Before you read this, check out our new most-scouted feature in our CBS SportsLine Fantasy product. It is this writer's brainchild and a favorite new tool in prospect hunting.
It has the world doing the research for you.
If you looked at that feature Thursday you would seen four of the best minor league prospects getting looked at in our Fantasy leagues at a rate near that of Felix Hernandez (elbow) -- who left his start Wednesday looking more like the next Francisco Liriano than the next Dwight Gooden -- and Josh Hamilton, who is swinging the bat better than anyone not named A-Rod.
The four prospects we're referring to are Angels SS/3B Brandon Wood, Red Sox SP Jon Lester, Giants SP Tim Lincecum and Royals RF Billy Butler. All are elite prospects who are red hot in the minor leagues and giving us very good reason to take note right now.
Astute Fantasy owners are all over it. So much so that this column might not even be necessary in the future. (We kid; you whiners won't be able to get rid of it that easily).
But Wood's arrival is the one that might be the most imminent. The Angels had second baseman Howie Kendrick (finger) go down for four-to-six weeks Wednesday, so they will need to call someone up from Triple-A. With a pair of middle infielders on the roster as options to play second, Maicer Izturis and Erick Aybar, it could be the elite future slugger Wood getting the call this weekend.
If it doesn't come then, it shouldn't take one of baseball best power prospects long. Heck, even the return of Chone Figgins (finger) in the next week or so might not stop Wood.
"He's coming quickly," said Angels manager Mike Scioscia earlier this April when they moved him from shortstop to the hot corner to expedite his arrival.
Wood has spent the past two years terrorizing minor league pitchers and loading up the stat sheet. He became a monster prospect to track in 2005, when he hit .321 with 43 homers, 115 RBI, 109 runs and seven steals. He followed that up in Double-A last season with a solid .276-25-83-74-19 campaign.
| The Wood file | ||
| Born: March 2, 1985 | ||
| Height/Weight: 6-3/185 | ||
| 14 Triple-A games (58 at-bats) | ||
| AVG | SLUG | OBP |
| .293 | .534 | .373 |
| HR | RBI | R |
| 3 | 11 | 10 |
| SB | CS | K-BB |
| 0 | 0 | 18-7 |
All of that came when he was playing shortstop! And being considered "the next Cal Ripken" by scouts, mostly because of his size and power at the position.
But it's the Fantasy scouts that piqued our interest Thursday. Yours truly saw Wood as the second most-viewed player page in Fantasy, all because he was mentioned as a potential replacement in a player update on Kendrick's injury. Owned in just nine percent of CBS SportsLine leagues coming into the day, Wood's ownership increased by four percent in a matter of hours.
Now, Alex Gordon is a better future Fantasy star and hasn't been an instant success (.125-1-2-3-1), but Wood has the type of power potential that makes him worth a flier even in mixed leagues because of his potential call-up. Heck, he might even be eligible at shortstop if you use CBS SportsLine's primary position in your league's rules.
As far as those other recently viewed prospects are concerned:
- Lester is perhaps just a few rehab starts away from replacing Julian Tavarez as the Red Sox's No. 5 starter. He is as promising as any second-year big league starting pitcher, even Justin Verlander and Jered Weaver, because of all that run support he would receive from the Red Sox. Stash him in all leagues immediately.
- Lincecum was selected as the PCL pitcher of the week after winning both of his starts while tossing 12 scoreless innings. The Giants' No. 1 pick from 2006 was impressive this spring and hasn't missed a beat in Triple-A, striking out 28 batters through three starts and 18 1/3 innings. Russ Ortiz's leash just shortened. Stash him in deeper leagues for potential huge rewards later this season.
- Butler is off to a hot start in Triple-A, while his Double-A teammate from a year ago, Gordon, is struggling to start his big-league career. Stash him in all AL-only leagues at this point. He could be mixed-league worthy, but his position is very deep and he is still raw -- even more raw than Gordon.
