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Eric Mack

Draft Preview: Top 100 rookies

By Eric Mack | Senior Fantasy Writer

 
 
Check your local newsstands for the second annual CBS SportsLine.com Fantasy Baseball 2005 Owners Manual and Draft Guide. We provide draft strategies, position rankings, cheat sheets and over 850 Fantasy player profiles in this blockbuster issue.


Success is the culmination of talent, preparation and opportunity. That is also how a top prospect becomes rookie of the year, and more important, a great Fantasy Baseball sleeper.

While a top prospect is a talented player who is not necessarily major-league ready, the CBS SportsLine.com Top 100 rookies below are ranked according to their projected contribution to Fantasy teams in 2005.

For instance, the Devil Rays' Delmon Young might be the very best prospect in baseball. He has even been called the next "Albert Belle" by scouts. But he is ranked just 41st on this list because he won't arrive in the major leagues until late in the year, if at all.

All-Prospect Team
(long-term keepers)
Pos Prospect Franchise
C Daric Barton Athletics
1B Prince Fielder Brewers
2B Rickie Weeks Brewers
3B Ian Stewart Rockies
SS Joel Guzman Dodgers
OF Delmon Young Devil Rays
OF Lastings Milledge Mets
OF Jeff Francoeur Braves
LHP Cole Hamels Phillies
RHP Felix Hernandez Mariners
RP Huston Street Athletics

This is certainly not a top prospects list. It is merely a list of potential rookie breakthrough candidates. All the players below are eligible for major-league rookie of the year honors, and they are certainly the favorites.

Most of the top 10 will get selected on Draft Day, while most of the top 35 will be usable in leagues at some point early this season. The rest are given as a guide (based on their projected major-league readiness) because they might surge to prominence and start producing Fantasy-usable stats.

Florida Marlins Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera and New York Met David Wright are the reasons this list was compiled the way it was. Each made a second-half splash from seemingly out of nowhere -- High Class A even -- the past two years. This list will help you project where those gem rookie finds might eventually come from, once talent meets preparation meets opportunity.

Rankings updated March 22, 6 p.m. ET; changes are noted as +/-. Age is what they will be on opening day 2005.

