Because they did a baseball version of Bird-Magic — pretty much arriving at superstar level at the same time — Bryce Harper and Mike Trout turned the rest of their rookie class into footnotes.
Not any more.
With more information and perspective what has become clear is among those who lost their rookie eligibility last year this is way more than the Bryce and Mike Show. The All-Star Game at Citi Field could conceivably have a starting pitching matchup of two members of this class, Matt Harvey vs. Yu Darvish. Plus Patrick Corbin, Sean Doolittle, Manny Machado, Matt Moore, Addison Reed and Jean Segura all are going to be strong candidates to be at the July 16 game.
In fact, we can probably expect that crew plus Yoenis Cespedes, Anthony Rizzo, Andrelton Simmons and a few others to make a bunch of All-Star Games and chase the major awards. Heck, there are a few guys on this list you expect to make Hall-of-Fame bids.
So I formed a committee of 15 — the eight Post writers at this Subway Series and seven scouts/executives — and asked them to act like this class was available in a dispersal draft and to rank them one-through-10 based on how they would pick them with an eye on building a team for the next decade. I awarded 10 points for first, nine for second, eight for third, etc.
Eighteen players got votes. Almost every ballot had Trout, Harper and Machado 1-2-3, and all but two had Trout No. 1. Almost every ballot then had Darvish, Harvey and Moore as the next three, but in every conceivable order. I was surprised by the love for Cespedes and Simmons, and surprised Corbin did not break the top 10. (He was 11th). I was not surprised Jordany Valdespin was left off every ballot.
Without further ado:
1. Trout, Angels: One voter wondered if we are watching this generation’s Willie Mays. Miguel Cabrera might win the Triple Crown and Trout’s all-round genius could land him second in the MVP vote again. On pace for 200 hits, 130 runs, 117 RBIs, 32 homers, 38 steals and a .950 OPS. Oh yeah, he turns 22 in August.
2. Harper, Nationals: The only reservations about the 20-year-old is whether he plays so hard (recklessly?) he will shorten his career. One executive said he expects Harper to hit 50 homers one of these seasons, and clear 500 “easily” in his career.
3. Machado, Orioles: He fields like Adrian Beltre, might break the single-season doubles record this year and, according to one scout, “has the highest baseball IQ on this list.” He is 20 and he might ultimately upgrade his value even more by moving to shortstop — if he does not outgrow it.
4. Darvish, Rangers: A pitcher has struck out 14 or more batters four times this season— three times by Darvish. A scout: “He throws his curve at 65 [mph] and his heat at 95, and has like seven other pitches. Good [bleeping] luck.”
5. Harvey, Mets: Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long said what distinguishes Harvey is most hurlers want to make a pitch look like a strike, but ultimately the hitter swings at something that breaks out of the zone. Harvey “throws four pitches in the zone and beats you with each,” Long explained.
6. Moore, Rays: Began the year 8-0 at 23, the youngest lefty to do so since Babe Ruth in 1917. “Beautiful mechanics,” one executive said. He is making it more possible and palatable the Rays will ultimately trade David Price as the reigning AL Cy Young’s salary continues to swell.
7. Cespedes, A’s: He is struggling somewhat this year. But one scout put him fourth saying the biggest deficiency in the sport right now is righty power hitters with high-end athleticism.
8. Rizzo, Cubs: The Cubs committed a seven-year, $41 million deal this month to Rizzo before he had a year of service time — it speaks to what they think of his burgeoning power.
9. Simmons, Braves: Scouts were in unison the defense already is elite and the bat will come. Simmons, Segura and potential 2013 NL Rookie of the Year Didi Gregorius could battle annually to determine who succeeds Troy Tulowitzki as the NL’s pre-eminent shortstop.
10. Segura, Brewers: If you are looking for reasons why the Angels — even with Trout — are struggling consider they traded Segura last July and got just 13 starts from Zack Greinke and dealt Corbin (8-0, 1.71) at the 2010 deadline for Dan Haren.
Unlikely Wang will opt out
Chien-Ming Wang’s representatives told Yankee officials the righty would only opt out of his minor league deal on Friday — which is his contractual right — if he secures a major league deal somewhere else. The few executives I queried did not like the chances Wang could get a major league job.
Yes, Wang has a 2.65 ERA in eight Scranton/Wilkes-Barre starts and threw seven shutout innings Monday, but that might reflect a savvy veteran capitalizing on a sub-par Triple-A league. The sense is his stuff is still nowhere near his 2006-07 Yankee peak.
I asked Mets officials if they might be interested in Wang as an alternative to Jeremy Hefner or even Dillon Gee, and they indicated it was highly unlikely. The sense I got is they didn’t want to add someone for a start or two and remove him once Zack Wheeler arrives — and the righty is due early in June, barring an injury.
In fact, just to show how much eyeballs on a game matter more than results, particularly in the minors, Wheeler gave up three runs on five hits (two homers) in four innings on Monday. Yet, a scout in attendance told me to ignore those numbers, saying Wheeler was undermined by “brutal” defense and his stuff (95-98-mph fastball, a plus power change) makes him “ready” for the majors.
➤Brian Cashman indicated when Mark Teixeira returns, likely Friday, neither he nor Lyle Overbay will be shifted to the outfield as a way to get both (plus DH Travis Hafner) into the lineup at the same time. Cashman definitely said this would not be tried with Teixeira (who played some outfield at Georgia Tech) because the Yankees would not risk injury with such a high-priced commodity by asking Teixeira to do something out of his comfort zone.