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ESPN, had their annual "Next" list composing of athletes who they think will make a splash in the years to come. Over the past couple of seasons,there have been both hits and misses, but it's always fun to speculate. I think we did this last year, so I'll get it started....
Nick Markakis
He plays for the worst franchise in all of MLB, but he deserves more credit for what he does on the field. This dude gives 110%, and IMO he is in the samecategory as other young stars in MLB like Jeff Francoeur. Markakis is without a doubt the best player on the O's roster. I hope they can build aroundthis man, because he is the truth. In only his second full season he averaged:
.300
23 HR's
110 RBI
18 SB
.362 OBP
.485 SLG
in the 2nd half of the season he hit 14 HR's and drove in 61....all while hitting .325
Also, Markakis threw out 13 baserunners (cannon for an arm) and had .994 fielding %....he should get a gold glove or two before he is 30. The sky is the limitfor what he can do, and this guy is the cornerstone in which the franchise needs to build itself around. Hopefully, Angelos and the powers that be can keephim in Charm City for the remainder of his career.
Nick Markakis
He plays for the worst franchise in all of MLB, but he deserves more credit for what he does on the field. This dude gives 110%, and IMO he is in the samecategory as other young stars in MLB like Jeff Francoeur. Markakis is without a doubt the best player on the O's roster. I hope they can build aroundthis man, because he is the truth. In only his second full season he averaged:
.300
23 HR's
110 RBI
18 SB
.362 OBP
.485 SLG
in the 2nd half of the season he hit 14 HR's and drove in 61....all while hitting .325
Also, Markakis threw out 13 baserunners (cannon for an arm) and had .994 fielding %....he should get a gold glove or two before he is 30. The sky is the limitfor what he can do, and this guy is the cornerstone in which the franchise needs to build itself around. Hopefully, Angelos and the powers that be can keephim in Charm City for the remainder of his career.