Franchise Players in the MLB

Possibly the most exciting part of MLB action is all the young superstars that emerge every single game. There are a mass number of young, bright, future stars in the making that are dazzling fans all around the league with their charisma and box full of tools.

When discussing these young players, the term “franchise player” often gets thrown about and it always leads to a discussion of which young builders you would choose to build a franchise around. In a recent poll of MLB general managers, the player voted to be the best option to build a franchise around was Hanley Ramirez of the Florida marlins. Evan Longoria of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays was a close second while David Wright from the New York Mets finished third. While there are a wide number of players emerging today as stars, these are the three that seem to be poised to make a major impact on the league for years to come.

Some of other oft mentioned players included Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers, Ryan Howard from the Philadelphia Phillies, Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers and Dustin Pedroia from the Boston Red Sox. Each of these players brings something different to the table yet they are all extremely special ball players. The difference between franchise players and your normal superstars is the wide range of skills they bring to the plate. Take Hanley Ramirez for example. He cannot even be categorized as a certain type of player as he does it all. He hits for average, he hits for power, he can steal bases, has a powerful throwing arm, a vacuum like glove and a personality that matches it all. The guy can simply do everything.

Take for example, superstars such as David Ortiz or Carlos Delgado. These guys are excellent ball players but they have set roles. They hit for power and come up in the clutch. You simply cannot build a team around guys like this though. Franchise players can do it all, hit, run, throw and so on. Superstars like Ramirez and David Wright are the guys that make or break a team and the players that can lead their team to the promise land. Over the past few years we have seen a wide number of players like this emerge and it is extremely exciting for the future of the league.

The best part of it all for MLB fans and the league is that future superstars keep emerging. We don’t have to just sit back and watch guys like Ramirez dominate the league because it seems that every day some young stud is coming up and pushing towards becoming the best in the league. You just never know when or who is going to emerge from the minor leagues and make that major impact on a team and the entire regular season. You just have to love baseball. It is as simple as that and it just doesn’t get any better.