Rookie watch
Here are the top rookies in Fantasy to date (stats through April 18):
| Top 5 AL Fantasy Rookies | ||
| Position, player, team | Rotisserie stats to date | |
| 1 | SP Daisuke Matsuzaka, BOS | 1-2, 2.70 ERA, 24 K, 1.100 WHIP, 0 SV |
| Yet another loss, but yet another 10-K outing; he'll be a winner. | ||
| 2 | RF Delmon Young, TB | .295 AVG, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 10 R, 0 SB |
| K-to-BB rate isn't great; also, 0-for-2 in SB, but we're being picky. | ||
| 3 | 3B Akinori Iwamura, TB | .349-1-3-11-3 |
| Japan import leads all rookies with 12 walks through Wednesday. | ||
| 4 | SP Dustin Moseley, LAA | (1-0)-1.29-7-1.000-0 |
| Sent to the bullpen, but his numbers have been great to date. | ||
| 5 | LF Adam Lind, TOR | .308-0-1-1-0 |
| Reed Johnson out until All-Star break opens door for big slugger. | ||
| Honorable mentions: RP Joakim Soria, KC; SP Kei Igawa, NYY; SP John Danks, CHW; OF Elijah Dukes, TB; 3B Alex Gordon, KC; OF Travis Buck, OAK; 2B Dustin Pedroia, BOS; RP Sean Henn, NYY. | ||
| Top 5 NL Fantasy Rookies | ||
| Position, player, team | Rotisserie stats | |
| 1 | OF Josh Hamilton, CIN | .308 AVG, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 8 R, 0 SB |
| Comeback player of the year and the Rookie of the Year so far. | ||
| 2 | SP Chris Sampson, HOU | (2-0), 1.20 ERA, 7 K, 0.867 WHIP, 0 SV |
| Quietly has strung pair of very good starts as Astros' No. 5 man. | ||
| 3 | C Carlos Ruiz, PHI | .265-1-4-5-1 |
| Has stolen Phils' everyday C job and is now mixed-league option. | ||
| 4 | OF Jeff Baker, COL | .389-1-3-3-0 |
| He's still a reserve, but he can slug his way into more at-bats. | ||
| 5 | SP Micah Owings, ARI | (1-1)-2.93-14-1.174-0 |
| Hurt, but should make next start and bid to keep rotation spot. | ||
| Honorable mentions: RP Henry Owens, FLA; SP Jason Hirsh, COL; SP Mike Pelfrey, NYM; CF Felix Pie, CHC; OF Chris B. Young, ARI; OF Alejandro De Aza, FLA; SS Troy Tulowitzki, COL; UTL Alberto Callaspo, ARI; C Chris Iannetta, COL; 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff, SD; RP Dustin Nippert, ARI; RP Joe Smith, NYM. | ||
On the verge
Here are some of our favorite prospects who are in the minor leagues and are worth tracking closely:
| Minor league hotlist | ||
| Position, player, team | Minor league stats | |
| 1 | SS/3B Brandon Wood, LAA | Triple-A: .293-3-11-10-0 |
| Howie Kendrick injury (hand, 4-6 weeks) might open door for him. | ||
| 2 | SP Jon Lester, BOS | Low A: (0-0)-0.00-10-0.875 |
| One more Class A start, then trip to Triple-A before possible return. | ||
| 3 | SP Tim Lincecum, SF | Triple-A: (2-0)-0.00-28-0.750 |
| Averaging over nine Ks in three starts; one of most-scouted prospects. | ||
| 4 | RF Billy Butler, KC | Triple-A: .314-3-10-9-0 |
| A lot of people are asking, but we still see June at the earliest. | ||
| 5 | SP Adam Miller, CLE | Triple-A: (2-0)-2.77-8-1.384-0 |
| Cliff Lee is coming back soon, making him further from call-up. | ||
| Honorable mentions: SP Phil Hughes, NYY; 3B Ryan Braun, MIL; SP Matt Garza, MIN; SP Andrew Miller, DET; SP Homer Bailey, CIN; SP Kevin Slowey, MIN; SP Dustin McGowan, TOR; C Ryan Doumit, PIT; SP Brian Bannister, KC; SP Jason Hammel, TB; 3B Ian Stewart, COL; 1B Kendry Morales, LAA; 1B/OF James Loney, LAD; 3B Adam LaRoche, LAD; SS Reid Brignac, TB; SP Luke Hochevar, KC; SP Philip Humber, NYM; 3B Evan Longoria, TB; OF Hunter Pence, HOU; 1B Daric Barton, OAK; C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, ATL; 1B Joey Votto, CIN; 3B/OF Josh Fields, CHW; SP Yovani Gallardo, MIL; SP Nick Adenhart, LAA; OF Terry Evans, LAA; OF Adam Jones, SEA; SS Sean Rodriguez, LAA; SP Clint Everts, WAS. | ||
Baby talk
Nick: When is the Tim Lincecum hype machine going to reach your article?
Emack: Check. Vroom, vroom. Rev it up.
Ed, New Windsor, N.Y.: How far away is Reid Brignac from the majors? What do you think he will project to be? I'm in a keeper league that protects one minor league player.
Emack: Brignac has some defensive questions at shortstop -- although not at the B.J. Upton level. We like his bat at the position, though, and think he could push all-glove, no-hit Ben Zobrist at the position this summer.
Pete Macchione: I have Roger Clemens in a 20-team, long-term keeper league. I inherited the team from another manager and will not make the playoffs this season. I was offered Mark Prior for Clemens, should I take it?
Emack: Yeah, I like that deal, assuming you can keep Prior on the cheap for a number of years. He is still young enough to overcome his shoulder issues. He looks like he needs to shut it down for a full year, because continually trying to come back is setting him further back.
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.