Top Ten Fantasy Baseball Sleeper Prospects For 2008 - American League

In every fantasy baseball league, there's alwayscriticized for a too slow curveball which can
one guy who makes a surprise pick or two duringbottom out at a middle-schoolish 69.
the draft. He's usually the guy who's done hisFantasy Baseball Dugout sees Kennedy as the #
homework on Fantasy Baseball Sleeper Prospects.5 starter in the Yankees rotation in a crowded
He's the guy who reads Fantasy Baseball Dugout.pitching corpse that includes Wang, Petitte,
Fantasy Baseball Dugout is proud to present itsChamberlain, Hughes, and Mussina. Kennedy should
2008 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper Prospects. Thewin at least 12 games in 2008.
criteria for qualifying as a sleeper prospect is that# 5 -- Evan Longoria, third baseman, Tampa Bay
the player was not a regular for the 2007 seasonDevil Rays
and that the season was his first in The Show.Another name you've heard of, but more likely
Most fantasy baseball sleeper players werebecause of its similarity to many men's fantasy,
September call-ups to The Bigs, but some youand I'm not talking baseball at all here. Longoria
probably would not have heard of unless youwas the third overall pick by the Devil Rays in
were an avid minor league fan.2006 out of a stellar All-American career with the
#1 -- Joba Chamberlain, Starting Pitcher, NewLong Beach State Dirtbags.
York Yankees.Longoria, who played shortstop in college, is seen
Once a hefty 272 pound pitcher at D-IImore as a third baseman in the Bigs. His lack of
Nebraska-Kearney, Chamberlain lost weight andspeed projects him better at the hot corner
was simply dominating at every professional levelwhere he has soft hands and good body control
in 2007. He's an interesting guy--a Nativethat will likely push Akinori Otsuka over to second.
American member of the Winnebago tribe.Longoria will get plenty of playing time for the
A hamstring injury hampered Chamberlain and heDevil Rays and is the favorite to be the AL
did not make his pro debut until May. He thenRookie of the Year in 2008. Longoria is a .300+
made it all look easy.guy with 30+ homers, even in his rookie
Chamberlain started at Hi-A Tampa where hecampaign.
went 4-0 with a 2.03 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 40Last year, Longoria played at AA Montgomery
innings while holding hitters to a microscopic .181and AAA Durham in one of the best farm
average. He was promoted to AA Trenton wheresystems in the MLB. He hit 26 homers while
he went 4-2 in seven starts with a 3.35 ERA andknocking in 97 RBI. Longoria also belted 29
a massive 66 K's in 40 IP's. After threedoubles.
appearances at AAA Scranton/Wilkes BarreThe knock on Longoria is that he can sometimes
where he fanned 18 in 8 innings, Chamberlain wasbe too aggressive at the plate, sometimes
promoted to the Yanks.chasing bad pitches. This led to 110 strikeouts last
You would think that Chamberlain's meteoric riseseason.
would have been too much to put up similar# 6 -- Brandon Wood, SS/3B, Los Angeles Angels
numbers with the Bronx Bombers. Nothing couldIn 2005, Wood broke into the pro ranks with 43
have been further from the truth. Chamberlainhome runs for High A Rancho Cucomonga. His
worked out of the bullpen and appeared in 19season with the Quakes pinned Wood as a
games. In 24 IP's, he fanned 34 while walking justsuperstar, but his stats since, while good, have
6 and giving up 12 hits. Opponents were nearlybeen a bit more pedestrian. He hit 23 homers and
invisible against Chamberlain at the plate with a.272 BA at AAA Salt Lake last year.
.145 BA. Chamberlain's ERA in the bigs: 0.38.Wood has power, but also strikes out a lot. He
Chamberlain has the makings of a closer or a #1fanned 120 times at Salt Lake last year before
starter. Manager Joe Girardi is going to be hardgetting 33 AB's with the Angels. Critics site that
pressed to not move him quickly into that #1Wood often tries to pull the ball too much which
starter role in 2008. Watch his status closelymakes him susceptible to outside pitches.
during Grapefruit League games. You could end upThe Angels still have Aybar, Figgins, and Izturis in
with a mid-round steal in Chamberlain.the mix at shortstop, but none of these guys
Fantasy Baseball Dugout considers Chamberlain tohave the pop that Wood has. Expect Wood to be
be a top 20 pick among all pitchers in the 2008the Angels third baseman this season.
fantasy baseball draft. He will win at least 15# 7 -- Adam Miller, Starting Pitcher, Cleveland
games in pinstripes and will be a dominantIndians
strikeout machine with enormous upside potentialMiller has been dominant in the minor leagues, but
in future years.has been injury prone so be sure to check his
# 2 -- Clay Bucholz, Starting Pitcher, Boston Redstatus before drafting him in March. He only
Soxpitched 65 innings last year at AAA Buffalo where
Bucholz is the best home grown pitcher from thehe went 5-4, 4.82.
Sox farm system since Roger Clemens. This guyWhen he's healthy, Miller can be lights out. He has
is certainly no surprise given the fact that hehit 97 on the gun, although not as of late. Still, his
tossed a no-no in just his second major leagueslider is very impressive and clearly his best pitch.
start last season against the Orioles. He likelyMiller has been more effective as he's matured as
would have made the Red Sox post-seasona pitcher and not tried to blow his heater by
roster had Boston not shut him down with a tiredeveryone.
arm.We see Miller as an eventual starter, but he'll
Bucholz was simply dominant in the minors lastprobably start 2008 in the Tribe's bullpen or will
year and is another strikeout machine for leaguesbattle the more experienced Aaron Laffey for
who take whiffs into account. Bucholz averagedthe #5 starting job behind Sabathia, Carmona,
12.3 strikeouts per 9 IP last year in the minorsWestbrook, and BallparkBob lookalike Paul Byrd.
with AA Portland and AAA Pawtucket.We're thinking Laffey will earn the # 5 spot just
All this despite the fact that Bucholz was not a fullto add a second southpaw to the Indians' rotation.
time pitcher until 2005 when he was picked in the# 8 -- Daric Barton, first baseman, Oakland A's
first round supplemental draft by the Sox. SeveralBarton was acquired from the Cardinals in 2004 in
teams stayed away from Bucholz because of anthe Mark Mulder deal. After moving from catcher
April 2004 theft arrest.to first base, Barton had a streaky year in 2007
The right hander tops out at 95 MPH with hisfor AAA Sacramento where he hit .293 with 9
fastball and has a 12-6 curve to go along with anHR's and 38 doubles.
effective change. Most scouts would like to seeHe has no wheels and is not a power hitter
him rely on his fastball more and it remains to bedespite weighing 205. Recently, he's been getting
seen if he can hold up for an entire season as hemore loft on his stroke, but he's basically a line
pitched a career high 149 IP's last year and wasdrive hitter of the Kevin Youklis mode.
gassed at the end of the season.A left-handed hitter, Barton will likely be the A's
Fantasy Baseball Dugout projects Bucholz as thestarting first baseman this year unless Dan
# 4 starter this year for Boston behind Beckett,Johnson can beat him out which appears to be
Matsuzaka, and Lester. He'll get his chances tounlikely. He's strong and hits the ball extremely
impress and will probably be the Sox # 2 man byhard so if Barton can pick up more of a homerun
next season.stroke, he could change his game and be a 20+
# 3 -- Jacoby Ellsbury, Outfielder, Boston Red Soxhomerun hitter.
Ellsbury is another guy who is already well known,# 9 -- Luke Hochevar, Starting Pitcher, Kansas
yet still qualifies as a rookie. Ellsbury relieved aCity Royals
slumping Coco Crisp in the World Series last yearI know, picking a pitcher on the Royals is crazy,
and hit a sizzling .438 in the Fall Classic. This wasbut this one is worth a look. Hochevar was the
after hitting .361 in September while playing fornumber one overall pick in the 2006 draft. His
the injured Manny Ramirez. Not to mention, astats last year were, quite frankly, not impressive
Pawtucket record of a 25-game hitting streak.either--4.69 at AA Wichita and 5.12 at AAA
Ellsbury hit .353 last year in just 116 AB's. HeOmaha.
won't hit for much power, but is a force at theBut, that's why we call them sleepers. Hochevar,
top of the lineup for a Red Sox team that will24, hits 95 with his fastball and has a late-breaking
score a lot of runs. And, Ellsbury will help your allcurve that can be devastating. He needs to work
important stolen base totals. He swiped 9 in theon his control and how well he does with his
Bigs last year and a total of 50 overall with hiscontrol will determine if he makes the big club in
three clubs.April.
The ceiling is high for Ellsbury, but there's noExpect Hochevar to battle Kyle Davies for a spot
guarantee he will be with the club when the Soxin the Royals' rotation behind Meche, Bannister,
break camp. While it is rumored that Boston isGreinke, and De La Rosa. Based on his less than
trying to move Crisp, Ellsbury may have to waitimpressive minor league stats, you'll be able to
for a mid-season call up to break the startingpick up Hochevar in the late rounds and he could
lineup if the Red Sox can't move Crisp.prove to be worth the gamble in large leagues.
# 4 -- Ian Kennedy, Starting Pitcher, New York# 10 -- Jeff Clement, catcher, Seattle Mariners
YankeesClement can flat out rake. But, there's just one
Kennedy is another Yankee who benefited fromproblem, the Mariners don't have an opening
exposure in a September call up. He started threebehind the plate with Kenji Johjima there.
games and had a sparkling 1.89 ERA while holdingClement broke Drew Henson's national high school
opponents to a .191 BA.record with 75 career homeruns out of Iowa.
Kennedy rose through the Yank's farm systemClement went on to play college ball at Southern
like a torpedo last year moving from Hi A TampaCal spurning the Twins offer in the 2002 draft.
to AA Trenton to AAA Scranton/Wilkes Barre,The left handed hitting Clement stroked 20
before joining the pinstripers in September. Hisdingers last year at AAA Tacoma with a .275 BA.
combined record was 13-3 with 178 strikeouts inHe was streaky last year at Tacoma and his
166 IP.stats suffered from playing at cavernous Cheney
Kennedy's best pitch is his changeup which has aPark in the Pacific Coast League. Clement slugged
nice run to it. He can hit 92 MPH, but is oftenover 100 points higher while playing on the road.