Now that June is turning into July, prospect season will be relatively quiet for the elite impact call-ups. Yovani Gallardo is here -- albeit in relief. Ryan Braun, Hunter Pence, Andrew Miller, Tim Lincecum, Homer Bailey and Jarrod Saltalamacchia are all likely here to stay.
And James Loney has been elevated to an everyday player with the move of Nomar Garciaparra to third. All Loney has done has gone 14-for-26 (.583) with two homers, eight RBI and six runs in his past six days (all starts).
Now, it's time to follow the longer term solutions in the minor leagues. They might not get their shot this year, but they will be the ballyhooed options in years forward. Conveniently, you'll get to see most of them in the Futures Game, Sunday, July 8.
| U.S. Team | World Team | ||
| Pitchers | |||
| Clay Buchholz | BOS | Pedro Beato | BAL |
| Joba Chamberlain | NYY | Carlos Carrasco | PHI |
| Matt Garza | MIN | Fautino De los Santos | CHW |
| Luke Hochevar | KC | Emiliano Fruto | WAS |
| Clayton Kershaw | LAD | Deolis Guerra | NYM |
| Chuck Lofgren | CLE | Serguey Linares | PIT |
| Michael Madsen | OAK | Franklin Morales | COL |
| Jeff Niemann | TB | Henry Sosa | SF |
| Garrett Olson | BAL | Rich Thompson | LAA |
| Rick Vanden Hurk | FLA | ||
| Catchers | |||
| Bryan Anderson | STL | Robinzon Diaz | TOR |
| J.R. Towles | HOU | Max Ramirez | CLE |
| Infielders | |||
| Brian Bocock | SF | Elvis Andrus | ATL |
| Adrian Cardenas | PHI | German Duran | TEX |
| Chris Coghlan | FLA | Alcides Escobar | MIL |
| Brent Lillibridge | ATL | Chin-Lung Hu | LAD |
| Evan Longoria | TB | Freddy Sandoval | LAA |
| Steve Pearce | PIT | Geovany Soto | CHC |
| Ian Stewart | COL | Craig Stansberry | SD |
| Johnny Whittleman | TEX | Joey Votto | CIN |
| Outfielders | |||
| Jay Bruce | CIN | Wladimir Balentien | SEA |
| Jacoby Ellsbury | BOS | Carlos Gonzalez | ARI |
| Cameron Maybin | DET | Gorkys Hernandez | DET |
| Colby Rasmus | STL | Fernando Martinez | NYM |
| Justin Upton | ARI | Michael Saunders | SEA |
Here are our top five Fantasy prospects to watch during the game. Now, this list won't help much in long-term keeper leagues, because these guys are already locked up. But for those of you who stick to non-keeper formats, check these guys out before they become next spring's hot topics.
1. OF Justin Upton, ARI
He will probably be the No. 1 prospect in baseball going into 2008. The teenager hasn't stopped dominating after a promotion to Double-A.
2. 3B Evan Longoria, TB
You like what Braun is doing? Or drooling over what Alex Gordon can do? Or have enjoyed what Ryan Zimmerman did in 2006? Longoria's bat is potentially as good as any of those future stars.
3. OF Jay Bruce, CIN
If he wasn't merely 20 years old, we might have considered him a candidate to replace Ken Griffey or Adam Dunn if one or both was traded at the deadline. Moved up to Double-A and merely got hotter.
4. OF Cameron Maybin, DET
Born one day after Bruce in 1987, Maybin might not trail his counterpart long term. Maybin has a bigger frame to build from, more speed and draws more walks. This is a future five-category Rotisserie gem.
5. SP Clay Buchholz, BOS
We wrote about him in this space last week. While he might be fifth on this list, he could arrive before all but Longoria. Once Jon Lester and Adam Miller get the call, we won't hesitate to call him the hottest pitching prospect in the minor leagues. Heck, we don't hesitate already.
