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Top Ten Fantasy Baseball Sleeper Prospects For 2008 - American League

In every fantasy baseball league, there'sFantasy Baseball Dugout sees Kennedy as the #
always one guy who makes a surprise pick or5 starter in the Yankees rotation in a
two during the draft. He's usually the guycrowded pitching corpse that includes Wang,
who's done his homework on Fantasy BaseballPetitte, Chamberlain, Hughes, and Mussina.
Sleeper Prospects. He's the guy who readsKennedy should win at least 12 games in 2008.
Fantasy  Baseball  Dugout.
# 5 -- Evan Longoria, third baseman, Tampa
Fantasy Baseball Dugout is proud to presentBay  Devil  Rays
its 2008 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper Prospects.
The criteria for qualifying as a sleeperAnother name you've heard of, but more likely
prospect is that the player was not a regularbecause of its similarity to many men's
for the 2007 season and that the season wasfantasy, and I'm not talking baseball at all
his first in The Show. Most fantasy baseballhere. Longoria was the third overall pick by
sleeper players were September call-ups tothe Devil Rays in 2006 out of a stellar
The Bigs, but some you probably would notAll-American career with the Long Beach State
have heard of unless you were an avid minorDirtbags.
league  fan.
Longoria, who played shortstop in college, is
#1 -- Joba Chamberlain, Starting Pitcher, Newseen more as a third baseman in the Bigs.
York  Yankees.His lack of speed projects him better at the
hot corner where he has soft hands and good
Once a hefty 272 pound pitcher at D-IIbody control that will likely push Akinori
Nebraska-Kearney, Chamberlain lost weight andOtsuka  over  to  second.
was simply dominating at every professional
level in 2007. He's an interesting guy--aLongoria will get plenty of playing time for
Native American member of the Winnebagothe Devil Rays and is the favorite to be the
tribe.AL Rookie of the Year in 2008. Longoria is a
.300+ guy with 30+ homers, even in his rookie
A hamstring injury hampered Chamberlain andcampaign.
he did not make his pro debut until May. He
then  made  it  all  look  easy.Last year, Longoria played at AA Montgomery
and AAA Durham in one of the best farm
Chamberlain started at Hi-A Tampa where hesystems in the MLB. He hit 26 homers while
went 4-0 with a 2.03 ERA and 51 strikeouts inknocking in 97 RBI. Longoria also belted 29
40 innings while holding hitters to adoubles.
microscopic .181 average. He was promoted to
AA Trenton where he went 4-2 in seven startsThe knock on Longoria is that he can
with a 3.35 ERA and a massive 66 K's in 40sometimes be too aggressive at the plate,
IP's. After three appearances at AAA Scrantonsometimes chasing bad pitches. This led to
Wilkes Barre where he fanned 18 in 8 innings,110  strikeouts  last  season.
Chamberlain  was  promoted  to  the  Yanks.
# 6 -- Brandon Wood, SS/3B, Los Angeles
You would think that Chamberlain's meteoricAngels
rise would have been too much to put up
similar numbers with the Bronx Bombers.In 2005, Wood broke into the pro ranks with
Nothing could have been further from the43 home runs for High A Rancho Cucomonga.
truth. Chamberlain worked out of the bullpenHis season with the Quakes pinned Wood as a
and appeared in 19 games. In 24 IP's, hesuperstar, but his stats since, while good,
fanned 34 while walking just 6 and giving uphave been a bit more pedestrian. He hit 23
12 hits. Opponents were nearly invisiblehomers and .272 BA at AAA Salt Lake last
against Chamberlain at the plate with a .145year.
BA.  Chamberlain's  ERA  in  the  bigs: 0.38.
Wood has power, but also strikes out a lot.
Chamberlain has the makings of a closer or aHe fanned 120 times at Salt Lake last year
#1 starter. Manager Joe Girardi is going tobefore getting 33 AB's with the Angels.
be hard pressed to not move him quickly intoCritics site that Wood often tries to pull
that #1 starter role in 2008. Watch histhe ball too much which makes him susceptible
status closely during Grapefruit Leagueto  outside  pitches.
games. You could end up with a mid-round
steal  in  Chamberlain.The Angels still have Aybar, Figgins, and
Izturis in the mix at shortstop, but none of
Fantasy Baseball Dugout considers Chamberlainthese guys have the pop that Wood has.
to be a top 20 pick among all pitchers in theExpect Wood to be the Angels third baseman
2008 fantasy baseball draft. He will win atthis  season.
least 15 games in pinstripes and will be a
dominant strikeout machine with enormous# 7 -- Adam Miller, Starting Pitcher,
upside  potential  in  future  years.Cleveland  Indians
# 2 -- Clay Bucholz, Starting Pitcher, BostonMiller has been dominant in the minor
Red  Soxleagues, but has been injury prone so be sure
to check his status before drafting him in
Bucholz is the best home grown pitcher fromMarch. He only pitched 65 innings last year
the Sox farm system since Roger Clemens.at  AAA  Buffalo  where  he  went  5-4, 4.82.
This guy is certainly no surprise given the
fact that he tossed a no-no in just hisWhen he's healthy, Miller can be lights out.
second major league start last season againstHe has hit 97 on the gun, although not as of
the Orioles. He likely would have made thelate. Still, his slider is very impressive
Red Sox post-season roster had Boston notand clearly his best pitch. Miller has been
shut  him  down  with  a  tired  arm.more effective as he's matured as a pitcher
and not tried to blow his heater by everyone.
