“_____ of the Future” is an oft-uttered phrase in baseball, particularly among rebuilding teams. When the Reds traded Todd Frazier and got Jose Peraza, he was immediately labeled the “shortstop of the future.” With the trades of Jay Bruce and Brandon Phillips, it became clear that Dilson Herrera was considered the “second baseman of the future.”
The thing about it is that it is really more about hopes and dreams and golden sunbeams than it is about the actual blood and guts of roster construction. Projecting a “middle infield of the future” is necessarily a best-case scenario exercise.