Prospects Report: The Price is right ... for now

Prospect status. Check. Scout's body. Check. Resume of amateur dominance. Check. Lightning left arm. Check. Movement. Check. Deception. Check. Opportunity to pitch for a winner. Check. Confidence. ... Off the charts, triple-check.

And a double-take ... this David Price guy has it all.

In his first full week as a pro (two high Class A starts), he looks as good of a pitching prospect as Fantasy Baseball has hyped since Felix Hernandez, Dwight Gooden or any other benchmark of choice. Not many in history can step on the mound in Class A ball opposite of future Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez and justifiably piece these words into a sentence:

"I want him to go home and one day tell his grandchildren about me," he said about pitching against Pedro on rehab assignment Wednesday night. "That's the impression I want to leave on everyone."

Message sent. We're so excited, we want YOU to tell your grandchildren about him right now. At least tell people who care.

If his numbers through the first two starts as a pro aren't enough -- 2-0, 11 shutout innings, 13 strikeouts, just one walk, a .143 batting-average against and a 6-1 groundout-to-flyout ratio -- you have to love his confidence. All of those outstanding attributes above are nifty, but that final one can make him a star. A pitcher's star who could arrive as soon as Aug. 1 for the first-place Rays.

Owned in just 10 percent of CBSSports.com's leagues, Price is a must-have stashee in all AL-only leagues with reserves, all formats with minor league spots and even mixed Head-to-Head formats where you can wait on a potential championship-clincher in the Fantasy season's final month-plus. His awesome first week as a pro caused 3 percent of CBSSports.com leagues to act on him immediately.

The guess here is he should be owned in as many as 25 percent of leagues right now. This story's placement on our website will spike Price up to at least 20 percent.

As a debutee come August, he could produce on the level of the best pitcher in Fantasy -- a guy worth starting in 97 percent of our leagues (the max ownership for pitchers because of league variations that keep them from reaching 100 percent). Wow!

The Mariners' Hernandez was just 19 when he arrived in 2005, going 4-4 with a 2.68 ERA, 1.000 WHIP and 77 Ks in 84-plus innings and 12 starts. He wasn't far off from being the best Fantasy pitcher in that time span. That was for a lowly Mariners club.

At 22, Price is much more conditioned for an immediate impact than Hernandez. We see Price making 10 starts for the Rays before the end of this year. Stat-wise, he can go 6-2 with 60 strikeouts, a 2.50 ERA and a 1.000 WHIP.

Great stuff makes Price intriguing, but his herky-jerky delivery should make him even more befuddling to major league hitters on his first go-around. We are not sure if that high-torque delivery will keep healthy long term, but we're merely talking about taking turns every five days for the next four months -- 10-14 starts in the minors (60 innings), 10 in the majors (60 innings).

Why can we be so bold with a pitcher who was drafted last June and then finally made his pro debut just weeks before the next draft? Well, because Price was supposed to be a candidate to make starts down the stretch last year. At least that was the word when he was drafted No. 1 overall last June. And, his elite Division I experience at Vanderbilt has him more battled tested than most first-year professionals.

Now, with the Rays boasting a young pitching staff capable of making them a worst-to-first story on the level of the 1991 Atlanta Braves -- Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Steve Avery -- Price can be ushered to the big leagues early for one final push. You are going to want this guy for your stretch run, too.

Pick him up now ... and then go tell everyone who cares about a cocky Class A pitcher who could become a household name, and a Fantasy champion for you, come October.

Prospect watch

Every Thursday, 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.

We now have minor league stats updated daily on our player profiles. The stats listed here are those with the players' current level and are through games of Wednesday, May 28.

Rookie watch

Top AL rookies to date

1. OF Jacoby Ellsbury, BOS -- His owners have to hate the fact Coco Crisp could stick around all year.
2. 3B Evan Longoria, TB -- Leads all AL rookie hitters in strikeouts, which will make him a streaky slugger.
3. OF David Murphy, TEX -- He won't finish in the top five of this list, but he sure has been a nice AL-only sleeper.
4. SP Aaron Laffey, CLE -- Fausto Carmona's injury makes him certain to stick around, most likely for rest of season.
5. SP Greg Smith, OAK -- If Eric Chavez's return can upgrade offense, this AL-only sleeper could start winning games.

• Honorable mentions: SP Armando Galarraga, DET; OF Ryan Sweeney, OAK; SP Nick Blackburn, MIN; SP Clay Buchholz, BOS; SP Justin Masterson, BOS; RP Jesse Carlson, TOR; RP Joba Chamberlain, NYY; RP Joey Devine, OAK; RP Jim Johnson, BAL; RP Masahide Kobayashi, CLE; SP Garrett Olson, BAL.

