Which Prospect Will Make it Big in 2006?

by user Awrigh01

With each fantasy baseball season, comes substantial over-hype for young players. Does anybody remember Todd Van Poppel? Below is a list of 10 prospects, which do you think will successfull make the big jumps to the MLB in 2006?

List of Prospects (in no particular order)

• Delmon Young - OF Tampa Bay Devil Rays Age 20
• Prince Fielder - 1B Milwaukee Brewers Age 21
• Francisco Liriano - SP Minnesota Twins 22
• Matt Cain - SP San Francisco Giants 21
• Jeremy Hermida - OF Florida Marlins Age 21
• Ryan Zimmerman - 3B Washington Nationals Age 21
• Andy Marte - 3B Cleveland Indians Age 22
• Yusmeiro Petit - SP Florida Marlins Age 21
• Jonathan Papelbon - SP/RP Boston Red Sox Age 25
• Justin Verlander - SP Detroit Tigers Age 22

Here are my thoughts: In my mind, Delmon Young is still a year away. They hype surrounding this guy is so high that it makes me a little wary. I am also not buying the hype around Prince Fielder. His numbers and appearance last year, during his brief stint in the majors, did not blow me away (unlike Rickie Weeks who will be a bona fide star). I worry that Prince's tendency to strike out will hurt him in the majors. Don't get me wrong, I think that Delmon and Prince will develop into above average major leaguers just not in 2006.

Prince Fielder's 2005 Stats

<stats> Player=Prince Fielder Type=Batting Year=2005 </stats>

However, I do expect Matt Cain, Ryan Zimmerman, and Jonathan Papelbon to make a difference for their teams in 2007. Matt Cain looked impressive last year, after being called up from the minors. In 46.3 innings, Cain posted a 2.33 ERA and 0.9281 WHIP with 30 Ks. Not too shabby. While playing in the massive RFK Stadium, Zimmerman also impressed batting close to .400. If Papelbon gets a spot in the rotation, I think he has the make-up, stuff, and supporting staff to put up some big numbers. His numbers last year were pretty good, posting a 2.65 ERA with 34Ks in 34 innings. To become a star, Papelbon will need to improve his control 17 BBs in 34 innings stinks, as evident by his scary 1.47 WHIP.

Matt Cain's 2005 Stats

<stats> Player=Matt Cain Type=Pitching Year=2005 </stats>

Ryan Zimmerman's 2005 Stats

<stats> Player=Ryan Zimmerman Type=Batting Year=2005 </stats>

Jonathan Papelbon's 2005 Stats

<stats> Player=Jonathan Papelbon Type=Pitching </stats>

Date

Wed 03/08/06, 9:35 am EST <pageTools></pageTools>

Anonymous Fanatic #1

1360 days ago

Score 0

I would go with Lastings Milledgde.

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Awrigh01All-Star

1360 days ago

Score 2

I think Lastings will make an impact in 2008.

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Patrickburke1980All-American

1360 days ago

Score 0

Wrong!! He will be the starting left fielder next year after Cliff Floyd's contract is out. He's been a very good Met through and through, but the Mets are definitely not going to resign him.

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Awrigh01All-Star

1360 days ago

Score 1

Yeah, I meant 2007

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Anonymous Fanatic #1

1360 days ago

Score 1

so, i guess your whole article was really referring to 2006 and not 2007.

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MetsJetsDevilsDraft Pick

1360 days ago

Score -1

the answer is milledge and Mike Pelfrey. Fielder will make his impact this year.

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Awrigh01All-Star

1360 days ago

Score 1

I think Fielder will be a flop.

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Anonymous Fanatic #2

1360 days ago

Score -1

From a fantasy perspective, I'd take Hermida, Cain and Liriano. Hermida's got a lock on the starting job and his high OBP and his superior plate discipline and power should help him make the leap to the majors. Liriano's peripherals are to die for, and as long as he gets a spot in the rotation, he should be as good as, say, John Lackey. Cain proved himself last year. Young just has to be given a shot, but I think he's gonna produce about what Rickie Weeks did last year. And I guess I'd rather have Verlander than Paul Byrd or Vicente Padilla.

Fielder will hit .245 w/20 HRs; Zimmerman is up because his team blows and he can field -that park won't help his rookie numbers; Petit's only chance for fantasy relevance is a respectable WHIP; Marte isn't ready; Papelbon won't get the innings or the save opps.

And apparently Darryl Strawberry thinks Milledge isn't half the player he was at the same age.

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Awrigh01All-Star

1360 days ago

Score 2

I think you undervalue Petit.

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Patrickburke1980All-American

1360 days ago

Score 0

Petit has been great in the minors, but every single scout out there projects him to be a middle of the rotation starter. it's rare that someone with his velocity is dominating in the majors.

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Bball3345Draft Pick

1359 days ago

Score 0

I don't think Petit is ready for the majors yet. He dominated AA last year but struggled mightily in his 15 innings at AAA. He let up 5 HRs and had an ERA of 9.18. It could have been fatigue at the end of the year but it would be nice to see if he could master AAA, or at least look decent, before predicting too much success at the big league level.

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Anonymous Fanatic #3

1348 days ago

Score 1

Cain is sick. He's going to be huge. Look for Papelbon to have an excellent season too. He'll be in the Sox rotation by mid-season.

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Anonymous Fanatic #4

1290 days ago

Score 0

Looking back now, Papelbon has emerged as the best closer in the AL if not the MLB. Also, Fielder is making a HUGE impact in Milwaukee while Young is busy throwing bats at umpires. Fielder will be NL ROY and will eventually be the second-best first baseman in the NL Central behind Pujols.

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Bball3345Draft Pick

1282 days ago

Score 0

Looking back, Verlander has started the season as a legitimate pick for the Cy Young, along with Mussina and Kazmir.

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