Contenders, amid their go big or stay home pennant races, are trusting young talent now more than ever. It is pretty apparent when you see a 19-year-old Justin Upton arrive for the upstart NL West-leading D-Backs and the defending AL champ to a 20-year-old Cameron Maybin full time in left field.
You may want to go to the young guys, too.
Late August used to be the time the prospects needed to go big or stay home in September, making their final push to collect a big-league paycheck in anticipation of rosters expanding to 40. Now, Maybin is among those needing to go big in August and September or else he will have to stay home in October.
Out is veteran Craig Monroe; in is a 20-year-old who started the season in Class A ball.
Maybin, a future 30-30 talent, has needed just four games to post a pair of multi-hit games and be one of the most-added and most-viewed players on CBSSports.com. As an everyday player with immense talent and in a great lineup, Maybin is a must-add in all deeper leagues immediately. It might already be a week too late.
Maybin started the season at high Class A Lakeland, hitting .304 with 10 homers, 44 RBI and 25 stolen bases, and moved up to Double-A Erie. The Tigers purchased his contract after he hit .400 with four home runs and eight RBI in just six games at Double-A.
The Tigers have seen enough of him to know they want to see more -- first-hand in their everyday lineup.
Another team in the AL Central, the Indians, are re-adding 22-year-old Aaron Laffey in their rotation Saturday, perhaps through the end of the season. This is significant not only because they are a contender with a great offense that can make him a winner for your Fantasy team down the stretch, but Indians manager Eric Wedge is choosing him over former 18-game winner Cliff Lee and resurgent former No. 1 pick Jeremy Sowers.
Both of those lefties came into the season as full-time rotation members for the Indians.
"Who gives us the best chance to win?" general manager Mark Shapiro said. "And no matter what we do, there will still be one or two guys down there who also give us a chance to win."
Now Wedge and Shapiro believe Laffey gives them the best chance. Out is the 29-year-old veteran Lee; in is a 22-year-old lefty who ranked No. 22 on Baseball America's top Indians prospects. That's 22nd among Indians prospects, not all of baseball.
Lee, who went 18-5 with a 3.79 ERA as a third-year starting pitcher breakout in 2005, has been out-pitched in Triple-A by both Laffey and Sowers, 24. Lee has gone 0-2 with a 3.60 ERA, while Sowers is 4-5, 3.83 and especially hot in August (3-1, 2.81).
Laffey, who was demoted in mid-August when the Indians didn't need a No. 5 starter because of off-days, has gone 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA in two Triple-A starts. He has struck out 13 in 14 innings. That's far better than the two mediocre starts he made for the Indians in early August (1-1, 5.73 with five Ks, four BB in 11 innings).
Laffey, owned in just 2 percent of CBSSports.com Fantasy leagues, is a must-add in all AL-only formats and a sleeper for any deeper league you have reserves. With the right matchups and perhaps a couple weeks of double-starts in September, he can help your Fantasy team go big down the stretch.
On the verge
Here are some of our favorite prospects who are in the minor leagues and are worth tracking closely (stats through Aug. 22):
| Minor league hotlist | ||
| Position, player, team | Minor league stats | |
| 1 | 3B Evan Longoria, TB | AA-Triple-A: .306 AVG, 24 HR, 88 RBI, 89 R, 4 SB |
| Impressive in Triple-A, especially considering his 1-1 in K-BB. | ||
| 2 | 1B Joey Votto, CIN | Triple-A: .303-21-87-68-16 |
| Reds just might hand him 1B job and let him go in September. | ||
| 3 | OF Jay Bruce, CIN | A-AA-Triple-A: .316-24-86-83-7 |
| Crowded outfield in Cincy might not give him a chance in September. | ||
| 4 | SP Kevin Slowey, MIN | Triple-A: (9-4), 1.73 ERA, 97 K, 0.898 WHIP |
| Struggled in majors, but Triple-A numbers strong, especially of late. | ||
| 5 | SP Jeremy Sowers, CLE | Triple-A: (4-5)-3.83-54-1.358 |
| Won't get call this weekend, but he's hot in August (3-1, 2.81). | ||
