EFB DRAFT RANKINGS

Thursday April 17th, 2008

Farm Factor: Clement is Back on the Rise

+

+

+

Overall Top 25 Drafts

Top 10 rankings by Scoring Category

League by League Breakdown

by John Thornton

It's far too early to tell who's for real and who's putting on their best Jack Cust impersonation at this point in the season, but it's never too early to speculate. We're all expecting a rapid ascent to the limelight for uber-prospects Jay Bruce, Colby Rasmus and the recently promoted Evan Longoria. They get the press and rightfully so, but their with that attention comes inflation in the fantasy world. Fantasy players the world around are jockying for waiver priority and pinching the proverbial fantasy dollar for a chance to add these future stars. Unless your working for the New York Yankees, you've got to be one step ahead of the game- waiting for that next unassuming prospect to take the fantasy world by storm.

Ready to Play

Jeff Clement (C) SEA - The time is now for Jeff Clement. The former 1st round draft pick is back to hitting like the future-star he is after a disappointing Spring Training. Clement hit .275 with 20 HR in 455 at-bats for Triple-A Tacoma in 07' as a 23 year-old. He's always had an impressive approach at the plate and his patience is perhaps his best asset offensively. Clement is off to a torid start in Tacoma hitting an eye-popping .400 with 3 HR and 11 RBI in his first 45 at-bats. His 6/9 strikeout to walk ratio is equally impressive. Seattle is in need of some offense and Clement is the answer. He's not going to overtake Johjima anytime soon but 300 at-bats as a DH isn't out of the question this year.

Sean Rodriguez (SS) LAA - The Angels have one of the best farm systems in baseball, which leads me to question their logic in keeping overpayed vets like Garrett Anderson, Chone Figgins and Gary Matthews Jr around. The Angels have a log jam at almost every postition as a result of their minor league depth. After a breakout year in 2006, Rodriquez took a huge step backward last year and has practically fallen off everyones radar for 2008. He's alway shown excellent power potential for a shortstop, hitting .301 with 24 HR for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga as a 20 year-old and 17 HR last year for Triple-A Salt Lake City. Rodriquez' problem has always been the strikeout. That problem became quite apparent last season when he struck out 132 times for Salt Lake. The 22 year-old has double-digit speed to supplement his power and could develop into a 25/15 player if he cuts down on the K's. He's currently hitting .366 with 4 HR for Salt Lake City and has posted an impressive 8/7 strikeout to walk ratio so far. With Brandon Wood making the move to 3B and Erick Aybaar looking like a bench player, Rodriquez could make his rise to the bigs sooner than you might expect.

A Year Away

Max Sherzer (SP) ARI - Max Scherzer has yet to give up a run on this young baseball season. Through 2 starts he's allowed just 5 hits and 2 walks in 12 innings while striking out 18 for Triple-A Tucson. A former 73rd round pick, Scherzer is widely unknown as a prospect but not for good reason. His numbers so far in 08' are obviously lofty but he has done this before. Scherzer started out the 2007 season with Single-A Visalia and quickly proved that he was ready for bigger things. In 17 innings with Visalia, the 23 year-old posted a 0.33 ERA and 30 K's while allowing just 2 walks and 5 hits. He continued to impress after a promotion to Double-A Mobile but struggled a little with his command- ending the year with a 3.91 ERA and a 76/40 strikeout to walk ratio in 73 innings. Arizona is currently stacked in the pitching department but with Doug Davis' future unknown and RJ always an injury risk, Scherzer could fight his way in to a mid-summer callup.

Someday

Brandon Waring (3B) CIN - Waring has done nothing but hit since he signed with the Cincinnatti Reds in the 2007 First Year Player Draft. After playing college baseball at Wofford, he didn't garner the kind of attention he might have gotten from a higher profile school. However, that didn't stop him from hitting .311 with 20 HR in just 287 at-bats in the Pioneer League last year. As a senior at Wofford he hit .401 with 27 HR in 222 at-bats and is back at it again this year with a .373 batting average and 5 HR through 13 games at Single-A Dayton. I'm not sure where he fits into Cincy's plans with Edwin Encarnacion firmly entrenched at 3B, but the he's got a future wherever he lands.

A NY-PENN - Rankings

A SOUTH ATLANTIC - Rankings

A NORTHWEST - Rankings

AA FRONTIER - Rankings

A APPALACHIAN - Rankings

A CALIFORNIA - Rankings

A FLORIDA STATE - Recap  Rankings

A MIDWEST - Rankings

A CAROLINA - Recap  Rankings

ELITE - Rankings

AA TEXAS - Recap  Rankings

AA EASTERN - Recap  Rankings

AA SOUTHERN - Recap  Rankings

AAA PACIFIC COAST - Recap  Rankings

AAA INTERNATIONAL - Recap  Rankings