Which stars of today will still be great in five years?

By Tom Verducci

Say you're starting an expansion team and the mandate is to keep the team together for five years. You are charged with picking players who will still be in their prime in 2012 and give you a championship-caliber team. That's the idea behind the All-Future team: very good today, but still very good five years from now.

INFIELDERS C | Joe Mauer | Minnesota Twins Gets the edge over Brian McCann because of athleticism and defense. 1B | Albert Pujols | St. Louis Cardinals Only 27 and averaging 200 hits and 42 homers per 162 games. 2B | Chase Utley | Philadelphia Phillies What's not to like? A second baseman with a .520 slugging percentage and one of the best, smartest runners in baseball. SS | Jose Reyes | New York Mets Rare player who has improved his plate discipline dramatically at the big-league level. 3B | Alex Rodriguez | New York Yankees His next five seasons will take him to 37 years old and 700 home runs. OUTFIELDERS LF | Matt Holliday | Colorado Rockies Terrific hitter, though his career home/road splits (.362/.269) suggest he could be another Coors Field creation. CF | Grady Sizemore | Cleveland Indians If you're starting a franchise, he must be among the five players you'd consider for your top pick. RF | Justin Upton | Arizona Diamondbacks Big-time bat who could be a Ken Griffey Jr.-type impact player. Now, all the Diamondbacks need to do is establish a regular position for him. PITCHERS SP Johan Santana Minnesota Twins SP Felix Hernandez Seattle Mariners SP Francisco Liriano Minnesota Twins SP Justin Verlander Detroit Tigers SP Andrew Miller Detroit Tigers Don't forget about Liriano, who was on his way to a Cy Young Award last year before blowing out his elbow. CLOSER | Francisco Rodriguez | Los Angeles Angels Still only 25, with 130 career saves and a 2.28 ERA. MANAGER, COACHES Manager | Omar Vizquel So smart he might be able to jump right into a job without a minor-league apprenticeship. Pitching Coach | Greg Maddux No one knows pitching better. The question is, will he want to stay in the game? Hitting Coach | Mark Loretta Career .299 hitter with four teams could also be managerial material. RESERVES POSITION PLAYER COMMENT CATCHER Russell Martin At 24, he already plays like a seasoned veteran. INFIELDERS Hanley Ramirez Miguel Cabrera Prince Fielder Fielder, 23, might become the youngest player to hit 50 homers in season, breaking the mark of Mickey Mantle (24). OUTFIELDERS Cameron Maybin Carl Crawford Maybin, 20, is a five-tool player yet to play above A ball, but he's the Tigers best position prospect in two decades and should develop quickly. BULLPEN Jake Peavy Joel Zumaya Clayton Kershaw C.C. Sabathia Clay Buchholz Peavy ranks among the toughest competitors in baseball, regardless of position. Weigh in with your comments and selections at FanNation.