsfan308
Francisco LirianoSP/Age 25/Minnesota Twins- Perphaps the best rookie season for a starting pitcher ever belongs to the 25 year old phenom Francisco Liriano. Liriano has opened many eyes during the 2006 season, and going into June, was the favorite for the Cy Young and the Rookie of the Year awards.
Francisco was born on October 26, 1983 in San Cristabal, Dominican Republic and was a great player even as a child. Liriano was traded to the Twins as a throw in prospect to a deal from the San Francisco Giants in return for catcher AJ Pierzynski. Liriano made his major league debut in relief on September 5, 2005 against the Texas Rangers. He later joined the Twins' starting rotation and won his first game on September 30, 2005 against the Detroit Tigers. Liriano started the 2006 season in the Twins bullpen, but in May he was moved to the rotation, where he won his first three starts.
After his promotion into the Twins rotation from the bullpen, Liriano went 12-3 for the Twins. Any MLB player would dream for this kind of a rookie year. In this already amazing 1st season, Liriano won two rookie of the month awards, and a spot on the American League all-star team.
Then it all came tumbling down, Liriano was scratched from his August 1st start because of arm inflammation, and went on the disabled list on August 11th. He only missed one start, then went back on the disabled list after having a bullpen session. On August 22 Liriano went on a rehabilitation program. On a September 9th start, Liriano felt no pain, so he was actived by the Twins. On September 13th, he started against the Oakland Athletics, and left after two innings. After the game it was then announced that he would miss the rest of the season.
Liriano has defiantly had his ups and downs during the 2006 season. Even though he missed two months of the season, it will still be considered one of the best rookie seasons ever. We can only wonder how the season would have turned out if he would have pitched all year.
Lastings MilledgeRF/Age 21/New York Mets- There is no doubt that Lasting Milledge is the next Mets superstar, but at the young age of 21, is he ready or deserving of the hype? Milledge appeared to be in the first three picks of the 2003 MLB amatuer draft. Due to sexual misconduct allegations during his junior years in high school, he was passed on during the first 11 picks. You can tell that Milledge still expected to be drafted though. One fact to back that up is later in the rounds, general managers just start picking people, and that includings players with a question mark next to their name such as Lastings Milledge.
One bold GM made a risky 12th selection though, that GM was Steve Phillips of the New York Mets who made a questionable pick in Lastings Milledge. Milledge was grateful for the oppurtunity, and took advantage of it. Milledge played only 7 games in the 2003 seeason due to a delayed signing. At the beginning of the 2004 season, Milledge fractured his metacarpal in his right hand during spring training. In 65 games with the single A Capital City Bombers, he hit .337 with 13 home runs, 58 RBI and 23 stolen bases, earning him a promotion to the St. Lucie Mets in August. In 2005, he continued his minor league success hitting .302 with St. Lucie in the first half of the season and .337 with the AA Binghamton Mets in the second half. He began the 2006 season leading off and playing right field for the AAA Norfolk Tides.
On May 30, 2006 Lastings Milledge was called up by the New York Mets to play right field against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Milledge went 1 for 4 with a double off Arizona pitcher Miguel Batista. In his three separate stints in the majors in 2006, Milledge has hit .239 with 4 HR and 18 RBI in 40 games.
Milledge has made a good impression among fans, but not by teammates. In his first game while running out ot right field, he gave high fives to fans, which was not appreciated by Mets players. While they have gotten over it, it is a lesson I'm sure Lastings will never forget. Milledge is for sure the next big thing in the major leagues.
Chris DuncanLF/Age 25/St. Louis Cardinals- All dads love watching their sons play ball during the summer. Alot of players dads get plane tickets and game tickets from their sons to watch them play in the major leagues, but Cardinals left fielder Chris Duncan's dad has a major advantage. Dave Duncan, Chris' dad, is the pitching coach for the St. Louis Cardinals, the team for which Chris plays. Certainly Chris and his father Dave love the expierence, which most do not get.
Chris is a graduate of Canyon del Oro High School in the Tucson suburb of Oro Valley, Arizona.and did not go to college. Chris was drafted in the 1999 Amatuer draft as a sandwich pick by the St, Louis Cardinals, and was the promising up and comign first baseman for the Cardinals. You can tell the Cardinals were preping for his arrival by signing aging first baseman Tino Martinez. Then a man by the name of Albert Pujols crushed that hope. Pujols moved to first base, and there seemed to be no future witht he Cardinals for Chris Duncan.
Duncan made his major league debut on September 10, 2005 for the Cardinals playing in the outfield. One major accomplishment for Duncan was hitting the final homerun at the Old Busch Stadium as his first major league homerun.
With no hope of playing first base, Chris learned to play left field and has played quite well. It appears as if Duncan is the Cardinals left fielder of the future, which is very good for both sides. Duncan gets to play every day and the Cardinals fill a position in which they were very weak at.
Duncan is a very legit possibility to win the National League Rookie of the Year award since he is having such a great year. Duncan has a .300 batting average, 18 homeruns, 38 RBI's, and 52 runs scored during his rookie season.
Duncan and his father have shared and will share many memories during their careers. Chris has a very promising future with the Cardinals hitting in front of Albert Pujols, and will continue to put up great numbers. People just get excited watching him play, and that is a very good thing.
Anibal SanchezSP/Age 22/Florida Marlins- Anibal was nothing more than a highly touted prospect at the beginning of the 2006 campaign, but know he is well known. Previously only his teams fans and minor leagues gurus knew who he was, but known fans everywhere know his name.
Anibal Sanchez was born in 1984 in Marcay, Venezuela, and has been a baseball player all of his life. Sanchez possesses a fastball clocked as high as the mid-90's, an above-average curve, and a good changeup. He was signed by the Boston Red Sox as a non-drafted free agent in 2001.
After playing in the Venezuelan league for two seasons, Sanchez hurt his elbow, and then have Tommy John Surgery. Tommy John surgery, which is named after its first patient Tommy John, repairs any injuries in the arms. After having a succesful surgery, Anibal still missed the entire 2003 season. In 15 starts in 2004, Anibal posted a 3-4 record with a 1.77 ERA, and by the end of the year was widely considered one of Boston's top pitching prospects. After the 2004 season, Baseball America named Sanchez Boston's fifth-best prospect,
In 2005, Anibal was turning heads in the minor leagues by going 6-1 with a 2.40 ERA. While having a tremndous season, Anibal earned a spot in the MLB Futures game, Carolian league all-star game, and a promotion to AA.
At the end of the season, Boston traded Sánchez along with Hanley Ramirez, Jesus Delgado, and Harvey GarcÃÂÂa to the Florida Marlins, in a trade that brought Josh Beckett, Guillermo Mota, and Mike Lowell to the Red Sox. During the 2006 season, Anibal was called up on June 25. Anibal's major league debut was a strong one, as he allowed seven hits and no runs in 5 2/3 innings against the Yankees. Sanchez became just the second visiting starter in the past decade to win his big-league debut at Yankee Stadium.
On September 6th, Sanchez threw a no-hitter for the Florida Marlins. In a 2-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, Sánchez went nine innings at home to record the first no hitter in the MLB since Randy Johnson in 2004 completed the feat. Sanchez was the 19th rookie pitcher to throw a no hitter since 1900, being the last since the Cardinals Bud Smith in 2001.
Sanchez will always be known around the league as the "rookie who threw a no hitter" but real fans will see him as more than that. As a future MLB starting pitcher superstar.
Hanley RamirezSS/Age 22/Florida Marlins- Hanley is yet another Marlin who has had great success during this 2006 season, and will continue to improve.
Hanley was born in 1983 in Samana, Dominican Republic, Ramirez came up through the Red Soz farm system, and has always been considered a top prospect. After joining the Boston Red Sox during Spring Training in 2005, Ramirez played for their Double-A affiliate the Portland Sea Dogs for the majority of the season.
