Prospects Report: Feeling a draft coming

It was about this time last year when the cat-calls began for Bryce Harper.

He had just completed his GED at age 16 to graduate high school early and enter college to set up his selection at No. 1 overall in this June's First Year Player draft. Last year's No. 1 Stephen Strasburg had been added to the CBSSports.com's database early to keep Fantasy owners updated on his news leading up to Draft Day.

So, naturally the can of worms began springing requests for the next, next big thing: Harper.

The requests haven't stopped since and are hitting a climax now. The answer remains the same, though: CBSSports.com has decided it will not add the new draftees to the database until they sign their initial professional contract.

Coincidentally, Harper is about to join the same organization Strasburg will debut for Tuesday night. Since he's younger than some high schoolers that will be picked Monday (6 p.m. ET on June 7), it could take him longer than a year to arrive in the majors.

His 2010 Junior College numbers at Southern Nevada suggest he could be one of the youngest to reach the major leagues ever. Recently retired Ken Griffey Jr. arrived more than seven months before his 20th birthday. You have to figure Harper will beat that.

Here are five pre-draft favorites to be the most-owned 2010 picks on CBSSports.com once they are added to the database:

1. Bryce Harper, C, JC of Southern Nevada
Bats: Left Throws: Right Height: 6-3 Weight: 205 Age: 17

It is one serious baseball prospect that would forgo high school, much less college, to be eligible sooner for the draft. And Harper is one serious talent. Albeit in Junior College, Harper hit .442 with 29 homers, 89 RBI, 88 runs and had 18 steals in 215 at-bats. Those are slow-pitch softball numbers, not hardball stats.

We seriously doubt a hitter this good will remain a catcher full time, which could slow his arrival to the major leagues. He'll likely need time to learn another position and Baseball America speculates it will be third base or right field because of his plus major-league arm.

Unlike many college hitting prospects, Harper was in a wood-bat league, which figures to save some of the adjustment time, but we could see him in the major leagues as a teenager and dominating Fantasy by the time he is 20.

2. Drew Pomeranz, LHP, Mississippi
Bats: Right Throws: Left Height: 6-5 Weight: 230 Age: 21

The name will look familiar to you because his brother Stuart was drafted by the Cardinals and is now toiling in the Rockies organization. But don't let Stuart's bust make you think less of his younger brother Drew. Drew is to Jered Weaver as Stuart is to Jeff -- i.e., a much better talent. The younger brothers usually are, if only because the older brother challenges them throughout their development.

Drew has gone 7-2 with a 2.39 ERA in 14 games with Ole Miss, numbers that were down because of a pectoral muscle strain. BA calls him better than Andrew Miller at a similar stage -- and trust us, that is a compliment still. Miller was a stud pitching prospect, even if he has failed where David Price and Strasburg have soared.

Like most young lefties, command remains an issue, but when his harnesses that 12-to-6 curve, he could be a gem.

3. Zack Cox, 3B, Arkansas
Bats: Left Throws: Right Height: 6-0 Weight: 215 Age: 21

Like Harper, Cox has experience handling maple, using wood bats in the famous Cape Cod League last summer -- where he was picked as the top position player. It should help him move quickly for whichever team picks him in the top 10.

BA calls him the best pure hitter in the draft -- we suppose they don't consider Harper human -- even though his power numbers aren't really there. He has shown scouts good pop to the opposite field, which could mean he develops plus-power in the pro ranks.

Cox hit .432 with eight homers, 47 RBI, 60 runs and 11 steals in 213 at-bats in the SEC, a real tough baseball conference up there with the ACC and Pac-10. There is a chance he could move from third to second base, but Cox should hit enough to profile anywhere on the diamond.

4. Christian Colon, SS, Cal State Fullerton
Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 6-1 Weight: 190 Age: 21

Fantasy owners love middle-infielders with pop, almost as they like catchers with it. Colon represents this year's slugging shortstop, leading the Big West with 14 homers. He hit .350 with 55 RBI, 60 runs and 12 steals, too. Those numbers were affected by a slow start and perhaps his missing so much time for breaking his leg a year earlier.

