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.
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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. |
You can e-mail Emack your Fantasy Baseball questions to DMFantasyBaseball@cbs.com. Be sure to put Attn: AL-only 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.