Ramirez was included in the Anibal sanchez trade, and joined the Marlisn organization at the same time after the trade from Boston. With Edgar Renteria, who would later be traded, playing SS for the Red Sox, it made sense to trade Ramirez, because they got a 3B in return also.
Hanley spent most of the 2004 and 2005 seasons with Double-A Portland. In 2004 in Portland he hit .310, with 5 home runs, 15 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases in 32 games. 2005 saw a reduction in batting average from RamÃÂÂrez, but overall he still had excellent offensive production and was called up to the major leagues in September of 2005.
During Spring Training in 2006, Ramirez was impressive enough to earn the starting shortstop job for the Marlins. Ramirez set the Marlins all-time record for leadoff home runs in a career on August 22, 2006 with a shot off of Jason Bergmann of the Washington Nationals. It was Ramirez' 5th leadoff home run.
Ramirez is a very promising SS of the future for the Marlins, and everyone is excitied to see him get going, and muture in the baseball sense.
Hunter PenceCF/Age 24/Houston Astros- One sentence can describe Hunter, so here it is, "The future of the Astros organization." It is true. Hunter Pence has shown so much promise in his first few months in the majors, it is almost to good to be true for Astro fans.
Pence was born on April 13, 1983 in Arlington, Texas. He is 6' 4" tall and weighs 210 pounds. He bats right handed and also throws right handed. He is considered by many experts to be a front runner for the 2007 National League Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award.
Pence was drafted in the second round of the 2004 MLB Draft by the Astros out of the University of Texas at Arlington. In 2006 with the AA Corpus Christi Hooks, he batted .283 and hit 28 home runs, with 95 RBI. He had 17 stolen bases, while getting caught stealing only 4 times. He began the 2007 season as the AAA Round Rock Express' center fielder, although he made a serious run to make the big league club out of spring training.
The Astros purchased Pence's contract from Round Rock on April 27, 2007, and made his major league debut as the Astros center fielder on April 28, 2007, vs. the Milwaukee Brewers. His first home run in the major leagues was a grand slam against the Cardinals on May 5th.
Currently, Hunter Pence leads the national League in batting average, with a .341 batting average in the majors. In just 65 major league games, Pence has a .341 batting average, 11 home runs, 42 RBIs, 7 stolen bases, a .366 OBP, and a .584 slugging percentage.
Pence is a future superstar to say the least.
Andrew MillerSP/Age 22/Detroit Tigers- Andrew MIller was born in May 21, 1985 in Gainesville, Florida.He pitches left handed. Miller was the first players from the 2006 draft to make the major leagues.
Miller attended Bucholz High School in Gainesville, Florida. He then went on to pitch for the University of North Carolina, where he went 27-9. In his third and final year, he went 13-2 with a 2.48 ERA, leading the Tar Heels to the College World Series and to the national championship game.
He possesses a fastball which he can throw mid to upper 90s and a devastating slider. He is often compared to Randy Johnson, which is quite an honor.
Miller was drafted 6th overall by the Detroit Tigers, and agreed to a contract with a guaranteed value of $5.45 million and a signing bonus of $3.55 million on August 4, 2006.
Miller made his major league debut pitching in one inning on August 30 2006 against the New York Yankees He made his first major league start May 18, 2007 against the St. Louis Cardinals in place of injured starter Jeremy Bonderman. Miller earned his first major league victory in his season debut, pitching 6 scoreless innings and giving up 4 hits while walking 3 and striking out 2. Miller showed his full potential in this game but he was sent back to the minors as Bonderman recovered from injury.
Many scouts say he was the best pitcher in the 2006 draft, which was full of good pitchers. Many scouts also say he should thrive greatly once he acquires a better change up and better location on his pitchs.
Miller has an exciting future and he will be fun to watch for many years.
"Welcome to the Majors" © cardsfan308 of sig-sports.net
The Future of Baseball
