Breaking down our Preseason Top 100 prospects, we outline the top AL-only prospects to watch. Lists such as this one have become more and more pertinent in recent years as teams are eschewing costly midseason trades in order to give chances to their lower-level farm hands. We also have a separate NL-only prospect list.

We guarantee not all of these players will appear in the majors this season -- and we certainly left out some names who will surprise -- but use this list as a guide to help you find hidden gems in deeper long-term keeper leagues. We rank them based on their projected contributions in Fantasy this year only, taking the younger and raw prospects' talent and hype in consideration as well.

Note: All players on this list remain rookie eligible, according to official MLB rules, meaning they have less than 130 at-bats, 50 innings pitched or 45 days of service time in the major leagues.

CBSSports.com's top American League prospects
Rk Player TM Age Pos 2007 high Destination
1 Evan Longoria TB 22 3B Triple-A Majors
Scouts from Arizona Fall League see him hitting 30 homers this year.
2 Clay Buchholz BOS 23 RHP Majors Majors
Curt Schilling's shoulder problem cuts a clear path for him in Red Sox rotation.
3 Joba Chamberlain NYY 22 RHP Majors Majors
We would rank him higher if we could be sure he won't merely be a setup man.
4 Jacoby Ellsbury BOS 24 OF Majors Majors
Might not be as good as we saw in September, but he is a 40-steal candidate if he starts.
5 Ian Kennedy NYY 23 RHP Majors Majors
His minor league numbers were even better than Phil Hughes or Chamberlain's last year.
6 Brandon Wood LAA 23 3B Majors Majors
Angels cleared shortstop spot to make room for him, if not on opening day than soon enough.
7 Daric Barton OAK 22 1B Majors Majors
A's say he will have first shot at starting 1B job over disappointing Dan Johnson this spring.
8 Carlos Gonzalez OAK 22 OF Triple-A Majors
He might not be ready to star, but the rebuilding A's might need him ready to start.
9 David Price TB 22 LHP College Double-A
2007 No. 1 overall pick might be getting a look to open pro career in majors … wow!
10 Aaron Laffey CLE 22 LHP Majors Majors
Has potential to start for a top contender, but Cliff Lee and Jeremy Sowers are still around.
11 Gio Gonzalez OAK 22 LHP Double-A Majors
Minor league strikeout leader should have a great chance to start for rebuilding A's out of gate.
12 Adam Miller CLE 23 RHP Triple-A Triple-A
Elite prospect was throwing 100 MPH last spring but missed out on call-up due to elbow.
13 Jake McGee TB 21 LHP Double-A Double-A
Any other organization would have him as a No. 5 starter candidate. Rays will be patient.
14 Wade Davis TB 22 RHP Double-A Double-A
Four Rays among our top 30 prospects and Davis is the third pitcher. This is a serious system.
15 Shelley Duncan NYY 28 DH Majors Majors
Power is pretty obvious, but Baseball America doesn't think much of him.
16 Wladimir Balentien SEA 23 OF Majors Majors
We give him a pretty good chance of making Mariners as a reserve outfielder.
17 Nick Adenhart LAA 21 RHP Double-A Triple-A
He will be just one call away from starting for one of the best teams in baseball.
18 Reid Brignac TB 22 SS Double-A Triple-A
Poor showing in Arizona Fall League forced Rays to trade for Jason Bartlett to start at SS.
19 Travis Snider TOR 20 OF Low Class A High Class A
Our first Class A player on this list, which means his ceiling is high but still far away.
20 Eric Hurley TEX 22 RHP Triple-A Triple-A
We like his chances of making his debut, but Texas' history with pitching prospects is poor.
21 Radhames Liz BAL 25 RHP Majors Triple-A
Hard thrower could use time in Triple-A to become a pitcher, but can O's afford that?
22 Troy Patton BAL 22 LHP Majors Majors
As a teenager was viewed as a potential Hall of Famer. Might be O's No. 5 starter.
23 Jeff Clement SEA 24 C Majors Majors
Kenji Johjima's veteran presence on contender holds elite catching talent back ... for now.
24 Philip Humber MIN 25 RHP Majors Triple-A
Drafted among the elite, higher than all but Justin Verlander, in famed 2004 pitcher draft.
25 Kevin Mulvey MIN 22 RHP Triple-A Triple-A
