The Tragic End of Three 2012 Futures

On July 8th 2012, the future stars of Major League Baseball descended upon Kaufmann stadium in Kansas City. Both rosters were packed full of big names, bright futures, and dreams of changing some team's fortunes. The USA roster included the likes of Gerrit Cole (Pirates), Nolan Arenado (Rockies), Manny Machado (Orioles), Kolten Wong (Cardinals), Wil Myers (Royals); among many other hopeful names. The World roster consisted of Oscar Taveras (Cardinals), Yordano Ventura (Royals), Jose Fernandez (Marlins), Xander Bogaerts (Red Sox), Francisco Lindor (Indians); just to name a few. The final score was 17-5 in favor of the USA however the score was as relevant as the storyline of a Jason Statham movie. The main takeaway of the game was the future of the MLB was extremely bright. Three of those futures were ended much to soon in three different accidents.

Oscar Taveras was killed at the age of 22 in a car accident in his home country of the Dominican Republic. This accident also took the life of his girlfriend, Edilia Arvelo. Taveras' blood alcohol content was five times the legal limit at the time of the accident. Jose Fernandez was killed at the age of 24 in a boating accident in Florida along with two of his friends. Fernandez was legally drunk and cocaine was found in his system at the time of the accident. This past week another tragedy struck in the Dominican; Yordano Ventura was killed in a car accident at the age of 25. 

In the short time these three played in the Futures Game, you could tell all three had star potential. Yordano was the starting pitcher for the World Team in what would become his home stadium in Kansas City. He only pitched one inning but it was a clean inning; he then gave way for Fernandez to pitch. Jose also only had one inning but got two of his three outs by way of the strikeout; which would become a major part in his short pitching career. 

After the Futures Game all three players eventually made it up to the big leagues; Jose and Yordano in 2013, and Oscar in 2014. When Oscar was called up he was the second ranked prospect in baseball. He played in 80 games for the Cardinals with three homeruns and a .239 average; the numbers seem pedestrian but there were many flashes of his brilliance. In his first game Oscar hit a towering home run against the San Francisco Giants. In one of his final at bats, Taveras hit a game tying home run in the 7th inning of Game Two of the NLCS, once again against the Giants. When Jose Fernandez was brought up to the big leagues he immediately dominated batters and made it look easy while doing it. He was the 2013 Rookie of the Year and made two All-Star Game appearances in his young career. He was 38-17 in his career with a 2.58 ERA and that came with two seasons where he made a combined 19 appearances. He was always smiling, loved the game, and never let a moment pass him by. Yordano Ventura only made 3 appearances in 2013, however he started leaving his mark on the league in 2014. He was a starter for the Royals in 2014 and brought his fiery personality every time he took the mound. His career numbers were 38-31 with a 3.89 ERA but he will be remembered for a few other moments. In only his second start he threw one of the hardest pitches every recorded for a starting pitcher when he struck out David Freese with a 102.9 mph fastball. He was the winning pitcher in Game 6 of the 2014 World Series while honoring Taveras on his hat and cleats. While the Royals would lose that World Series they would get another chance in 2015 and Yordano would become a World Champ. 

All three of these young players had extremely bright futures and their lives were tragically cut short. When something like this happens with athletes or Hollywood stars it brings awareness around to these issues for a little while. However these tragic moments should remind all of us just how fragile life is and that these accidents occur everyday. It should make us take a step back and be sure everyone is reminded how important life is and that nothing is guaranteed. These three young men have also shown us to love what you do and to live your life to the fullest. All three of them showed an inspiring love for the game and for life. R.I.P Oscar, Jose, and Yordano; thank you for sharing your passion with us. 

Royals at the Break from James Schneider

We have our first outside contribution this week on "For Your Entertainment" it comes from a good friend of mine and an expert on anything Kansas City related. The one and only James Schneider joins us to give us his take on the Kansas City Royals at the MLB All-Star break. He will break down what he has seen from the Royals in the first half of the season and where he sees them going in the second half; tomorrow you will all see my take on the Cardinals at the break in a separate post. So without further ado James Schneider's take on the Royals:

It’s the midway point of the season and as a Royals fan it has been a crazy ride.  After opening the season 7-7, the Royals promptly went on a 9-game losing streak. The team seemed disinterested, with our biggest stars focused on free agency and possible big paydays. This set off all the alarms in Kansas City, fans calling for trades, questions about management and direction, and most importantly what the hell was Rex Hudler going to spin it to the fans. As we inch closer to the All-Star break, the Royals find themselves back in the thick of things for the AL Central Division.

 I was one of the many calling for trades and a re-stocking of a farm system devoid of all-star material. There were rumblings of a trade with the Nationals and their coveted prospect Victor Robles. The cost, Lorenzo Cain and Kelvin Herrera. This seemed like a fantastic opportunity to pick up one of baseball’s top prospects. As, a fan it would and will be hard to see players go, especially ones that have been part of an extraordinary turnaround for a franchise that had no direction. I felt they needed to pull the trigger and if we are going to be losers again, lets field a young team and watch them learn how to win. I mean we’ve done it before, right? These rumblings turned out to be speculative at best.

