At 12:30 today, the 2008 XM Satellite Radio Futures Game begins. On the rosters will be the players baseball fans will be talking about later this year, next year and years to come. Take a look at the rosters, and many seem familar already from their inclusion/exclusion in the myriad of trade rumors floating around. Four of the five Phillies' prospects tied to the Tronto Blue Jays' A.J. Burnett price tag are here (Carlos Carasco, Lou Marlsen, Jason Donald, Greg Golson). Matt LaPorta, the key piece for the Cleveland Indians' C.C. Sabthia deal, is there.
Or maybe you'll see players who were key pieces to last summers' blockbuster deals like Elvis Andrus on the World team who was a key component of the Mark Teixeira deal. Or in a deal from last Winter like Gorkys Hernandez who, along with Jair Jurrjens, has made the Braves dealing of SS Edgar Renteria look like grand larceny.
In the game are also propsects who will be making 2009 ROY noise as either pre-season hype (Andrew McCutcheon, Mat Gamel, Dexter Fowler, Trevor Cahill) or 2009 sleepers like SS Chris Valaika of Cincinnati or Wilken Ramirez of Detroit.
Whatever you baseball interest, this game is key to your future knowledge of the game. Here is a BA Futures Podcast about the game. Enjoy!
World Pitchers/USA Pitchers:
| Name | ORG | Level | T | Name | ORG | Level | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phillippe Aumont | SEA | A | R | Brett Anderson | OAK | AA | L |
| Carlos Carrasco | PHI | AA | R | Jake Arrieta | BAL | A+ | R |
| Jesus Delgado | FLA | AA | R | Trevor Cahill | OAK | AA | R |
| Shairon Martis | WAS | AAA | R | Will Inman | SD | AA | R |
| Eddie Morlan | TB | AA | R | Ryan Mattheus | COL | AA | R |
| Julio Pimental | KC | AA | R | Kevin Pucetas | SF | A+ | R |
| Henry Rodriguez | OAK | A+ | R | Clayton Richard | CWS | AAA | L |
| Hector Rondon | CLE | A+ | R | Jess Todd | STL | AA | R |
| Fernando Salas | STL | AAA | R | Casey Weathers | COL | AA | R |
| Polin Trinidad | HOU | AA | L | ||||
World Catchers/USA Catchers:
| Name | ORG | Level | B | Name | ORG | Level | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welington Castillo | CHC | AA | R | Bryan Anderson | STL | AAA | L |
| Jesus Montero | NYY | A | R | Lou Marson | PHI | AA | R |
| Pablo Sandoval | SF | A+ | S | Taylor Teagarden | TEX | AAA | R |
World Infielders/USA Infielders:
| Name | ORG | Level | B | Name | ORG | Level | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elvis Andrus | TEX | AA | R | Jamie D'Antona | ARI | AAA | R |
| Scott Campbell | TOR | AA | L | Jason Donald | PHI | AA | R |
| Ivan DeJesus | LAD | AA | R | Chris Getz | CWS | AAA | L |
| Juan Francisco | CIN | A | S | Mat Gamel | MIL | AA | L |
| Luke Hughes | MIN | AA | R | Wes Hodges | CLE | AA | L |
| Ramiro Pena | NYY | AA | S | Cliff Pennington | OAK | AAA | S |
| Angel Villalona | SF | A | R | Chris Valaika | CIN | AA | R |
World Outfielders/USA Outfielders:
| Name | ORG | Level | B | Name | ORG | Level | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gorkys Hernandez | ATL | A+ | R | Dexter Fowler | COL | AA | S |
| Che-Hsuan Lin | BOS | A | R | Greg Golson | PHI | AA | R |
| Fernando Martinez | NYM | AA | L | Matt LaPorta | CLE | AA | R |
| Gerardo Parra | ARI | AA | L | Andrew McCutchen | PIT | AAA | R |
| Wilkin Ramirez | DET | AA | R | Nate Schierholtz | SF | AAA | L |
World Injured-In Majors/USA Injured-In Majors:
| Name | ORG | Level | B | Name | ORG | Level | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Ramirez | TEX | AA | R | Chris Davis | TEX | AAA | L |
| Emilio Bonifacio | ARI | AAA | S | Colby Rasmus | STL | AAA | L |
| Jaime Garcia | STL | AAA | L | Denard Span | MIN | AAA | L |
| Kevin Jepsen | LAA | AAA | R | ||||