What do the following nine young players have in common?
Jose Fernandez, rhp
Zack Wheeler, rhp
Danny Salazar, rhp
Kevin Gausman, rhp
Carlos Martinez, rhp
Chris Owings, ss
Nick Franklin, 2b
Kolten Wong, 2b
Robbie Erlin, lhp
All nine are property of Elysian Fields—that's what!—and all have been acquired since the 2014 draft. Manager Clyde Elkins drafted Zack Wheeler (#23), Carlos Martinez (#43), Nick Franklin (#63) and Robbie Erlin (#83) in February, but he pulled off a series of trades with the Crows, Lions, Manatees and Nighthawks to acquire the other five prospects.
In deals for that Fab Five—Jose Fernandez (#2), Kevin Gausman (#34), Chris Owings (#51), Danny Salazar (#28) and Kolten Wong (#68)—Elkins surrendered big league talent such as Nate Eovaldi, Prince Fielder, Cole Hamels, Matt Joyce and Wil Myers as the Dutchmen sacrificed present card value for a projected future payout.
The franchise's rebuilding effort began in earnest at the 2013 draft, when Elkins used three of the top five picks to select Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and Andrelton Simmons. Those three players could anchor the future Dutchmen lineup, with support from Wong or Owings if either establishes himself at second base.
If we disregard attrition rates for pitchers for a minute, then a future Elysian Fields rotation might feature Fernandez, Gausman, Salazar and Wheeler, a quartet of righthanders taken in the top two rounds of the deep 2014 draft.
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