2008 Rookie Fantasy Sleepers
So, you’re diligently preparing for your fantasy draft and searching desperately for this year’s Ryan Braun - the rookie fantasy sleeper stud that takes everyone by surprise and catapults your squad to a championship. Unfortunately, all you can find are experts’ “Top 100 Prospect” lists, which include prospects that are still a year or two away, or so-called “Sleeper” lists consisting of 2nd and 3rd year players that everyone in your league has already heard of (and are already planning to draft before you). What if - hypothetically - someone had organized a constantly updated list of rookie fantasy sleepers, tiered by starting status, ranked by predicted fantasy impact, and linked to recent news on each rookie, that you could have running in the background of your draft as a quick reference? Look no further than the MLBProspectNews.com 2008 Rookie Fantasy Sleepers page.
| Tier Color Key: | ||
| Fantasy Impact: Starting Rookies | On The Bubble: Rookie Sleepers Who Could Start If They Win a Position Battle | Biding Their Time: Rookie Sleepers on the Roster as a Backup |
| Rankings last updated 3/09/08 | |
HITTERS: |
PITCHERS: |
| 1. Evan Longoria, 3B, Rays 3/07 - Will start at 3B, will be a stud |
1. Clay Buchholz, SP, Red Sox 3/07 - Currently slated as 5th starter |
| 2. Colby Rasmus, OF, Cardinals 3/07 - CF is his to lose, but he won’t |
2. Joba Chamberlain, RP, Yankees 3/07 - Starting setup man, will move to rotation later in season |
| 3. Kosuke Fukudome, RF, Cubs 3/07 - Starting RF |
3. Hiroki Kuroda, SP, Dodgers 3/07 - Starting in rotation at #3 |
| 4. Geovany Soto, C, Cubs 3/07 - Starting C |
4. Homer Bailey, SP, Reds 3/07 - Battle with Edinson Volquez, Johnny Cueto |
| 5. Daric Barton, 1B, A’s 3/07 - Injured hand might be worse than thought, 1B his to lose to Dan Johnson |
5. Ian Kennedy, SP, Yankees 3/07 - Slated to start at #5 |
| 6. JR Towles, C, Astros 3/08 - Starting C, Strained hamstring but should be good by opening day. |
6. Franklin Morales, SP, Rockies 3/07 - Starting at #5 |
| 7. Joey Votto, 1B, Reds 3/07 - Battle with Scott Hatteburg for starting 1B. |
7. Luke Hochevar, SP, Royals 3/07 - Pitching well in spring and could make starting rotation or bullpen. |
| 8. Cameron Maybin, OF, Marlins 3/07 - Battle for starting CF. |
8. Johnny Cueto, SP, Reds 3/08 - Looks like the front runner vs. Bailey and Volquez based on Dusty Baker’s comments. |
| 9. Jay Bruce, OF, Reds 3/07 - 4-way position battle at CF with Norris Hopper, Ryan Freel, and now Corey Patterson. |
9. Edinson Volquez, SP, Reds 3/07 - Battle with Homer Bailey, Johnny Cueto. |
| 10. Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, Red Sox 3/07 - Battle with Crisp for CF, Crisp could get traded or lose to Ellsbury in June. |
10. Gio Gonzalez, SP, A’s 3/07 - Had impressive outing on Thursday, Manager Bob Geren likes the guy who led the minors in strikeouts (185) last year. |
| 11. Carlos Gomez, OF, Twins 3/07 - Starting CF for now, but Craig Monroe and Jason Pirdie are in the running. |
11. Kazuo Fukumori, RP, Rangers 3/07 - Setup man for Rangers |
| 12. Chase Headley, 3B/OF, Padres 3/07 - Battle with Scott Hairston in LF, could also backup Kouzmanoff at 3B. |
12. Jair Jurrjens, SP, Braves 3/07 - Probably starting at #5. |
| 13. Alexei Ramirez, 2B/OF, Cubs 3/07 - Battling for a starting spot, but might end up as a backup. |
13. Nick Blackburn, SP, Twins 3/07 - Competing with a handful of others for the fifth spot. |
| 14. Jayson Nix, 2B, Rockies 3/07 - Leading the pack for 2B starting gig. |
14. Manny Parra, SP, Brewers 3/07 - Pitching well enough this spring to start at #5, could start AAA and get called up if/when Ben Sheets gets hurt. |
| 15. Ian Stewart, 2B/3B, Rockies 3/07 - Backing up Garret Atkins at 3B, battling for 2B. |
15. Jeff Niemann, SP, Rays 3/07 - Will probably start in AAA. |
| 16. Brandon Wood, 3B, Angels 3/07 - Backing up Figgins at 3B, 3rd option at SS. |
16. Erik Threets, RP, Giants 3/07 - Late option in Giants bullpen. |
| 17. Steve Pearce, 1B/OF, Pirates 3/07 - Backing up Adam LaRoche at 1B, Jason Bay at LF. |
17. Adam Miller, SP, Indians 3/07 - Yet another injury delays callup, could start AAA. |
| 18. Callix Crabbe, OF, Padres 3/07 - Could be deeper backup in OF or 2B. |
18. Clayton Kershaw, SP, Dodgers 3/07 - Maybe late 08 or early 09 callup, will probably start AA or AAA. |
| 19. Jeff Clement, C, Mariners 3/07 - Currently backing up Johjima at Catcher. |
|
| 20. Matt Antonelli, 2B, Padres 3/07 - Backing up Tadahito Iguchi. |
|
| 21. Andy LaRoche, 3B, Dodgers 3/08 - Injured thumb, out 2 months. Will battle Nomar for 3B when he returns. |
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MLB Prospect News on March 9th 2008
LaRoche's Ligaments responded on 09 Mar 2008 at 5:29 pm #
Maybin will definitely start, he should definitely be in the green category.
And if we’re going by fantasy impact, when he does start, his 20-20 potential should put him way up in your rankings as well. Or at least above JR Towles!
jb responded on 10 Mar 2008 at 7:16 am #
Where’s Michael Bourne???
MLB Prospect News responded on 10 Mar 2008 at 9:51 pm #
JB - Although Michael Bourn is on many sleeper lists, he is not a rookie so we do not include him.
-MLBPN