The Blue Jays Franchise Deep Four

Time for the latest installment of Deep Six, which has been reduced to Deep Four for our expansion franchise friends, and will be reduced to Deep Three for the post-1993 installments! Today we's gonna tackle the only remaining franchise representing the Great White North, the Toronto Blue Jays! Let's have ourselves a look-see:

	P	C	1B	2B	3B	SS	LF	CF	RF
1st	Roy Halladay	Ernie Whitt	Carlos Delgado	Roberto Alomar	Kelly Gruber	Tony Fernandez	George Bell	Devon White	Jose Bautista
2nd	Dave Stieb	Gregg Zaun	Fred McGriff	Aaron Hill	Rance Mulliniks	Alex Gonzalez	Shannon Stewart	Vernon Wells	Jesse Barfield
3rd	Pat Hentgen	Darrin Fletcher	John Olerud	Orlando Hudson	Brett Lawrie	Jose Reyes	Reed Johnson	Lloyd Moseby	Alex Rios
4th	Jimmy Key	Pat Borders	Willie Upshaw	Damaso Garcia	Roy Howell	Alfredo Griffin	Al Woods	Jose Cruz	Shawn Green

It was surprising to me how deep some of these positions turned out to be for only forty years of history. Right field was so strong that franchise legend Joe Carter just missed the cut. First base, center field, and pitcher were darn good too.

Josh Donaldson has an MVP under his belt and is having another monster year, but without the requisite three seasons in Toronto, he doesn't yet qualify for the list. I have a feeling he'll be somewhere in the next edition.

The guys on the 4th Team at left field and shortstop were selected more on longevity than anything else. Those positions don't have a ton of depth. No harm in giving some love to the guys who spent a lot of time there, even if they weren't that good.

The Mariners Franchise Deep Four

Now in their 40th season, naming the top four players at each position is a bit tough for the Mariners. Nonetheless, I decided to give it a try, so here it goes:

	P	C	1B	2B	3B	SS	LF	CF	RF
1st	Felix Hernandez	Dan Wilson	John Olerud	Bret Boone	Edgar Martinez	Alex Rodriguez	Phil Bradley	Ken Griffey Jr.	Ichiro Suzuki
2nd	Randy Johnson	Dave Valle	Alvin Davis	Robinson Cano	Adrian Beltre	Omar Vizquel	Raul Ibanez	Mike Cameron	Jay Buhner
3rd	Jamie Moyer	Kenji Johjima	Tino Martinez	Harold Reynolds	Kyle Seager	Brendan Ryan	Greg Briley	Franklin Gutierrez	Leon Roberts
4th	Mark Langston	Bob Stinson	Bruce Bochte	Julio Cruz	Jim Presley	Carlos Guillen	Henry Cotto	Ruppert Jones	Al Cowens

Pitcher was a really good position for the M's. Their top guy is a potential Hall of Famer, and their 2nd Team guy is already there. Jamie Moyer had a good long career, though he falls just short of the Hall of Fame standard. Freddy Garcia and Erik Hanson were pretty close to Mark Langston for the 4th Team spot.

Center field, second base, and third base were all pretty strong positions. Robinson Cano and Kyle Seager are both potential 1st Teamers if they keep producing. The fans in Seattle should be excited about those guys. Edgar Martinez was better known as a DH, but I'm glad that for now the Mariner icon is deserving of the 1st Team spot at the hot corner.

The two corner outfield positions have two strong players on the first two teams and slim pickings after that. Left field especially was like grasping at straws. Yikes.

Catcher would have to be the weakest position here. Nothing against Dan Wilson, but if he's your greatest catcher of all time, you need to work on that.