Teams that will contend 3-5 years from now

All The Hype · Jul 5, 2013

I was talking with a friend about the Cubs' future and thought this would be a fun discussion. Think about some teams with quality farm systems and a plan to compete within the next 3-5 years. Of all the teams who are NOT currently contenders, who do you think has the best shot to go from 'out of the picture' to being a legitimate World Series team?

Let's assume all top prospects are going to pan out to be at least 75% of their advertised ceiling.

The Cubs could have a lineup that looks something like this:

S Castro SS
A Almora CF
J Baez 3B
K Bryant RF
A Rizzo 1B
J Soler LF
W Castillo C
Z DeVoss 2B
Pitcher

J Samardzija
T Wood
P Blackburn
P Johnson

Arodys Vizcaino (Starter or Closer?)

They will will need some help with the pitching, but they have a couple solid prospects that could be contributors if their development goes as planned. The batting lineup is looking extremely potent.

The Astros and Twins come to mind as other teams who could contend by then...and the Pirates could be in the discussion as well with the overall youth of their team plus farm system, although they're already contending this season. Who else will contend? Who will have the best lineup?

sawmillthug · Jul 5, 2013

My royals are always 2 years Away

kerryfan5 · Jul 5, 2013

My marlins. Cough... Will buy a contender by then..... Cough.

All The Hype · Jul 5, 2013

kerryfan5 said:
My marlins. Cough... Will buy a contender by then..... Cough.

I almost added them to my list because they have some interesting pieces; but their management is so unpredictable that I couldn't justify calling them a possible contender. They could trade their entire farm for a bucket of baseballs for all we know.

hoopster3977 · Jul 5, 2013

sawmillthug said:
My royals are always 2 years Away

Royals' fans have been saying this for the last couple of years.

But the Cubs have something happening, keep the faith.

hive17 · Jul 5, 2013

I'll let you know how I feel about Milwaukee after this year's trade deadline passes.

Austin · Jul 5, 2013

That's the great thing about baseball: Every team has a chance.
The Yankees used to always be hated for spending so much money on players. Then the Red Sox and Phillies spent a fortune (and now the Dodgers) and the negative talk isn't as strong.
And that's because teams like the Nationals and Rays and Pirates have risen with young players and are now among the best teams.
So this gives hope to fans of the Royals, Cubs, Mariners and Astros that anything can happen.

padremurph · Jul 5, 2013

Padres will be good starting next year. A solid young core to go along with all of the pitching prospects. If everyone can stay healthy they should have a nice window.

ThoseBackPages · Jul 5, 2013

LETS GO METS!!!

Juan Gris · Jul 5, 2013

Mr. Burns: I've decided to bring in a few ringers, professional baseballers. We'll give them token jobs at the plant and have them play on our softball team. Honus Wagner, Cap Anson, Mordecai "Three-Finger" Brown...
Smithers: Uh, sir?
Mr. Burns: What is it, Smithers?
Smithers: I'm afraid all of those players have retired and, uh... passed on. In fact, your right-fielder has been dead for a hundred and thirty years.

joeya2001 · Jul 5, 2013

Austin said:
That's the great thing about baseball: Every team has a chance.
The Yankees used to always be hated for spending so much money on players. Then the Red Sox and Phillies spent a fortune (and now the Dodgers) and the negative talk isn't as strong.
And that's because teams like the Nationals and Rays and Pirates have risen with young players and are now among the best teams.
So this gives hope to fans of the Royals, Cubs, Mariners and Astros that anything can happen.

It only took the pirates 20 years Lol But WHO can put a Price on patients.

Sent from my HTCEVODesign4G using Freedom Card Board mobile app

hive17 · Jul 5, 2013

Austin said:
That's the great thing about baseball: Every team has a chance.
The Yankees used to always be hated for spending so much money on players. Then the Red Sox and Phillies spent a fortune (and now the Dodgers) and the negative talk isn't as strong.
And that's because teams like the Nationals and Rays and Pirates have risen with young players and are now among the best teams.
So this gives hope to fans of the Royals, Cubs, Mariners and Astros that anything can happen.

Contend? Maybe. Win the World Series? Not so much. If you look at the last 10 years, only the 2003 Marlins team had a payroll outside the top 15. So while it's fun to watch the Rays, Twins and Brewers make runs, and hope for the Astros and Royals to have a chance, it isn't as likely.

cubfanbudman · Jul 5, 2013

hoopster3977 said:
Royals' fans have been saying this for the last couple of years.

But the Cubs have something happening, keep the faith.

I'm excited about the potential in the Cubs lower minors. Hopefully 2 years from now will be fun to watch a game again

TGutta · Jul 6, 2013

As much as I love all of the offensive potential in the Twins farm system (Buxton, Sano, Rosario, Arcia, etc.), I think we still need to add some quality arms to the rotation to become legitimate contenders. Gibson needs to be a 3-4 guy, and then guys like Meyer, Berrios, and Stewart need to be the top of the rotation guys we hope they become.

predatorkj · Jul 6, 2013

The Astros can contend. We've been to a WS so it's not impossible. Let's just hope Crane will spend the money and make the right free agency acquisitions when the time comes. Drayton proved what that can do for a team with some key pieces already in place. We just can't get sloppy with our farm system again.

As it stands right now the Astros suck and Crane appears very adverse to spending any money to even put a watchable product on the field. That's ok. For now. I still watch all the games but I'm not paying the $50 combined cost to actually go to the games. But when their farm system starts to reach the point where it's helping the major league roster, I don't expect him to sit back and refuse to spend to put a contender on the field because people aren't coming to the games. You have to lay the egg before it'll hatch.

fur72 · Jul 6, 2013

As a cubs fan I hope it happens. At the same time I see good things coming from the Twins.

Welcome to our community

Be apart of something great, join today!

Teams that will contend 3-5 years from now

All The Hype

Active member

sawmillthug

New member

kerryfan5

New member

All The Hype

Active member

hoopster3977

New member

hive17

Active member

Austin

Well-known member

padremurph

New member

ThoseBackPages

New member

Juan Gris

Well-known member

joeya2001

New member

hive17

Active member

cubfanbudman

Active member

TGutta

Active member

predatorkj

Active member

fur72

New member

Similar threads

Staff online

Members online

Latest posts