TOP 50 HITTING PROSPECTS
5 Cameron Maybin FLA OF A- He’s alive! .382 with 5 HR in June. Another month of that and he’s in Florida.
6 Andrew McCutcheon PIT OF A- .289/.377/.446. 19 SB and a respectable 82% contact rate. Will replace either Bay or Nady.
7 Colby Rasmus STL OF A Finally some signs of life – .316 in June with 2 HR. 0.67 EYE on the year.
8 Andy LaRoche LAD 3B A- Will play against move lefties and some righties. Superutility role (1B, 3B, 2B).
10 Chase Headley SD OF A- Callup is sounding imminent if you read the SD papers. Could have immediate impact.
12 Jason Heyward ATL OF A- 6′4″, 220 and he’s only 18? Off to a great start to his career – .329/.383/.504 – 7 HR, 8 SB.
14 Matt Gamel MIL 3B A- .278 in May but just .158 in first 10 games of June. Bat will be fine, but can he stick at SS?
18 Angel Villalona SF 3B A- .234 AVG and .23 EYE but as you know, this is all about projection when a guy is 17.
25 Jordan Schafer ATL OF B+ .257 with 3 HR in 9 G since his return from HGH suspension. Maybe he didn’t need the juice?
26 Bryan Anderson STL C B .355/.405/.467. Power should come, but will defense be there?
29 Matt Antonelli SD 2B B The Andruw Jones of AAA this year. 2-for-28 in June is about on par with his April/May. Demotion?
31 Michael Burgess WAS OF B .243 ISO but 77 K in 60 games suppresses AVG to .257. Just needs time.
34 J.R. Towles HOU C B Astros could no longer carry his anemic bat. Don’t give up hope in keeper leagues.
42 Chin-Lung Hu LAD SS B Glove good, bat not so much. Gets demoted to make room for Angel Berroa. What happens in ‘09?
43 Josh Vitters CHC 3B B Demoted to short-season ball and will begin season there on 6/17. Has been rehabbing hand inj.
47 Neil Walker PIT 3B B Hitting better this month but drafting of Pedro Alvarez clouds Walker’s future.

TOP 50 PITCHING PROSPECTS
1 Clayton Kershaw LAD SP A Debut has gone as expected (inconsistent command). Not sure what happens on Schmidt’s return.
5 Max Scherzer ARI SP A 9:6 K:BB in 9.2 relief innings with 4.66 ERA. He’ll return to rotation eventually, back to the minors for now.
6 Homer Bailey CIN SP A He’s probably not going to blossom until next year, but should still stick in the rotation.
7 Jarrod Parker ARI SP A- D-backs taking the cautious approach – Parker averaging just 4.4 IP/GS. 2.0 BB/9 great to see.
10 Tommy Hanson ATL SP A- Does have a 5.06 ERA in AA but that’s due to one bad start. He’s still an elite SP prospect.
15 Carlos Carrasco PHI SP B+ 11 ER in 12.1 innings over his last two starts. 72 K in 73.2 innings on the year.
21 Jamie Garcia STL SP B+ 2.29 ERA and 18:6 K:BB in last three starts. STL may not be able to keep him down for much longer.
25 Joe Savery PHI SP B+ 3 ER or less in each of last four starts but 61:32 K:BB on the year = too many BB.
29 James McDonald LAD SP B 3 ER or less in each of last 7 GS. 68 K in 67.1 innings on the season.
32 Madison Bumgarner SF SP B Numbers continue to be eye-popping: 2.20 ERA, 64:10 K:BB in 57.2 innings.
34 Ross Detwiler WAS SP B Has allowed 17 hits over his last 9.2 innings. Control also erratic in disappointing first full season.
37 Matt Latos SD SP B Last year’s 11.8 K/9 in rookie ball hasn’t carried over quite yet, but he’s still settling in.
39 Jordan Zimmerman WAS SP B A bit erratic since AA promotion – 16 BB, 31.1 innings, but he’s a fast riser.
42 Scott Elbert LAD SP B Finally back, in a relief role to build arm strength. 2 2/3 scoreless so far.
45 Ryan Tucker FLA SP B 1.41 ERA gets him the promotion from AA. Won 1st start despite 5 BB but deserves a look.