He was one of the toughest players to strike out in Division I and has a homer-friendly loft in his swing, according to BA. That makes us think of an Ian Kinsler-type projection for him.

It should be no coincidence then, his player profile on BA suggests he will fit in at second base down the road, like Kinsler and Gordon Beckham before him.

5. Jameson Taillon, RHP, The Woodlands (Texas) HS
Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 6-6 Weight: 225 Age: 18

The second high schooler in our top five; the second pitcher in our top five; the second-rated prospect by BA -- Taillon's profile should make him second to none, though. He is being called a burlier but less bullier Josh Beckett at similar stages in their development. We tend to think Beckett's 'tude is something we wanted to see, but only Harper is keeping Taillon from being the first high schooler to be picked No. 1 overall, according to BA.

Taillon has gone 8-1 with a 1.78 ERA and 114 strikeouts to just 21 walks and 42 hits in 62 innings as a high school senior. The numbers don't tend to mean much to us in Fantasy because of the level of competition, but how do these numbers sound?

9-9, as in 99 MPH, and ... "he throws his heater with such ease that it looks like he's playing catch," according to BA. That could mean even harder stuff once he fills out, if a 6-foot-6, 225-pound high schooler can get any more "full."

The intrigue won't be limited to these names, but they are the ones that figure to garner the highest ownership immediately once they are added to CBSSports.com's database ... after they sign. Fantasy owners tend to lean toward college pitchers who can move quickly and those talents with the highest ceilings at the thin positions, so they can be impact Fantasy players right away.

Here is a sampling of Baseball America's top 15 prospects, with no regard to potential draft position:

1. Harper; 2. Taillon; 3. Manny Machado, SS, Brito Private HS, Hialeah, Fla.; 4. Pomeranz; 5. Chris Sale, LHP, Florida Gulf Coast; 6. Cox; 7. Deck McGuire, RHP, Georgia Tech; 8. Stetson Allie, RHP, St. Edward HS, Lakewood, Ohio; 9. Colon; 10. Josh Sale, OF, Bishop Blanchet HS, Seattle; 11. Michael Choice, OF, Texas-Arlington; 12. Kaleb Cowart, RHP/3B Cook HS, Adel, Ga.; 13. Yasmani Grandal, C, Miami; 14. Gary Brown, OF, Cal State Fullerton; 15. Karsten Whitson, RHP, Chipley (Fla.) HS.

Prospect watch

Every week we break down all the minor leaguers who are owned in at least 1 percent of our Fantasy leagues. This will be your essential guide to unearthing the elite prospects before they hit the big time. This week we give you statistics through play Wednesday, June 2 for all the players in Double- and Triple-A, seperated by hitters and pitchers.

And, because our database is missing Double- and Triple-A stats on their player pages, here are the rest of the most-owned minor-leaguers we don't have stats for. Some of these players don't have stats because they haven't appears in any Double- or Triple-A games this season, while others have and we are merely working to get their data added to their player profiles on CBSSports.com.

Rookie watch

Top AL rookies to date

1. Neftali Feliz, RP, TEX -- He gets the AL ROY nod at the 1/3-point in Fantasy because his saves mean more to us.
2. Austin Jackson, OF, DET -- Lost in the Jim Joyce-Armando Galarraga imperfection was Jackson's incredible catch.
3. Mitch Talbot, SP, CLE -- No one could have projected Talbot would be leading all rookie starting pitchers in wins.
4. Wade Davis, SP, TB -- He has hit the skids a little bit, but his stuff is good enough to hold off Hellickson in Triple-A.
5. Reid Brignac, 2B, TB -- He really has put Sean Rodriguez in his rear-view mirror, becoming a mixed-league option.

• Honorable mentions: Brennan Boesch, OF, DET; Alfredo Simon, RP, BAL; John Jaso, C, TB; Joaquin Arias, SS, TEX; Justin Smoak, 1B, TEX; Brian Matusz, SP, BAL; Sergio J. Santos, RP, CHW; and Alex Burnett, RP, MIN.