CBS SportsLine.com's Top 100 rookies
Rk Player Age Franchise Pos '04 high '05 start
1 Dallas McPherson 24 Angels 3B Majors Majors
2 Nick Swisher 24 Athletics OF Majors Majors
3 Jeremy Reed 23 Mariners OF Majors Majors
4 Scott Kazmir 21 Devil Rays LHP Majors Majors
5 Garrett Atkins+ 25 Rockies 3B Majors Majors
6 J.D. Closser- 25 Rockies C Majors Majors
7 Jason Bartlett 25 Twins SS Majors Majors
8 Chin-Hui Tsao+ 23 Rockies RHP Majors Majors
9 Chris Snyder 24 D-Backs C Majors Majors
10 Clint Barmes 26 Rockies SS Majors Majors
11 Russ Adams 24 Blue Jays SS Majors Majors
12 Mark Teahen+ 23 Royals 3B Triple-A Majors
13 Jeff Francis 24 Rockies LHP Majors Majors
14 Gavin Floyd 22 Phillies RHP Majors Majors
15 Chris Young 25 Rangers RHP Majors Majors
16 Casey Kotchman 22 Angels 1B Majors Majors
17 Tadahito Iguchi 30 White Sox 2B Japan Majors
18 Gabe Gross+ 25 Blue Jays OF Majors Majors
19 Denny Bautista+ 23 Royals RHP Majors Majors
20 J.J. Hardy 22 Brewers SS Triple-A Majors
21 Chris Burke- 25 Astros 2B Majors Majors
22 Brad Hawpe 25 Rockies OF Majors Majors
23 Koyie Hill 26 D-Backs C Majors Majors
24 Joe Blanton+ 24 Athletics RHP Majors Majors
25 Brad Halsey+ 24 D-Backs LHP Majors Majors
26 Gustavo Chacin+ 24 Blue Jays LHP Majors Majors
27 Ryan Langerhans 25 Braves OF Triple-A Majors
28 Adrian Gonzalez 22 Rangers 1B Majors Majors
29 Zach Duke+ 21 Pirates LHP Double-A Triple-A
30 Dan Meyer- 23 Athletics LHP Majors Triple-A
31 Dan Johnson- 25 Athletics 1B Triple-A Triple-A
32 Felix Hernandez 18 Mariners RHP Double-A Triple-A
33 Jose Capellan 24 Brewers RHP Majors Majors
34 Ryan Howard 25 Phillies 1B Majors Majors
35 Huston Street 21 Athletics RHP Triple-A Majors
36 Brandon League 22 Blue Jays RHP Majors Majors
37 Victor Diaz 23 Mets OF Majors Majors
38 Jason DuBois+ 26 Cubs OF Majors Majors
39 Ben Hendrickson 24 Brewers RHP Majors Majors
40 Edwin Jackson+ 21 Dodgers RHP Majors Triple-A
41 Willy Taveras 23 Astros OF Majors Majors
42 Guillermo Quiroz 23 Blue Jays C Majors Triple-A
43 Joey Gathright- 23 Devil Rays OF Majors Triple-A
44 Juan Dominguez- 24 Rangers RHP Majors Triple-A
45 Kendry Morales- 21 Angels OF Cuba Triple-A
46 Dioner Navarro 21 Dodgers C Majors Triple-A
47 Delmon Young 19 Devil Rays OF Low Class A High Class A
48 Prince Fielder 20 Brewers 1B Double-A Triple-A
49 Ian Stewart 19 Rockies 3B Low Class A High Class A
50 Lastings Milledge 19 Mets OF High Class A High Class A
51 Jeremy Hermida 21 Marlins OF High Class A Double-A
52 Brendon McCarthy+ 21 White Sox RHP Double-A Triple-A
