[FuzzyRussianHat]

Sam Harpster – Left Field/Designated Hitter – Albuquerque Isotopes – 77.7% First Ballot

Sam Harpster was a 6’4’’, 205 pound left-handed left fielder and designated hitter from Murray, Utah; a city of around 50,000 people in Salt Lake County. He was a remarkably steady power hitter facing right-handed pitching with 53 home runs and 24 doubles per his 162 game average against RHP. Harpster had a career .958 OPS and 151 wRC+ against righties. On the downside, he was subpar facing lefties with a career .708 OPS and 93 wRC+.

Still, Harpster was good for 41 homers per 162 games with solid contact grades on the whole. He was above average at drawing walks, but middling for avoiding strikeouts. Harpster was a lousy baserunner and quite slow, which limited his offensive value somewhat. That clumsiness made him a mediocre defender as well in left field. Harpster’s starts were split roughly 50/50 between LF and designated hitter.

Harpster was considered one of the smarter baseball minds in the dugout and he had strong durability over a 19-year career. Although he was never a league leader, his steady production made him a popular figure in Albuquerque, where he spent the lion’s share of his pro career. For college, Harpster spent three seasons at Auburn with 145 games, 159 hits, 98 runs, 24 doubles, 54 home runs, 119 RBI, .296/.378/.641 slash, 202 wRC+, and 9.3 WAR.

In the 2015 MLB Draft, Harpster was picked 28^th overall by Albuquerque and was an immediate starter, winning 2016 Rookie of the Year honors with 36 homers, .959 OPS, and 4.5 WAR over 120 games. Harpster won Silver Sluggers at DH in 2018, 2019, and 2021 as well as one in LF for 2024. 2019 had his career high for runs (124), homers (58) and RBI (151). Harpster’s most efficient year was 2024 with a 1.009 OPS, 171 wRC+, and 7.2 WAR.

Harpster was never an MVP finalist though and didn’t reach superstardom being in a smaller market like Albuquerque. After the 2019 season, he committed to the Isotopes on an eight-year, $142,400,000 extension. Like his Hall of Fame classmate Fred Hynes, Harpster is one of the best players to never see a postseason inning. Albuquerque was mostly mid-tier during his tenure, averaging 78 wins per season. They cracked 90 wins only in his first two seasons, but missed out on wild cards.

Five times with the Isotopes, Harpster was good for 6+ WAR , although he did have a few weaker seasons in there. He had dipped a bit after the 2027 season and was a free agent for the first time at age 32. However, Albuquerque brought him back on a five-year, $41,500,000 deal. Harpster rebounded for a few more years as a solid starter before finally dropping to below average stats in 2031. He didn’t meet the vesting criteria for the fifth year of the deal and was back to free agency.

For Albuquerque, Harpster had 2451 games, 2731 hits, 1456 runs, 379 doubles, 640 homers, 1666 RBI, .293/.350/.547 slash, 137 wRC+, and 69.3 WAR. He was appreciated in New Mexico for his efforts and his #43 uniform would later be retired. Harpster spent 2032 with New Orleans on a one-year, $7,400,000 deal with 30 homers, .783 OPS, 99 wRC+, and 1.3 WAR.

In 2033, Harpster joined Quebec City with a resurgent year, posting a .954 OPS, 170 wRC+, and 4.4 WAR; although he missed a month to a fractured rib. He finished the year just short of the 700 home run and 3000 hit milestones, but wouldn’t reach either in MLB. At this point, teams had little interest in a 38-year old DH.

Harpster did cross those lines for a combined pro career, spending 2034 in the African Association of Baseball with Durban. The Deer gave him a two-year, $17,200,000 deal, but he didn’t meet the criteria for the second year. Harpster had 28 homers, .829 OPS, 108 wRC+, and 1.0 WAR in South Africa. This did give him 3089 hits, 1654 runs, 434 doubles, 726 home runs, 1900 RBI, and 75.9 WAR for his combined pro run.

He hoped to get back to MLB, but was unsigned for most of 2035. In September, minor league Annapolis picked him up and he was respectable in 11 games. A promotion beyond that though didn’t seem likely to Harpster’s chagrin. He retired that winter at age 40.

