We break down the top five prospects for each organization for 2008, 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)."
We have already covered the AL East, NL Central, AL Central, NL West and AL West and lastly we take a look at the NL East:
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Atlanta Braves
| Top Braves prospects | ||||
| Player | Age | Pos. | 2007 minor league stats | |
| 1 | Brandon Jones | 23 | OF | AA-Triple-A (combined): .295 AVG, 19 HR, 100 RBI, 84 R, 17 SB (.376 OBP, .490 SLUG) |
| Breakout season makes him a candidate to open season as starter. | ||||
| 2 | Jordan Schafer | 21 | OF | Class A (combined): .312-15-63-86-23 (.374-.513) |
| Multi-talented outfielder has chance to rise quickly after big year. | ||||
| 3 | Brent Lillibridge | 24 | SS | AA-Triple-A (combined): .282-13-58-78-42 (.341-.417) |
| Solid all-around shortstop will have to bide time; a bargaining chip? | ||||
| 4 | Eric Campbell | 22 | 3B | Class A: .221-14-49-47-6 (.312-.406) |
| Injury-plagued year, but we see Chipper's successor rebounding. | ||||
| 5 | Kala Kaahiue | 22 | 1B | A-Double-A (combined): .251-22-69-71-2 (.358-.473) |
| Trade and likely signing of Mark Teixeira severely blocks him now. | ||||
| Best of the rest: SP Tommy Hanson, SP Anthony Lerew, RP Joey Devine, RP Manny Acosta, RP Jose Ascanio, 3B Van Pope, SP Cole Rohrbaugh, SS Diory Hernandez, P Jairo Cuevas, OF Cody Johnson, C Clint Sammons, SP Jeffrey Locke, SS Brandon Hicks, SP Steve Evarts, SP Chad Rodgers, SP Dan Smith, SP Jamie Richmond, SS Michael Fisher, RP Nick Feldman, 2B Cole Miles, SP Jeff Lyman, SP Cory Rasmus, 2B Chase Fontaine, RP Kris Medlen, RP Kevin Gunderson, OF Josh Burrus. | ||||
| 2007 rookies to lose eligibility: SS Yunel Escobar, SP Jo-Jo Reyes, RP Pete Moylan, 2B Martin Prado. | ||||
Florida Marlins
| Top Marlins prospects | ||||
| Player | Age | Pos. | 2007 minor league stats | |
| 1 | Chris Volstad | 21 | RH SP | A-Double-A (combined): (12-11)-4.16-118-47-.283 |
| Elite talent's numbers improved across the board in Double-A. | ||||
| 2 | Gaby Hernandez | 21 | RH SP | Double-A: (9-11)-4.22-113-56-.245 |
| More consistent than Volstad, but ceiling not as high, perhaps. | ||||
| 3 | Chris Coghlan | 22 | 2B | Class A (combined): .287-12-82-77-24 (.378-.474) |
| Dan Uggla might be hearing some footsteps by the end of 2008. | ||||
| 4 | Gaby Sanchez | 24 | 1B | Class A: .279-9-70-89-6 (.369-.433) |
| Big FSL parks limited HR totals, but 2B-BB-K numbers promising. | ||||
| 5 | Brett Carroll | 25 | OF | AA-Triple-A (combined): .304-22-82-69-0 (.361-.572) |
| Not great in call-up, but his numbers are tough to argue with here. | ||||
| Best of the rest: SP Brent Sinkbeil, SP Aaron Thompson, OF John Raynor, 3B Lee Mitchell, 1B Logan Morrison, OF Spike McDougall, SP Hector Correa, SP Daniel Barone, OF Jai Miller, SP Ryan Tucker, P Jesus Delgado, OF Greg Burns, SP Chris Seddon, RP Harvey Garcia, RP Carlos Martinez, C Brett Hayes, 3B Matt Dominguez, SP Graham Taylor, SP Kyle Winters, OF Kris Harvey, SS Robert Andino, RP Ross Wolf, RP Mauro Zarate, SP Sean West, RP Todd Doolittle, OF Tom Hickman, RP Jacob Marceaux. | ||||
| 2007 rookies to lose eligibility: OF Alejandro De Aza, SP Rick Vandenhurk, RP Matt Lindstrom, RP Henry Owens. | ||||
New York Mets
| Top Mets prospects | ||||
| Player | Age | Pos. | 2007 minor league stats | |
| 1 | Phil Humber | 24 | RH SP | Triple-A: (11-9)-4.27-120-44-.244 |
| Solid season after Tommy John surgery, but may start in Triple-A. | ||||
| 2 | Deolis Guerra | 18 | RH SP | Class A: (2-6)-4.01-66-25-.240 |
| His ability to hold his own in high Class A portends big things now. | ||||
| 3 | Kevin Mulvey | 22 | RH SP | AA-Triple-A (combined): (12-10)-3.20-113-43-.246 |
| Solid year puts him in the mix for look in 2008, or perhaps as trade bait. | ||||
| 4 | Brett Harper | 26 | 1B | Double-A: .296-24-88-69-2 (.350-500) |
| Good power, but age-level ratio doesn't give him much of a chance. | ||||