53 Chad Billingsley 20 Dodgers RHP Double-A Double-A
54 Kyle Davies 21 Braves RHP Triple-A Triple-A
55 Michael Restovich- 26 Twins OF Majors Majors
56 Jeff Francoeur- 21 Braves OF Double-A Double-A
57 Rickie Weeks 22 Brewers 2B Double-A Triple-A
58 Hanley Ramirez 21 Red Sox SS Double-A Triple-A
59 Joel Guzman 20 Dodgers SS Double-A Double-A
60 Edwin Encarnacion 22 Reds 3B Double-A Triple-A
61 Andy Marte 21 Braves 3B Double-A Triple-A
62 Ezequiel Astacio+ 25 Astros RHP Double-A Triple-A
63 J.D. Durbin 23 Twins RHP Majors Triple-A
64 Jesse Crain 23 Twins RHP Majors Majors
65 Ryan Garko+ 24 Indians C Triple-A Triple-A
66 Justin Huber- 22 Royals C Triple-A Triple-A
67 Josh Willingham- 26 Marlins C Majors Triple-A
68 Ryan Church 26 Nationals OF Majors Triple-A
69 Robinson Cano 22 Yankees 2B Triple-A Triple-A
70 Angel Guzman 23 Cubs RHP Double-A Double-A
71 Michael Aubrey 22 Indians 1B Double-A Double-A
72 Carlos Quentin 22 D-Backs OF Double-A Triple-A
73 Josh Barfield 22 Padres 2B Double-A Triple-A
74 Aaron Hill 23 Blue Jays SS Double-A Triple-A
75 Matt Cain+ 20 Giants RHP Double-A Double-A
76 Delwyn Young 22 Dodgers 2B High Class A Double-A
77 Conor Jackson 22 D-Backs OF Double-A Triple-A
78 Jamie D'Antona 22 D-Backs 3B Double-A Double-A
79 Ervin Santana 22 Angels RHP Double-A Double-A
80 Yusmeiro Petit 20 Mets RHP Double-A Double-A
81 Corey Hart 23 Brewers OF Majors Majors
82 Terry Tiffee 25 Twins 3B Majors Triple-A
83 Erick Aybar 21 Angels SS High Class A Double-A
84 Cole Hamels 21 Phillies LHP High Class A Double-A
85 Kelly Shoppach 24 Red Sox C Triple-A Triple-A
86 Ryan Speier 25 Rockies RHP Double-A Triple-A
87 Brad Baker 24 Padres RHP Triple-A Triple-A
88 Curtis Granderson 24 Tigers OF Majors Triple-A
89 Larry Broadway 24 Nationals 1B Double-A Triple-A
90 Merkin Valdez 23 Giants RHP Majors Triple-A
91 Adam Miller 20 Indians RHP High Class A Double-A
92 Todd Linden 24 Giants OF Majors Triple-A
93 Jason Repko 24 Dodgers OF Triple-A Triple-A
94 Jason Stokes 23 Marlins 1B Double-A Triple-A
95 Luke Scott 27 Astros OF Double-A Triple-A
96 Ian Snell 23 Pirates RHP Majors Triple-A
97 Shin-Soo Choo 22 Mariners OF Double-A Triple-A
98 Ryan Raburn 23 Tigers 2B Majors Triple-A
99 Justin Germano 22 Padres RHP Majors Triple-A
100 Josh Fields 23 White Sox 3B High Class A Double-A
HM John Maine- 23 Orioles RHP Majors Triple-A
HM Brendan Harris- 24 Nationals 3B Majors Triple-A
HM Greg Miller 20 Dodgers LHP Injured Double-A
HM Jason Botts 24 Rangers 1B Double-A Triple-A
HM Mike Hinckley- 22 Nationals LHP Double-A Double-A
 