Harpster’s MLB stats saw 2713 games, 2970 hits, 1588 runs, 419 doubles, 31 triples, 698 home runs, 1815 RBI, 913 walks, 1810 strikeouts, .291/.350/.544 slash, 137 wRC+, and 74.9 WAR. Harpster ranks 86^th in hits, 93^rd in runs, 37^th in total bases (5545), 21^st in homers, and 34^th in RBI. He does miss the top 100 for WAR, losing a lot of points for having half of his starts as a DH.

There were a few Hall of Fame voters who felt Harpster was borderline between the DH penalty, the lack of black ink, and lack of team success. But even with Major League Baseball’s higher league-wide power stats in the 21^st Century, you couldn’t discount nearly 700 homers, nearly 3000 hits, and both 1500+ runs and RBI. Harpster isn’t at the tip-top of all-time charters, but he’s a first ballot inductee at 77.7% as part of MLB’s four-man 2039 crew.



Rowney Simpson – Starting Pitcher – Cincinnati Reds – 66.1% Fourth Ballot

Rowney Simpson was a 6’1’’, 200 pound left-handed pitcher from Gahanna, Ohio; a suburb of Columbus with around 36,000 inhabitants. Simpson was known for overpowering stuff along with solid movement, although his control was average at best. His 99-101 mph cutter was easily his most successful pitch, but Simpson also had a respectable curveball and changeup as options.

Relative to other MLB starters, Simpson’s stamina was fairly average. He had some injuries, but mostly held up well over a 16-year run. Simpson was above average at holding runners, but weak defensively otherwise. He stayed in the Midwest his entire run, playing collegiately at Northern Illinois. In three years for the Huskies, Simpson had a 17-10 record, 2.51 ERA, 237 innings, 266 strikeouts, 134 ERA+, 62 FIP-, and 8.0 WAR.

Simpson was back in Ohio after going #7 to Cincinnati in the 2014 MLB Draft. He spent his entire career with the Reds, but had a rocky start with a ruptured Achilles tendon right at the start of his rookie campaign. Simpson had a partially torn labrum as well in summer 2017. After that though, he managed to avoid big injuries for the rest of his run. Simpson’s production was respectable in his first three years, but he broke through as an ace in 2018 with a 2.54 ERA.

The Reds gave him a five-year, $59,100,000 extension that September. Cincinnati had been abysmal with five seasons below 70 wins from 2012-17, but 2018 started a rebound. They earned a wild card at 94-68 and lost in the first round. Cincinnati narrowly missed the playoffs the next year, but would emerge as a regular contender after that with an eight-year playoff streak from 2020-27.

Simpson was a big part of that streak, leading the National Association in WAR (7.9) and wins (20-5) in 2020. Those were career bests along with his 274 strikeouts, finishing second in Pitcher of the Year voting. On July 11, Simpson tossed his first no-hitter with nine strikeouts and one walk facing Indianapolis.

Cincinnati won the Lower Midwest Division at 98-64 and got hot, denying Kansas City’s three-peat bid with a 4-1 win in the NACS. The Reds would fall 4-2 to Denver in the World Series. Simpson’s postseason was a mixed bag with a 4.73 ERA, 32.1 innings, and 34 strikeouts, although his 77 FIP- and 0.8 WAR suggest he was better than the ERA indicates. Cincinnati was one of three tied for fifth at 11-8 in the Baseball Grand Championship with Simpson posting a 3.09 ERA and 39 Ks in 32 innings.

The Reds went 101-61 in 2021, but were upset in the second round 3-2 by Detroit. Simpson was again second in POTY voting and had his career bests for ERA (2.17) and quality starts (28). He never won the top honor or was a finalist after that, but he was reliably good for 5-7.5 WAR each year through 2026. Cincinnati took the top seed at 109-53 in 2022 and again in 2023. Both years, they won the pennant, defeating Chicago in the 2022 NACS and the Tigers in 2023.

