We have welcomed three of the game's future stars -- perhaps eventual Fantasy first-rounders -- to the big leagues. Say hello to Brandon Wood, Billy Butler and Hunter Pence.
Now, here's the immediate reality: They are no better than a .170 hitter.
Well, that is because Alex Gordon of the Royals is hitting below his weight right now -- .171 average, five RBI, seven runs, one steal through 88 at-bats. But Gordon is a better prospect long term than all those guys above who are currently burning up on the most-added and most-scouted lists on CBS SportsLine.
If Gordon's slow start has taught us anything, it's to temper our immediate expectations on young hitters.
This is not to suggest you shouldn't own Wood, Butler and Pence in Fantasy leagues. They are must-haves in all long-term keeper leagues. But we see them more as stashees in mixed leagues right now. One, because they are not certain to stick around. Two, because their positions are loaded.
Slugging rookie outfielders and corner infielders take time, so the best you can do with these guys is stash them away and hope to catch lightning in a bottle.
3B/SS Brandon Wood, 22, Angels
Triple-A stats to date: .261-3-15-10-2 (.347-.432)
Minor
league career ('03-'06): .285 AVG, .353 OBP, .537 SLUG in 438 games
(1,726 at-bats)
Drafted: 2003, Round 1, 23rd overall
Wood was called the next Cal Ripken by some scouts, because of his size and power potential at the shortstop position. The Angels have depth at shortstop in their system, with Erick Aybar and Sean Rodriguez there, and a more immediate need at third base. Wood made the switch this spring to expedite his arrival. He came up last week, was sent back when Chone Figgins returned and was recalled when Maicer Izturis (hamstring) went on the DL. We're pretty sure Wood will play third as long as he is worthy of at-bats, with Figgins getting his regular starts at second and in the outfield.
What to do in yearly leagues: Stash him in any format, start him in deeper one.
OF Billy Butler, 21, Royals
Triple-A stats to date: .337-6-23-19-1 (.445-.584)
Minor
league career ('04-'06): .344 AVG, .417 OBP, .564 SLUG in 314 games
(1,228 at-bats)
Drafted: 2004, Round 1, 14th overall
Butler, who has the best plate discipline of this trio -- rare for a young slugger -- is barely legal in your neighborhood bar and was called up when Ryan Shealy (hamstring) went on the 15-day DL. Butler is expected to get at-bats in the outfield and DH for the next couple of weeks, debuting with a pair of singles Tuesday. He's talented enough to stick around, but our hunch is he is sent back to Triple-A after a brief trial period. He should return for good over the summer, though.
What to do in yearly leagues: Start him in deeper formats next scoring period.
CF Hunter Pence, 24, Astros
Triple-A stats to date: .341-3-19-16-2 (.398-.588)
Minor
league career ('03-'06): .302 AVG, .376 OBP, .556 SLUG in 308 games
(1,175 at-bats)
Drafted: 2004, Round 2, 64th overall
Pence is the oldest of the trio and the most certain to stick around. He has been given the everyday job in center field in Houston over struggling Chris Burke and will have a great home hitter's park to play half his games in. We like him best for immediate returns over the other two, but his ceiling is not quite as high long term.
What to do in yearly leagues: Start him in deeper formats.
Rookie watch
Here are the top rookies in Fantasy to date (stats through May 2):
| Top 5 AL Fantasy Rookies | ||
| Position, player, team | Rotisserie stats to date | |
| 1 | SP Daisuke Matsuzaka, BOS | 3-2, 4.36 ERA, 38 K, 1.212 WHIP, 0 SV |
| Looks human, but gets back-to-back victories over the Yanks. | ||
| 2 | RF Delmon Young, TB | .248 AVG, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 17 R, 2 SB |
| AVG and K-to-BB rate is bad, but he's still just getting started. | ||
| 3 | LF Adam Lind, TOR | .262-3-10-11-0 |
| His bat is good enough to keep climbing this list in the future. | ||
| 4 | RP Joakim Soria, KC | (1-1)-2.77-16-1.000-4 |
| A setup man once Octavio Dotel returns, but an decent stopgap. | ||
| 5 | RF Travis Buck, OAK | .221-3-12-9-0 |
| Average is bad, but his .485 SLUG and .354 OBP are healthy. | ||
