Last week we chronicled some hot Double-A bats that -- save for the wistful hopes of Matt LaPorta arriving in Milwaukee on a bolt of lightning -- won't be candidates to help your Fantasy team this season. We know what you were saying: "We can read the stat sheet. Tell us something we don't already know."

Minor League stats
Interested in seeing how your favorite prospects are performing in the minor leagues? You can find a player's stats on his page or you can sort stats for Triple-A and Double-A by clicking here .

So, here goes with some bold predictions.

The following five minor leaguers will be called up before June 1, if not sooner. Write it down:

1. OF Jay Bruce, Reds

Another Reds rookie Joey Votto is mashing at near a .900 OPS and has seen his Fantasy ownership on CBSSports.com rise to over 80 percent -- what are the other 20 percent waiting for? But Bruce's recent data in Triple-A blows away anything Votto can do.

Bruce has gotten Lance Berkman-biblical of late, hitting .611 (22-for-36) with three homers, 12 RBI and 11 runs in his past 10 games. For the season, his average is up to .366, and that comes with the heavy amount of extra-base hits (eight homers, five triples and nine doubles). It adds up to a .398 OBP and a .662 SLUG.

Get out of the way Corey Patterson and Ryan Freel -- or Ken Griffey, Jr., pack your bags for Seattle. There's company comin'. We have already said how much of a shakeup GM Walt Jocketty could have in store.

Bruce is simply irresistible right now for the Reds and Fantasy owners. His ownership has hiked five ticks to 37 percent in recent days amid this stretch, so kudos to Fantasy owners paying close attention and buying early.

2. SPs Bartolo Colon or Justin Masterson, Red Sox

OK, this is a cop-out. We really aren't sure which Thursday minor league starter will get the call Tuesday for the Red Sox. We are certain either one can be an impact pitcher for Fantasy leagues right away.

Colon threw six innings of one-hit, shutout ball Thursday in Triple-A in his second start after coming off the DL. He struck out four, all of them looking, did not walk a batter and needed only 64 pitches to get through six innings in Game 1 of a doubleheader, which was only slated to go seven. Masterson got his audition Thursday night back in Double-A, but he allowed seven runs and suffered the loss.

We like Masterson's potential better. He was throwing frisbee sliders in his outstanding one-start look in Boston last month, but Colon can be a safer option in smaller Fantasy leagues. Masterson is owned in just 4 percent of our leagues right now, so he is more readily available as a flier in deeper leagues than Colon (22 percent owned).

Whomever gets the No. 5 nod next Tuesday will be a two-start pitching sleeper for all deeper leagues in Fantasy Week 8 (May 19-25). Take the flier on Colon immediately and keep Masterson on your radar just in case the Red Sox think Colon needs to build up his arm strength with higher pitch counts before he gets the call.

3. SP Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers

We have beat this name to death, but we assure you the 20-year-old is worth the hype. It sure didn't look like it Monday night, which was supposed to be an audition for the Dodgers' No. 5 starter's spot Saturday. Kershaw finally looked human, allowing five hits and five earned runs in just over three innings.

The bad outing led the Dodgers to naming Chan Ho Park their starter for Saturday's opening, so Kershaw won't arrive this week or next. We know Park is nothing more than a stopgap, right? Surely, you don't trust him.

The Dodgers can skip the No. 5 spot after Saturday and the next time that turn comes up is May 27. Kershaw can start in Double-A on May 17 and May 22 before getting the nod for a two-start week in Fantasy Week 9 (May 26-June 1).

Already owned in 39 percent of leagues, a six percent increase this week amid the Saturday speculation, Kershaw's start Saturday has to be monitored very closely in all leagues. We have already chronicled his talent in an earlier Prospects Report , our first of the season in fact.

4. SP Homer Bailey, Reds

Bronson Arroyo was getting bombed and there were thoughts he might be hurt. Wait, is this Bailey's chance? Nope. Arroyo is locked in after two outstanding starts back-to-back, the most recent one on three-day's rest.

Then, Matt Belisle was rumored to be on the chopping block. He was slated to start Thursday and could have been a candidate to pitch himself to the bullpen or back to Triple-A. Nope. That Marlins-Reds game was rained out. Belisle's spot can be skipped a turn if the Reds so choose and then give him another look Tuesday, May 20 at the start of a two-start week.

