Breakout Prospects: Outfield (Part 1)
Dexter Fowler (S/R) -- Rockies -- There are few players in major league camps this spring that excite me as much as Dexter Fowler. He has all the ability of a young Ken Griffey Jr. with that same likeable personality. He is the Rockies CF of the future and should win the job outright out of spring training. Fowler has great awareness at the plate. His ability to take tough pitches, shorten up his stride, go the opposite way and lay down the surprise bunt are mature beyond his years. Fowler hit .335 witih a .431 OBP and .515 slugging at AA Tulsa last year while swiping 20 bags as well. He has Jose Reyes like ability to hit for double digits in 2b, 3b & HR's year in and year out. His power has been slow to come but at 6'4" and just 190 lbs. he has plenty of filling out to do and with that projects added pop. But as long as he is getting on base and using his plus speed to steal bases and score runs the Rockies nor you who take a chance on him in fantasy drafts will be disappointed.
Travis Snider (L/L) -- Blue Jays -- Nobody rose through the minor leagues in 2008 like Travis Snider. He began the season in High A ball and after making stops at both AA and AAA found his way into the starting lineup on the big league club. Then all he did there was hit .301 with 2 HR's and 13 RBI in 73 AB's for the Blue Jays. Built like a spark plug, Snider will become a true major league power hitter very soon. The only question is whether Toronto will give him that chance right out of the gate in '09 or send him to AAA Las Vegas where Todd Farino can sit in the outfield party deck and haul in Snider's HR's? Either way he will find his way to Toronto this season without a doubt. Many scouts believe Snider's swing and ability to go the opposite way will allow him to hit for a high average but I disagree with that. Most of his power numbers are to the pull field and even more importantly against RHP. Left handers have shown they can get him out especially with low off speed pitches which he chases often. Snider will hit the ball out of the ballpark and for that ability alone deserves to be one of the earlier outfield prospects taken fantasy drafts.
Drew Stubbs (R/R) -- Reds -- This is going to be a critical season for the Cincinnati Reds organization. They have themselves a wealth of young viable talent but a manager who prefers retreads like Jerry Hairston Jr., Willy Tavares and Jonny Gomes. Meanwhile talented young prospects such as Jay Bruce, Chris Valaika, Adam Rosales and Drew Stubbs waste away in minimal roles or in the minor leagues. Stubbs is a plus-plus runner with outstanding base stealing and defensive abilities. He widened his stance last year and saw a tremendous bump in making contact and hitting for high BA. Stubbs is already 24 years old and ready to take the next step in his career and that should be in setting the table in the #2 hole for guys like Jay Bruce and Joey Votto but it will take quite a showing this spring to force Dusty Baker's hand into allowing that to happen.
John Raynor (R/R) -- Marlins -- This is where you can assert your dominance in a fantasy league draft. Raynor is not on anybody's radar heading into spring training and that is just plain ridiculous to me. It seems that most fantasy baseball experts either don't want to do their homework or just live off of ESPN or Baseball America's evaluation of young talent. Raynor is a kid on the come but without the hype of fellow teammate Cameron Maybin. At 25, Raynor has out developed the minor leagues by a long shot and is awaiting his natural place as the leadoff hitter for the Marlins in 2009. He has great patience at the plate and extra base ability though he does strikeout more than he should for a top of the order guy. Most notable is his crazy, and I mean crazy base stealing ability. Raynor has stolen 123 bases in just 3 minor league seasons. He was named the South Atlantic League MVP in 2007 and has hit for the cycle twice in two seasons including in the Arizona Fall League this winter. The bit test will come in camp to see how well he has recovered from a broken wrist this offseason and if ther are any ill-effects as a result. Keep this guy on your radar!
Seth Smith (L/L) -- Rockies -- Smith has has an interesting ride since being Eli Manning's backup QB at Ole Miss. He now has the simple task of replacing Matt Holliday in LF for the Rockies. While Smith has zero chance of replacing Holliday's number all by himself, he does offer a sweet swing fromt the left side and shares Holliday's ability to get on base. While I don't see him hitting for a high average I strongly believe Smith will go for 25+ HR's in the big leagues. He hits with authority to all fields and will murder mistakes made down in the zone. The LF job is all his and the Rockies will give him some time to mature into the quality hitter they believe him to be. Big upside potential in OBP & HR's out of this young left-fielder.
