We are breaking down the top five prospects for each organization for 2009, taking into consideration: games, at-bats, innings and major-league service time. We expect these players to have rookie status remaining heading into next year.
According to MLB rules: "A player shall be considered a rookie unless, during a previous season or seasons, he has (a) exceeded 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the major leagues; or (b) accumulated more than 45 days on the active roster of a major league club or clubs during the period of 25-player limit (excluding time in the military service and time on the disabled list)."
Note: Statistics are those at each stop in the minors this season and age represents how old they will be on opening day 2009.
Toronto Blue Jays
Other than Travis Snider, we didn't get much right about the Blue Jays in our report this time a year ago. The reason -- read: our excuse -- is a lot of their impact prospects were 2007 draftees. But, now we see the light. They have some real gems on the way. It will be interesting to see which ones can rise up in spring training, especially since the Blue Jays are an organization that seemingly will need to rely on up-and-comers.
1. OF Travis Snider, 21
If you have been tortured by Adam Lind the past few years, don't worry about it with Snider. This is one of the elite outfield prospects in baseball and he proved down the stretch he is capable of holding a starting job in the majors right now. You cannot expect the .300-30-100-100 he can eventually be, but he is a nice rookie sleeper in deeper formats on Draft Day 2009. The Blue Jays have a starting spot he can call his own at this point.
Level | AVG | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | TB | BB | SO | SB | CS | OBP | SLUG | OPS |
High A | .279 | 17 | 61 | 15 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 34 | 5 | 22 | 1 | 0 | .333 | .557 | .891 |
Double-A | .262 | 98 | 362 | 65 | 95 | 21 | 0 | 17 | 67 | 167 | 52 | 116 | 1 | 1 | .357 | .461 | .818 |
Triple-A | .344 | 18 | 64 | 9 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 33 | 4 | 16 | 1 | 0 | .386 | .516 | .901 |
Totals | .275 | 133 | 487 | 89 | 134 | 31 | 0 | 23 | 91 | 234 | 61 | 154 | 3 | 1 | .358 | .480 | .838 |
Majors | .301 | 24 | 73 | 9 | 22 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 34 | 5 | 23 | 0 | 0 | .338 | .466 | .803 |
2. C J.P. Arencibia, 23
If you tie Alex Rodriguez's high school career homer record at a Miami high school, you definitely come with some hype. When you then get picked in Round 1 and then post the year he did in his first full pro season, you have a monster prospect. This slugger catcher can arrive in 2009 and impact any Fantasy league immediately. We don't see him getting a real look in spring training, but he is certainly someone to watch very closely. This kind of bat at that position doesn't come around often -- and usually it moves out from behind the plate. Right now there are no plans to move him. You might need to root for him to stop swinging with this much power, if you want him to remain a catcher.
Team | AVG | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | TB | BB | SO | SB | CS | OBP | SLUG | OPS |
High A | .315 | 59 | 248 | 38 | 78 | 22 | 0 | 13 | 62 | 139 | 11 | 46 | 0 | 0 | .344 | .560 | .904 |
Double-A | .282 | 67 | 262 | 32 | 74 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 43 | 130 | 7 | 55 | 0 | 0 | .302 | .496 | .798 |
Totals | .298 | 126 | 510 | 70 | 152 | 36 | 0 | 27 | 105 | 269 | 18 | 101 | 0 | 0 | .322 | .527 | .850 |
3. LH SP Brett Cecil, 22
This 2007 first-rounder, who was picked in the supplemental round after Arencibia, didn't figure to be able to rise as soon as 2009, but the losses of Dustin McGowan (shoulder) and Shaun Marcum (elbow) late in the year opens up some opportunities. Cecil is the best of the bunch and the one with the highest ceiling long term. He should be a sleeper in AL-only formats next season and might even make the quick rise into all-Fantasy consideration.
Team | W | L | ERA | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | GO/AO | AVG |
High A | 0 | 0 | 1.74 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 1/3 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 5.33 | .167 |
Double-A | 6 | 2 | 2.55 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 77 2/3 | 66 | 24 | 22 | 4 | 23 | 87 | 2.07 | .227 |
Triple-A | 2 | 3 | 4.11 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 2/3 | 28 | 17 | 14 | 1 | 16 | 31 | 2.33 | .237 |
Totals | 8 | 5 | 2.88 | 28 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 118 2/3 | 100 | 43 | 38 | 6 | 41 | 129 | 2.28 | .225 |
4. SP Brad Mills, 24
Yet another 2007 draftee, Mills went in the fourth round and has proven to be far more than scouts thought. Unlike Cecil, Mills won't be ready at the beginning of the year because he finished in Class A, but if he continues to improve at the same rate, he will be a factor by the end of the season. The scouts said back-end starter long term, but he sure looked like more than that in 2008.
Team | W | L | ERA | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | GO/AO | AVG |
Low A | 6 | 3 | 2.55 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 81 1/3 | 71 | 30 | 23 | 3 | 28 | 92 | 1.52 | .233 |
Double-A | 3 | 2 | 1.10 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 2/3 | 24 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 32 | 0.59 | .205 |
High A | 4 | 0 | 1.35 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 1/3 | 25 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 12 | 35 | 0.64 | .210 |
Totals | 13 | 5 | 1.95 | 27 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 147 1/3 | 120 | 50 | 32 | 7 | 52 | 159 | 1.01 | .222 |
5. 1B David Cooper, 22
Following up a nice haul in the '07 draft, they picked Cooper last June out of California. He showed well in his brief pro debut in the second half and should be able to rise quickly through the system -- especially in an organization short on impact bats. We don't seem him making a Fantasy impact in 2009.
Team | AVG | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | TB | BB | SO | SB | CS | OBP | SLG | OPS |
Low A | .341 | 21 | 85 | 10 | 29 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 21 | 47 | 10 | 16 | 0 | 1 | .411 | .553 | .963 |
Low A | .354 | 24 | 96 | 15 | 34 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 50 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 0 | .415 | .521 | .936 |
High A | .304 | 24 | 92 | 10 | 28 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 40 | 10 | 16 | 0 | 0 | .373 | .435 | .807 |
Totals | .333 | 69 | 273 | 35 | 91 | 29 | 1 | 5 | 51 | 137 | 30 | 46 | 0 | 1 | .399 | .502 | .901 |
Best of the rest: SS Justin Jackson, SP Scott Richmond, 3B Anthony Hatch, 2B Kevin Melillo, RP Danny Farquhar, OF Ryan Patterson, SP Marc Rzepczynski, 2B Brad Emaus, 3B Kevin Ahrens, 2B Scott Campbell, C Brian Jeroloman, SP Ricky Romero, 2B John Tolisano, SP Joel Carreno, SP Kenny Rodriguez, OF Kenny Wilson, SP Andrew Liebel, 3B Mark Sobolewski, OF Kenny Wilson, SP Chad Beck, SP Trystan Magnuson, OF Aaron Matthews, RP Zach Dials, SP Kyle Ginley, RP Alan Farina, OF Johermyn Chavez, OF Eric Eiland, SP Brandon Magee, 3B Balbino Fuenmayor, SP Chase Lirette, OF Moises Alou and OF Buck Coats.
2008 rookies to exhaust eligibility: SP David Purcey and RP Jesse Carlson.
Last year's top five here: Snider, Sergio Santos (now with the Twins), Patterson, John-Ford Griffin (now with Dodgers) and Tolisano.
You can e-mail Emack your Fantasy Baseball prospect questions to DMFantasyBaseball@cbs.com. Be sure to put Attn: Blue Jays 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.