Mother Nature grants Belisle a reprieve, but Bailey didn't help his case either in his last start -- much like Kershaw. Bailey allowed a season-high 11 hits, six earned runs and struck out a season-low one batter in 4 1/3 innings Sunday.

Also, like Kershaw, he is conveniently working on the same schedule as Belisle. It is not a coincidence. If Bailey proves effective then Thursday, May 20 is an option. If not, we say everything will line up for Bailey arriving May 25.

5. OF Carlos Gonzalez, Athletics

He might be in a funk right now -- .171 (6-for-35) in his past 10 games -- but Gonzalez is the kind of bat the surprising A's won't be able to keep down once he gets hot again. This current cold streak comes after he returned from a brief injury, a sprained ankle.

You will want to take that flier in deeper AL-only leagues on Gonzalez before he proves healthy and productive in Triple-A, because once he does, the A's will give him a shot. Heck, they weren't convinced he didn't deserve to be the everyday center fielder out of spring training -- and if not for a hamstring problem he probably would have been.

Owned in just 5 percent of our leagues right now, buy now on Gonzalez if you are thirsty for a outfield call-up and can't get your hands on Bruce.

Prospect watch

Every Thursday, we break down all the minor leaguers who are owned in at least 1 percent of our Fantasy leagues, both hitters and pitchers. This will be your essential guide to unearthing the elite prospects before they hit the big time.

We now have minor league stats updated daily on our player profiles. The stats listed here are those with the players' current level and are through games of Wednesday, May 14.