On the verge
Here are some of our favorite prospects who are in the minor leagues and are worth tracking closely (stats through June 27):
| Minor league hotlist | ||
| Position, player, team | Minor league stats | |
| 1 | SP Mike Pelfrey, NYM | Triple-A: (2-2)-3.38-31-1.359 |
| Spot start Friday, but he could pitch himself out of Mets' plans for '07. | ||
| 2 | 3B/SS Brandon Wood, LAA | Triple-A: .266-13-45-42-8 |
| Numbers are so-so, but he is hot of late: .395-5-12-10-0 in past 10. | ||
| 3 | SP Jon Lester, BOS | A-Triple-A: (1-4), 3.41 ERA, 47 K, 1.286 WHIP |
| A bad week, but sometimes it's good to have to overcome setbacks. | ||
| 4 | SP Gavin Floyd, CHW | Triple-A: (6-3)-3.07-74-1.227 |
| Former top prospect has been streaking in June at 3-0, 1.43 ERA. | ||
| 5 | OF Adam Jones, SEA | Triple-A: .308 AVG, 17 HR, 58 RBI, 53 R, 5 SB |
| Has cooled off, but 21-year-old's progress in Triple-A is promising. | ||
| Honorable mentions: SP J.A. Happ, PHI; SP Manny Parra, MIL; SP Adam Miller, CLE; SP Gio Gonzalez, CHW; SP Matt Garza, MIN; SP Carlos Carrasco, PHI; SP Clay Buchholz, BOS; 1B Daric Barton, OAK; OF Brandon Jones, ATL; 2B Eric Patterson, CHC; 1B Joey Votto, CIN; SP Eric Hurley, TEX; OF Justin Upton, ARI; OF Jay Bruce, CIN; OF Jacoby Ellsbury, BOS; OF Wladimir Balentien, SEA; DH/C Taylor Teagarden, TEX; SP William Inman, MIL; SP Jeff Niemann, TB; SP Troy Patton, HOU; 3B Neil Walker, PIT; C Landon Powell, OAK; DH Jason Botts, TEX; 3B Joel Guzman, TB; OF Rick Ankiel, STL; SS Reid Brignac, TB; 3B Evan Longoria, TB; 1B Joe Koshansky, COL; SP Philip Humber, NYM; SP Jeff Niemann, TB; OF Brandon Moss, BOS; SS Jed Lowrie, BOS; 3B Ian Stewart, COL; OF Travis Snider, TOR; SP Clayton Kershaw, LAD; SP Max Scherzer, ARI; SP Joba Chamberlain, NYY; SP Chris Mason, TB; SP Wade Townsend, TB; SP Wade Davis, TB; OF Nelson Cruz, TEX; OF Delwyn Young, LAD. | ||
Rookie watch
Here are the top rookies in Fantasy to date (stats through June 27):
| Top 5 AL Fantasy Rookies | ||
| Position, player, team | Rotisserie stats to date | |
| 1 | SP Daisuke Matsuzaka, BOS | 9-5, 3.80 ERA, 110 K, 1.237 WHIP, 0 SV |
| Despite some hiccups, he is still besting our optimistic projections. | ||
| 2 | SP Jeremy Guthrie, BAL | (4-1)-2.45-62-0.920-0 |
| Either Leo Mazzone is a genius or the Indians are just foolish. | ||
| 3 | OF Reggie Willits, LAA | .337 AVG, 0 HR, 24 RBI, 39 R, 18 SB |
| Ouster of Shea Hillenbrand afford Willits some job security now. | ||
| 4 | OF Delmon Young, TB | .277-9-43-38-6 |
| One-time favorite puts hot streak together, but still has work to do. | ||
| 5 | 2B Dustin Pedroia, BOS | .322-3-23-30-1 |
| Lack of true power or steals will limit his ceiling, but he's hot. | ||
| Honorable mentions: 3B Akinori Iwamura, TB; RP Hideki Okajima, BOS; SP Brian Bannister, KC; SP Andrew Miller, DET; SP Kevin Slowey, MIN; OF Travis Buck, OAK; RP Dustin Moseley, LAA; RP Joakim Soria, KC; SP John Danks, CHW; 3B Alex Gordon, KC; SP Brian Burres, BAL; RP Santiago Casilla, OAK. | ||
| Top 5 NL Fantasy Rookies | ||
| Position, player, team | Rotisserie stats | |
| 1 | OF Hunter Pence, HOU | .344 AVG, 8 HR, 35 RBI, 27 R, 7 SB |
| Despite delayed start, he still leads two very good young sluggers. | ||
| 2 | OF Josh Hamilton, CIN | .268-12-25-30-3 |
| It'll be interesting to see what happens if Reds' veteran bats get dealt. | ||
| 3 | 3B Ryan Braun, MIL | .328-6-21-26-6 |
| After hot week, we are wondering when he might finally struggle. | ||
| 4 | SP Justin Germano, SD | (5-1), 2.67 ERA, 28 K, 0.926 WHIP, 0 SV |
| Doesn't knock out hitters with K's, but doesn't walk them much either. | ||
| 5 | SS Troy Tulowitzki, COL | .271-7-35-42-3 |
| He's developing a power stroke and a knack for dramatic homers. | ||
| Honorable mentions: SP Micah Owings, ARI; 1B James Loney, LAD; OF Carlos Gomez, NYM; SP Yovani Gallardo, MIL; SP Homer Bailey, CIN; SP Chris Sampson, HOU; SP Tim Lincecum, SF; OF Chris Young, ARI; C Carlos Ruiz, PHI; C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, ATL; 3B Mark Reynolds, ARI; OF Michael Bourn, PHI; 2B Mike Fontenot, CHC; 2B Yunel Escobar, ATL. | ||
Baby talk
Sandy Moruzzi, North Hollywood, Calif.: I picked up Stephen Drew last year and again this year, but his numbers are just not picking up, and I'm considering dropping him for Dustin Pedroia. Stick with Drew or grab Pedroia?
Emack: Drew's superior potential trumps Pedroia, but since your league has guys like Pedroia on the waiver wire, you are fine going with the hottest hand. Give Pedroia a try now, but expect Drew to get hot at some point.
You can e-mail Emack your Fantasy Baseball questions to DMFantasyBaseball@cbs.com. Be sure to put Attn: Prospects Report in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state. Be aware, due to the large volume of submissions received, we do not guarantee personal responses to all questions.
