Following Kendry - Brandon Wood

By Mark King, http://www.profantasybaseball.com/

A talked about prospect who hasn't put it together in the bigs yet. That sentence could be used for a lot of players. Last year, that was what could have been said (and no doubt was) for Kendry Morales, 1B, Angels. He finally lived up to the hype and became a stud in fantasy. Yes, there are better 1B then Morales, but that list got dramatically shorter. And how good was it for you who grabbed him late or off the waiver wire? This year, we have someone on the same team who could do the same thing. Brandon Wood.

Brandon Wood has been the future SS or 3B for the Angels for what feels like many years now. Well, the future is now, barring injury or a terrible spring, he will be the starting 3B this year. Third base, like first base, is a position that demands attention in fantasy sports. These are positions that teams count on for production. So any starting player at these positions, even unknowns, should be watched closely. Wood, however, is not a complete unknown.

Wood's minor league stats shows great talent, with a good AVG (.280+), and above average power (30 HR potential). But in his 224 big league at-bats over the last 3 years he has only managed a .192 AVG, 7 HR, and 19 RBIs - not very exciting. But his playing time was sporadic at best, not the way to get into a groove. Being an everyday player, he has the potential to start to put it together and be the guy the Angels have been looking for. Which is exactly what happened with Morales last year.

Having two guys breakout in a big way, in back to back years, is unlikely, but not impossible. Even if Wood doesn't reach his full potential, he can still have good value as a late round pick (It's worth noting that Woods has already gone deep in spring training). He's not worth overpaying for, but is worth a bench spot in moderately deep leagues. These are the type of guys that can make your fantasy year - a late pick that produces like a high one. Learn from Morales and take a chance on Wood.

-Scout Monkey

( scout_monkey@gmx.com)

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