CBSSports.com's most-owned minor league hitters
Player TM Pos Own% Level AVG HR RBI R SB OBP SLUG
Jay Bruce CIN OF 37 Triple-A .366 8 33 27 7 .398 .662
Cameron Maybin FLA OF 21 Double-A .241 5 11 22 6 .366 .409
Josh Fields CHW 3B 18 Triple-A .240 4 14 17 3 .318 .396
Chase Headley SD 3B 13 Triple-A .285 4 16 23 0 .356 .444
Brandon Wood ANA 3B 12 Triple-A .268 8 20 21 1 .324 .577
Andy LaRoche LA 3B 10 Triple-A .289 4 9 11 2 .500 .605
Colby Rasmus STL OF 10 Triple-A .194 6 15 22 5 .282 .329
Travis Buck OAK OF 8 Triple-A .282 1 4 4 0 .317 .410
Ian Stewart COL 3B 7 Triple-A .268 9 32 33 3 .358 .587
Jerry Owens CHW OF 6 Triple-A .235 1 7 13 10 .316 .303
Matt LaPorta MIL OF 6 Double-A .314 10 38 32 0 .420 .629
Carlos Gonzalez OAK OF 5 Triple-A .303 3 13 12 1 .361 .424
Steve Pearce PIT OF 4 Triple-A .242 4 23 17 2 .296 .392
Adam Lind TOR OF 4 Triple-A .333 4 24 12 1 .388 .548
Matt Wieters BAL C 3 High A .331 8 22 26 1 .417 .570
Jayson Nix COL 2B 3 Triple-A .250 1 4 11 2 .349 .389
Andrew McCutchen PIT OF 3 Triple-A .279 6 19 25 12 .369 .461
Matt Antonelli SD 2B 3 Triple-A .179 3 8 20 2 .320 .325
Josh Barfield CLE 2B 2 Triple-A .255 4 14 18 5 .297 .391
Dallas McPherson FLA 3B 2 Triple-A .283 12 28 24 2 .392 .600
Fernando Martinez NYM OF 2 Double-A .280 3 16 19 3 .314 .408
Dan Johnson TB 1B 2 Triple-A .333 5 15 13 0 .430 .606
Chris Davis TEX 3B 2 Double-A .322 10 31 31 4 .365 .575
Travis Snider TOR OF 2 Double-A .198 4 16 11 0 .330 .358
Kendry Morales ANA 1B 1 Triple-A .297 5 31 15 1 .333 .469
Josh Anderson ATL OF 1 Triple-A .275 1 14 18 12 .321 .327
Brandon Jones ATL OF 1 Triple-A .274 2 15 20 3 .353 .393
Jordan Schafer ATL OF 1 Double-A .091 0 0 1 1 .231 .182
Scott Moore BAL 3B 1 Triple-A .167 2 6 12 1 .255 .286
Lars Anderson BOS 1B 1 High A .241 5 18 23 0 .363 .426
Matt Murton CHC OF 1 Triple-A .368 0 7 11 1 .484 .408
Eric Patterson CHC OF 1 Triple-A .260 1 8 9 2 .325 .425
Josh Vitters CHC 3B 1 Low A .214 0 1 1 0 .214 .429
Joe Koshansky COL 1B 1 Triple-A .282 6 29 24 0 .377 .527
Ryan Shealy KC 1B 1 Triple-A .222 8 16 17 0 .300 .470
Michael Moustakas KC 3B 1 Low A .248 4 14 14 3 .306 .383
Austin Jackson NYY OF 1 Double-A .264 0 7 22 6 .351 .351
Jose Tabata NYY OF 1 Double-A .231 0 15 15 5 .316 .269
Neil Walker PIT 3B 1 Triple-A .190 4 18 19 0 .240 .372
Nyjer Morgan PIT OF 1 Triple-A .087 0 0 2 3 .087 .087
Nate Schierholtz SF OF 1 Triple-A .308 4 25 23 7 .357 .519
Jason Botts TEX OF 1 Triple-A .182 2 4 3 0 .280 .500
Taylor Teagarden TEX C 1 Triple-A .294 0 3 5 0 .279 .305
Max Ramirez TEX C 1 Double-A .383 8 26 26 0 .453 .672
Christopher Marrero WAS OF 1 High A .220 5 16 16 0 .311 .383
CBSSports.com's most-owned minor league pitchers
Player TM POS Own% Level W-L ERA K BB HA WHIP IP
Francisco Liriano MIN SP 58 Triple-A 0-1 4.66 15 14 17 1.603 19 1/3
Rich Hill CHC SP 41 Triple-A 1-1 1.69 13 5 10 1.406 10 2/3
Clayton Kershaw LA SP 39 Double-A 0-3 2.21 40 11 28 1.064 36 2/3
Homer Bailey CIN SP 31 Triple-A 4-3 3.55 40 14 48 1.224 50 2/3
Bartolo Colon BOS SP 18 Triple-A 1-0 1.13 7 1 5 0.750 8
Nick Adenhart ANA SP 11 Triple-A 4-0 0.87 19 15 18 1.065 31
Franklin Morales COL SP 9 Triple-A 1-0 1.80 3 6 0 1.200 5
David Price TB SP 7 TBD No stats yet
Adam Miller CLE SP 5 Triple-A 0-0 2.04 14 7 22 1.642 17 2/3
Justin Masterson BOS SP 4 Double-A 1-2 3.06 34 14 28 1.299 32 1/3
Rick Porcello DET SP 3 High A 3-4 1.74 23 13 28 0.992 41 1/3
Chris Volstad FLA SP 3 Double-A 3-1 2.58 37 17 40 1.089 52 1/3
Gio Gonzalez OAK SP 3 Triple-A 0-2 4.85 30 22 43 1.667 39
Anthony Reyes STL SP 3 Triple-A 0-0 0.00 3 3 4 2.333 3
Sean Marshall CHC SP 2 Triple-A 0-0 2.57 9 2 3 0.714 7
Carlos Carrasco PHI SP 2 Double-A 3-3 3.77 44 19 37 1.302 43
Brad Hennessey SF RP 2 Triple-A 1-0 1.80 3 1 6 1.400 5
Jeff Niemann TB SP 2 Triple-A 1-1 2.60 16 7 10 0.981 17 1/3
Jake McGee TB SP 2 Double-A 3-2 4.58 36 16 28 1.245 35 1/3
Wade Davis TB SP 2 Double-A 3-2 3.64 35 16 40 1.191 47
John Patterson TEX SP 2 TBD No stats yet
Jarrod Parker ARI SP 1 Low A 3-1 1.05 21 4 22 1.013 25 2/3
Radhames Liz BAL SP 1 Triple-A 0-4 5.22 40 18 36 1.361 39 2/3
Jeremy Sowers CLE SP 1 Triple-A 2-2 2.21 26 14 34 1.180 40 2/3
Rick VandenHurk FLA SP 1 Double-A 1-0 4.76 7 1 6 1.235 5 2/3
Kyle Davies KC SP 1 Triple-A 4-2 2.43 24 16 29 1.216 37
Jon Meloan LA SP 1 Triple-A 2-3 3.73 40 23 42 1.585 41
Philip Humber MIN SP 1 Triple-A 1-4 5.29 21 16 46 1.824 34
Chris Perez STL RP 1 Triple-A 1-1 2.04 22 9 12 1.189 17 2/3
Kazuo Fukumori TEX RP 1 Triple-A 0-1 2.57 13 2 11 0.929 14
Eric Hurley TEX SP 1 Triple-A 1-3 6.54 50 17 55 1.688 42 2/3
Ross Detwiler WAS SP 1 High A 3-2 4.58 32 17 39 1.585 35 1/3