| Honorable mentions: 3B Akinori Iwamura, TB; SP Phil Hughes, NYY; RP Hideki Okajima, BOS; P Dustin Moseley, LAA; SP Darrell Rasner, NYY; SP Kei Igawa, NYY; SP John Danks, CHW; OF Elijah Dukes, TB; 3B Alex Gordon, KC; OF Billy Butler, KC; OF Reggie Willits, LAA; 3B Brandon Wood, LAA; SP Brian Bannister, KC; RP Sean Henn, NYY. | ||
| Top 5 NL Fantasy Rookies | ||
| Position, player, team | Rotisserie stats | |
| 1 | OF Josh Hamilton, CIN | .254 AVG, 6 HR, 14 RBI, 12 R, 1 SB |
| Has fallen into his first slump; how he responds will be telling. | ||
| 2 | RP Henry Owens, FLA | 1-0, 2.30 ERA, 14 K, 1.174 WHIP, 3 SV |
| Looks like he has taken a firm hold of Marlins' closer's role. | ||
| 3 | CF Chris Young, ARI | .211-4-13-13-3 |
| Heating up? Two-HR game and has stolen some bags recently. | ||
| 4 | SP Jason Hirsh, COL | (2-2)-3.41-25-1.200-0 |
| This rookie arm somehow flies under the radar in Colorado. | ||
| 5 | SP Micah Owings, ARI | (1-1)-2.93-14-1.174-0 |
| Returns to rotation off DL and might wind up top NL SP rook. | ||
| Honorable mentions: SP Chris Sampson, HOU; C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, ATL; OF Jeff Baker, COL; SP Mike Pelfrey, NYM; CF Felix Pie, CHC; OF Alejandro De Aza, FLA; SS Troy Tulowitzki, COL; UTL Alberto Callaspo, ARI; C Chris Iannetta, COL; 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff, SD; RP Joe Smith, NYM; RP Matt Lindstrom, FLA. | ||
On the verge
Here are some of our favorite prospects who are in the minor leagues and are worth tracking closely.
| Minor league hotlist | ||
| Position, player, team | Minor league stats | |
| 1 | SP Tim Lincecum, SF | Triple-A: (4-0)-0.29-46-0.742 |
| This year's Cole Hamels arrives in prime time Sunday night. Act fast if it's not already too late! | ||
| 2 | 3B Ryan Braun, MIL | Triple-A: .366-8-17-21-3 |
| If the Brewers weren't in first, they wouldn't be so patient. | ||
| 3 | SP Jon Lester, BOS | A, Triple-A: (0-1)-2.14-25-1.048 |
| Left last Triple A start early and now might not arrive next week. | ||
| 4 | SP Yovani Gallardo, MIL | Triple-A: (3-1)-2.70-42-0.933 |
| He's about the only one keeping up with Lincecum right now. | ||
| 5 | SP Kevin Slowey, MIN | Triple-A: (3-0)-1.05-28-0.623 |
| This guy can't still be behind Matt Garza and Glen Perkins? | ||
| Honorable mentions: SP Matt DeSalvo, NYY; SP Adam Miller, CLE; SP Matt Garza, MIN; SP Tyler Clippard, NYY; SP Andrew Miller, DET; SP Homer Bailey, CIN; C Jeff Mathis, LAA; SP Jason Hammel, TB; OF Justin Upton, TB; 3B Ian Stewart, COL; OF Matt Kemp, LAD; 1B Steven Pearce, PIT; OF Rick Ankiel, STL; OF Jacoby Ellsbury, BOS; 1B/OF James Loney, LAD; 3B Andy LaRoche, LAD; SS Reid Brignac, TB; SP Luke Hochevar, KC; SP Philip Humber, NYM; 3B Evan Longoria, TB; SP Scott Elbert, LAD; 3B Chase Headley, SD; SP Clayton Kershaw, LAD; 1B Joey Votto, CIN; 3B/OF Josh Fields, CHW; SP Nick Adenhart, LAA; OF Wladimir Balentien, SEA; OF Terry Evans, LAA; OF Adam Jones, SEA; SS Sean Rodriguez, LAA; OF Jay Bruce, CIN. | ||
Baby talk
Sports Freak: I recently stashed Jacoby Ellsbury, which I thought was a good thing because he would probably get the call if Coco Crisp went down, and Wily Mo Pena isn't exactly playing his best right now. Is Ellsbury worth keeping? I am in a keeper league.
Emack: The 23-year-old Ellsbury, 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, has been way too good for Double-A, hitting .449 with 10 doubles, a pair of triples, 13 RBI, 14 runs and seven steals in eight attempts. Save for not being a homer threat right now, he might be the next Grady Sizemore. With all that said, he didn't look ready for the big leagues in spring training and Crisp is heating up. Consider stashing the red-hot Ellsbury in long-term keeper leagues, but we see him more as a September call-up, barring injury.
Raphi Baumann, Bassersdorf, Switzerland: I play in a 16-team, mixed, keeper league. At the moment, Pat Burrell, Vernon Wells, Austin Kearns and David DeJesus (utility player) are building my outfield. Shall I promote Billy Butler right now? I am thinking of benching Burrell and promote Butler to play his position. What are your thoughts?
Emack: Wow, that's jumping on the bandwagon with two feet. Butler's Double-A numbers last year weren't better than Burrell's power last season in a down year.
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.