In 2022, Cincinnati was swept in a World Series rematch with Denver. However in 2023, the Reds won the franchise’s third ring in a 4-2 effort over San Diego. Simpson was surprisingly poor in the 2022 run with a 5.81 ERA, but bounced back to a 2.25 ERA in 2023. His best playoff stats generally came in the later years of the playoff streak. On the whole, Simpson had a 13-11 record, 3.38 ERA, 186.1 innings, 185 strikeouts, 107 ERA+, 78 FIP-, and 4.9 WAR in the postseason.

Simpson had his strongest Baseball Grand Championship in 2022 with a 2.27 ERA in 31.2 innings, followed by a 4.60 ERA in 2023. The Reds finished 9-10 in both efforts. In 2023, Simpson notably became one of the select few with multiple no-hitters, throwing his second on August 23 against Kansas City with nine Ks and two walk. In April 2023, he signed a six-year, $145,200,000 extension with Cincinnati.

They narrowly won the division in 2024 at 95-67 and got back to the NACS, but fell to Washington in five games. Cincinnati was the top seed in 2025 at 103-59, but were stunned in the second round by the Admirals. The Reds finished 102-60 in 2026, but this was second in the division to 105-win Louisville. Cincy knocked off the Lynx 3-1 in the second round, then defeated Montreal 4-2 for Simpson’s third National Association pennant. San Diego got revenge for 2023 with a 4-2 win in the World Series, the first title of the Seals eventual four-peat.

Simpson had a 3.00 ERA over 30 playoff innings that year, but did struggle to his worst BGC on a 5.40 ERA over 26.2 innings. The Reds finished 12-7, one of six teams tied for third, officially placing sixth after tiebreakers were sorted. Overall in the BGC, Simpson had a 3.77 ERA in 16 starts, 4-8 record, 121.2 innings, 153 strikeouts, 95 ERA+, 108 FIP-, and 1.2 WAR. While his big-game stats weren’t exceptional, Simpson was a key reason Cincinnati made those games to begin with.

The Reds made the playoffs once more at 95-67 in 2027, falling to Montreal 4-1 in the NACS. That year, a rotator cuff strain cost Simpson a month. Cincy fell to 79-83 to end the postseason streak. They had a rebound 88-74 year to close out the 2020s, but were five games short in the wild card race.

Simpson also notably had his ERA above four for the first time in his career in 2028. He was a bit better in 2029, but was firmly around league average in 2030. The Reds dropped to 69-93 that year, fully signaling that their great run was done. Simpson had signed a three-year, $30 million extension in October 2029. His velocity was dropping though and peaking in the mid 90s for spring training 2031. The run ended as he was released in March. Simpson was unsigned all year except for at the very end by minor league Spokane, although he didn’t hit the field for them.

After the 2031 season, Simpson officially retired at age 37. Cincinnati quickly retired his #2 uniform for his role in their 2020s dynasty run. Simpson finished with a 223-145 record, 3.12 ERA, 3404 innings, 3252 strikeouts, 854 walks, 287/470 quality starts, 145 complete games, 43 shutouts, 119 ERA+, 80 FIP-, and 81.3 WAR.

He ranks 91^st in WAR among pitchers, 65^th in strikeouts, and 56^th in shutouts. However, he misses the top 100 in other stats as he didn’t quite have the longevity of some other Major League Baseball legends. The rate stats were certainly comparable to other Hall of Fame inductees and Simpson was a key figure for three pennants and a World Series win with Cincinnati.

However, some voters felt his grand tallies were borderline with limited black ink. Simpson also played in a smaller market and never won Pitcher of the Year. Although the Reds had a dynasty, he also wasn’t overwhelmingly dominant in the playoffs. Simpson was a guy whose success was more steady and consistent, while some voters want to be wowed by explosive peaks.

Simpson missed the 66% induction threshold thrice, albeit barely at 63.3%, 62.7%, and 64.9%. Voters seemed very firm on their opinion of him, but he didn’t need to win over very many voters to cross the line. In 2039, Simpson just got the nudge to 66.1% to clock in as a fourth ballot selection, capping off a four-man class for MLB.