Bucholz was simply dominant in the minors
last year and is another strikeout machineWe see Miller as an eventual starter, but
for leagues who take whiffs into account.he'll probably start 2008 in the Tribe's
Bucholz averaged 12.3 strikeouts per 9 IPbullpen or will battle the more experienced
last year in the minors with AA Portland andAaron Laffey for the #5 starting job behind
AAA  Pawtucket.Sabathia, Carmona, Westbrook, and BallparkBob
lookalike Paul Byrd. We're thinking Laffey
All this despite the fact that Bucholz waswill earn the # 5 spot just to add a second
not a full time pitcher until 2005 when hesouthpaw  to  the  Indians'  rotation.
was picked in the first round supplemental
draft by the Sox. Several teams stayed away# 8 -- Daric Barton, first baseman, Oakland
from Bucholz because of an April 2004 theftA's
arrest.
Barton was acquired from the Cardinals in
The right hander tops out at 95 MPH with his2004 in the Mark Mulder deal. After moving
fastball and has a 12-6 curve to go alongfrom catcher to first base, Barton had a
with an effective change. Most scouts wouldstreaky year in 2007 for AAA Sacramento where
like to see him rely on his fastball morehe  hit  .293  with  9  HR's  and 38 doubles.
and it remains to be seen if he can hold up
for an entire season as he pitched a careerHe has no wheels and is not a power hitter
high 149 IP's last year and was gassed at thedespite weighing 205. Recently, he's been
end  of  the  season.getting more loft on his stroke, but he's
basically a line drive hitter of the Kevin
Fantasy Baseball Dugout projects Bucholz asYouklis  mode.
the # 4 starter this year for Boston behind
Beckett, Matsuzaka, and Lester. He'll getA left-handed hitter, Barton will likely be
his chances to impress and will probably bethe A's starting first baseman this year
the  Sox  #  2  man  by  next  season.unless Dan Johnson can beat him out which
appears to be unlikely. He's strong and hits
# 3 -- Jacoby Ellsbury, Outfielder, Bostonthe ball extremely hard so if Barton can pick
Red  Soxup more of a homerun stroke, he could change
his  game  and  be  a  20+  homerun  hitter.
Ellsbury is another guy who is already well
known, yet still qualifies as a rookie.# 9 -- Luke Hochevar, Starting Pitcher,
Ellsbury relieved a slumping Coco Crisp inKansas  City  Royals
the World Series last year and hit a sizzling
.438 in the Fall Classic. This was afterI know, picking a pitcher on the Royals is
hitting .361 in September while playing forcrazy, but this one is worth a look.
the injured Manny Ramirez. Not to mention, aHochevar was the number one overall pick in
Pawtucket record of a 25-game hitting streak.the 2006 draft. His stats last year were,
quite frankly, not impressive either--4.69 at
Ellsbury hit .353 last year in just 116 AB's.AA  Wichita  and  5.12  at  AAA  Omaha.
He won't hit for much power, but is a force
at the top of the lineup for a Red Sox teamBut, that's why we call them sleepers.
that will score a lot of runs. And, EllsburyHochevar, 24, hits 95 with his fastball and
will help your all important stolen basehas a late-breaking curve that can be
totals. He swiped 9 in the Bigs last yeardevastating. He needs to work on his control
and a total of 50 overall with his threeand how well he does with his control will
clubs.determine  if he makes the big club in April.
The ceiling is high for Ellsbury, but there'sExpect Hochevar to battle Kyle Davies for a
no guarantee he will be with the club whenspot in the Royals' rotation behind Meche,
the Sox break camp. While it is rumored thatBannister, Greinke, and De La Rosa. Based on
Boston is trying to move Crisp, Ellsbury mayhis less than impressive minor league stats,
have to wait for a mid-season call up toyou'll be able to pick up Hochevar in the
break the starting lineup if the Red Soxlate rounds and he could prove to be worth
can't  move  Crisp.the  gamble  in  large  leagues.
# 4 -- Ian Kennedy, Starting Pitcher, New# 10 -- Jeff Clement, catcher, Seattle
York  YankeesMariners
Kennedy is another Yankee who benefited fromClement can flat out rake. But, there's just
exposure in a September call up. He startedone problem, the Mariners don't have an
three games and had a sparkling 1.89 ERAopening behind the plate with Kenji Johjima
while  holding  opponents  to  a  .191  BA.there.
Kennedy rose through the Yank's farm systemClement broke Drew Henson's national high
like a torpedo last year moving from Hi Aschool record with 75 career homeruns out of
Tampa to AA Trenton to AAA Scranton/WilkesIowa. Clement went on to play college ball
Barre, before joining the pinstripers inat Southern Cal spurning the Twins offer in
September. His combined record was 13-3 withthe  2002  draft.
178  strikeouts  in  166  IP.
The left handed hitting Clement stroked 20
Kennedy's best pitch is his changeup whichdingers last year at AAA Tacoma with a .275
has a nice run to it. He can hit 92 MPH, butBA. He was streaky last year at Tacoma and
is often criticized for a too slow curveballhis stats suffered from playing at cavernous
which can bottom out at a middle-schoolishCheney Park in the Pacific Coast League.
69.Clement slugged over 100 points higher while
playing on the road.



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