 
 
Player News
Jair Jurrjens
Jurrjens still trade candidate
Jair Jurrjens, SP, ATL
11:57 AM
News: CBSSports.com senior writer Danny Knobler reports sources said the Braves could try and trade SP Jair Jurrjens if he proves healthy in spring training. The Braves tried to trade Jurrjens this winter, but they couldn't find a taker because potential trade partners weren't convinced Jurrjens was healthy or could stay healthy. Jurrjens missed the end of the 2011 season with a knee injury and has made just 43 starts the last two seasons.
Analysis: When Jurrjens is healthy, then he is one of the best pitchers in the majors. His 1.87 ERA in the first half last season was second to only Jered Weaver among major-league starters. Jurrjens has won 13-plus games in three of the last four seasons. So why would the Braves want to trade him? Well, Jurrjens is a free agent after the 2013 season and it appears Atlanta is ready to clear some rotation space for the likes of Julio Teheran and Randall Delgado. It's going to be very interesting to see what happens with Jurrjens this spring. There appears to be a chance he might not finish the spring with Atlanta, which could mean Jurrjens slides down draft boards in NL-only formats that lose players who are traded to the AL. In mixed leagues, Jurrjens is still a decent mid-round Fantasy pick.
A.J. Burnett
Angels, Indians interested in Burnett
A.J. Burnett, SP, NYY
11:40 AM
News: FOXSports.com reports sources indicate the Angels are interested in Yankees SP A.J. Burnett, whose name has been heavily mentioned in trade rumors with the Pirates. However, the Angels are on Burnett's no-trade list and he wants to stay east. Pittsburgh is still considered the heavy favorite to potentially land Burnett. CBSSports.com baseball insider Jon Heyman said the Indians have also inquired about Burnett. The trade talks involve DH Travis Hafner, but Cleveland is unsure if it would make that trade. The Yankees also don't mind the free agent DH options available.
Analysis: Right now the hold up in the Pirates trade is how much money Pittsburgh will be willing to pay of Burnett's remaining salary over the next two years ($33 million) and the prospects the Pirates would send to the Yankees. Perhaps these rumors regarding the Angels and Indians might speed up the process, but other sources have said the Yankees would keep Burnett if the deal isn't right for them. Wherever Burnett pitches in 2012, he is going to be a late-round Fantasy pick coming off a turbulent 2011 campaign.
Coco Crisp
Crisp moving over for Cespedes?
Coco Crisp, CF, OAK
10:13 AM
News: Sources have told FOXSports.com that the Athletics intend to start newly signed Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes in center field right away, which would move Coco Crisp over to left field and Seth Smith to DH. Cespedes is already 26 and has faced upper-level competition in Cuba, but some scouts think he could use some time in the minors to adjust to the U.S. game.
Analysis: None of these reports are coming directly from the Athletics, so you should consider them nothing more than speculation at this point. Still, speculation is better than nothing, and if Cespedes is in fact going to be on the opening day roster, then he might even be worth drafting in the middle rounds, given his upside. As for Crisp, moving to left field wouldn't have any real impact on his Fantasy value. The Athletics outfield is even more crowded with the Cespedes signing, but the team seems to consider Crisp a mainstay at the top of the lineup. Given his base-stealing ability and doubles pop, he's a worthy fourth or fifth outfielder in mixed leagues.
Ryan Braun
Braun will know fate by Feb. 24
Ryan Braun, LF, MIL
10:03 AM
News: Monday came and went without a ruling on Brewers OF Ryan Braun's pending 50-game suspension for testing positive for a banned substance. It was the 25th day since the three-man panel heard Braun's appeal. According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the panel was supposed to “make all reasonable efforts” to deliver a verdict within that period of time, but chairman Shyam Das was given an extension. A decision is expected before Braun reports to spring training on Feb. 24, but the exact date is unknown since the process is intended to be confidential.
Analysis: The panel's need for a lengthy deliberation is theoretically a good sign, but then again, since the process is usually confidential, we don't know how common such extensions are. Braun's case is said to be unique, but it might not make much of a difference to the panel. If you're drafting now, you should do so with the expectation that Braun will miss the first 50 games of the season, which could allow him to slip to the middle rounds in standard mixed leagues. If the appeal is upheld, though, he's suddenly back to being a first-rounder in Fantasy.
Mike Moustakas
Moustakas in great shape
Mike Moustakas, 3B, KC
12:48 PM
News: Royals manager Ned Yost had his contract option for the 2013 season picked up on Tuesday, but the Kansas City skipper seemed more interested in talking about his 2012 team. Yost was impressed with how many players have shown up for spring training early and is really blown away by the fitness level of a few of his players. "Billy Butler and Mike Moustakas -- I'm extremely proud of both of those guys," Yost told reporters. "They could be in the best shape they've been in their careers. Billy looks great, and I didn't even hardly recognize Moose he looks so good."
Analysis: While the fitness level doesn't necessarily mean a player will have success, it really can't hurt either. To hear Yost rave about Moustakas should get the attention of Fantasy owners. Moustakas, who is one of the Royals' top prospects, struggled when he first arrived in the majors last season. However, he seemed to have figured it out by season's end. Moustakas hit .352 with four homers and 12 RBI in his final 22 games last season. He is definitely one of the more intriguing Fantasy sleepers heading into 2012 and this latest report just adds to his appeal on Draft Day.