Recent Debuts
Ryan Tucker FLA SP 21 B 1.41 ERA gets him the promotion from AA. Won 1st start despite 5 BB but deserves a look.
Garrett Mock WAS SP 25 B- Hit hard in big league debut by Giants (really) and sent down shortly thereafter.
Mitch Boggs STL SP 24 C+ Good enough to win his debut but struck out zero in that one. #5 SP at best.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

OP 50 HITTING PROSPECTS
2 Matt Wieters BAL C A Cold spell over – 10-for-21 in last 6 G. .340/.438/.588. Needs a promotion soon.
4 Travis Snider TOR OF A- He’s okay after LD to the head. .273/.373/.459 in AA. 12 HR on the year though 84 K in 63 G.
9 Jeff Clement SEA C A- .378 w/ 5 HR in last 10 G. You’d think the Mariners could use a guy like that.
13 Mike Moustakas KC SS A- .300/.343/.570 with 5 HR in May after hitting .190 with 1 XBH in all of April.
15 Reid Brignac TAM SS A- .323 in May but drew just 3 BB all month. Just .224 in June, but 4 BB. Needs a huge June.
16 Austin Jackson NYY OF A- Opened June w/ a 7 RBI game. .135 ISO keeps us wondering when the power will come.
19 Desmond Jennings TAM OF A- Pretty good in 10 games following back injury: .393/.541/.571 with 3 SB in 10 G.
21 Jed Lowrie BOS SS B+ .359 with a homer in June but may be nothing more than David Eckstein if he can’t hit for more power.
28 Ben Revere MIN OF B Carlos Gomez who? .409/.460/.556 with 21 SB and 1.08 EYE. A true breakout.
30 Lars Anderson BOS 1B B .914 OPS but just 2 HR since April despite playing in the CAL league. EYE = .82.
32 Taylor Teagarden TEX C B Now down to .237 in AAA but 19 BB to 93 AB has him with .377 OBP. Still not too encouraged.
38 Beau Mills CLE 1B B .238 with 2 HR in June. For the year: .259/.364/.444. .72 EYE and 28 XBH.
41 Max Ramirez TEX C B Has cooled off in June w/ .258 AVG after .394 May. .430 w/ runners on base.
49 Jesus Montero NYY C B 6′4″ at age 18 makes you wonder if he can stick at catcher. Bat will play elsewhere though.

TOP 50 PITCHING PROSPECTS
2 David Price TAM SP A So he’s human – 3 R, 11 H over 5+ innings in his last start. 1.16 ERA in four starts.
3 Rick Porcello DET SP A 5.75 ERA in his last four starts. K/9 still suprisingly low at 5.5.
4 Clay Buchholz BOS SP A Fingernail was healed. Heads to AAA to work on consistency of his fastball. He’ll be back.
8 Jacob McGee TAM SP A- 3.00 ERA since a 5.32 April. Hasn’t been as dominant this year (8.2 K/9) as last (11.3).
9 Wade Davis TAM SP A- 6 ER in 2 IP last time out. 54:28 K:BB a far cry from last year’s 169:51.
12 Chris Tillman BAL SP A- 9 K in first June start (5 IP), but 30 BB in 58.2 innings probably attributable to his youth.
13 Nick Adenhart LAA SP A- 43 hits in 27.1 innings since returning from poor big league stint. Still quite young though.
14 Gio Gonzalez OAK SP A- 4.9 BB/9 is his big problem. Also 27 hits in last 19.1 innings.
17 Jeremy Hellickson TAM SP B+ 2.26 ERA and a pretty good 76:5 K:BB in 67.2 innings. Ratio was 106:34 last year.
20 Jordan Walden LAA SP B+ 2.91 ERA, 56:20 K:BB in 69.2 innings. Flying under the prospect radar a bit it seems.
28 Justin Masterson BOS SP B Placeholder for Dice-K has bumped up his trade value with 2.59 ERA in four starts.
31 Michael Bowden BOS SP B 1.45 ERA and 54:6 K:BB (wow) over last nine starts.
33 Aaron Poreda CHW SP B 2.2 BB/9 good, 5.6 K/9 not so much. He’s been solid, but upside may not be as more than a No. 4.
36 Brett Cecil TOR SP B Last 2 GS (11 IP): 1 ER, 6 H, 13:1 K:BB. Lefty with No. 3/4 starter upside.
47 Fautino de los Santos OAK SP B Well it was serious as de los Santos is out for the year after Tommy John surgery. Too bad.
49 Daniel Cortes KC SP B 3.52 ERA but 35:19 K:BB in 38.1 innings is a ratio that needs a little work.

