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.

The Royals Franchise Deep Four

Of the four 1969 expansion franchises, I've saved the most successful for last. Let's see how strong their all-time teams look.

	P	C	1B	2B	3B	SS	LF	CF	RF
1st	Bret Saberhagen	Salvador Perez	John Mayberry	Frank White	George Brett	Freddie Patek	Willie Wilson	Amos Otis	Danny Tartabull
2nd	Kevin Appier	Darrell Porter	Mike Sweeney	Mark Grudzielanek	Kevin Seitzer	Rey Sanchez	Alex Gordon	Carlos Beltran	Al Cowens
3rd	Mark Gubicza	Mike Macfarlane	Eric Hosmer	Cookie Rojas	Joe Randa	Alcides Escobar	Lou Piniella	Lorenzo Cain	Jermaine Dye
4th	Zack Greinke	John Wathan	Wally Joyner	Carlos Febles	Mike Moustakas	U.L. Washington	Bo Jackson	Johnny Damon	Jeff Francoeur

Some of the guys on the first team were far and away the best choices; White, Brett, and Patek all blew away their closest competition. Who would've thought that Mark Grudzielanek and Rey Sanchez would make the 2nd Team?

Corner outfield was a bit tricky, as often is the case. Their right fielders weren't the deepest group, for instance. I only chose Jeff Francoeur for the 4th Team based on one good season that was better than anything any of the other candidates had done, despite spending the rest of his Royals tenure adding negative value. David DeJesus might've been a better choice in left field than either Piniella or Jackson, but he seemed to fit better in center field, where he ended up just missing the cut. If I were doing a 5th Team for the Royals, DeJesus would definitely be there, yes sirree.

Salvador Perez and Darrell Porter are currently pretty close, but I decided to give it to Perez since he's having a great season so far, and if he keeps it up, he should find himself well ahead of Porter by the end of it. And besides, he's already a Kansas City folk hero. Of the young Royals crop currently defending their World Series title, he's the only one who's made it to the 1st Team. Truly a feather in his backward catcher's helmet.

The Brewers Franchise Deep Four

Checking off those 1969 newcomers, we're now on the once-American League expansion franchise Seattle Pilots, who are now the National League Central's Milwaukee Brewers.

	P	C	1B	2B	3B	SS	LF	CF	RF
1st	Teddy Higuera	Jonathan Lucroy	Cecil Cooper	Rickie Weeks	Paul Molitor	Robin Yount	Ryan Braun	Gorman Thomas	Sixto Lezcano
2nd	Ben Sheets	Darrell Porter	George Scott	Jim Gantner	Jeff Cirillo	Jose Valentin	Ben Oglivie	Carlos Gomez	Jeromy Burnitz
3rd	Chris Bosio	B.J. Surhoff	Prince Fielder	Ronnie Belliard	Don Money	J.J.Hardy	Geoff Jenkins	Dave May	Corey Hart
4th	Mike Caldwell	Ted Simmons	Richie Sexson	Fernando Vina	Sal Bando	Pat Listach	Greg Vaughn	Marquis Grissom	Rob Deer

Interestingly, there's no position that stands out here as being particularly strong. The Brewers have had a pretty mediocre history. But at least Brewer fans can currently appreciate watching the greatest catcher and left fielder in franchise history while they're still around.

The Nationals Franchise Deep Four

Time for another installment of Deep Six/Four/Three Later On, this time for the Nationals franchise! This one is very heavy on the franchise's Expo predecessors, but several Nats ended up on the 1st Team. Let's see how this goes:

	P	C	1B	2B	3B	SS	LF	CF	RF
1st	Steve Rogers	Gary Carter	Nick Johnson	Jose Vidro	Ryan Zimmerman	Ian Desmond	Tim Raines	Andre Dawson	Vladimir Guerrero
2nd	Dennis Martinez	Brian Schneider	Ron Fairly	Ron Hunt	Tim Wallach	Orlando Cabrera	Moises Alou	Marquis Grissom	Rusty Staub
3rd	Pedro Martinez	Wilson Ramos	Andres Galarraga	Delino DeShields	Bob Bailey	Chris Speier	Warren Cromartie	Rondell White	Larry Walker
4th	Javier Vazquez	Darrin Fletcher	Mike Jorgensen	Mike Lansing	Larry Parrish	Hubie Brooks	Mack Jones	Denard Span	Ellis Valentine

Not a bad group at some of these positions. Center and right fields were both quite good, as was pitcher. It's a shame the Expos couldn't hold on to Pedro Martinez, or he'd probably get a spot on the 1st team easily.

First base was a bit disappointing, as Andres Galarraga had the longevity, but not the consistent star-level play that he would later be known for in Colorado. It seems a shame to give the top spot to the oft-injured Nick Johnson, though he had some darn good numbers when he actually made it onto the field.

Catcher was pretty weak after Gary Carter. We'll see if Wilson Ramos can ever up his production enough to make it to the 2nd Team, though he's highly unlikely to catch Carter at this point.

Of course, the real shame is that Bryce Harper isn't here anywhere, due to his being flipped around the outfield so far in his young career. Once he settles in to a regular position and plays it for several seasons, he'll probably end up on the 1st Team somewhere. Could it be right field, which is already probably the franchise's strongest spot?

The Padres Franchise Deep Four

We're now at the 1969 expansion wave, and the first one I thought I'd do was the San Diego Padres. Let's see what this one ended up as.

	P	C	1B	2B	3B	SS	LF	CF	RF
1st	Jake Peavy	Gene Tenace	Adrian Gonzalez	Roberto Alomar	Ken Caminiti	Ozzie Smith	Gene Richards	Kevin McReynolds	Tony Gwynn
2nd	Andy Ashby	Terry Kennedy	Nate Colbert	Mark Loretta	Phil Nevin	Khalil Greene	Carmelo Martinez	Darrin Jackson	Dave Winfield
3rd	Andy Benes	Benito Santiago	Ryan Klesko	Tim Flannery	Chase Headley	Garry Templeton	Greg Vaughn	Mark Kotsay	Brian Giles
4th	Ed Whitson	Nick Hundley	Fred McGriff	Quilvio Veras	Sean Burroughs	Everth Cabrera	Carlos Quentin	Cameron Maybin	Ollie Brown

Interesting results. The middle infield of their 1st Team has two guys that were associated with other franchises. Alomar and Smith were good enough in short periods of time to earn the top spots.

Some of these required a lot of debate over longevity vs. peak. The Padres are a decidedly non-storied franchise, so many of these guys didn't have long tenures in San Diego. Ed Whitson got the nod over franchise icon Randy Jones just because of his two great years at the end of his career, which topped Jones' short peak. But I might've given it to Jones on a different day. At the keystone, Mark Loretta had an argument for the top spot, but Alomar had three years of star-level play, which bettered Loretta's two, despite Loretta's good years being better than Alomar's. It's all subjective.

In left field, it's safe to say these guys ain't the Red Sox. Gene Richards was an easy choice for the top spot, despite being rather obscure today. At the other side of the outfield though, the Padres have probably their deepest position: Their all-time greatest player, followed by a Hall of Famer, followed by a guy who had an extremely underrated career, followed by an early star.

I predicted Steve Finley would take the top spot in center field, but he ended up not making the list at all, since WAR didn't think very highly of his defense. I never even thought about the possibility of Darrin Jackson making the 2nd Team, but WAR loved his defense that much.

The hot corner has been a pretty good position for the Friars. Their top four players all manned the position from the 1990s onward. Graig Nettles came close, but Burroughs barely beat him out. If only the Padres had someone good there now...

First base and catcher were also surprisingly strong positions. Hats off to the Padres. They're an oft-overlooked team, but their talent acquisition has been pretty good over the years.