| Honorable mentions: SP Aaron Laffey, CLE; SP Clay Buchholz, BOS; OF Jacoby Ellsbury, BOS; 3B Andy LaRoche, LAD; SS Reid Brignac, TB SP Mike Pelfrey, NYM; SP Homer Bailey, CIN; SP Gio Gonzalez, CHW; SP Carlos Carrasco, PHI; SP Collin Balester, WAS; 1B Daric Barton, OAK; SP Max Scherzer, ARI; OF Brandon Jones, ATL; SP Eric Hurley, TEX; OF Wladimir Balentien, SEA; DH/C Taylor Teagarden, TEX; SP William Inman, SD; SP Jeff Niemann, TB; SP Troy Patton, HOU; 3B Neil Walker, PIT; C Landon Powell, OAK; 1B Joe Koshansky, COL; SP Philip Humber, NYM; OF Brandon Moss, BOS; SS Jed Lowrie, BOS; OF Terry Evans, LAA; OF Travis Snider, TOR; SP Clayton Kershaw, LAD; SP Chris Mason, TB; SP Wade Townsend, TB; SP Wade Davis, TB; 1B Steven Pearce, PIT; SP Mark Holliman, CHC; 3B Chase Headley, SD; C Jeff Clement, SEA; SP Chuck Lofgren, CLE; SP Zack Segovia, PHI; SP Ian Kennedy, NYY; SP Justin Masterson, BOS; SP Johnny Cueto, CIN. | ||
Rookie watch
Here are the top rookies in Fantasy to date (stats through Aug. 22):
| Top 5 AL Fantasy Rookies | ||
| Position, player, team | Rotisserie stats to date | |
| 1 | SP Daisuke Matsuzaka, BOS | 13-10, 3.76 ERA, 172 K, 1.271 WHIP, 0 SV |
| He is in the top 10 among SPs in a standard scoring system. | ||
| 2 | SP Brian Bannister, KC | (10-7)-3.28-66-1.139-0 |
| Red-hot Royal is 5-2 with a 2.65 ERA in the second half. | ||
| 3 | OF Reggie Willits, LAA | .296 AVG, 0 HR, 32 RBI, 60 R, 25 SB |
| Bad July and perhaps worse August has him sliding down. | ||
| 4 | SP Jeremy Guthrie, BAL | (7-4)-3.44-103-1.111-0 |
| First-half standout kicks recent funk with strong outing. | ||
| 5 | OF Delmon Young, TB | .286-9-64-50-7 |
| On 182-hit, 82-RBI pace, but he's more of a bust than ROY. | ||
| Honorable mentions: 3B Josh Fields, CHW; 2B Dustin Pedroia, BOS; 1B Billy Butler, KC; OF Travis Buck, OAK; C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, TEX; SP Matt Garza, MIN; SP Andrew Miller, DET; SP Kason Gabbard, TEX; SP Jair Jurrjens, DET; RP Eric O'Flaherty, SEA; 3B Akinori Iwamura, TB; RP Hideki Okajima, BOS; RP Joakim Soria, KC; 3B Alex Gordon, KC; OF Jerry Owens, CHW; SP John Danks, CHW; SP Jesse Litsch, TOR. | ||
| Top 5 NL Fantasy Rookies | ||
| Position, player, team | Rotisserie stats | |
| 1 | 3B Ryan Braun, MIL | .332 AVG, 24 HR, 62 RBI, 59 R, 10 SB |
| He has fallen into a mini slump, but he has done plenty already. | ||
| 2 | OF Chris Young, ARI | .237-26-47-68-21 |
| Recent wild homer tear puts him just off a 30-30 pace now. | ||
| 3 | SS Troy Tulowitzki, COL | .293-17-67-72-5 |
| Surging star has hit .310, 9 HR since break and .364 in August. | ||
| 4 | SP Tim Lincecum, SF | (7-4), 3.91 ERA, 132 Ks, 1.198 WHIP, 0 SV |
| Unfortunately, he might be a candidate to be shut down to save arm. | ||
| 5 | OF Hunter Pence, HOU | .326-12-46-43-8 |
| Missed a month and arrived one month in; will be tough to win ROY. | ||
| Honorable mentions: 3B Mark Reynolds, ARI; SP Ubaldo Jimenez, COL; SP Yovani Gallardo, MIL; OF Josh Hamilton, CIN; SP Micah Owings, ARI; 1B James Loney, LAD; SP Kyle Kendrick, PHI; C Carlos Ruiz, PHI; 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff, SD; 2B Mike Fontenot, CHC; 2B Yunel Escobar, ATL; OF Justin Upton, ARI. | ||
Baby talk
Joe: I'm in a keeper league and I have to decide between keeping Adam Jones or Evan Longoria? Who has the most long-term and short-term (2008) potential? Who would you keep? (Salary isn't an issue. I own them both at the same amount).
Emack: Longoria is more intriguing because of the position, in our view. Also, he hasn't had his call-up yet, so hype will make him harder to get back next season. Late-season reserve call-ups like Jones wallow on the bench and historically fly more under the radar the next spring.
Wayne: I have Evan Longoria, Cameron Maybin and Jacoby Ellsbury, of which Maybin just got the call. Dollar for dollar my worst OF is Manny Ramirez at $38. I have to cut Manny if I want to keep Maybin next year, but with first place paying 50 percent, I'm nervous the switch might cost me first (second is 25 percent). What do you think the difference in HR and AVG will be between the two players for the balance of the season?
Emack: Wow, Maybin is a nice keeper, but winning in a keeper league pays nicely if you can win once every, say, five years. Keep Manny and go for the victory. He should out-produce Maybin easily down the stretch. Maybin is way to young and raw to be considered on Manny's level, especially in high-pressure September games. Manny has played in those for years. Maybin has never played pro baseball in September. You have to bid adieu to Maybin, but there will be the next Maybin under the radar next spring to get on the cheap. The fact you have Longoria and Maybin suggests you're very good at finding them.
You can e-mail Emack your Fantasy Baseball questions to DMFantasyBaseball@cbs.com. Be sure to put Attn: Prospects Report in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state. Be aware, due to the large volume of submissions received, we do not guarantee personal responses to all questions.