Fantasy Baseball: Top 10 Rookies to Draft

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Mar 4, 2012

Fantasy Baseball: Top 10 Rookies to Draft

Bryce Harper, OF

Harper might not have made a lot of friends along the way, but he still looks every bit as advertised, a long-term star, if not a legend in the making. In order to make it through the hype and expectations you have to be a little bit cocky. If his confidence is any indicator, Harper is going to be great right away. Manager Davy Johnson is determined to have the 19-year-old wunderkind make the team this spring and all it will take is a spring as good as the first a year ago. Harper shouldn't be expected to hit .300, 30 homers or steal 30 bases as a rookie, but he is talented enough that nothing should surprise us. A .290-20-80-80-15 line would do nicely relative to draft position.

Mike Trout, OF

Yu Darvish, RHP

Darvish comes labeled as the best Japanese pitching prospect in history, so naturally you have to see him as a threat to better the numbers of first-year imports Hideo Nomo (13-6, 2.54 with 236 strikeouts in 191 1/3 innings) or Daisuke Matsuzaka (15-12, 4.40 with 201 strikeouts in 204 2/3 innings). If Darvish can beat those numbers, he is going to be the most important rookie picked this spring. With the contending Rangers, he should be able to. Consider him a bargain after the top 100 players are off the board.

Matt Moore, LHP

If Moore didn't toss that series-opening gem against the Rangers last October, we might have considered Moore a potential bargain on draft day. Instead, he is likely to be the first rookie picked. That makes him a bit dangerous, even if he runs away and wins a rotation spot this spring. Don't get us wrong; Moore has loads of potential in the short and long term, but expecting ace-like numbers out of a rookie pitcher in his first full major league season (when his arm isn't necessarily built up to handle the 200-inning grind) is a risky proposition. Moore is certainly worth considering and can have a Jeremy Hellickson-like AL Rookie of the Year campaign (13-10, 2.95 with 117 strikeouts in 189 innings), but Hellickson was a late-round pick in most formats a season ago. Moore won't come as affordably this draft day.

Jesus Montero, C/DH

Montero is a catcher, but he might not qualify there in your league on draft day. You might have to burn your DH spot on him in the draft and until he gains five games behind the plate for the Mariners. He is slated to be their DH and part-time catcher out of spring training, but it could take a month to gain true catcher eligibility (14 games at DH, three games at catcher a year ago). Ignoring the position-eligibility, Montero is going to be a true slugger for fantasy owners. In fact, thinking he can hit .280 with 20 homers might be the low-end of the projection spectrum in his first full major league season.

Yoenis Cespedes, OF

All rookies are wild cards, but Cespedes might be the toughest one to peg right away. You have to figure the contract the cash-strapped A's gave him makes him a likely job winner this spring, but who knows? Cespedes has decent power, maybe even 25-plus HR potential, and could be an impact player right away, but we should get a good sense in spring if Cespedes is closer to Kendrys Morales than former Met Jorge Toca as far as Cuban import position players go.

Addison Reed, RP

If he was going to be given the first shot at the White Sox's closer's role this spring, Reed would be a candidate to perform on the level of 2011 NL Rookie of the Year Craig Kimbrel, who was the best closer in fantasy as a rookie. Reed has that kind of overwhelming stuff. Matt Thornton might initially win the job for Robin Ventura's White Sox, but Reed will have to be owned in all rotisserie leagues if he makes the team as a setup man. Ultimately, Reed is the White Sox closer of the future, assuming Chris Sale transitions to the rotation as the White Sox project. Watch this position battle very closely through spring and perhaps even in the early going of the season.

Devin Mesoraco, C

Mesoraco is an ideal sleeper for fantasy owners, because many hate picking catchers and tend to save that position for very late on draft day. Well, Mesoraco has the Reds' catcher job to win in spring training (vs. veteran reserve Ryan Hanigan) and can project to hit 20-plus homers annually in that Cincy Great American Bandbox. Mesoraco is one of the few top rookies to actually be a bit under the radar right now.

Julio Teheran, RHP

If the Braves weren't so deep with major league starters and major league ready pitching prospects, Teheran (Tuh-hair-an) might be at the top of this rookies list. Instead, he will have to settle for the No. 7 slot (on this list and in terms of Braves starters behind Tommy Hanson, Tim Hudson, Jair Jurrjens, Brandon Beachy, Mike Minor and, another rookie, Randall Delgado). Teheran is only seventh because of his age and innings totals (a career-high 165 innings last year). In terms of stuff, talent and Triple-A numbers (15-3, 2.55 with 122 strikeouts in 145 innings), Teheran might be the best prospect in baseball ... albeit one relegated to Triple-A by no fault of his own. He might be seventh entering spring, but he could be the Braves' No. 1 starter by the end of this year.

New Cubs GM Theo Epstein pulled a coup getting Rizzo from the Padres, but Epstein is also commanding manager Dale Sveum to have the Cubs play Bryan LaHair at first base and bat him cleanup. That puts Rizzo back in Triple-A, where he mashed a year ago (. 331-26-101). LaHair, 29 and not rookie eligible, topped that in Triple-A with a .331-38-109-91-2 (..405-. 664) statline. Rizzo is going back to Triple-A to wait for LaHair to falter, or slug his own way to the majors. Rizzo is going to be one of the hottest sluggers to track in the early months in the minors this season, which will make him tough to acquire in-season in deeper leagues. You almost have to draft Rizzo and keep him stashed in hopes he arrives and stars with the rebuilding Cubs. The Padres made some offseason deals that ostensibly wound up making them choose the gap-hitting Alonso over the arc-swinging slugger Rizzo, who failed in his month-long trial last summer. Alonso has a good strikeout-to-walk rate and the ability to hit .300 in the majors, but his lack of top shelf power and having to hit in spacious Petco Park makes him less intriguing at the first-base position in fantasy. That should make him a bargain, though, so perhaps if you miss out on a big slugger at first, Alonso can be a great fallback option. The Padres are at least committed to him now, because of the high-profile trades they made putting their eggs in his basket.