| 5 | Fernando Martinez | 19 | OF | A-Double-A (combined): .265-4-22-33-3 (.331-.376) |
| Young Dominican signee looks like a bust, but still scouts favorite. | ||||
| Best of the rest: SP Jon Niese, C Francisco Pena, OF Brahiam Maldonado, 1B Mike Carp, RP Eddie Kunz, SP Nick Carr, RP Brant Rustich, SP Scott Moviel, SP Bobby Parnell, OF Caleb Stewart, 1B Nick Evans, SP Adam Bostick, SP Tobi Stoner, SP Mike Devaney, 2B Anderson Hernandez, 2B Emmanuel Garcia, RP Willie Collazo, RP Lino Urdaneta, RP Carlos Muniz, RP Eddie Camacho, RP Will Morgan, RP John Holdzkom, SP Eric Brown, C Mike Nickeas. | ||||
| 2007 rookies to lose eligibility: OF Carlos Gomez, SP Mike Pelfrey, RP Joe Smith. | ||||
Philadelphia Phillies
| Top Phillies prospects | ||||
| Player | Age | Pos. | 2007 minor league stats | |
| 1 | Carlos Carrasco | 20 | RH SP | A-Double-A (combined): (12-6)-3.86-102-68-.224 |
| Slow start in Double-A kept him from potential 2007 contribution. | ||||
| 2 | Andrew Carpenter | 22 | RH SP | Class A: (17-6)-3.20-116-53-.242 |
| System's pitcher of year likely starts in Double-A, but moves quick. | ||||
| 3 | Mike Costanzo | 24 | 3B | Double-A: .270-27-86-92-2 (.368-.490) |
| Lot of Ks, but his power and a potential opening make him intriguing. | ||||
| 4 | Joe Savery | 21 | LH SP | Class A: (2-3)-2.73-22-13-.214 |
| '07 No. 1 pick slipped due to signability, but he should arrive quick. | ||||
| 5 | Scott Mathieson | 23 | RH SP | A-Double-A (combined): (0-0)-4.50-9-6-.214 |
| Comeback from Tommy John surgery will still require some work. | ||||
| Best of the rest: SS Jason Donald, 2B Adrian Cardenas, SP Josh Outman, SP Kyle Drabek, SP Edgar Garcia, 2B Brad Harman, OF Jeremy Slayden, OF Dominic Brown, OF Quintin Berry, SP J.A. Happ, SP Zack Segovia, OF Greg Golson, 2B Tyler Mach, C Jason Jaramillo, SP Antonio Bastardo, SP Pat Overholt, SP Heitor Correa, SP Julian Sampson, C Lou Marson, SS Freddy Galvis, RP Brian Sanches, RP John Ennis, RP Joe Bisenius, RP Anderson Garcia, RP Yoel Hernandez, OF C.J. Henry, 3B Wellison Baez, SP Dan Brauer, RP Matt Smith. | ||||
| 2007 rookies to lose eligibility: SP Kyle Kendrick, C Carlos Ruiz, OF Michael Bourn, SP J.D. Durbin, RP Michael Zagurski. | ||||
Washington Nationals
| Top Nationals prospects | ||||
| Player | Age | Pos. | 2007 minor league stats | |
| 3 | Ross Detwiler | 21 | OF | Class A (combined): (2-2)-3.51-28-12-.284 |
| Made quick rise to majors, but will need full season on the farm. | ||||
| 1 | Michael Burgess | 19 | OF | Class A (combined): .318-11-42-32-2 (.421-.561) |
| '07 first-rounder had great pro debut and looks like sure-fire star! | ||||
| 5 | Justin Maxwell | 23 | OF | Class A (combined): .281-27-83-86-35 (.363-.533) |
| Speed-and-power OF had breakthrough and did well in call-up. | ||||
| 2 | Chris Marrero | 19 | OF | Class A (combined): .275-23-88-71-0 (.338-.484) |
| Watch out for one of baseball's best young slugging prospects. | ||||
| 4 | Collin Balester | 21 | RH SP | AA-Triple-A (combined): (4-10)-3.89-117-48-.263 |
| Somehow avoided SPs revolving door in '07, but not far away. | ||||
| Best of the rest: SP John Lannan, SP Garrett Mock, OF Kory Casto, SP Shairon Martis, SP Jordan Zimmerman, SP Glenn Gibson, RP Jonathan Albaladejo, SP Colton Willems, SP Michael Hinckley, SP Marco Estrada, P Clint Everts, 1B Larry Broadway, OF Frank Diaz, 1B Eduardo Urbina, 1B Bill Rhinehart, OF Dee Brown, SP Jhonny Nunez, SP Cory VanAllen, OF Aaron Seuss, OF Stephen Englund, OF Alejandro Hodge, RP Adam Carr, OF Brandon Watson, RP Arnie Munoz, RP Zech Zinicola, SS Esmailyn Gonzalez, SS Stephen King, SS Ian Desmond, SP Craig Stammen, C Devin Ivany. | ||||
| 2007 rookies to lose eligibility: SP Matt Chico, C Jesus Flores, SP Joel Hanrahan, RP Chris Schroder, SP Levale Speigner, RP Winston Abreu. | ||||
You can e-mail Emack your Fantasy Baseball prospect questions to dmfantasybaseball@cbs.com. Be sure to put Attn: NL East 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 or answers to all questions.