PEORIA— As the fourth decade of Peoria’s Midwest League baseball franchise draws to a close, the Journal Star sports department is honoring the best players who have donned a uniform for the Chiefs as class-A affiliates for the California Angels, Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals.
We picked the franchise’s Top 10 best players each decade, based on the ultimate success of their pro baseball careers. This is the third installment of a multi-part series over the next month — one each for the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s.
Finally, we will assemble the all-time top 50 players in franchise history, in order of their ultimate achievements.
PAST MEETS POTENTIAL
The 2010s decade is a hybrid where past meets potential.
There are former Chiefs players whose body of work is mostly past, players whose major league careers are established, those who have just recently arrived and more whose journey through the minors is ongoing and can only be judged on potential.
The Chiefs were a Cubs farm team the first three seasons of the decade, before a sudden, and somewhat acrimonious parting after the 2012 campaign.
The Cardinals returned and took over the farm team in 2013, and while that era started lean, it saw a return to the Midwest League playoffs for four straight seasons beginning in 2015 under managers Joe Kruzel and Chris Swauger.
Swauger took the Chiefs to the MWL championship series in 2018.
Kruzel's three-year run at the Chiefs helm marked the start of four straight postseason appearances for the franchise after a five-year playoff absence.
The terrific veteran manager finished his tenure in Peoria as the franchise's all-time victories leader with 220.
"It takes being here three years and it takes some dedicated coaches and talented players, everyone doing their part to get a record like this," said Kruzel, after an onfield ceremony honoring his achievement. "I have so many people to thank, from Mr. DeWitt to John Mozeliak and everyone else in the Cardinals organization.
"They have given me the chance to manage here for these years, done so much to help me and I can’t thank them enough for the opportunity to be here.
"It’s an exciting moment and just a tremendous honor."
Those teams produced future major leaguers at an accelerated pace, including current Cardinals like Harrison Bader, Paul DeJong, Austin Gomber, Daniel Poncedeleon, Jordan Hicks, Jack Flaherty and others.
The 2015 team in particular included Bader, DeJong and Flaherty — all of whom reached the majors just two years later — plus Poncedeleon, Magneuris Sierra, Luis Perdomo (San Diego Padres) and Oscar Mercado (now Cleveland Indians starting center fielder).
The decade has included major league rehab appearances by Jaime Garcia, Ted Lilly, Aramis Ramirez, Carlos Zambrano, Jake Westbrook, Jon Jay, Jhonny Peralta, Kolten Wong and Carlos Martinez and others.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Cardinals have some exciting prospects working their way up through the system who have already made their stops with the Chiefs. Outfielder Dylan Carlson, third baseman Nolan Gorman and catcher Ivan Herrera to name a few.
That trio is destined to play in the bigs, and Gorman seems ticketed to be a star.
"We have a lot of expectations for him," Chiefs manager Erick Almonte said in April. "Fans have a lot of expectations for him. I don’t want to see him move up if he has a good start here. But he won’t be here long. This kid can hit the ball hard. He’s really the big deal."
Gorman (Cardinals No. 1 pick, 19th overall in 2018 MLB Draft) is the highest draftest player to appear on a Chiefs roster since Javy Baez (Cubs No. 1, 9th overall in 2011) in 2012.
And then there's Herrera, a rising catcher prospect amid a decade that has already produced big-league catchers like Carson Kelly and Andrew Knizner. Herrera, who was 18 in April here, and has since been promoted, can hit and certainly has some confidence.
"I’m trying to make the Hall of Fame," Herrera said when asked what his goals were. "I have time. I’m young. I try to be smart, not be out wasting time. That helps me a lot."
Well he and others have made our Journal Star Chiefs Hall of Fame.
Could there be another Maddux or Molina emerge from this decade? Time will tell.
Dave Eminian covers the Rivermen and Chiefs for the Journal Star, and writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. Reach him at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.
All-time Peoria Chiefs: The 2010s