Jhoulys Chacin
Chacin fires back at GM
Jhoulys Chacin, SP, COL
12:07 PM
News: The Denver Post reports Rockies SP Jhoulys Chacin responded to comments made by GM Dan O'Dowd, who expressed concern recently about Chacin's offseason conditioning. "I came to Arizona this past Monday. I have not stopped training during the winter, both in my country and here," Chacin told Venezuelan newspaper Meridiano. "I have always done the best job I could all throughout these past few months. I don't know where these comments came from. I believe they're the result of what other people have told him, instead of his own personal evaluation. I am looking forward to meeting O'Dowd personally, and I am confident that he will have a different conclusion after a firsthand evaluation." O'Dowd made his comments after seeing Chacin at the team's Fanfest in January. "He looked OK. It wasn't as bad as I anticipated," O'Dowd said. "It's still not what it should be."
Analysis: O'Dowd believes Chacin needs to lose weight because the excess pounds affect the balance in his delivery and cause his fastball command to suffer. Chacin spent much of the winter working out in his native Venezuela after working out in Tucson previously. On Feb. 9, Chacin reportedly weighed 226 pounds but anticipates being close to the 218 pounds he was last spring when he reports to spring training on Feb. 19. Chacin went 8-7 with a 3.16 ERA in 18 pre-All Star break starts last year and went 3-7 with a 4.31 ERA in 13 starts after the break. Chacin struggled with walks in the second half and was much more hittable down the stretch than he was early in the season. This situation is clearly not the way Fantasy owners want to see Chacin kick off the 2012 season, but perhaps this will provide him with the motivation he needs to reach elite status. Look to Chacin as a mid-round Fantasy option on Draft Day.
Kyle Seager
Seager gets work at first base
Kyle Seager, 3B, SEA
1:25 PM
News: The Seattle Times reports Mariners 3B Kyle Seager took grounders at first base Tuesday.
Analysis: It's interesting to see Seager working at another position in camp with manager Eric Wedge calling him the front-runner for the third-base job. However, the team could be interested to see if Seager could play another position in a pinch. Justin Smoak is still the team's first baseman and Mike Carp is his expected backup. Carlos Guillen can also play first base, so we can't look too much into Seager taking grounders at first just yet. His main focus should be winning the 3B job over the likes of Alex Liddi and Chone Figgins. Consider Seager nothing more than a late-round, low-end Fantasy corner infielder on Draft Day. He does have some sleeper potential, but don't reach for him in drafts.
Travis Hafner
Hafner on Yankees radar?
Travis Hafner, DH, CLE
1:19 PM
News: CBSSports.com baseball insider Jon Heyman reports the Indians have inquired about Yankees SP A.J. Burnett, who has been heavily involved in trade rumors. The talks with the Indians revolve around a Burnett for DH Travis Hafner deal. However, Cleveland is unsure if it would make that trade, and the Yankees also appear content with the free agent DH options available.
Analysis: This trade rumor is definitely interesting because a trade to the Yankees would immediately elevate Hafner's Fantasy appeal. He would end up going to a hitter's park and be inserted into one of the best lineups in baseball. That means a ton of chances to fill the stat sheet. However, it doesn't appear this deal is imminent, so Fantasy owners shouldn't get their hopes up. It's best to view Hafner as a low-end, injury-risk Fantasy option for the late rounds of deep formats on Draft Day. Hafner continues to post poor home run totals and hasn't played more than 100 games in three of his last four seasons.
Kosuke Fukudome
Fukudome lands on South Side
Kosuke Fukudome, RF, CLE
11:46 AM
News: Kosuke Fukudome is headed back to the Windy City, but this time he is going to call the South Side home. Fukudome agreed to a one-year, $1 million contract with the White Sox on Tuesday. The deal also included a club option for the 2013 season. "Kosuke adds to our outfield depth and gives Robin (Ventura) another left-handed bat to mix into the lineup based on matchups," assistant general manager Rick Hahn said in a statement. "He can play center field and right and provides flexibility to our roster."
Analysis: Fukudome played for the Cubs from 2008 to the trade deadline last season when he was shipped to Cleveland. He had his most disappointing campaign in the majors in 2011, which is why he probably stayed on the free-agent market longer than expected. The White Sox are expected to open 2012 with an outfield alignment of Alex Rios in center, Dayan Viciedo in right field and Alejandro De Aza in left field. Brent Lillibridge is considered a backup at all three outfield positions and now Fukudome joins the mix as another outfield body. However, since he likely won't begin the season as a starter, then Fukudome can be left undrafted in most Fantasy formats. Consider him at best an AL-only Fantasy reserve.
Joba Chamberlain
Chamberlain throws for third time
Joba Chamberlain, RP, NYY
1:06 PM
News: The New York Post reports Yankees SP Joba Chamberlain, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, threw 20 pitches on Tuesday for the third time this year. Chamberlain is throwing from a half-mound.
Analysis: It appears Chamberlain is progressing nicely from his elbow surgery. But there is no guarantee he will be ready for the start of the season. Let Chamberlain go undrafted in most Fantasy formats, and let him prove that he is healthy and productive before adding him to rosters that reward for middle relievers.
 
 
 
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