The Colorado Rockies and Milwaukee Brewers couldn’t have asked for a better 2005 MLB draft now that they have arguably two of the best young players in the game.

Both teams hit the nail on the head as the Rockies chose Troy Tulowitzki seventh overall, while the Brewers nabbed Ryan Braun fifth overall.

Tulowitzki, a 6’ 3’’, 215 lb. specimen who many believe to be the best shortstop in the game, was a standout at California State University, Long Beach for three years. He left college with a career .962 fielding percentage, and in 155 career games Tulowitzki batted .310, with 20 homers, 117 RBIs, 37 doubles and a .491 slugging percentage.

Not only was Tulo – his nickname in the Rockies clubhouse – a standout in college, but high school as well.  As a senior at Fremont High School in Sunnyvale, California, Tulowitzki batted .519 with 24 home runs. He didn’t just play baseball, though; Tulo also knew how to put the rock through the hoop. He won his league MVP, was named second team All-State and team MVP and averaged 22.6 points per game during his senior season.

Tulo’s apparent athleticism has garnered him comparisons to players like Cal Ripken Jr. and Derek Jeter. His arm, range and uncanny instincts are highly regarded, and separate his abilities from other shortstops around the league.

Tulowitzki is off to a blistering start to the 2011 season – in 23 games he is batting .326 with 7 HR and 17 RBI. Furthermore, he has led his team to a surprising 16-7 start, which is tops in the league.

Braun, who is less physically and athletically gifted than Tulo at 6’ 1’’, 210 lbs., but farther along in his five years of MLB service, played his college ball at Miami. He was named the National Freshman of the Year and was selected as a first-team Freshman All-American by Baseball America in 2003. Hitting .364, with 17 HRs and 76 RBIs during your first year of college would seem to warrant such accolades.

Like Tulo, Braun was an absolute monster in high school. As a senior Braun batted .451, with an OBP of .675, and broke Granada Hills High School’s record for career home runs with 25. Braun was rated the sixth-best shortstop prospect in the country by Team One Baseball as a senior, and rated among the top 100 prospects by Baseball America.

Braun’s nickname – “The Hebrew Hammer” – is indicative of his hot start. The 27-year-old leftfielder and third baseman is hitting .356, with a league-leading 9 HRs and 21 RBIs. His Brewers are also right in the thick of the National League Central race with a 12-12 record. The achievements Braun gathered while in high school and college followed him to the pros, as he was named the NL Rookie of the Year in 2007 and was a starting NL All-Star outfielder from 2008-2010.

If there were early front-runners for the NL MVP, Tulo and The Hebrew Hammer are the obvious one and two on that list, with the edge to Tulowitzki since his squad has the best record in the league. Either way you go, you can’t go wrong. And if I was starting a franchise from scratch, I would build around one of these guys.

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