Last Friday we took around the American League in search of the year's top rookies, so it's only fitting to follow that up with a similar piece on the junior members of the Senior Circuit. Of particular interest are four young starters with great futures, but first, a young infielder making a name for himself down in Atlanta.

Rafael Furcal, 2B/SS, Atlanta
Furcal is a very intriguing player, both because of his extreme youth and his mix of skills. He's only 19 (won't be 20 until late August) and has just one year of full-season ball under his belt, but the Braves decided he was ready to start the 2000 season with the big club. Normally I don't think that's the best plan for a young player who needs to play everyday in order to develop and get better, but so far Bobby Cox has managed to get Furcal into 18 games, mostly at shortstop.

As for his skills, Furcal has "leadoff man" written all over him. He hits for a good batting average, draws walks, and is extremely fast and adept on the basepaths. In hit .311 with a .387 on-base percentage in his minor league career, in addition to stealing 171 bases (at nearly an 80% success rate) in just 242 games. These skills have carried over to the majors this season, as he's hitting .295 with a .397 OBP and five steals in six attempts.

His lack of power is the only real concern right now, but not many players his age are tremendous power hitters, and even if he never puts up a .500 slugging percentage he can be an extremely productive player. He should be Atlanta's starting SS next April at the latest, and possibly earlier if he keeps playing well.

Rick Ankiel, LHP, St. Louis
The hype surrounding Ankiel was incredible last season as he rocketed from AA at the start of the year to pitching in St. Louis as the season ended. His career minor league numbers are phenomenal -- 2.50 ERA, 416 strikeouts, 112 walks and 204 hits allowed in 298.2 innings. He then threw 33 good innings for the Cardinals as a capper.

So far in 2000, he's got a 2.16 ERA in 25 innings over five appearances (four starts). He's also allowed 20 walks, which is more than a bit disturbing. So far he's overcome his wildness by allowing very few hits, just 14 in those 25 innings. With the exception of his second start of the year (at Colorado, no less), he's managed to keep the hits down when his control isn't quite there -- of particular note is his April 20 start against the Padres, when he walked seven in five innings but allowed just two hits and no runs.

One positive note on Ankiel's 2000 season: he's averaging only 101 pitches per start.

Eric Gagne, RHP, Los Angeles
Gagne put together five great starts to close out last season (2.10 ERA in 30 innings), so there were huge expectations placed upon him heading into this season. He was hit very hard in spring training, however, and didn't break camp with the big club. He got his shot when Kevin Brown had to miss a few starts with an injury, and so far it looks like the poor spring performance was an anomaly.

Gagne picked up right where he left off in 1999, and is currently sporting a 3.22 ERA through four starts. He also seems to be getting better with each start, and Monday he pitched a great game versus the Braves (7 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 6 K) but picked up the loss. Pitching in Dodger Stadium will help his numbers quite a bit, but he's a good pitcher in any park save Coors.

Brad Penny, RHP, Florida
A big, hard thrower, Penny came over from Arizona in the Matt Mantei swindle that also netted the Marlins Vladimir and Abraham Nunez (the good prospect, not the weak hitting middle infielder). He was always a good pitcher in the minors, and has been called the best right-handed pitching prospect in baseball (which allows for lefty Rich Ankiel, of course) by more than one source.

I don't really have any complaints about his 2000 numbers, although 18 strikeouts in 32.2 innings isn't all that great for a pitcher with Penny's stuff. He's averaging close to seven innings per start, has a 3.86 ERA and has yet to have a really bad outing, however, so ignore him at your own risk. If there's a concern, it's that he'll be overworked as the probable ace on the Marlins -- after throwing 95 and 86 pitches in his first two starts, his last three have read 112, 111 and 109.

Rob Bell, RHP, Cincinnati
Another good young pitcher? Geez, you'd think these guys grow on trees or something. They don't, of course -- just ask the Brewers. Bell, on the other hand, came from the tree known as the Atlanta Braves farm system, and became a member of the Reds upon his inclusion in the Bret Boone and Denny Neagle trade two years ago. He missed the first three months of 1999 with a sore elbow that didn't require surgery, but pitched very well at AA upon his return, with a 3.13 ERA, 68 strikeouts, 17 walks and 75 hits allowed in 72 innings.

Like Penny, Bell is big (6-5) and throws hard. He's allowing less than a hit per inning to start the season, as well as striking out close to one batter per inning. The Reds have been careful with him so far, which is probably a good idea given his injury history. Bell is averaging just 86 pitches per start, and has only thrown 100 pitches twice this season, and even those were just 102 and 104.

about the author

Jason Michael Barker is fairly young himself, but is starting to get upset about players younger than he is making the majors. Suggest he be cryogenically frozen until the cure for a 56 MPH fastball is found at jmb@strikethree.com.

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