Baseball, as with all athletic endeavors, favors youth.  With the PEBA playoffs in full swing and the hot stove getting ready to heat up, what better way to get ready for the offseason then by celebrating the best young ballplayers the PEBA has to offer?  This is the future of the league and, if it’s any indication, the PEBA has a bright future ahead. 

25. Glen Ganey – Age: 24 – 2B – .265/.347/.371

Glen was drafted in the 12^th round of the inaugural draft by the New York Liberty, which later became known as the Gloucester Fishermen.  A smaller guy at only 5’9”, Ganey is an above average 2B with speed to burn on the base paths.  Ganey had a breakout season in ’08 when he hit .318/.393/.457 with 69 steals in 93 chances.  ’09 has not been as kind to Ganey, as he is only hitting .216/.326/.288 with 36 steals.  The one bright spot is that he has shown a steady decline in K rate while also showing an improved walk rate.  He will need to bounce back in a big way to be considered for this list next season.

24. Wilson Berry – Age: 24 – C – .256/.317/.412

Wilson was drafted in round 4 of the inaugural draft by the Manchester Maulers.  He was traded to the Aurora Borealis in ’08 as part of a 5-player deal at the deadline.  Wilson has shown great strides in ’09, batting .245/.324/.422 on the year.  He has also hit 17 home runs while showing a great K/BB ratio of 1.04.  Combine his hitting ability with his average-to-above average defense behind the dish and you have a player worth holding onto.

23. Zhu Kwang-chih – Age: 22 – OF – .261/.325/.438

1-Time Player of the Week

Zhu was drafted in the inaugural draft, round 10, by the Florida Featherheads.  He was called upon as a 20-year-old in 2007 to man CF.  Even though he struggled with plate discipline and getting on base that year, he did hit 26 home runs, showing his amazing power potential.  He has improved every year since, cutting down on his strikeouts tremendously while still maintaining that 20+ HR a year power.  Zhu has an above average arm in the outfield and is a respectable corner outfielder.  I look for Zhu to break out in a big way soon.  He is figuring things out at the plate and I could see 30+ HR a year power in his future. 

22. Rafael Hernández Age: 25 – CL – 70 SV / 20 BB / 155 K / 1.00 WHIP

1-Time All-Star Selection (2009)

Rafael was drafted in the 3^rd round of the inaugural draft by the London Underground.  The ’07 season showed great promise for Rafael.  He showed off amazing control while maintaining an 8 K/9 ratio.  His only issue seemed to be a propensity to give up the long ball.  ’08 started in the same fashion, but ended prematurely with a torn triceps muscle in June that would have him miss 11 months.  Many wondered at the-Time if he would ever regain the form he had shown in the previous two PEBA seasons.  ’09 proved all doubters wrong as Rafael has actually gotten better after the injury.  He is maintaining over a 9 K/9 ratio to go along with an exceptional 1.00 BB/9 ratio.  He also has surrendered only one home run in over 60 innings.

21. José Chávez – Age: 25 – SP – 29-30 / 3.41 ERA / 123 BB / 423 K / 1.20 WHIP

1-Time All-Star Selection (2007)

This 6’5” lefty was drafted in the 10^th round of the inaugural draft by the Kalamazoo Badgers.  Dialing it up in the low 90s with a seven-pitch repertoire, José burst onto the scene in ’07 with a very impressive 2.67 ERA.  He also had an amazing 4.53 K/BB ratio to go along with it.  Unfortunately for Kalamazoo, José strained his back late in September that year and has shown a steady decline in his performance.  His K/BB ratio has gone from 4.53 to 4.19 to this season’s 2.34.  José has logged 587 innings in his young career and that may be taking a toll on him.

20. Tsumemasa Morimoto – Age: 23 – 1B – .250/.311/.487

This 6’3”, 220 pound monster lefty from Japan signed a 2-year contract with the Florida Featherheads in February of ’07.  He immediately showed his impressive power, putting up 33 home runs.  He also struggled with his plate discipline, ending the season with a .292 OBP.  The good news is that he has improved his on base skills each year, ending the ’09 season with a respectable .337 OBP.  As he gets older he is growing into his body and looks to be a serious threat for the long ball every-Time he steps to the plate.  Morimoto plays an above average first base but has no range to speak of.  He is really no threat to run either.  The only question about Morimoto is whether or not he will make enough contact to be dangerous in the years to come.  His contact skills are just passable and something he will need to work on to utilize his amazing power potential.  115 home runs at the tender age of 23 is nothing to sneeze at.

19. Raúl García – Age: 24 – SS – .279/.362/.374

3-Time Rookie of the Month

Raúl is a recent defector of Cuba and immediately signed a contract with the Kalamazoo Badgers system.  Raúl came over with a very advanced skill set and was inserted into the Badgers’ lineup at SS.  His counting stats may not be eye-popping to some, but he played a very nice shortstop while putting up over 40 VORP at the position.  One of his greatest assets is his ability to steal bases.  He stole 69 bases last year at an 83% clip while scoring 107 runs for the big club.  He was definitely a sparkplug and he looks to be a very valuable part of the team for years to come.

18. Adrián Reséndez – Age: 23 – SP – 6-5 / 2.36 ERA / 40 BB / 72 K / 1.14 WHIP

This 6’1” righty defected from Cuba in 2007 and signed with the Connecticut Nutmeggers.  He spent his first two years in America toiling in the minors before he got his first big shot at PEBA in 2009.  He showed some real promise in his 14 starts, limiting opposing batters to just a .192 average.  60 hits in 87 2/3 innings also showed that he has some very legit stuff.  He is young, and just like many before him he still does not have the control that the Nutmeggers would like to see.  He has great potential, but it might not come right away.  Unfortunately for him, he got bone chips in his elbow on July 1^st and missed the rest of the season.  It remains to be seen how this will affect his development, but everyone can see that he can be a special pitcher in this league.

17. Alejandro Ortega – Age: 25 – SS – .297/.348/.454

Alejandro was drafted in 2^nd round of the inaugural draft by the San Antonio Calzones of Laredo.  He spent his first season showing why he was such a high draft pick, putting up 47.4 VORP and hitting 23 bombs from the shortstop position.  He was traded at the end of the season to the New Jersey Hitmen in a blockbuster 7-player deal.  Ortega didn’t miss a beat with the Hitmen, improving in just about every major category from the year before.  ’09 brought the first struggles of Ortega’s career, only posting 10.9 VORP and not showing the plate discipline he had in the previous few seasons.  To make matters worse, Ortega was injured in August with a ruptured bicep tendon.  He is still a very valuable player, showing great ability all across the infield with great speed to boot.  It will be interesting to see how he can bounce back from his injury.

16. Yong-zhan Hu – Age: 22 – 1B – .283/.356/.525

Yong was signed to a minor league contract by the West Virginia Coal Sox in June of ’07.  That offseason he was traded to the Charleston Statesmen in a blockbuster 7-player trade.  Has always shown very impressive power and got a chance to showcase it at the PEBA level in 2009.  30 home runs later, Hu is establishing himself as one of the up-and-coming power hitters of the next generation.  Hu is limited defensively and has no speed to speak of, but his value lies in his electric bat.  Expect Hu to be a nightmare for opposing IL teams for years to come.