The New Face of Baseball - Part I of V

By George Heidkamp SportsFanatics columnist

In the first of thsi five part series, I'll examine the evolving faces of baseball by looking at the up-and-comers of the sport in the minors, the majors, the front office, the ballpark, and the mind. Today, a peek at the next generation of great baseball hitters.

THE NEXT...

GRIFFEY -- Joe Borchard, Chicago White Sox

Right now, Joe Borchard is sitting in his Lay-Z-Boy at Double-A Birmingham, watching the major league club and looking out at centerfield. He sees Chris Singleton and he thinks "What a sucker."

OK, Borchard's a nice guy and I'm sure he's not thinking that. But with Borchard set to join the White Sox as early as September, Singleton has publicly acknowledged that his days as the regular centerfielder are numbered. Borchard possesses a rare combination of skill unseen since the young days of Ken Griffey, Jr. He ranks second in the AA Southern League with 18 HRs and 66 RBI. He also bats .286 and wields an absolute rocket for an arm on defense. Speed may be an issue, but Borchard compensates with unparalleled instincts -- at White Sox spring training, he robbed Arizona's Luis Gonzalez of certain extra bases on a liner to the gap. He also robbed Mark Grace of a homer in the same game. His bombs in BP impressed even Frank Thomas -- who has a noted reputation as being hard to impress.

The one critique against him is that he still lacks patience and the plate and gets too trigger happy (96 strikeouts). But that has long been a knock against Griffey too. Watch this man prowl the White Sox outfield in 2002.

PUDGE -- Josh Phelps, Toronto Blue Jays

Who's the only man in the Southern League to put up better numbers than Borchard? Why, Josh Phelps, catcher of the future.

Phelps is credited with outstanding sense of the baserunner and has yet to have a throw to second base be misjudged, bobbled, or miss the mark. Runners don't steal on him often. He holds his own at the plate much like Rodriguez, using discipline to accumulate walks, limit strikeouts, and compile a .300 average, 20 HR, and 73 RBI so far this season at Double-A ball. Why he's not at the big league club yet is a mystery, since the Blue Jays are looking for well rounded offense, especially at the catching position. But the Jays want him to spend one full year in the minors and cut his teeth.

BONDS -- Adam Dunn, Cincinnati Reds

Much like the man who refined what it meant to be a left fielder, Barry Bonds, Dunn has a frame built for greatness. Every inch of his 6-6, 220 LBS. frame is geared towards one purposes: tearing the cover off the ball. But he isn't a "homer-or-bust" slugger in the Bobby Bonds vein: he slices and whips the wood around, with impressive bat speed as a result. There was a reason the Reds dumped the proven Michael Tucker and got nothing in return: they don't need anything. They have the power hitter of the future on his way to the majors.

In half a season at Triple-A Louisville, Dunn ripped 20 HR and 53 RBI while batting .329. He hit safely in his first seven games. After six games in the majors, he drew his first career intentional walk. Number of times Chipper Jones, Shawn Green, Jason Giambi, Frank Thomas, and Mike Piazza (combined) were intentionally walked in their rookie years: 1. The pitchers already fear this man. And why not? He's only the most coveted prospect in all of baseball.

GWYNN -- Sean Burroughs, San Diego Padres

How fitting it is that with Tony Gwynn set to retire, the next great All-American left-handed hitter is set to join the Padres next year. Burroughs, like Gwynn, beats you with his brain as opposed to his brawn. Why are the Padres floating possibility of trading Phil Nevin? They have this guy.

Burroughs hits anything and everything in the box, which is why he leads the Triple-A Pacific Coast League with a .346 average (16 points ahead of the nearest competitor). Like Gwynn, his power numbers aren't that impressive (six HR, 42 RBI), but he hits to all fields and is even getting the scouts to mention his name in the same sentences with the Padre great by writing this: "Excellent plate patience...grasp of strike zone...can pull or hit opposite field equally...enjoys poking hole between short and third, like Gwynn..."

And why not?

MCGWIRE -- Phil Hiatt, Los Angeles Dodgers

Unfortunately, the jury here is still out. Hiatt possesses raw power unmatchable by almost any standards. Down on the Dodger farm, he's already clubbed 34 HRs, 76 RBI, and put in a .323 average for good measure. Like McGwire or Frank Thomas, he lacks a good range in terms of defense and baserunning, but when every six or seven hits is a round trip around the bases, you don't see that as a huge minus.

The question of the moment is this: if Hiatt is so good, why is he still in the minors? Certainly his numbers should be impressive enough to supplant a guy like Eric Karros or Mark Grudzielanik, right? Ah, one problem: the Dodgers have a rather long-term investment going on at third base in Adrian Beltre (as you probably know, Beltre and the Dodgers organization go WAY back). So Hiatt plays the waiting game and may eventually see a move to first base from his natural third. But he can launch the ball into orbit, and it'll be interesting to see how that fits with Green, Sheffield, LoDuca, and Grissom.

NEXT WEEK: Young Guns (Pitchers of the New Millennium -- the next... Unit, Mad Dog, Pedro, Boomer, Wild Thing, & Koufax-Drysdale III)

Article courtesy of Sportsfanatics.net.