Kershaw's talent is out of this world

We are not finished with opening days. Thursday is the latest one. That being the day the minor league seasons get underway and the daily prospect watch resumes.

Spring training is a wonderful time to scout prospects, but a lot of the time it leaves us wistful for June. That tends to be the point of the year the likes of Evan Longoria, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Josh Fields, Cameron Maybin and Jay Bruce can make the move back to the big club. The start of the minor league seasons gives us a chance to drool daily about the prospects of those future stars helping us win Fantasy leagues later season.

The aforementioned five are already high on everyone's radar, judging by their ownership in CBSSports.com's leagues (see chart). But how about a pitcher still not old enough to enjoy a beer after a well-pitched game?

We could not have expected to see Dodgers phenom Clayton Kershaw coming on so quickly.

You like Felix Hernandez, once thought to be the next Dwight Gooden? Well, this Kershaw guy -- we can say kid even -- was the most impressive minor league prospect this spring. He looks even more dominant early than King Felix was years ago as a teenager.

"When people ask what it is about him that makes him special, all you can say is, 'Wait 'til you see him,'" Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said. "It's an explosion coming out of that arm. Some guys just set themselves apart. Some people are from this planet, and some are from another planet."

The left-handed Kershaw, who turned just 20 years old this spring, has other-worldly stuff. He went a combined 8-7 with a 2.95 ERA at low Class A Great Lakes and Double-A Jacksonville last season, striking out 163 batters in 122 innings while walking 67.

"The kid's got a lot -- aside from his stuff -- he's got a lot going on there," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "You have to love his stuff, sure. Curveball, changeup, fastball. But it's what he does with it more so than what it is, for me."

Scout clocked Kershaw's fastball at 93-97 mph on the radar gun this spring. All told, Kershaw pitched spring 14 innings in six outings, striking out 18, walking just three and allowing a measly .163 batting average against and .226 on-base percentage. That makes Hernandez's teenaged spring debut look terrible: 4.73 ERA in 13 1/3 innings with 18 hits, six walks and just nine Ks.

Kershaw's ERA was 0.64, courtesy of a solo home run. That, uh, was the first batter he faced -- Luis Jimenez, a Double-A Crash Davis.

"I thought he was terrific," Torre said. "He gives up a home run to the first hitter and he's got a little smile on his face as if to say, well, OK. He never backed off."

Jimenez is a 6-foot-4, 205-pound first baseman who hit 22 homers last year, but that doesn't matter. The first batter got him and no one else could after that.

"I got the bomb out of the way early," Kershaw said. "That's what I said to myself, 'I got that out of the way. Let's just not let that happen again."

It didn't. Kershaw's fastball makes fans ooh and aww, while his curveball makes hitter's knees buckle. He even wound up making his away on YouTube.com this spring. His changeup is a work in progress but -- save for Johan Santana -- what pitcher wouldn't say that.

"This season, I really want to start working on my changeup, start trying to perfect that and make it a pitch I can throw in any count," Kershaw said. "Overall, I need to throw more strikes. It will really help me if I attack the zone more and cut down on my walks. I need to really be aggressive and not have lapses in my concentration."

Selected seventh overall in the 2006 draft out of high school in Texas, Kershaw was ranked seventh last month Baseball America's Top 100 prospects. Bruce, Longoria, Joba Chamberlain, Clay Buchholz, Colby Rasmus and Maybin were the only ones ranked higher.

"I'm not sure what he still needs other than the experience of going out there and pitching innings," Torre said. "We're certainly going to keep an eye on that, because that will be a big factor in determining how quickly he can help us."

Kershaw went 122 innings a year ago, and only 24 2/3 came in Double-A, where he went 1-2 with a 3.65 ERA and 29 strikeouts in five starts. Opponents hit just .193 against him. The progression for an elite 20-year-old likely has him topping out around 150 innings combined this year, which is why he starts the year back in Double-A.

"If he's part of the big league club, we'd need to resolve in our minds about giving him regular work, and that's unfair to him and unfair to us," Torre said. "Can he help us? My guess is, if you polled everybody, the response would be positive. But how many innings can he pitch?"

Amid all of the hype, Kershaw was owned in 20 percent of Fantasy leagues on opening day. He climbed two percent after appearing in Monday's Fantasy Stockwatch on our website. After this story, it could climb to 25 percent.

Now, Torre did say this spring he wouldn't hesitate to call on Kershaw, if needed, but you cannot count on him for more than a spot player in Fantasy leagues at this point. He could be a stretch-run stalwart, but there will be a point where he will have to call it a year come September, barring an injury that would limit his innings early or midseason.

Own the future Fantasy ace in all long-term keeper leagues that allow you to stash minor leaguers and watch him every five days in the Double-A box scores, especially if a Dodgers rotation spot is opening up among Brad Penny, Derek Lowe, Chad Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda, Esteban Loaiza and, perhaps this summer, Jason Schmidt (shoulder).

Rookie watch

Every week of the season, we will list and comment on five rookies making an impact in Fantasy leagues. They might not be the top rookies of the season, but they are noteworthy for Fantasy owners because of their rise in intrigue.

1. SP Johnny Cueto, CIN -- Only a Justin Upton homer in seven innings Thursday. Oh, and he had 10 strikeouts. Dominican Diaper Dandy indeed. It might already be too late to take that flier.
2. OF Kosuke Fukudome, CHC -- Quite a start on opening day. Still don't see more than 20 homers, but he will produce a lot of runs in that Cubs lineup with his OPS bat.
3. SP Jair Jurrjens, ATL -- The Atlanta Journal-Consistution says it is pronounced Zsa-eye-ear Jury. Is he only owned in 50 percent of leagues because people cannot speak or spell his name?
4. SP Nick Blackburn, MIN -- Not as good as his outing suggests, but he sure showed quite a bit. Kevin Slowey walked off with a biceps issue Thursday, so Francisco Liriano's return might not bump Blackburn.
5. 3B Blake DeWitt, LAD -- We don't give him much of a chance to stick around once Nomar Garciaparra, Tony Abreu and eventually Andy LaRoche come off the DL, but DeWitt is making a name for himself.

• Honorable mentions: OF David Murphy, TEX; RP Merkin Valdez, SF; RP Joba Chamberlain, NYY.

Baby talk

Cody Farrell, Rochester, N.Y.: Do you think Clay Buchholz would be a good waiver-wire pick-up as a final roster spot? I had Barry Zito there, but I don't know what I was thinking.

Emack: Dropping Zito might look like a wise move after his poor opener, but there is still a very good reason -- even if not 127 million of them -- why he is paid the way he is. Most important, Buchholz might have to contend for his No. 5 rotation spot with Bartolo Colon come mid-to-late April. Buchholz has a much better team and offense getting him run support, but a far more uncertain status in the rotation at this point. If you have reserves, Buchholz is a nice stashee for his upside, but you shouldn't jump ship on Zito after one bad start. We reserve the right to change our minds, though, if Buchholz proves rotation worthy after his season debut this weekend.

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