West
Palm Beach, FL (McC) - As you all know, we here at McCabe Magazine love
rankings. And what better way to spend about 2 months of my time and the Research
Departments time, is going through tons of
data on minor leaguers, talking to extremely boring front office personnel, and
having mind numbing conversations with hitting coaches on the technical
concepts of hitting the slider. Then to top it all off, how about this
interesting dialogue with an unnamed AAA outfielder in the Red Sox organization,
“See ball,.. hit ball.” Okay, now shoot
me PLEASE.
We
actually started this process at the end of season 24 and concluded this past
Monday in the conference room at the offices of McCabe Magazine. There was a great
debate and discussion regarding the final 100 prospects, which was eventually
narrowed down to 50, and we ranked the prospects 1 – 50. You will find a brief scouting report on
the players 1-10. You can also click on the prospects for detail information.
The one issue you’ll find concerning our
rankings is we only have two (2) pitchers in the top 25, and none in the top
10. In other works, there are no Vince Garcia's walking through that door anytime
soon. However, if anybody is interested we do have 14 pitchers on the top 50
prospects list.
Now
that we got that bit of housekeeping out the way, here is our season 25 top 50 future stars and can't miss
prospects.
Note: Click on any players name for detail information or "view profile" on individual player cards.
Note: Click on any players name for detail information or "view profile" on individual player cards.
1. Bartolo Hernandez (HiA), Washington DC National
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2. Pascual Fuentes (HiA), Houston Astros
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Fuentes was the number 1 overall selection in this years amateur draft. This 22 year-old switch hitter out of Tulane University has power from both sides of the plate and should win several batting titles during his Major League career. He won Baseball America's College Player of the Year
award his junior and senior years, and led Tulane to back to back college World Series appearances, winning it all his senior year, and was named World Series MVP.
3. Juan Benitez (LoA), Houston Astros
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Juan Benitez ranks 3rd on our list of prospects, which gives Houston 2 of the top 3 prospects in baseball. This gives the Astros a solid foundation to build on for the future. Benitez is another pure hitter that could perform on the Major League level immediately however, 3 to 4 years in the minors will help him master his craft. We see him as a 300 lifetime hitter and a Gold Glove winner at any position he finally settles in on.
4. Harry Thayer (RL), Seattle Mariners
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Selected with the 5th pick in this years draft, out of Arizona State as a junior, assigned to Rookie League where this switch hitter is ripping the league pitchers a new one, batting 358 in 187 at bats. Thayer is another 5-Tool prospect with blazing speed, timed in the 40 at an eye popping 4.19. However, his speed hadn't translated into base running success, he has 6 stolen bases in 11 attempts. Thayer has been working with Seattle great and Mariner's All-Time Stolen Base record holder (293) Don Bong. We spoke with Bong who retired after season 18. Bong; "we are working on the fundamentals, and the correct base running techniques. We're getting there,.. patience is the key."
5. Robinson Blume (AAA), New York Yankees
5. Robinson Blume (AAA), New York Yankees
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In season 22 Robinson Blume signed a $2.9 million contract with the New York Yankees after being drafted with the 10th pick of the 1st round. He was 18 years-old and was just named High School Athlete of the Year in the state of Illinois. For his representative Blume selects the notorious Miller Washington as his agent who has a long history of assaults on his lengthy record. This past spring Washington was arrested and charged with assault and battery for attacking the Hip Hop artist/Rapper JayZ at a Yankees spring training game in Tampa, Florida. Washington became upset when JayZ refused to stop talking on his cell phone to Beyonce during the game. According to court documents Washington grabbed Mr Z by the throat and attempted to shove a full bag of popcorn down his esophagus. The case was eventually settled out of court. Blume's minor league career batting stats; .331 BA, .936 OPS.
6. Allie Chisenhall (AA), Richmond Virginians
Allie Chisenhall is our 6th rated prospect on the McCabe Magazines top 25. He will hit for average and has power to all fields. His defensive skills are rated below average. However, our biggest concern is the way Richmond is handling the development of Chisenhall, and several other prospects in their farm system. Chisenhall was a 1st round selection in season 24, 3rd overall. He started his career in Rookie Ball, played 23 games and batted .316 with a 1.016 OPS. Then that same year without warning he was shipped off to Richmond's Low-A club where he batted .366 in 36 games. During the offseason Richmond's upper management promoted Chisenhall again, He started season 25 in High-A. He played 30 games in High-A where he batted .339 with 9 SB and 0 CS. Then again to the surprise of the local and national media, Chisenhall received a call to report to Richmond's AA affiliate in Cowbutt, West Virginia. He is presently slumping at AA, hitting a career low, .265 in 249 at bats. If you are counting, that's 4 levels in 1 1/2 seasons. We only hope this promising career doesn't crash and burn due to mismanagement. 6. Allie Chisenhall (AA), Richmond Virginians
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7. Danny Gordon (AA), St. Louis Cardinals
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Another 1st round selection, 4th overall out of Iowa Falls High School , in Iowa Falls, Iowa. Danny Gordon holds the state high school record for batting average in a season with a .695 BA. He also led Iowa Falls High school Basketball team to the state title, scoring 29 points in the win and named tournament MVP. Gordon is by far the best defensive player on our list. Look for this projected shortstop to win numerous Gold Gloves for the Cardinals with a .280 BA. He can hit to all fields with occasional power and will be a very durable player, should average 155 - 162 games per year.
