We are breaking down the top five prospects for each organization for 2009, taking into consideration: games, at-bats, innings and major-league service time. We expect these players to have rookie status remaining heading into next year.
According to MLB rules: "A player shall be considered a rookie unless, during a previous season or seasons, he has (a) exceeded 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the major leagues; or (b) accumulated more than 45 days on the active roster of a major league club or clubs during the period of 25-player limit (excluding time in the military service and time on the disabled list)."
Note: Statistics are those at each stop in the minors this season and age represents how old they will be on opening day 2009.
Cincinnati Reds
When you graduate the class of prospects the Reds did in 2008 -- Jay Bruce, Joey Votto and Johnny Cueto -- you don't expect much more in the way of immediate help. But losing every year tends to make a farm system strong and deep and the Reds have some more help on the way in 2009 -- although most likely not until midseason. In a few years, this will be a real strong young team. Heck, they might even be able to pull off a poor man's Tampa Bay Rays-like surprise next season.
1. SS Todd Frazier, 23
Remember that Toms River, N.J., Little League World Series hero by the same name? Well, this is him in his pro form over a decade later. Like another LLWS hero, Chase Utley, Frazier has a lot of raw power for a middle infielder. The question now is whether he stays at shortstop. Regardless, Frazier is a must-track prospect in the first half of this upcoming season. He could be an impact Fantasy player in the second half, especially if he makes a move to left field.
Level | AVG | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | TB | BB | SO | SB | CS | OBP | SLUG | OPS |
Low A | .321 | 30 | 112 | 25 | 36 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 20 | 67 | 15 | 28 | 4 | 2 | .402 | .598 | 1.000 |
High A | .281 | 100 | 366 | 62 | 103 | 20 | 3 | 12 | 54 | 165 | 41 | 84 | 8 | 4 | .357 | .451 | .808 |
Totals | .291 | 130 | 478 | 87 | 139 | 30 | 3 | 19 | 74 | 232 | 56 | 112 | 12 | 6 | .368 | .485 | .853 |
2. SS Christopher Valaika, 23
If you asked 100 scouts and touts now, you might be able find 50 that would prefer Valaika over Frazier. That says a lot about the strides Valaika made in 2008. We are obviously less convinced, but he will get his shot before Frazier because of his organizational experience. That might even come as a longshot to start at shortstop out of spring training.
Level | AVG | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | TB | BB | SO | SB | CS | OBP | SLUG | OPS |
High A | .363 | 32 | 135 | 20 | 49 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 31 | 79 | 7 | 28 | 2 | 0 | .393 | .585 | .978 |
Double-A | .301 | 97 | 379 | 58 | 114 | 19 | 1 | 11 | 50 | 168 | 28 | 74 | 7 | 4 | .352 | .443 | .795 |
Totals | .317 | 129 | 514 | 78 | 163 | 28 | 1 | 18 | 81 | 247 | 35 | 102 | 9 | 4 | .363 | .481 | .843 |
3. 1B Yonder Alonso, 21
This Hurricane masher is expected to arrive on the fast track like Ryan J. Braun did with the Brewers. Expecting that kind of production will leave you disappointed more often than not, but Alonso plays a position where that kind of production is needed and expected. Watch him closely in his first pro season. He could have a Matt LaPorta like campaign.
Level | AVG | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | TB | BB | SO | SB | CS | OBP | SLUG | OPS |
High A | .316 | 6 | 19 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | .440 | .368 | .808 |
4. SP Daryl Thompson, 23
Thompson doesn't wow the scouts, but he puts up good numbers wherever he pitches. That should say enough. We might be overrating him here, placing him above some pretty good prospects who are going to be good major leaguers, but our guess is Thompson will continue to beat the scouts' relatively low expectations.
Level | W | L | ERA | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | GO/AO | BAA |
Double-A | 3 | 2 | 1.76 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 61 1/3 | 44 | 19 | 12 | 2 | 14 | 56 | 0.79 | .208 |
Low A | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.29 | .133 |
High A | 0 | 2 | 6.89 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 2/3 | 20 | 12 | 12 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 2.17 | .339 |
Triple-A | 5 | 0 | 2.76 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 2/3 | 39 | 15 | 14 | 4 | 9 | 33 | 1.13 | .232 |
Totals | 8 | 4 | 2.70 | 21 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 126 2/3 | 105 | 47 | 38 | 8 | 30 | 99 | 1.01 | .231 |
Majors | 0 | 2 | 6.91 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 1/3 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 0.76 | .328 |
5. 3B Juan Francisco, 21
Like a lot of young hitters, he strikes out too much and doesn't walk enough, but that power potential makes him the next Edwin Encarnacion. We think he projects to be even better with time, but you will have to wait a few years before he will be considered Fantasy viable.
Level | AVG | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | TB | BB | SO | SB | CS | OBP | SLUG | OPS |
High A | .277 | 127 | 516 | 71 | 143 | 34 | 5 | 23 | 92 | 256 | 19 | 123 | 1 | 2 | .303 | .496 | .799 |
Best of the rest: OF Chris Dickerson, OF Drew Stubbs, 3B Neftali Soto, SP Ramon A. Ramirez, SP Matt Maloney, SP Dallas Buck, SP Jordan Smith, RP Zach Stewart, RP Tyler Cline, SP Clayton Shunick, 2B Alex Buchholz, SP Kyle Lotzkar, SS Paul Janish, C Ryan Hanigan, C Wilkin Castillo, RP Danny Herrera, RP Josh Roenicke, RP Pedro Viola, SP Sean Watson, C Craig Tatum, SS Zack Cozart, SP Carlos Fisher, SS Adam Rosales, SP Travis Wood, 3B Brandon Waring, SP Sam LeCure, SS Jose Castro, SP Tyler Pelland, OF Danny Dorn, 2B Justin Turner, Sergio Valenzuela and B.J. Syzmanski.
2008 rookies to exhaust eligibility: OF Bruce, 1B Votto, SP Cueto and SP Homer Bailey.
Last year's top five here: Bruce, Votto, Bailey, Cueto and Thompson.
You can e-mail Emack your Fantasy Baseball prospect questions to DMFantasyBaseball@cbs.com. Be sure to put Attn: Reds prospects in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state. Be aware, due to the large volume of submissions received, we cannot guarantee personal responses to all questions.