Tomorrow’s (June 11) sports headlines will likely be dominated by the MLB draft – and filled with names like Hunter Greene, Brendan McKay and Kyle Wright. In short, youth will be served. With that in mind, Baseball Roundtable is going to take a different direction – and present the BBRT 35-and-Over Line Up (drawn from players active this season). I’ll present the lineup first, then we’ll take a little closer look at each selection – as well as some potential “September Call Ups.” Finally, I’ll fill out the pitching rotation and bullpen.
The BBRT 35-and-Over Lineup for 2017
Brandon Phillips … 2B and leadoff
Carlos Beltran … LF
Albert Pujols … 1B
Nelson Cruz … DH and cleanup
Jose Bautista … RF
Adrian Beltre … 3B
Jason Werth … CF
Ryan Hanigan … C
Mike Aviles … SS
C.C. Sabathia … SP
Santiago Casilla … Closer
_____________________________
Now for the details.
2B – Brandon Phillips, age 35, 16th MLB season, currently with the Braves
Phillips a four-time Gold Glover, brings some speed at the top of the lineup (seven stolen bases in ten attempts this year). His 2017 line – .296-4-18, with 26 runs scored in 54 games. Phillips’ career stat line (through June 10, 2017) is .274-201-907, with 205 steals and 946 runs scored. His bat has been dependable over the past three seasons, with averages of .294, .291, .296.
Brandon Phillips is a member of the 30-30 club (30 HR’s and 30 SB’s in the same season). In 2007, while with the Reds, he his .288, with 30 home runs, 94 RBI and 32 steals.
LF, Carlos Beltran, age 40, 20th MLB season, currently with Astros
Beltran – a nine-time All Star and three-time Gold Glover – qualified at this position by virtue of having played eight games in left field this season. On the year, Beltran has appeared in 54 games, hitting .243—8-24. His career line is .281-429-1,560. A CF for much of his career (he played about 75 percent of his outfield game there), he may have lost a step, so we’ll move him to left.
Beltran was the AL Rookie of the Year back in 1999, when he hit .293, with 22 home runs, 108 RBI and 27 stolen bases for the Royals.
1B, Albert Pujols, Age 37, 17th MLB season, currently with the Angels
Pujols will be a key RBI man in the middle of the 35-and-over lineup. This season, in 57 games, he is hitting just .241, but he has nine home runs and 44 RBI (third in the AL). For his career, the 10-time All Star has a .308 batting average, with 600 home runs and 1,861 RBI. He’ll bring some runners home. (Pujols also has two Gold Gloves on his resume.) Pujols started his career with ten consecutive season of a .300+ batting average, 30 or more home runs and 100+ RBI.
Albert Pujols is a three-time NL Most Valuable Player (2005, 2008, 2009) – all with the Cardinals. He is one of just 13 players to capture consecutive MVP Awards.
DH, Nelson Cruz, age 36, 13th MLB season, currently with the Mariners
Cruz is the big bat at cleanup. So far this season, he is hitting .294, with 14 home runs and an AL-leading (tied) 46 RBI. Cruz has a career .276 average, with 298 home runs and 841 RBI. He’s been consistent in recent seasons – hitting 40 or more home runs in 2014, 2015 and 2016,
Cruz was the 2011 ALCS MVP – hitting .364, with six home runs and 13 RBI in six games for the Rangers. In 41 post-season games, he has averaged .292, with 16 home runs and 34 RBI.
RF, Jose Bautista, age 36, 14th MLB season, currently wit5h the Blue Jays
A proven power-hitter and six-time All Star, Bautista has rebounded from a poor start this season (.178-1-7 in April) and – as of June 10 – his 2017 stat line reads .232-11-29. His career average is .254, with 319 home runs and 891 RBI.
Jose Bautista – known as Joey Bats – hit a career-high 54 home runs for the Blue Jays in 2010.
