ESPN's Jason Grey published his Top 100 fantasy prospects for 2010 on Friday. His top two are the obvious choices-Jason Heyward and Stephen Strasburg. Here is what he said about Stephen Strasburg:
Fantasy Baseball: Jason Grey’s Top 100 Fantasy Prospects For 2010
My guess is that Strasburg will do a little "affiliate tour" in 2010, starting at Class A ball, and build up a few starts before making his big league debut in early June. That's what we have based our projection for him on. Treat anything else as a bonus. It's possible that Strasburg could be a top-50 fantasy starter, even if he doesn't open the season in the big leagues. After all, Tommy Hanson was a top-30 starter last year despite missing the first two months. Either way, Strasburg should be successful almost immediately thanks to his superior stuff.
An owner in the UBA league and I have a beer bet on whether Strasburg starts the season in the minors or not. I think I will enjoy that Guiness draft before the UBA auction next month.
Grey's # 8 fantasy prospect is the Rangers pitcher Neftali Feliz (I wonder what the Braves think of the Mark Teixeira deal now?)"
Feliz is going to be a little undervalued this season, judging by early fantasy drafts. Regardless of his role, Feliz has an arm you're going to want to own, because if he's not starting, it's possible he could take over as the Rangers' closer if Frank Francisco has injury issues again.
Pedro Alvarez is Grey's #13 fantasy prospect in 2010, and here is what he says about Alvarez:
The Pirates plan on giving Alvarez at least a couple of months at Triple-A, where the hope is that he will hit his way into the big league lineup. He is likely to struggle a bit against left-handed pitching in the short term, but he can homer to all fields in any park, and he handles the strike zone reasonably well. The relative lack of depth in the third base pool this season makes him an even more intriguing prospect gamble for 2010, as he could be in the big leagues as early as June.
Grey makes a very good point in that last sentence. Third base is pretty thin this year, so Alvarez could move up draft rankings.
The Reds outfield prospect Chris Heisey comes in at #25 for Grey, and here is what he says about him:
A platoon of Chris Dickerson and Jonny Gomes, with Wladimir Balentien possibly thrown in here and there, is the likely direction the Reds will go with their left field job for now, but don't be surprised if Heisey, a favorite of mine who is relatively overlooked, hits his way into the mix eventually.
He is someone I am eyeing in the UBA minor league draft. Want to see how his spring training goes.
Grey confirmed my thoughts about Giants outfield prospect Thomas Neal, coming in as his #45 fantasy prospect:
Given the question marks about the Giants’ offense entering the season, especially in right field, Neal could advance rapidly, and be a factor if he shows more of what he did at Class A last year. Neal is also able to play first base if needed, giving him another avenue to playing time at the big league level.Neal is definitely on my radar in the UBA minor league draft, just wondering where he gets selected.
See More:
