The Roth Army Fantasy Baseball League

[TFM_Dale]

This site just isn't big on fantasy baseball lol, I thought weekly lineups would get more interest because you don't have to babysit your team every day. One of these years we will fill a league.

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Yup yup ... dream another dream this dream IS over ...

[TFM_Dale]

We don't have a league but figured I could post some fantasy baseball shit here

Baseball America's Top 10 Prospects

Welcome to our first installment of ranking the best fantasy prospects for 2013. Each week, we'll update our Top 10 to clue you in on which minor leaguers can help your fantasy team win this year.

Note that the rankings and information differ from my normal work for Baseball America. In this space, I'm not as concerned with a player's all-around ability or long-term impact; only his ability to put up fantasy numbers in 2013 matters. For instance, Astros shortstop Carlos Correa and Twins outfielder Byron Buxton were the top two picks in the 2012 draft and they're loaded with tools, but they're not close to being ready for the majors, so you likely won't see their names in the rankings this year.

To be honest, at the outset of spring training, I wouldn't have put Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr., Marlins righthander Jose Fernandez, Twins outfielder Aaron Hicks or Mariners right-hander Brandon Maurer in the Top 10. Even a week before Opening Day, I wouldn't have ranked Fernandez. But they all broke camp on big league rosters, a testament to the uncertainty of prospect ETAs.

Of those four, I believe Bradley and Maurer are the best equipped to perform in the majors right now, though Bradley also could wind up heading to Triple-A once David Ortiz is healthy. Fernandez is on the short list of the game's top pitching prospects, but he's making the jump from high Class A to a bad big league club. Hicks may have had a great spring training, but those numbers (.370, 4 HR, 18 RBIs, 3 SB) mean less than his history of needing time to adjust to each new level and his lack of experience above Double-A.

With that, I present to you the inaugural Top 10 fantasy prospects for 2013:

1. Jurickson Profar, SS/2B, Texas Rangers
Opening Day assignment: Triple-A Round Rock.
2012 minor league stats: .281 AVG/.368 OBP/.452 SLG, 14 HR, 62 RBIs, 16 SB at Double-A.
Fantasy scouting report: Profar would be the starting shortstop for most any other club, but the Rangers have Elvis Andrus, and they just locked him up through at least 2018. While Profar might never be the regular shortstop for Texas, it shouldn't be long before he takes over at second base and moves Ian Kinsler to first base or a corner outfield spot. Profar also is athletic enough to plug one of the Rangers' few holes in center field, though he has no outfield experience. Regardless of his position, he's a gifted, disciplined switch-hitter who should hit for average with double-digit homers and steals and plenty of run production in one of the game's deepest lineups and most favorable hitting parks.

2. Wil Myers, OF, Tampa Bay Rays
Opening Day assignment: Triple-A Durham.
2012 minor league stats: .314/.387/.600, 37 HR, 109 RBIs, 6 SB at Double-A and Triple-A.
Fantasy scouting report: The Rays traded James Shields and Wade Davis to get Myers and three other prospects from the Royals during the offseason, and they have a glaring lack of power, so it doesn't make much sense that he isn't in their lineup. His situation may play out like Evan Longoria's in 2008; Longoria began the season at Triple-A Durham and was in Tampa Bay a week later. In 2012, Myers won Baseball America's Minor League Player of the Year award and became the first 21-year-old to hit 37 homers in the minors since 1963. His power is his calling card, but he's also a career .303 hitter in the minors and he runs well enough to steal an occasional base, too.

3. Oscar Taveras, OF, St. Louis Cardinals
Opening Day assignment: Triple-A Memphis.
2012 minor league stats: .321/.381/.525, 23 HR, 94 RBI, 10 SB at Double-A.
Fantasy scouting report: The "Legend of Oscar Taveras" is getting pretty ridiculous. Signed for a bargain $145,000 out of the Dominican Republic, he has led his minor league teams to championships in each of the past three years, captured two straight minor league batting titles and won the Double-A Texas League MVP award last year at age 20. The best pure hitter in the minors, he's also growing into at least plus power, and he runs well enough to steal double-digit bases and perhaps play center field. A year after jumping from low Class A to Double-A, he could have skipped a level again and cracked the big league roster, but the Cardinals have a set outfield of Matt Holliday, Jon Jay and Carlos Beltran. As soon as Taveras gets an opportunity in the lineup, via injury or by forcing his way there with his bat, it's likely that St. Louis won't be able to get him out of there.

4. Trevor Bauer, SP, Cleveland Indians
Opening Day assignment: Triple-A Columbus.
2012 minor league stats: 12-2, 2.42 ERA, 130 IP, 157 K's, 1.29 WHIP at Double-A/Triple-A.
Fantasy scouting report: Eleven months after going No. 3 overall in the 2011 draft, Bauer became the first player from that draft class to make the big leagues. But last December, the Diamondbacks traded him to the Indians because: a) He had rubbed several members of the organization the wrong way; and b) GM Kevin Towers somehow thinks Didi Gregorius could be the second coming of Derek Jeter. Bauer's training regimen and desire to call his pitches are unusual, but so is his stuff: a pair of well above-average pitches, his mid-90s fastball with riding life and his hard curveball. His splitter, slider and changeups are weapons as well, and he just needs to focus on getting hitters out instead of trying to make them look bad. Cleveland hopes to be more competitive this year, a goal that will be made easier if it doesn't leave its most talented starter in Columbus all season.

5. Billy Hamilton, OF/SS, Cincinnati Reds
Opening Day assignment: Triple-A Louisville.
2012 minor league stats: .311/.410/.420, 2 HR, 45 RBIs, 155 SB at high Class A/Double-A.
Fantasy scouting report: Hamilton probably has the most roto upside on this list because he's likely going to be the next player to steal 100 bases in the major leagues. His 155 steals last year broke Vince Coleman's minor league record, and one scout opined that Hamilton might be baseball's quickest player since Cool Papa Bell. Hamilton isn't as polished a hitter as the others on this list, and he's in the midst of converting from shortstop to center field, so he's going to need some time at Triple-A. But even if he doesn't make his big league debut until August, he still could steal 25 bases in the final two months.

6. Travis d'Arnaud, C, New York Mets
Opening Day assignment: Triple-A Las Vegas.
2012 minor league stats: .333/.380/.595, 16 HR, 52 RBIs, 1 SB at Triple-A.
Fantasy scouting report: Originally drafted by the Phillies, d'Arnaud since has been included in trade packages for Cy Young award winners Roy Halladay and R.A. Dickey. Acquired by the Mets during the offseason, d'Arnaud has the highest offensive ceiling among catching prospects. He could hit .280 with 20 or more homers per year, though he still must prove his durability after various injuries limited him to 252 games over the past three seasons. New York doesn't figure to contend in 2013, so it might let service-time concerns delay his call-up until June, but his positional value makes him an attractive fantasy option.

7. Gerrit Cole, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates
Opening Day assignment: Triple-A Indianapolis.
2012 minor league stats: 9-7, 2.80, 132 IP, 136 K's, 1.20 WHIP at high Class A/Double-A/Triple-A.
Fantasy scouting report: The Pirates spent the No. 1 overall pick in 2011 and a draft-record $8 million bonus on Cole, who has better stuff than any pitcher in the minor leagues. He operates at 96-98 mph and touches 101 with his four-seam fastball, throws his two-seamer at 93-95 mph with sink, backs up his fastball with a wipeout slider that can hit 93 and can throw hitters off balance with a solid changeup. He throws strikes but still is refining his command, the last item on his to-do list before Pittsburgh calls him up.

8. Nolan Arenado, 3B, Colorado Rockies
Opening Day assignment: Triple-A Colorado Springs.
2012 minor league stats: .285/.337/.428, 12 HR, 56 RBIs, 0 SB at Double-A.
Fantasy scouting report: Arenado led the minors with 122 RBIs and won the Arizona Fall League MVP award in 2011 before enduring a slightly disappointing 2012 season, during which Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd even questioned his maturity. Arenado did finish with a flourish, batting .358/.375/.569 in the final month, and he tied for the Rockies lead with four homers in spring training. If Chris Nelson can't repeat last year's numbers, Arenado will claim his third base job and benefit from Coors Field. He makes consistent hard contact and has the potential to hit 15-20 homers and drive in 75-80 runs if he gets considerable playing time as a rookie.

9. Dylan Bundy, SP, Baltimore Orioles
Opening Day assignment: Double-A Bowie.
2012 minor league stats: 9-3, 2.08, 104 IP, 119 K's, 0.92 WHIP at low Class A/high Class A/Double-A.
Fantasy scouting report: Perhaps the most advanced high school pitcher ever, Bundy went fourth overall in the 2011 draft and reached the majors as a 19-year-old in 2012. He has a full array of plus pitches, including a 92-98 mph fastball, 12-to-6 curveball and changeup, and he already controls and commands them well beyond his years. His upside dwarfs that of the members of the Orioles' rotation, though Baltimore pledges to handle Bundy carefully. Case in point: He came down with mild elbow soreness in spring training, and will miss the start of the minor league season. If he takes too long to return, it's possible that Kevin Gausman, the No. 4 choice in the 2012 draft, could beat him to Baltimore this year.

10. Mike Olt, 3B/1B, Rangers
Opening Day assignment: Triple-A Round Rock.
2012 minor league stats: .288/.398/.579, 28 HR, 82 RBIs, 4 SB at Double-A.
Fantasy scouting report: Like his Round Rock teammate Profar, Olt has moved quickly through the minors, but he faces obstacles in Texas. Adrian Beltre blocks him at third base, and the Rangers may try to get Profar into their lineup before worrying about Olt. Nevertheless, he could hit for a solid average with double-digit homers if he gets even a half-season of playing time. And if your fantasy league incorporates on-base percentage, note that he has drawn 155 walks in 253 pro games.

Jim Callis is the executive editor of Baseball America.