3B- Adrian Beltre, age 38, 20th MLB season, currently with the Rangers
Beltre brings our 35-and-over team the classic combination of leather and lumber – five Gold Gloves and 400+ career home runs. Coming off an ankle injury, Beltre did not play his first 2017 game for the Rangers until May 29. In his first eight games back, he raked at a .379 pace with one long ball and six RBI. What can we expect from Beltre? In 2016, at age 37, he hit .300, with 32 home runs and 104 RBI. Beltre’s career stat line: .286-446-1,577. Side note: With 2,953 hits, we can hope Beltre can add a little historic significant to our 35-and-over squad’s accomplshments.
Adrian Beltre is one of only four MLB players to hit for the cycle three times in their careers.
CF, Jason Werth, age 38, 15th MLB season, currently with the Nationals
I may be giving up a bit of defense to get Werth’s bat in the lineup. He’s primarily a left fielder, but he did see some action in center field in ten of his 15 MLB season. This campaign, Werth is hitting .262, with eight home runs and 18 RBI (47 games) – and four steals. He should provide a steady bat in the bottom third of the lineup. His career line is .269-227-788, with 132 steals. Werth has topped 20 home runs six times in his career – as recently as last season (21). He has also logged two 20-20 (HR-SB) seasons, 2008 and 2009. Side note: For late inning defensive purposes, our team could have 36-year-old Mets’ CF Curtis Granderson on the bench.
Jason Werth – on May 12, 2009, while with the Phillies – stole second, third and home in a single inning. He is one of just 40 MLB player to accomplish that feat.
C, Ryan Hanigan, age 36, 11th MLB season, currently with the Rockies
Hanigan is hitting .256-2-8 in 13 games as a Rockies’ back-up at backstop. Given the wear and tear of the position, we seldom see regulars at catcher over 35. For his career, Hanigan is .250-30-210 in 660 games. Our 35-and –over squad does have a potential September call up at catcher – seven time All Star Yadier Molina turns 35 on July 13, 2017.
Ryan Hanigan has caught a pair of MLB no-hitters, both by the Reds’ Homer Baily – September 28, 2012 and July 2, 2013.
SS, Mike Aviles, age 36, 10th MLB season, currently with the Marlins
Utility player Aviles will have to come off the bench – just five at bats in three games this season. He can pretty much play anywhere and has a career line of .262-59-298 (881 games – 372 at shortstop). As with the catcher position, we can look toward a September call up – two-time All Star and three-time Gold Glover J.J. Hardy turns 35 on August 19.
In his rookie season (2008, Royals), Mike Aviles hit .325, with ten home runs and 51 RBI in 102 games – finishing fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting.
SP, C.C. Sabathia, age 36, 17th MLB season, currently with the Yankees
Sabathia is 7-2 with a 3.66 ERA in 12 starts this season. He will be out 35-and-over “ace.” The six-time All Star and 2007 Cy Young Award winner (19-7, 3.21 for the Indians) has a career mark of 230-143, with a 3.70 ERA.
Rest of the rotation (2017 record): Adam Wainwright (age 35; 6-4, 4.82); R.A. Dickey (age 42; 4-4, 4.73); Rich Hill (age 37; 3-2, 3.77); John Lackey (age 38; 4-6, 5.12).
In 2008, C.C. Sabathia tied for the league lead in shutouts in BOTH the American (2 shutouts for the Indians) and National (three shutouts for the Brewers) Leagues.
Closer: Santiago Casilla, age 36, 14th MLB season, currently with the A’s
Casilla has notched 10 saves (4.03 ERA, with 21 strikeouts in 22 1/3 innings) this season – and has a career line of 39-28, 3.23 with 137 saves. As a plus, his two best saves seasons are not far off – 38 saves in 2015 and 31 in 2016.
Setup men (2017 record): Koji Uehara (age 42, 3.10 ERA in 23 appearances); Pat Neshek (age 36, 0.82 ERA in 24 appearances).
On May 17, 2015, Santiago Casilla notched an immaculate inning (three strikeouts on nine pitches) in picking up a save as the Giants topped the Reds 9-8.
I tweet baseball @DavidBBRT
Follow/Like Baseball Roundtable’s Facebook Page – link here – baseball news, blog post notifications and great giveaways.
Member: Society for American Baseball Research (SABR); The Baseball Reliquary; The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum; Baseball Bloggers Alliance.