Top NL rookies to date

1. C Geovany Soto, CHC -- He deserves to be the NL's starting catcher in the All-Star Game as a rookie!
2. SP Jair Jurrjens, ATL -- Clearly the best rookie pitcher right now, but will he hold off Clayton Kershaw, Johnny Cueto or Chamberlain?
3. 1B Joey Votto, CIN -- It will be interesting to see whether he can steal headlines from his fellow rookie teammates.
4. OF Jay Bruce, CIN -- With Edinson Volquez (not ROY eligible), the Reds sure have a dynamic young quartet to build on.
5. SP Clayton Kershaw -- Which pre-June 1 call-up would you rather have? This one or No. 4 above?

• Honorable mentions: SP Johnny Cueto, CIN; OF Kosuke Fukudome, CHC; 3B Blake DeWitt, LAD; RP Manny Acosta, ATL; RP Max Scherzer, ARI; SP Hiroki Kuroda, LAD; SP Jorge Campillo, ATL; SP John Lannan, WAS.

Newbie needs

Charles Rector, Pottsville, Ark.: When will Jake Arrieta be added to your player database? He is absolutely destroying his opponents and should be a second half call-up for the Orioles. I am in a keeper league and would really like to grab this future star!

Emack: The 22-year-old TCU product is certainly intriguing -- especially with his 5-1 record, 1.78 ERA, 69 strikeouts and .146 batting-average against in high Class A. We don't see the Orioles rushing him this year, though. He is more of a long-term keeper option.

Cheese, Sarasota, Fla.: Now that uber-rookies that we have been hearing about for years, such as Hunter Pence, Ryan Braun, Evan Longoria, and Jay Bruce have been called up, who are the next crop of "can't miss" studs in the minors BESIDES Matt LaPorta?

Emack: It begins with Price. But Matt Wieters, Cameron Maybin, Rick Porcello, Travis Snider, Jake McGee, Wade Davis, Brett Anderson and, if he is ever healthy again, Adam Miller, are high-ceiling guys we figure will be highly sought minor league fliers next spring. Because of their age/experience we can't expect those guys to make significant impacts this season.

Brian Hodak: I realize Double-A player Mat Gamel is probably not owned by 1 percent of your league owners. Too bad. He is batting .383, with 11 HR, 44 RBI, 49 runs and three SBs. His SLUG is .659 and OPS is 1.102. He has only fanned 35 times 214 at-bats. His alter ego, Matt LaPorta gets all the hype. LaPorta is doing well, but Gamel's producing much better AND Gamel's playing 3B where current Brewers 3B Billy Hall is struggling. I've got Gamel in my league and want to trade the prospect for a decent current NL roster player. Please hype Mat and give a brother a hand, man.

Emack: So, Gamel is so good you want to get rid of him, interestingly. Seriously, Gamel is a developing 22-year-old who could get a look later this season. But, to your league mates, careful of this shark trying to sell you on Gamel!

Woldy: Please tell me why a prospect with the potential of Angel Villalona isn't even available on CBSSports.com? Will you please add him to the pool of players? In addition, I am in a long-term keeper league with unlimited roster space. I have been holding on to players who were at one point considered top prospects and they include Mike Pelfrey, Anthony Reyes, Scott Olsen, Jeremy Sowers and Adam Miller. Are any other these players going to develop into the staff aces that we once thought they were, or all they all overachieving minor leaguers? I would love to drop them from my roster, but players like Conor Jackson and Edinson Volquez whom I dropped in the past are making me think twice.

Emack: Baseball America is Villalona's best agent. They might be listening to scouts, but looking at his numbers makes it hard to see much. The 17-year-old is hitting just .234 with a .287 OBP and .407 SLUG in low Class A. Talk to us in three years. It could take that long to see any value in Fantasy.

Steve: Please add Jeremy Hellickson to your database.

Emack: Yeah, the 21-year-old is not a bad complement to Price for Class A Vero Beach, going 5-0 with a 2.22 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 56 2/3 innings. But he is behind Price, McGee, Davis and even Jeff Niemann in the Rays pitching prospect pecking order in the short term. He might only be better than Niemann long term.

Beantown, Calif.: I picked up Chase Headley a bit early here, but I am looking to him as an outfield flier. I see the site listing him still as a 3B but see the Pads are getting him work in the OF. Am I correct in thinking that when he is brought up it will be as an OF (and him will be categorized as such)? Or will he have to meet my league's eligibility requirements first? I have Francisco Liriano stashed away as well, what are your thoughts on him making a meaningful contribution this year?

Emack: Headley's move to the outfield didn't officially happen until spring training, so we had to keep him as a third baseman in the event the transition never happened. He will need to play games in the majors in the outfield before he is eligible there on our website. It should take him merely a week to do so once he is called up in the next couple of weeks. Liriano was a June 1 possibility and now looks like more of a late June call-up. Once recalled, he should be owned in all leagues and should have the potential to at least be serviceable in most formats -- even if he is never as dominant as he once was.

You can e-mail Emack your Fantasy Baseball prospect 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.