Then, to make matters worse, Danny Duffy went down for six weeks and we also lost Nate Karns. Duffy had picked up where he left off last year and Karns was pitching lights out. When they went down and we were forced to watch Chris Young take the mound, I thought surely this is when the wheeling and dealing would start. Through all of this, Yost and Moore preached patience and caution, no moves would be made without giving the squad a chance. The lineup was shuffled placing Escobar at the top of the order, in hopes of grabbing some of that 2014-2015 magic that he seemed to possess. For a brief time, it appeared to be a spark. However, the Royals could not get closer than 5 games below .500.  

Then, the switch was flipped and the team took off. A road trip out west proved to be just what they needed. They rattled off 6 in a row and came back home 33-35. What awaited them was the AL East leading Red Sox, and the Royals took 2 of 3. Game three ended with a grand slam by Salvador Perez, and for someone who was there to see it, that felt like the moment you could believe in this team again.

Since then, the Royals have gone 6-4 and sit at 41-40, 3 games back of the division leading Indians. There is now talk amongst fans of going after bigger trades to make a real push and give this core one last chance to get a title together. The odds of retaining any of the big four, Hosmer, Cain, Moustakas or Escobar are slim. Escobar is the most likely to be retained and has the least amount of trade value of the four. If anything, the Royals will likely make small moves to bolster the bullpen. They lack the prospects, it appears, to make a big splash like they did in 2015 for Cueto and Zobrist. But, Dayton Moore has an above average track record when it comes to deals and seems to have an eye for diamonds in the rough. This team is hard to read but they have a winning pedigree and to this point, seem to have found their stride.

Draft Hot Take: NBA vs MLB

Like I promised last week here is my take on the differences between drafting in the NBA and the MLB and which franchises do it best:

Drafting in professional sports is one of the most difficult things to do; or I should say one of the most difficult things to do successfully. Every year professional sports around the country host a draft consisting mainly of college athletes and in some leagues international athletes and possibly high school kids. Each league has their own draft intricacies and expectations of the players who are drafted. Today I am going to dive a little deeper into the NBA and MLB drafts.

One of the biggest differences in the MLB draft compared to other drafts is that it takes place during the season, while all other drafts take place after the Championship game or series. Another huge difference is the expectations of the players a franchise drafts. In the MLB most draft picks will spend years in the minors and sometimes, in the end, they might not even work out. There are obvious exceptions to these statements, for instance, Bryce Harper was drafted 1^st overall and has completely changed the Nationals franchise. You also have guys like Albert Pujols who was drafted in the 13^th round and will be a first ballot Hall of Famer. Unlike most sports, the MLB draft can be a complete crap shoot from the beginning to the end. Some of this has to do with the fact that teams can draft high school kids in the draft. These kids dominate at their young age but may not end up progressing as expected.  This is one of the reasons that drafting in the MLB is one of the most important aspects of a franchise. You have to invest money into a farm system and scouts.

When you look at MLB franchises, some of the best at drafting talent are the Braves, Yankees, Astros, and Dodgers. Now developing the talent is another factor all together. For example, this year the Yankees are right in the thick of the playoff race when they were supposed to be a few years away from competing. Their success is due to how they drafted and then developed those players. The White Sox are another franchise that is loaded with young developing prospects, but they acquired those players from trades and are setting up for the future that way. There is no “right” way to win a World Series but in my opinion the Royals (who drafted Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Alex Gordon, and Danny Duffy in the first three rounds of the MLB draft) have a very good model to follow.

 

Switching gears to look at the NBA draft which takes place a few weeks after the NBA Finals. The expectations of NBA draft prospects are if you are a lottery pick, which means you are drafted in the first 14 picks, that you are expected to be the face of a franchise and possibly turn said franchise around. Players like LeBron James, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan were all taken within the top 3 picks of their respective drafts and they have completely turned around franchises and cities. The 2017 NBA draft was loaded with players who could alter a franchise and are expected to turn teams around. Most of them should be sophomore’s in college and that is absolutely insane but that’s how talented they are. 

If you are drafted out of the lottery, but in the first round, you should be a solid starter or solid role player off the bench. Some players that come to mind who fit that script are Manu Ginobili, Sam Cassell, Kyle Korver, and Michael Finley. All of these guys were drafted late in the first round and even in the second round. They all had extremely valuable NBA careers and even helped their franchises win NBA Championships. Thinking about some of the best drafting franchises in the NBA the Spurs immediately come to mind. After taking Tim Duncan first overall in 1997 they have not had a pick in the top 20. Since ’97, the Spurs have made the playoffs every year, made the Western Conference Finals 10 times, and won the NBA Finals 5 times, all without having a pick in the top 20.  That is astounding. Two of their best players in the last fifteen years are Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. Ginobili was drafted in the 2^nd round with the 57^th pick and Parker was taken in the first round with the 28^th pick. I believe the Spurs are one of the best franchises in all of sports when it comes to drafting players and developing them. 

Every sport has different expectations for their draft and the players taken in that draft. One thing is universal, if you do a poor job of scouting and drafting your franchise could be in the cellar for a long time. If that happens, as a general manager you may be looking for a job sooner rather then later.