Rookie watch

Top AL rookies to date

  1. OF Jacoby Ellsbury, BOS -- Much more valuable in Rotisserie, but he won't share time for long.
  2. SP Aaron Laffey, CLE -- If Cliff Lee wasn't enough, the Indians have this lefty hot, too.
  3. OF David Murphy, TEX -- He won't finish on this list, but he has gotten off to a nice start.
  4. SP Armando Galarraga, DET -- He gets one more start, but how can the Tigers demote him now?
  5. SP Garret Olson, BAL -- Solid through three starts and will stick around in rotation.

Top NL rookies to date

  1. C Geovany Soto, CHC -- Catchers just don't hit 30 homers, usually -- especially not rookie ones.
  2. SP Jair Jurrjens, ATL -- Might the Tigers be able to use this arm right now? Wow.
  3. 1B Joey Votto, CIN -- Get out of this masher's way right now. He's hot.
  4. OF Kosuke Fukudome, CHC -- He finally homered again, but don't expect more than 15 right now.
  5. 3B Blake DeWitt, LAD -- He could lose his job to Andy LaRoche, but not by his own doing.

Newbie needs

Chris Gallagher, London, Ontario: I'm wondering if you can shed some light on Angel Salome, the Brewers top catching prospect. He is batting nearly .500 over his past 10 games and .390 overall for Double-A Huntsville. I know he was suspended last year, and I know he is quite small (5-foot-7?!) for a catcher, but the bat seems to be there. What are his future prospects like? Any chance of adding him to the CBSSports.com system?

Emack: A solid backstop prospect. He doesn't have Soto power, but he can develop into a serviceable big league starter. Like most young catchers, Soto excluded, you cannot expect he will be an immediate hit in the big leagues. Brewers manager Ned Yost likes a veteran backstop, so Salome has little chance of making an impact this year or early next year.

Ryan: Please add Jhoulys Chacin to the CBS player database!

Emack: An intriguing 20-year-old talent dominating in low Class A -- he won't be candidate for the majors anytime soon, but his hot streak is noteworthy.

Kevin Shea, Holtsville, N.Y.: Is Rich Hill done or what? I was thinking of dropping him and adding Clayton Kershaw who might be the next big thing.

Emack: Hill is anything but done and will be back soon. As a minor league prospect, you should prefer Kershaw. If you are looking for more of a sure thing, go with Hill. He will be back around June.

Blair Olynyk: Please, please touch on Jamie D'Antona. This guy is missed by everyone, including the Arizona Diamondbacks. Serious numbers, OBP: .434, SLG: .627, AVG: .421. How can these be missed by your column?

Emack: If you are referring to the Prospect Watch section, that is limited to players owned in at least 1 percent of CBSSports.com's Fantasy leagues. We have mentioned him for years, but he has never proven to be anything more than a very good minor leaguer. There is pop in his bat, but we don't see the D-Backs considering him anything more than a reserve.

DB: I picked up Justin Heywood in my draft this year. Is he a possible impact player of the future?

Emack: You might want to tell your league you meant Braves prospect Jason Heyward. Not Justin or Heywood, the Braves' Heyward is hitting .325 with four homers, 19 RBI, 29 runs, eight steals, a .365 OBP and a .470 SLUG. He is one of the best long-term slugging prospects in baseball, so yes, if this is who are intended to refer to, he is an impact player of the future.

You can e-mail us your Fantasy Baseball prospect questions to DMFantasyBaseball@cbs.com. Be sure to put Attn: 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.