Whose idea was it to have a U.S. vs. World matchup for the Future
         Game? Not only is it confusing and completely inconsistent with
         the All-Star Game, but it leads to unfortunate decisions like
         having to take Joey Votto and Trent Oeltjen over Jay Bruce and
         Matt Garza. I'd also love to see an end to the rule where each
         team must be represented. Some teams (like the Diamondbacks)
         clearly deserve to have more representation, and some teams (like
         the Giants or Nationals) clearly deserve less. It would be nice
         to see the top 25 prospects from each of the two major leagues,
         regardless of team affiliation. Is there any chance we'll be
         seeing either of these rule changes any time soon?

         Mike Glander
         Salem, N.H.


Major League Baseball has wanted to use the Futures Game to promote the
internationalization of baseball since the game's inception in 1999, and
that's not going to change any time soon. But it's indisputable that making
the game a battle between American and National league prospects would
ratchet up the talent level a couple of notches.

Using an AL vs. NL format, and having no roster restrictions other than
making sure each organization has at least one representative (the current
rules are that each team must have at least one but no more than two), here
are the rosters I came up with. I cheated a little bit, using a half-dozen
prospects who weren't official candidates approved by their parent clubs, but
I'll rationalize that by saying they very well might have been under the
different format. I also played a couple of players slightly out of position
because the American League lacked first-base candidates.


     Futures Game: What Could Have Been
   Pos American League        National League
    C  Jeff Clement, Sea      George Kottaras, SD*
    C  Kurt Suzuki, Oak*      Neil Walker, Pit*
    1B Billy Butler, KC*      Joe Koshansky, Col*
    1B Adam Lind, Tor         Joey Votto, Cin*
    2B Yung Chi Chen, Sea*    Eric Patterson, ChC*
    2B Howie Kendrick, LAA*   Marcus Sanders, SF
    3B Josh Fields, CWS*      Kory Casto, Was
    3B Alex Gordon, KC*       Andy LaRoche, LAD
    SS Reid Brignac, TB       Stephen Drew, Ari*
    SS Brandon Wood, LAA      Troy Tulowitzki, Col*
    OF Travis Buck, Oak*      Jay Bruce, Cin
    OF Trevor Crowe, Cle      Carlos Gonzalez, Ari*
    OF Jacoby Ellsbury, Bos   Hunter Pence, Hou*
    OF Cameron Maybin, Det*   Colby Rasmus, StL
    OF Jose Tabata, NYY*      Justin Upton, Ari
    P  Nick Adenhart, LAA*    Homer Bailey, Cin*
    P  Jose Arredondo, LAA    Sean Gallagher, ChC
    P  Wade Davis, TB         Yovani Gallardo, Mil*
    P  Matt Garza, Min        Jaime Garcia, StL*
    P  Eric Hurley, Tex*      Gio Gonzalez, Phi*
    P  Philip Hughes, NYY*    Matt Harrison, Atl
    P  Radhames Liz, Bal*     Gaby Hernandez, Fla
    P  Juan Salas, TB*        Jason Hirsh, Hou*
    P  Humberto Sanchez, Det* Ubaldo Jimenez, Col
    P Kevin Slowey, Min Matt  Lindstrom, NYM*
    *On actual Futures Game roster.


To save you from doing the counting, just 30 of the actual 50 Futures Game
prospects would have made the cut. Twenty of the 25 U.S. players still would
have been invited, but only 10 of the 25 World players.





         Sean Gallagher is 8-2, 2.39 combined between high Class A
         Daytona and Double-A West Tenn, and he isn't getting much hype.
         Do you see him developing into a front-of-the-rotation starter,
         or more of a No. 4 or 5?

         Justin Montminy
         Aurora, Ill.


At first glance, Gallagher may seem to be just continuing the success he had
at low Class A Peoria last year, going 14-5, 2.71 in his first full season
after signing as a 12th-round pick out of a Florida high school in 2004. But
his stuff actually has improved across the board.

While Gallagher's 2005 season was very impressive for a 19-year-old, I wasn't
completely sold on him as a prospect. The reports I had on him said his 88-90
mph fastball and changeup were fringe-average pitches. He showed a plus
curveball at times, but at others his breaking ball was loopy. He tailed off
in the second half of the Midwest League season, and he wasn't very
projectable at 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds.

Yet Gallagher has found more fastball velocity this year, regularly working
at 90-93 mph. His changeup also has become more reliable. And he does have a
legitimate curveball, as the bigger and slower version is just a get-me-over
pitch he uses to keep hitters off balance. Though he has battled his command
more than usual, he's pitching well in Double-A at age 20. I think he can
become a No. 3 starter, and I wouldn't have said that a year ago.





         Can you shed some light on the role of the Dominican and
         Venezuelan summer leagues? Is one at a higher level than the
         other? How do these leagues compare to the level of play in
         Rookie ball?

         Andy Weiss
         Iowa City, Iowa


Many of the Latin Americans who sign with pro teams do so at a younger age
than U.S. high schoolers do. The Dominican and Venezuelan summer leagues give
those prospects the opportunity to face competition closer to their own age,
and they serve other functions as well.

Those leagues allow Latin Americans to begin their acclimation to pro ball
without also having to deal with the culture shock of coming to the United
States. Teams can help improve their players' English, nutrition, strength
and conditioning in addition to their baseball skills. Clubs also have a
limited number of visas for foreigners, and they don't have to use them on a
player in the DSL or VSL because they're not in the United States.

In terms of quality of play, the DSL and VSL rank below the other leagues in
Rookie ball, which can be divided into three tiers. The Appalachian and
Pioneer are advanced Rookie leagues that have some college products and some
players with previous pro experience. The Arizona and Gulf Coast are
complex-based leagues consisting mostly of high schoolers or players making
their professional and/or U.S. debuts. The Dominican and Venezuelan summer
circuits are the lowest level of Organized Ball.