You can see D-Backs rookie third baseman Mark Reynolds stick out on the stats page: 23-for-54 (.426) with four homers, 15 RBI and 12 runs through his first 15 games.
You see him sticking out in our scouting tools on CBS SportsLine: No. 1 most-viewed player Thursday, trumping the likes of Friday debutee Kevin Slowey.
You might even be one of the Fantasy owners that sees him on your roster with that beautifully brilliant red player update tag -- as if it's blinking or winking at you. At the time of this story, he is the No. 2 most-added player in CBS SportsLine's Fantasy leagues (up from 7 percent to 40), behind last week's call-up darling Ryan Braun and just ahead of this week's, Slowey.
What you can't see -- most of us anyway -- is Reynolds take batting practice. But now read all about it here:
"I've never seen anything like it," manager Bob Melvin said of Reynolds in BP. "It reminds you of (Mark) McGwire in his day, when he was hitting balls over bleachers and out of buildings."
Woah, like our Amber Wilson says: Stop, refresh, rewind. Please run that by us again?
Reynolds and Big Mac uttered in the same sentence. Sign him up.
OK, now that you've jumped on the bandwagon, you want to know what happens when regular third baseman Chad Tracy (rib cage) comes off the DL, perhaps as soon as next week.
Yeah, so do we. So does he.
"I don't want to be another Wally Pipp," he said after colliding with a pitcher and possibly needing to sit out Wednesday's game. He played and hit a two-run homer.
The important thing to note with Reynolds is he's a third baseman only because of circumstance. He can play anywhere in the infield, so his versatility and hot bat should allow him to stick around.
After all, it's not every day someone hits cleanup in a contender's lineup, like Reynolds is now, goes off, gets uttered in the same breath as Big Mac and then gets shuttled back to Double-A.
Drafted out of Virginia, Reynolds was the shortstop on a Division I team that included Washington's Ryan Zimmerman (3B) and Triple-A Rockies strongman Joe Koshansky (1B). That is how he was overshadowed. He shouldn't have been overlooked, though. In its prospects bible this spring, Baseball America called Reynolds "a power-hitting second baseman in the Jeff Kent mold."
At the time of his sudden call-up -- when Tracy went down and Alberto Callaspo was unfortunately (fortunately?) suspended because of a domestic issue, Reynolds was hitting .306 with six homers, a .394 on-base percentage and a .537 slugging percentage as a 23-year-old in Double-A. That's after going a combined .318 with 31 homers, 98 RBI, 87 runs, a .401 OBP and a .633 SLUG between high Class A and Double-A last year.
Clearly, Reynolds is a future big league star.
On the verge
Here are some of our favorite prospects who are in the minor leagues and are worth tracking closely (stats through May 30):
| Minor league hotlist | ||
| Position, player, team | Minor league stats | |
| 1 | SP Kevin Slowey, MIN | Triple-A: (6-2), 1.54 ERA, 57 K, 0.808 WHIP |
| He won't pitch this well, but he's worth a flier in all leagues now. | ||
| 2 | SP Homer Bailey, CIN | Triple-A: (5-1)-1.99-43-1.013 |
| Won't be this week, but one more start then June 7-9, perhaps? | ||
| 3 | SP Yovani Gallardo, MIL | Triple-A: (7-1)-2.39-84-1.011 |
| Last start wasn't his best, but he's still knocking out batters. | ||
| 4 | SP Andrew Miller, DET | A-AA: (2-4)-2.52-45-1.197 |
| Through three dominant Double-A starts: 0.78 ERA, .192 BAA. | ||
| 5 | CF Felix Pie, CHC | Triple-A: .397 AVG, 3 HR, 22 RBI, 29 R, 5 SB |
| We're not sure he's ready to star, but these numbers look great. | ||
| Honorable mentions: SP Matt Garza, MIN; 1B Joey Votto, CIN; SP Andy Sonnanstine, TB; SP Jason Hammel, TB; SP J.P. Howell, TB; SP Blake Hawksworth, STL; SP Eric Hurley, TEX; OF Adam Jones, SEA; OF Justin Upton, ARI; OF Billy Butler, KC; OF Matt Kemp, LAD; OF Jacoby Ellsbury, BOS; SP Clay Buchholz, BOS; OF Colby Rasmus, STL; OF Wladimir Balentien, SEA; OF Terry Evans, LAA; DH/C Taylor Teagarden, TEX; SP Gio Gonzalez, CHW; SP Will Inman, MIL; 3B Brandon Wood, LAA; C Jeff Mathis, LAA; SP Jeff Niemann, TB; SP Mitch Talbot, TB; SP Josh Banks, TOR; SP Troy Patton, HOU; 1B Steven Pearce, PIT; OF Rick Ankiel, STL; C Lou Palmisano, MIL; SS Reid Brignac, TB; 3B Evan Longoria, TB; 3B Chase Headley, SD; 3B/OF Josh Fields, CHW; SP Nick Adenhart, LAA; SS Sean Rodriguez, LAA; RF Travis Snyder, TOR; SP Clayton Kershaw, LAD; SP John Van BenSchoten, PIT; SP Wade Townsend, TB; SP Wade Davis, TB. | ||
Rookie watch
Here are the top rookies in Fantasy to date (stats through May 30):
| Top 5 AL Fantasy Rookies | ||
| Position, player, team | Rotisserie stats to date | |
| 1 | SP Daisuke Matsuzaka, BOS | 7-3, 4.83 ERA, 68 K, 1.307 WHIP, 0 SV |
