EDMONTON (AP) - Glancing through the Weaverball rosters, a few names may have key interest if your attention is focused on youth. Looking at the ratings and futures of these players begs the question, “could someone assemble a viable, competitive team from scratch?” This reporter has decided to answer that question and showcase some of the best talent that has yet to play, or has barely played. Only those players who are starting this season or still in the minors qualified.

Batting Order:

Pos Name                      CH  PH  SP   Age Exp B  Slot  FA  AS
2B  Whitted, Terry (COZ)      88  60  99   23  0   R  Act   55  99
SS  Fitzpatrick, Terry (TER)  91  74  83   25  0   R  Act   81  75 
DH  Geiger, Jose (RIO)        84  64  70   23  0   R  Act   52  58 
1B  Temple, Robert (EDM)      77  75  41   24  0   L  Act   46  60
RF  Bennett, Bob (TER)        77  73  58   26  0   L  Act   77  70
LF  Rothschild, Barney (VAN)  78  43  78   24  0   R  LOW   71  83 
C   Gonzalez, Lee (AMI)       70  57  66   24  0   L  Act   68  72
CF  Mole, Joe (HK)            70  30  65   24  0   L  AAA   42  40 
3B  Myers, Ed (MOS)           63  42  78   24  0   R  LOW   66  74 

Pitching Staff Roles:

PS T Name                  AS  EN  CO  FB  CU  SI  SL  CB  SC  KN   Age Exp Del Slot
SP L Nealy, Patrick (CAI)  89  88  71  75  79   0   0  81   0   0   24  0   O   Act
SP R Bullard, Ed (JAM)     86  90  70  75   0  77   0  74   0   0   23  0   O   Act
SP R Sanders, Art (COZ)    71  86  85  64  89   0  75   0   0   0   24  0   O   Act
SP R Gaetti, Art (BER)     87  87  69  87   0   0  69  63   0   0   25  0   O   Act
SP R Long, Todd (BER)      79  96  98  75  42  61   0  47   0   0   25  0   O   LOW 
LR R Foutz, Donald (VAN)   85  84  79  78   0  71  61   0   0   0   24  0   O   Act
MR R Teufel, Willis (HAV)  72  68  79  71  63  65   0   0   0   0   24  0   O   Act 
MR L Thorpe, Sam (LA)      94  75  68   0  69  75  81   0   0   0   21  0   O   DL
SU R Rico, Stanley (TER)   81  60  79  71  84   0  72   0   0   0   22  0   O   Act
SU L Lewis, John (CAI)     76  73  61  81  85   0   0  67   0   0   25  0   O   Act
CL R Ryan, Matt (LB)       83  75  77  81   0   0  69  74   0   0   24  0   O   LOW

(Note: C Tony Stockton (LB) has similar numbers to Gonzalez but is slower and 1B Pat Hutchinson (TER), has better ratings than Geiger but his very slow speed bumped him.)

(All Statistic are through about 75 games, nearly half a season. Double them for projections.)

Batting leadoff for the Mayans, Terry Whitted is hitting .289 with 50 Runs, 9 Home Runs, 23 RBIs, and 26 steals in 28 attempts. His BB/K ratio (9/35) needs improving as does his .312 OBP. However, a solid leadoff man at age 23 is nothing to turn down.

Terry Fitzpatrick also leads off on the Knights, but for team purposes, his .288 average, 48 Runs, 11 Home Runs, 29 RBIs, and 17 steals without being caught puts him as a perfect #2 hitter. His defense in the hole is also worth mentioning.

The Capybaras have Jose Geiger plugged into the third batting slot, where he’s hit .260 with 30 Runs, 8 Home Runs, 23 RBIs, and a perfect 23 stolen bases. The 45 strikeouts are a bit of a concern, but nothing seasoning won’t cure. The more pitches seen, the better the contact will be.

Cleanup hitter Robert Temple is hitting .285 with 27 Runs, 12 Home Runs, 38 RBIs, and is 5 of 6 in stolen bases for the Orcas, where he bats sixth in their order. He shows both good contact and power from the left side. Although Geiger has a little better ability in the field, a lefty first baseman is always preferable.

Bob Bennet is the second Terhan player, who also bats sixth in their lineup, and shows typical #5 numbers. He sports only a .255 average, but 42 Runs, 18 Home Runs, 40 RBIs, and 3 steals confirm that. He matches Temple almost perfectly in power and contact ratings, as well as left handedness, but is two years older.

Barney Rothschild should start for the Mounties next season. His fielding and arm strength alone merit a chance. With good contact and speed, he should hustle out some grounders and help the pitching staff keep faith in their team’s outfield defense.

The White Sharks sit Lee Gonzalez against lefties for unknown reasons. However, in 53 games, he’s posted a .244 average, 19 Runs, 6 Home Runs, and 16 RBIs with 11 perfect steals batting seventh in their order. His defense is solid and he will catch enough base runners to merit every day catching.

Center field is a tough position to fill, as only Joe Mole of the Dragons can fill the duties right now without completely embarrassing himself at the plate. Not the best defender, nor great speed, but a lefty hitter that could prove trouble against righties.

Batting ninth is the Cosmonauts Ed Myers. Solid speed and enough contact to give him a chance make this the best third base option around. With good defense and nice arm strength, he can make the tough plays.

The top 5 pitching starters are interchangeable, but someone had to be first. The Scorpions Patrick Nealy has a 3.16 ERA in 94 Innings, giving up only 7 Home Runs and 2/3 of his starts have been quality ones. Three nasty pitches and fantastic endurance and arm strength give him the #1 spot.

Ed Bullard from the Rastafarians has pitched 86 innings, giving up only 75 hits with a 3.35 ERA. His 31 Walks v.s. 62 Strikeouts is of concern, but his sinker is worth the growing pains.

A 2.08 ERA in 60 Innings, 49 Hits, 17 Walks, and .221 OAvg suggests that the Mayans’ second player on this list, Art Sanders, would be a stud starter. Currently, he has 3 Holds and 6 Saves in the bull pen, with only 3 of 10 inherited runners reaching home.

The Brewmasters have the last two pitching spots. Art Gaetti has only pitched 16.1 Innings, but has a 2.76 ERA, 10 Hits, 2 Home Runs, 3 Walks, and .172 OAvg in two starts. A solid curve and slider offset his rocket fastball. Meanwhile, speculation is all Todd Long offers at this time. Still, his 96 Endurance and 98 Control implies his decent fastball and sinker will be perfectly placed quite often.

In the bull pen are a host of interchangeable players, all with three great pitches, good to great arm strength, better than average control, and less than starter quality endurance. The Lobsters Matt Ryan has the best fastball and arm strength to throw it, with a prototypical slider and curve ball to nail down games as the closer.

Vancouver’s Donald Foutz could start, with a 3.39 ERA in 98.1 innings pitched. However, giving up 16 Home Runs, and a hit per inning make a coach nervous, but also make him a good spot starter in this model.

Righties Willis Teufel of the Cigars and Stanley Rico of the Knights need to find their groove. Both have ERAs above 5.00 and need a little seasoning before they are efficiently effective. Sometimes a guy likes to be in the set up role instead of middle relief. Only time will tell.

As for the lefties, Sam Thorpe of the Riots and the John Lewis of the Scorpions have been excellent additions to their respective squads. Both are starters, which may be the reason for their shorter outings. Shoring up the southpaw roles on this team is essential and vital to team chemistry.

There you have it. Trade now and hope you can assemble the team of the future. It won’t be easy, but it’ll be pretty to watch for the next 6 seasons. Sure, free agency might steal a key player from you, but hey, it’s a dream team anyway.