By The Numbers

08/18/2010 1:28 PM -  Lane Rizzardini

We’re getting down to the very end of the season, and many of you are out of contention, wallowing in the despair of your league basement. Reading about fantasy is no longer fun when all the articles are geared towards those making playoff runs.

I’m here to help, with a look towards the future and the young stars you should have on your radar for next season that your playoff-bound league-mates probably aren’t thinking about. Here are ten prospects we’ll be talking about in the very near future as possible staples of your fantasy roster.

9,900,000 – Dollars phenom prospect Bryce Harper will make over the next five years (the largest for a non-pitcher who had not become a free agent) as the Nationals’ new wunderkind in the waiting now that the first has made it big. Like the first guy, he’s a Scott Boras client and so naturally the deal got done seconds before the deadline. After landing absolute studs with the first pick in the last two drafts, the Nationals are surely hoping it’ll mean never having the pick again.

As far as Harper, he’s got elite level talent and is ready now, at the ripe old age of 17. If you thought the Strasburg and Wieters hype was obnoxious, you haven’t seen anything yet. We’re talking LeBron’s Decision obnoxious, but in this case it’s actually warranted. He hit 31 home runs in only 66 games with the College of Southern Nevada, with an eye-popping .987 slugging percentage. He hit one over the fence every seven at bats. That’s 76 home runs over 162 games. Did I mention they use wooden bats in the Southwestern Athletic Conference?

They’ll move him from catcher to outfield, meaning he could be ready as soon as next year. Dynasty players take notice.

.520 – Batting average for Jesus Montero from August 6^th to August 12^th. The #5 prospect as ranked by Baseball America has been on fire as of late after a horrible June when he was batting .220. With three home runs this week the young Yankee now has 14 on the year with an OPS of .841.

While he clearly has skills at the plate, it’s his defense that will keep him out of the majors as anything other than a designated hitter. He leads the International League with 14 passed balls and throws out a pathetic 23% of base stealers. He may have to switch to first base or the outfield if he wants to make the big boy roster in the next year or two.

103 – MPH on a fastball thrown by Aroldis Chapman in a late-June relief appearance. Remember when people actually debated whether to take Strasburg or Chapman in fantasy drafts this year? Sorry Chapman camp, despite the ridiculous numbers on the gun and an impressive strikeout ratio (11.4 K/9), his control is just not pro-ready yet. A 5.1 BB/9 ratio in the minors will get him killed in the majors.

But when he finds any sort of consistent accuracy, you better believe he’ll be an automatic add in mixed-leagues. This kind of strike out potential doesn’t come along very often.

32 – Stolen bases for Desmond Jennings in 98 games with Triple-A Durham this season. The Carl Crawford clone needs to hit the weight room more if he wants to reach the 15-20 home run potential Crawford brings to the table but the speed and skills on the base paths are clearly there, going 32-34 in steal attempts.

The 23-year-old centerfielder will surely be up in the majors next year and could be a good source of runs and stolen bases in his rookie season, with a .300 average in his future as Tampa’s leadoff hitter.

9 – Home runs for Royals’ first base prospect Eric Hosmer in the 32 games since joining Double-A Northwest Arkansas. The third overall pick in the 2008 draft is finally showing the skills scouts thought he had before eye issues and a hand injury ruined his 2009 season. The giant park in Wilmington where he began the season masked a lot of his home run potential but he’s tearing it up now, keeping his batting average right around .300 while increasing his slugging. He even provides some speed, having swiped 13 bags so far this season.

Because of the lost 2009 the 20-year-old will probably need another year before he’s major league-ready but when he is, 30/15 is not out of the question.

10.9 – Strike outs per nine innings ratio for 21-year-old RHP Michael Pineda since his promotion to Triple-A. He’s defying convention and actually pitching better at the higher level as far as his peripherals go. An improved strike out rate, along with a sub-one WHIP are developments to get excited about. His only problem in Triple-A has been keeping the ball in the park, having given up six bombs so far in Tacoma while only allowing one down in Double-A with 100 more batters faced. If he can figure that out he’ll be up with the Mariners in no time.

52 – Stolen bases for Baseball America’s #2 prospect Mike Trout. The 18-year-old first round pick is still just getting into High-A ball but has been extremely productive in his short time since joining the farm system. On top of the absurd steal totals, he ranked first in runs with 74 and second in batting average, going .362 with Low-A Cedar Rapids. He also has zero errors, which doesn’t do anything for your fantasy team but ensures a quicker rise to the top.

Currently he’s playing pretty average with Rancho Cucamonga (seriously), posting a .297/.376/.441 line over 29 games, but hopefully the outfielder can catch on soon and keep moving up the ranks.

7-1 – Record for Chris Archer in nine starts with Double-A Tennessee, the same record he had in 14 starts in High-A. He’s another guy playing better after a promotion, but in his case after four years of minor league ball it’s about time he started moving up the ranks.

The 21-year-old Cub prospect has a 97 mph fastball and a nasty slider which has led to an impressive 8.8 K/9 rate but the 5.8 BB/K ratio suggests he’s trying to paint corners against the better hitters and just doesn’t quite have the control yet. Sound familiar Cubs fans? We can only hope.

0 – hits allowed over nine innings by Toronto’s #1 prospect Kyle Drabek in a July 4^th start. One of the big pieces of the Roy Halladay trade, the 22-year-old RHP is 5-1 with a 1.64 ERA since the no-hitter, a huge breakthrough for him which could mean a promotion soon. You’d like to see a better strike out ratio at the Double-A level (7 K/9) but he’s a groundball pitcher and it doesn’t seem like he’ll ever be a substantial strike out threat considering his fastball has been only topping out at 91 MPH as of late. But I expect him to join the Jays at some point next season and contribute at the back end of their rotation.

99 – MPH registered on the gun for Dominican pitching prospect Yordano Ventura. The 19 year old is only in rookie-ball right now, but a marked improvement in velocity combined with excellent walk numbers (3.54 SO/BB) has caught a lot of attention within the farm system. He’s also been developing a curveball that reportedly is looking solid. He’s definitely one to shelve away for a couple years.

Hope you enjoyed this look into the minors. I’ll make sure to talk about one prospect a week until the season is over.

Lane Rizzardini has been playing fantasy sports for over 10 years. His earliest memory was drafting Fred Lane in 2003, only to find out Fred’s wife has shot him in the offseason. You can find more of Lane’s writing over at FantasyFootball.com.

You can contact him at Lanerizz@gmail.com or through his Twitter page.