Prospects Report: Raising eyebrows in Arizona
The Arizona Fall League will have some big-time stars taking the field, namely Stephen Strasburg and second overall pick Dustin Ackley. Our Eric Mack tells you what to expect from them and much more in his latest Prospects Report.
By
Eric Mack
•
9 min read
The Arizona Fall League usually isn't that much to look at, but with prospect of the century Stephen Strasburg and No. 2 overall pick Dustin Ackley heading there, it could make more noise than ever.
The AFL plays in the shadows of the baseball postseason, but it is going to have some intriguing storylines, namely the professional debuts of this June's top two overall picks.
Everyone will be watching Strasburg try to handle the hitter-friendly AFL -- we wonder if he can have the campaign Tommy Hanson had a year ago -- but Ackley will not be a bad secondary showcase.
The North Carolina first baseman was drafted by the Mariners No. 2 overall this June after hitting .417 with 22 homers, 73 RBI, 75 runs and 13 steals in 66 games as a 21-year-old junior. The prevailing thought is that the Tommy John surgery survivor will move to center field as a pro and could move quickly to the major leagues.
The AFL is a common springboard for talent like this.
It helped launch the career of Albert Pujols before his monster rookie season in 2001, although we doubt Ackley could make the jump straight to the majors without playing a minor league game.
Strasburg very well could, though. In fact, so many are expecting it. He is already owned in 27 percent of CBSSports.com's leagues, even though it has been made blatantly clear he won't be pitching in the majors this September.
Ackley, added to the CBSSports.com database Aug. 18 because he signed a major league contract and was therefore already placed on the 40-man roster, has seen his ownership rise to 2 percent in the past week-plus. If your keeper league allows it, pick up Ackley and stash him for potential midseason 2010 rewards.
If Ackley handles the AFL well, he could enter spring with a ticket to be punched for Double-A. From there, it might not take long for the star-needy Mariners to give him a real quick look.
"It's a very good opportunity for the No. 2 selection in the 2009 Draft to face the challenge of competing against the top minor leaguers in baseball," Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik told MLB.com. "It will give him the chance to jump start his career and get ready for spring training and the 2010 baseball season. We look forward to watching Dustin compete."
The top two picks won't be the only ones headed for fall ball either. The Nationals' Drew Storen, the Braves' Mike Minor and elite outfield prospect Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman, the Reds' Mike Leake and Yonder Alonso, Astros catcher Jason Castro and the Marlins Mike Stanton and Matt Dominguez will be guys to watch as well.
Yeah, we will miss the daily and weekly minor league reports, but in the coming weeks this Prospects Report space will be used to outline our annual team-by-team prospects, starting with the AL West.
Prospect watch
Every Thursday, we break down all the minor leaguers who are owned in at least 1 percent of our Fantasy leagues. This will be your essential guide to unearthing the elite prospects before they hit the big time.
Rookie watch
Top AL rookies to date
- Jeff Niemann, SP, TB -- This has been a rare Rice pitcher to finally make good on his talent.
- Gordon Beckham, 3B, CHW -- He has cooled off some, but his overall numbers still look good.
- Ricky Romero, SP, TOR -- His rookie rotation-mates are getting shut down early, but Romero apparently won't be.
- Nolan Reimold, OF, BAL -- He got through a slump, his first as an Oriole, and looks solid for mixed leagues again.
- Rick Porcello, SP, DET -- His name and hype exceeds the numbers, but he could be the one rookie SP to pitch in the postseason.
- Honorable mentions: Elvis Andrus, SS, TEX; Andrew Bailey, RP, OAK; Brad Bergesen, SP, BAL; Brett Anderson, SP, OAK; Neftali Feliz, RP, TEX; Tommy Hunter, RP, TEX; Derek Holland, SP, TEX; David Price, SP, TB; Scott Richmond, SP, TOR; and Marc Rzepczynski, SP, TOR.
Top NL rookies to date
- J.A. Happ, SP, PHI -- It will be an interesting NL East ROY race, even if the Phils run away with the division.
- Tommy Hanson, SP, ATL -- Happ has built up more real estate, but Hanson can close the gap.
- Randy Wells, SP, CHC -- He is easily the most surprising of the rookies, going from middle reliever to ace.
- Chris Coghlan, OF, FLA -- A serious hot streak has juiced his numbers and made him a legit ROY candidate now.
- Andrew McCutchen, OF, PIT -- He has numbers, style and mojo in the clutch. He's going to be a face of the franchise.
- Honorable mentions: Garrett Jones, 1B, PIT; Kenshin Kawakami, SP, ATL; Colby Rasmus, OF, STL; Casey McGehee, 3B, MIL; Will Venable, OF, SD; Gerardo Parra, OF, ARI; Mat Latos, SP, SD; Dexter Fowler, OF, COL; Travis Ishikawa, 1B, SF; Kyle Blanks, OF, SD; and Omir Santos, C, NYM.
You can e-mail us your Fantasy Baseball prospect questions to DMFantasyBaseball@cbs.com. Be sure to put 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.