Those are a few of the guys I have on my radar heading into spring training. What are your thoughts? Agree? Disagree? Post your comment below or email me at jeff@fantasybaseballsearch.com
Travis Snider (L/L) -- Blue Jays -- Nobody rose through the minor leagues in 2008 like Travis Snider. He began the season in High A ball and after making stops at both AA and AAA found his way into the starting lineup on the big league club. Then all he did there was hit .301 with 2 HR's and 13 RBI in 73 AB's for the Blue Jays. Built like a spark plug, Snider will become a true major league power hitter very soon. The only question is whether Toronto will give him that chance right out of the gate in '09 or send him to AAA Las Vegas where Todd Farino can sit in the outfield party deck and haul in Snider's HR's? Either way he will find his way to Toronto this season without a doubt. Many scouts believe Snider's swing and ability to go the opposite way will allow him to hit for a high average but I disagree with that. Most of his power numbers are to the pull field and even more importantly against RHP. Left handers have shown they can get him out especially with low off speed pitches which he chases often. Snider will hit the ball out of the ballpark and for that ability alone deserves to be one of the earlier outfield prospects taken fantasy drafts.
Drew Stubbs (R/R) -- Reds -- This is going to be a critical season for the Cincinnati Reds organization. They have themselves a wealth of young viable talent but a manager who prefers retreads like Jerry Hairston Jr., Willy Tavares and Jonny Gomes. Meanwhile talented young prospects such as Jay Bruce, Chris Valaika, Adam Rosales and Drew Stubbs waste away in minimal roles or in the minor leagues. Stubbs is a plus-plus runner with outstanding base stealing and defensive abilities. He widened his stance last year and saw a tremendous bump in making contact and hitting for high BA. Stubbs is already 24 years old and ready to take the next step in his career and that should be in setting the table in the #2 hole for guys like Jay Bruce and Joey Votto but it will take quite a showing this spring to force Dusty Baker's hand into allowing that to happen.
John Raynor (R/R) -- Marlins -- This is where you can assert your dominance in a fantasy league draft. Raynor is not on anybody's radar heading into spring training and that is just plain ridiculous to me. It seems that most fantasy baseball experts either don't want to do their homework or just live off of ESPN or Baseball America's evaluation of young talent. Raynor is a kid on the come but without the hype of fellow teammate Cameron Maybin. At 25, Raynor has out developed the minor leagues by a long shot and is awaiting his natural place as the leadoff hitter for the Marlins in 2009. He has great patience at the plate and extra base ability though he does strikeout more than he should for a top of the order guy. Most notable is his crazy, and I mean crazy base stealing ability. Raynor has stolen 123 bases in just 3 minor league seasons. He was named the South Atlantic League MVP in 2007 and has hit for the cycle twice in two seasons including in the Arizona Fall League this winter. The bit test will come in camp to see how well he has recovered from a broken wrist this offseason and if ther are any ill-effects as a result. Keep this guy on your radar!
Seth Smith (L/L) -- Rockies -- Smith has has an interesting ride since being Eli Manning's backup QB at Ole Miss. He now has the simple task of replacing Matt Holliday in LF for the Rockies. While Smith has zero chance of replacing Holliday's number all by himself, he does offer a sweet swing fromt the left side and shares Holliday's ability to get on base. While I don't see him hitting for a high average I strongly believe Smith will go for 25+ HR's in the big leagues. He hits with authority to all fields and will murder mistakes made down in the zone. The LF job is all his and the Rockies will give him some time to mature into the quality hitter they believe him to be. Big upside potential in OBP & HR's out of this young left-fielder.
Those are a few of the guys I have on my radar heading into spring training. What are your thoughts? Agree? Disagree? Post your comment below or email me at jeff@fantasybaseballsearch.com
posted by Jeff Mans at
Thursday, February 19, 2009
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home
Back To 2010 Draft Kit