Top NL rookies to date

1. Jason Heyward, OF, ATL -- You cannot argue with him atop NL ROY candidates now, but what about when Strasburg arrives?
2. Jaime Garcia, SP, STL -- You figure he has to slow down at some point, especially coming off Tommy John surgery, right?
3. Mike Leake, SP, CIN -- Strasburg is going to be hard-pressed to be unbeaten with a 2.45 ERA through his first 10 starts.
4. David Freese, 3B, STL -- The 27-year-old picked a bad year to try to make a case for NL ROY. It is a tough group to crack.
5. John Ely, SP, LAD -- He continues to impress and has been as good as any rookie pitcher since the early innings in his debut.

• Honorable mentions: Starlin Castro, SS, CHC; Ian Desmond, SS, WAS; Gaby Sanchez, 1B, FLA; Jhoulys Chacin, SP, COL; John B. Axford, RP, MIL; Tyler Colvin, OF, CHC; Luis Atilano, SP, WAS; Hisanori Takahashi, SP, NYM; and Ryan Webb, RP, SD.

Newbie needs

Scott Osgood, Louisville, Colorado: Who do you rank higher as a long-term catching prospect, and for which offensive categories: Jesus Flores, WAS; Derek Norris, WAS or Jonathan LuCroy, MIL? What is the current word on Flores for this season?

Emack: Interestingly, you asked about two Nationals catcher prospects, who should be overshadowed quickly by Harper. We still believe Harper will be moved to a more full-time position. In a Mike Piazza-way, he was slotting at catcher to enhance his draft stock. We would rank then Norris, Flores and then LeCroy long term. Flores is currently in a throwing program trying to make it back this year. He still has a lot of work to do, in fact, his injury is reason enough to make a case for the lower-ceiling LuCroy over him. Norris has the most potential because of his 20-plus homer pop. Flores and LuCroy figure to be more in the 15-20 range, although LeCroy could hit for the best average of the three long term. Norris (.294-1-8-12-3, .463 OBP, .392 SLUG in 51 at-bats since returning from injury in high Class A) has the most potential to be elite at the position.

Jeff: My league is competitive enough that you have to scout for the June draft, hoping your prospect will be drafted by an NL team. I have Drew Pomeranz and hope he goes second to Pittsburgh (behind Bryce Harper, who was also drafted in my league this year). After that, there are three AL teams that draft. What are your thoughts on where he might land?

Emack: Jeff, I am with you on ranking Pomeranz as the second-most intriguing draft prospect to own in Fantasy right now, but Baseball America tends to believe the high schooler Taillon would have gone No. 1 overall if not for Harper in this class. I would figure Pomeranz will go in the top five -- so to one of those AL teams, unfortunately for you.

Anthony Jesue, Detroit: Can you add Jonathan Singleton to the database? He is on fire and I want to add him before my friends notice him.

Emack: Just because Galarraga was so ripped off Wednesday night, Singleton is added. Just kidding. He is added because he is hitting .427-4-22-12-3 (.500-.707) through 21 games and 75 at-bats in the low Class A Sally League.

Keith Cuthbertson, loyal CBSSports.com user since 2000: Could you please add the first-round picks soon after the draft. I know in my keeper league and others we are all waiting to add Bryce Harper, but can't do so until he is added to the site. I understand you guys were going to wait until they were signed, but it is Bryce Harper! I'm sure you'll get many more of these e-mails, but it is really important; I've been making moves to get in position to grab him, basically selling off my team for FAAB dollars. Could you please just add the first-rounders or even just the top 10 soon after the draft?

Emack: CBSSports.com has made a decision to stick to adding them once they sign with their pro teams.

J-Smith: Could you please add Abner Abreu, Jason Kipnis and Jarred Cosart to the database please?

Emack: Done, done and done. We have to say, though, Abreu is not worth stashing in a long-term keeper league like Cosart and Kipnis are right now. They should be picked up by 1 percent of leagues in the next week.

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