Recent Debuts
Michael Hollimon DET 2B 25 C+ .250 in 184 AAA ABs, but a surprising 12 HR. Only 14 HR in 490 AB a year ago.
Chris Carter BOS 1B 25 C+ 2-for-3 in his debut. May have some value in AL-only leagues as Ortiz’s sub.

Cabrera is hitting like .185 as an example.

My thoughts on their players… keep most of them and ride it out.

Be prepared to trade or drop players like Renteria, Polanco, Jones,Bonderman and yes even Ivan Rodriguez. These guys are just not good any longer. If you have to wait for the weather to heat up in Detroit, then your season fantasy-wise, is 30% over. Can you afford that?

Ordonez, Magglio ‘07 was career season at 33, expect big drop off in BA as BHIP indicates more luck than deserved.
Beltran, Carlos 19/63/.275 2nd Half, declining skill set, coming off double knee surgery, remains a 2nd rounder in non auction leagues.
Byrnes, Eric 2nd half fader, 32 YO on decline. ADP says 4th round, VAM says late 5th.
Dunn, Adam 2nd half fader, still only 28 YO, 4 consecutive 40+ HR seasons
Lee, Carlos At 31 YO, slight decline in OPS last year, remains RBI machine
Suzuki, Ichiro BHIP was off charts (.357),34 YO only clouds risk to repeat in ‘08
Sizemore, Grady  at only 25, OPS still on the rise
Crawford, Carl Healthy wrist, we could see a power surge in ‘08 as Crawford could start to turn the doubles into HRs.
Guerrero, Vladimir HR% on decline but extra base hits still steady, solid late 2nd round selection
Hunter, Torii Inconsistent producer
Pence, Hunter Lucky BHIP (.322) inflated BA by 20. Rise in 2H K% makes him risky
Upton, B.J. Lucky BHIP (.341), inflated BA by 30-40 in ‘07, High 2H K%.31 (Risky)
Holliday, Matt  OPS on climb (Solid)
Rios, Alex Monster 1H, power drop in 2H. ADP says 3rd Round, VAM says 4th
Young, Chris B. Must improve discipline (.30 K% in 2 H, yet hit 21 HRs) (Risk to Rotisserie BA)
Markakis, Nick Only 24 YO, monster 14/68/.326 2nd half of ‘08, future All Star.
Granderson, Curtis Poor EYE makes him a risk to repeat, risk offset by strong lineup.
Hart, Corey Solid HR%, 30/100 potential, RBI% overstated, must improve EYE to move to next level.
Abreu, Bobby Strong 2H (12/66/.316), likely for bounce back season
Matsui, Hideki likely a bargain in most drafts this year.

Today’s column will focus on some good draft moves and some bad draft moves. I am not saying some of these players should never be drafted, just be wary as to what round of the draft you find yourself picking the player. I will attempt to start at the early drafts rounds and work to about 20 or so. This is going to be a 3 or 4 part advice column.

Please make a comment on anything you think is way off base and give me some reasons.

GOOD- BAD

Good- Miguel Cabrera Cabrera is only 24 and is now in one of the best lineups in baseball. At the very least, Cabrera should be taken before Ryan Howard. At best, he could go as the fourth overall pick of the draft.

BAD: Jose Reyes. Reyes should certainly be a first-round pick, but not before Wright or Holliday. Sure, he is the second best fantasy option at shortstop (behind Hanley Ramirez) but Reyes should be downgraded a few spots given his primary contribution to fantasy teams is the unreliable stolen base.

GOOD-BAD

Best Pick: If you took a infielder in the first round then this is where you take the stud outfielder such as Grady Sizemore. This young guy has quietly, yes I said quietly, put together some phenom numbers.