| WHIP and ERA high after bad outing, but he can win any night. | ||
| 2 | RP Hideki Okajima, BOS | (0-0)-1.05-26-0.818-4 |
| Import has been perfect complement to Jonathan Papelbon. | ||
| 3 | OF Reggie Willits, LAA | .339 AVG, 0 HR, 8 RBI, 26 R, 11 SB |
| Garret Anderson's pending DL return sends him back to bench? | ||
| 4 | 3B Akinori Iwamura, TB | .364-1-5-18-3 |
| Comes off DL and doesn't miss a beat, going 5-for-10 with 3 R. | ||
| 5 | OF Travis Buck, OAK | .265-6-17-18-0 |
| With DL returnees en route, he has to hit to keep his job. | ||
| Honorable mentions: OF Elijah Dukes, TB; 2B Dustin Pedroia, BOS; RP Dustin Moseley, LAA; RP Joakim Soria, KC; SP John Danks, CHW; OF Delmon Young, TB; SP Tyler Clippard, NYY; SP Jeremy Guthrie, BAL; 3B Alex Gordon, KC; SP Brian Burres, BAL. | ||
| Top 5 NL Fantasy Rookies | ||
| Position, player, team | Rotisserie stats | |
| 1 | SP Tim Lincecum, SF | (2-0), 3.24 ERA, 33 K, 0.990 WHIP, 0 SV |
| Clearly he has dominant stuff: Trust him in all leagues right now. | ||
| 2 | OF Hunter Pence, HOU | .342 AVG, 4 HR, 18 RBI, 12 R, 3 SB |
| Astros are having a terrible season, but this guy isn't the reason. | ||
| 3 | OF Chris Young, ARI | .277-6-20-23-6 |
| After bad April, he had great May (.325 AVG with .835 OPS). | ||
| 4 | SP Micah Owings, ARI | (4-1)-3.86-34-1.393-0 |
| Seems to be overlooked with just 42 percent Fantasy ownership. | ||
| 5 | OF Josh Hamilton, CIN | .261-8-18-20-3 |
| Hit three homers in first two rehab games; he'll be back Sunday. | ||
| Honorable mentions: 3B Mark Reynolds, ARI; SP Justin Germano, SD; C Carlos Ruiz, PHI; 3B Ryan Braun, MIL; C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, ATL; RP Henry Owens, FLA; SP Chris Sampson, HOU; SP Jason Hirsh, COL; SS Troy Tulowitzki, COL; RP Joe Smith, NYM; 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff, SD; OF Tony Gwynn, Jr., MIL; SP Matt Chico, WAS. | ||
Baby talk
D.Y., Kentucky: Do you think Kevin Slowey would be worth dropping either Jason Marquis or Jeff Suppan?
Emack: Yes, on potential. If Slowey bombs, you likely could get Marquis back. If you don't, they pick up the flavor of the week two-start pitcher. Marquis and Suppan can be good Fantasy pitchers, but you wouldn't miss them as much as you would miss Slowey if he hit.
Bobby: I need to pick up an outfielder and my best choices are Josh Hamilton, Jeremy Hermida or Chris Young. Who would you take? This is not a keeper league!
Emack: It has to be Hamilton. He's back Sunday and has been tearing it up on his rehab assignment.
Jeff Ho, Plainfield, Ind.: We have been blessed with some incredible pitching talent in the past couple years. With that being said, I would love your opinion on a burning question of mine. If you had to choose a trio based on long-term Fantasy success, which triumvirate would you select between Francisco Liriano, Cole Hamels and Jered Weaver or Tim Lincecum, Homer Bailey and Phil Hughes?
Emack: We'll take the first three, becaue they're more proven -- even with Liriano's question marks. Liriano and Hamels might also be the best two knockout guys of the six.
Chip Streiff, Winnetka, Ill.: When the heck can Felix Pie get promoted and Jacque Jones get traded away?! I get the fact he wouldn't get promoted until the OF situation is figured out and it still hasn't, but Pie is batting .400 since demotion and was a single away from the cycle (recently)! Can't Hendry make a deal happen, like "highest bidder please?"
Emack: We understand your excitement on Pie, but you shouldn't expect a whole lot in most Fantasy leagues when he does arrive. His power and speed are still in the development stages. He's not ready to star and that's what we really care about in Fantasy.
Ross McIntosh, Burnaby, B.C., Canada: Who is the next big thing coming up in the catcher position? Want to sign a young stud who will hopefully play in the MLB next season. Any suggestions?
Emack: Saltalamacchia is an easy choice, but he needs to be dealt to play every day. Jeff Clement, Jeff Mathis and Taylor Teagarden have also long been highly touted.
Wade Moran, Corinth, Texas: What happened to the hype surrounding Adam Miller. He's not listed on the minor league hotlist.
Emack: Miller is on the Triple-A DL for the next month with a strain of his middle finger of his pitching hand. This makes him nothing more than a later second-half call-up at this point. His long-term potential remains immense, but he's no longer a rotation opening away. Also, Jake Westbrook (oblique) is coming off the DL soon anyway.
You can e-mail Emack your Fantasy Baseball questions to DMFantasyBaseball@cbs.com. Be sure to put Attn: Prospects Report in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state. Be aware, due to the large volume of submissions received, we do not guarantee personal responses to all questions.