Groundball pitcher who doesn't give up homers should outpitch his stuff in big leagues.
26 Jeff Niemann TB 25 RHP Triple-A Triple-A
Mountain of a pitcher should get a look before Rays more elite prospects in first half.
27 Luke Hochevar KC 24 RHP Majors Triple-A
Former No. 1 overall pick likely needs to dominate minors before he starts for Royals.
28 Taylor Teagarden TEX 24 C Double-A Triple-A
Awesome power at his position but Rangers are committed to Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
29 Brett Anderson OAK 20 LHP Low Class A High Class A
This might wind up being the best chip the A's got in the Dan Haren blockbuster.
30 Glen Perkins MIN 25 LHP Majors Triple-A
Starting last year in Twins' bullpen proved to set him back a year or two.
31 Nick Blackburn MIN 26 RHP Majors Triple-A
Lack of knockout stuff could hold him back to Triple-A, but he should get a look in '08.
32 Chuck Lofgren CLE 22 LHP Triple-A Triple-A
Indians have too many options in front of Lofgren, but few of them have more talent.
33 Sean Rodriguez LAA 22 SS Double-A Triple-A
If Angels' Wood falters, this power-hitting shortstop will be there to pick up pieces.
34 Greg Smith OAK 24 LHP Triple-A Triple-A
"Crafty" lefty should make a good deal of starts for an A's team searching for talent.
35 Garrett Olson BAL 24 LHP Majors Triple-A
Another lefty whose minor league numbers exceed his reported "stuff" and hype.
36 Justin Masterson BOS 22 RHP Double-A Triple-A
Red Sox might give him a look to be a Chamberlain-like setup man in second half.
37 German Duran TEX 23 2B Double-A Triple-A
Power at second base makes him a top-notch candidate to surprise in second half.
38 Chris Davis TEX 22 3B Double-A Double-A
Masher combined for 36 homers last season in minors and could get late look.
39 Humberto Sanchez NYY 24 RHP DNP -- injury High Class A
Won't be healthy for start of season after Tommy John surgery, but could surprise.
40 Michael Bowden BOS 21 RHP Double-A Double-A
He might have a better chance to reach majors elsewhere after midseason trade.
41 Desmond Jennings TB 21 OF Low Class A High Class A
Ability to get on base and potentially become a 50-SB threat make him intriguing in Roto.
42 Matt Harrison TEX 22 LHP Double-A Triple-A
Trade-deadline acquisition just has to prove healthy, but Texas will need him in '08.
43 Nolan Reimold BAL 24 OF Double-A Triple-A
Rebuilding O's will likely go to him before he's ready, but he looks solid long term.
44 Jed Lowrie BOS 23 SS Triple-A Triple-A
If Julio Lugo has another stinker, we could see powerful Stanford product take over.
45 Austin Jackson NYY 21 OF Triple-A Double-A
One of the pieces the Yankees demanded hanging on to in Johan Santana trade talks.
46 Bill Rowell BAL 19 3B Low Class A High Class A
Disappointing first full pro season has taken some of the luster off elite high school pick.
47 Matt Wieters BAL 21 C College High Class A
Until the catcher makes his official pro debut we can't consider him a true Fantasy target.
48 Deolis Guerra MIN 18 RHP High Class A High Class A
Among the prospects in the Santana deal, he has the best chance to be great.
49 Daniel Cortes KC 21 RHP High Class A Double-A
Great first full season in Royals system has him moving up team's prospect radar.
50 Jose Tabata NYY 19 OF High Class A Double-A
We don't see it yet, but scouts love his high ceiling, so we will watch one more year.
51 Lars Anderson BOS 20 1B Low Class A High Class A
Baseball America is predicting some huge numbers this year for this slugger.
52 Mike Moustakas KC 19 SS Low Class A Low Class A
2007 first-rounder is too far from the majors to consider outside of keeper formats.
53 Elvis Andrus TEX 19 SS High Class A High Class A
Piece in Mark Teixeira deal has drawn Edgar Renteria comparisons, but is too far away.
54 Rick Porcello DET 19 RHP High school Low Class A
Slipped due to signability, but he needs to debut spectacularly to have any chance soon.
55 Carlos Triunfel SEA 18 SS High Class A High Class A
Power hasn't developed and he is far too raw and far away to project for Fantasy yet.

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