Worst Pick: Ichiro Suzuki- If forced to choose a pick and outfielder that I find questionable, in the second round, I’d have to go with Ichiro, but only because Ichiro will be turning 35 at the end of the 2008 season – an age when players typically begin to steal fewer and fewer bases, one of Ichiro’s strongest stats. Although Seattle Mariners Manager John McLaren stated in December that Ichiro could steal 80 bags this season, I think it is more realistic to expect closer to 30 in the near future.

GOOD-BAD

Best Pick: Travis Hafner- Many fantasy owners who invested an early round pick on Hafner were disappointed by his 2007 season. However, injuries (hand, knee, hamstring) were largely to blame for his poor season. I fully expect the 30-year-old slugger, who has first base eligibility in some formats, to rebound in 2008.

Worst Pick: Derek Jeter- Despite batting over .320 and getting over 200 hits for the third consecutive season, 2007 was a down year for Jeter. He had only 12 home runs and stole less than half as many bases as he did in 2006. Jeter will be turning 34 in June, and while he can still be considered a top-six shortstop, the third round is too early for him – especially in keeper leagues.

GOOD-BAD

This round is generally when you start to see second tier starting pitchers go off the board. CC Sabathia, Erik Bedard, and Josh Beckett. Some prefer youth here.

Best pick: Josh Beckett- Considered by many to be the third best starting pitching option, Beckett could be the steal of this round when you take a pitcher that won 20 games in 2007 (and the first since 2005). At only 27 years of age (he turns 28 in May), the runner up for the AL Cy Young has many good years ahead of him.

Worst Pick: Joe Mauer. Although the 24-year-old catcher could very well rebound in 2008, the questions surrounding his health and the development of power that most scouts expected, still remain. It’s precisely these question marks that should put him closer to Brian McCann’s draft position, 3 rounds later, than in Victor Martinez and Russell Martin territory.

GOOD-BAD

Best Pick: Derrek Lee- Although Lee hit .317 in 2007, it was considered a down year for him as he hit only 22 home runs and knocked in only 82 RBI. Lee had 16 of those 22 home runs in the second half, however, and another year removed from wrist problems will have Lee bouncing back in 2008.

Worst Pick: Jason Bay- Bay is certainly a bounce back candidate for 2008, but I think you would be reaching here. Drafted in the second and third rounds last year, Bay disappointed his owners by hitting .247 with only 21 home runs in 2007. This was nearly four rounds too early for this 29-year-old.

Those are rounds 1-5. Yes, some of those players may not be available in your draft at those spots. The key to winning any fantasy league is to select players at the best available spot to maximize your results.

Part 2 on its way.

1. Albert Pujols- Albert has been a steady as a rock for several years now. Definately the top fantasy player at this position. Keep an eye on him though as he has publicly stated he will not play in pain as he did last year. Therefore, depending on when and if surgery is needed will make or break a good fantasy team that is minus Albert for an extended period of time.

2. Ryan Howard- This fantasy monster cranked out 47 homers and 136 RBI’s but the other numbers, such as SB and extra basehits will slightly drive down his numbers. There is no reason on the horizon to see any dips for Howard. Draft him as early as possible. In fact you may want him before Pujols this year.

3. Mark Teixiera- Big Tex is a monster and as good as he was, he might be better with a full season for his team. If you can grab him 3rd round… do it. I see 35-45 HRS and 130 RBI’s. Better than advertised.4. Prince Fielder- Monster #3 finds Cecil hammering the ball or uncorking a gigantuant swing and a miss for almost every ball. A 50 hr man in 2007 for a team that was in the fight for the pennant along with his 119 RBI’s was a pleasant surprise for fantasy owners. The K’s will kill you. I see a huge drop from the first two (Pujols and Howard) in fantasy productionfor 2008. Probably a late 3rd-early 4th round pick.

5. Victor Martinez- the multi-positional players becomes a fantasy bonanza. Catchers are hard to get and this guy fills in the bill. Vic came in with 25/114 from 2007. Grab him. His numbers are above average in almost every category.

Best of the rest:

• 6. Derrek Lee
• 7. Lance Berkman
• 8. Paul Konerko
• 9. Nick Swisher
• 10. Carlos Pena

I can offer some great advice on those topics from the extensive research and experiences I have had being a Fantasy Sports player and sports aficionado.

Come back for daily information in 13 days.