8. Del Wulf (AAA), Texas Rangers
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Our number 8 ranked
prospect is Del Wulf, listed as a shortstop in the Texas
Rangers farm system. We feel he will ultimately end up at either 2B, 3B or RF.
He just doesn't have the range for the SS position. Wulf was traded to the
Rangers from the Pittsburgh Pirates organization 10 days before this year’s
All-Star break in a 6 player deal. Texas sent pitchers; Omar Lopez, Jonathan Haren, Yorman Cordero, and $3.6 million in cash to Pittsburgh
for Del Wulf, and two pitchers; Jesus Rincon and Tony Cordero. The folks in the Rangers front office
think Wulf could hold his own at the Major League level now if promoted. He has
spent 3 full seasons (plus 123 games this year) in the minors with the
following career totals; 155 HR, 502 RBI, 337 BA with a 1.109 OPS. His AAA stats
for this season; 46 HR, 123 RBI, 322 BA, and a 1.100 OPS.
9. Andres Padilla (HiA), Arizona Diamondbacks
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Padilla IFA signing bonus total of $24.8 million is the highest this season, beating Juan Benitez IFA bonus by $100,000. We project him to play 3B in the Majors, with secondary positions of 2B, 1B, LF, and RF. Assigned to High-A Padilla has a high number of errors at 3B but should improve enough to be a solid hot corner man if he is not rushed to the bigs. The only issue we have is can he stay healthy for a full season. Padilla is also the son of soccer great Pablo Padilla who played for the Premier League champions Liverpool in season 10, and also played professional baseball in Latin America.
10. Luke Hudson (LoA), Richmond Virginians
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Luke Hudson turned down a University of Colorado scholarship to play football so he can pursue his dream of playing professional baseball. Drafted this year (25) with the 2nd pick in the 1st round, Hudson is another prospect being rush through the Virginians farm system. He was assigned to Rookie Ball after the draft where he played in 24 games and had only 99 at bats before being sent to Virginians Low-A club in Toe Jam, South Carolina. In TJ, South Carolina Hudson has played in 33 games, batting .312 with 5 HR and 31 RBI. He has above average speed and terrible base running skills. His other weakest is his glove work, committing 1 error in Rookie League play and 3 errors at the Low-A level, all while playing his primary position, Rightfield.
Note: Click on the name for detail information
Prospect 11 -25
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Rank
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Player
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Age
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Position
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Team
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11
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22
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SS
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Oakland
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12
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19
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LF
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Tampa Bay
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13
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18
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LF
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San Francisco
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14
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22
|
LF
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NY Mets
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15
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21
|
SS
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Richmond
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16
|
18
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RF
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St. Louis
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17
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19
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LF
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Atlanta
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18
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22
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LF
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Cleveland
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19
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22
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SS
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Philadelphia
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20
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20
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SP
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Washington
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21
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18
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2B
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Minnesota
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22
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21
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CF
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Chicago Sox
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23
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21
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SP
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Richmond
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24
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19
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LF
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Azirona
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25
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23
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2B
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San Francisco
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Prospects 26 - 50
Rank
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Player
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Age
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Position
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Team
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26
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22
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SS
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Toronto
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27
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21
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C
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Richmond
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28
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21
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3B
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Houston
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29
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21
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SS
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Azirona
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30
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19
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2B
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Cincinnati
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31
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23
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3B
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Seattle
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32
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23
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SP
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Tampa Bay
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33
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20
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CF
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Houston
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34
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21
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SP
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Cleveland
|
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35
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25
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LF
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Philadelphia
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36
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24
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2B
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Richmond
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37
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22
|
LF
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Richmond
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38
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21
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SP
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San Diego
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39
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20
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SP
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San Francisco
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40
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20
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SP
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Cleveland
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41
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21
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LF
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Pittsburgh
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42
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20
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2B
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Colorado
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43
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22
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SP
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Washington
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44
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19
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2B
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Seattle
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45
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26
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2B
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Seattle
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46
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21
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SP
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Anaheim
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47
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21
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SS
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Azirona
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48
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21
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2B
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NY Mets
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49
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21
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1B
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Seattle
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50
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21
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SP
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Seattle
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