We have been getting e-mails of late about how we have not said enough about feel-good story Josh Hamilton this spring. It's truly a great story of comeback from serious drug addiction and one that has made headlines everywhere.
Everywhere except on this Fantasy Baseball site.
Well, here it is. We're going to gush an extraordinary amount about a player who at one time might have been considered the biggest bust in baseball draft history as the No. 1 overall pick in 1999. It will be the most we can say about a player who doesn't have a starting job.
And that was the problem. We could not ignore the fact Hamilton is still a reserve playing behind the likes of Adam Dunn, Ken Griffey and Ryan Freel in the Reds' outfield.
But now, it has become clear that we cannot ignore the results.
After getting the first two starts in his big-league career -- and homering in each of them -- Hamilton was one of the most-scouted players in CBS SportsLine's Fantasy leagues Thursday morning. Owned in just 26 percent of our leagues, Hamilton has seen a 4 percent hike in the past two days.
Justifiably so. This is a rare talent who just might be finding himself -- and his stroke -- at age 25 after years of being out of the game altogether.
He missed all of the 2004 and 2005 seasons and was reinstated by baseball late in 2006, when he went 13-for-50 (.260). Granted, he had to be rusty, but he sure wasn't this spring. He made the team as a Rule-5 draft day trade acquisition, posting a .403 average, one homer, nine RBI, six runs and one steal (72 at-bats with a 13-8 strikeout-to-walk rate).
Yes, he is for real. And, yes, he can be this good.
It might not look like it with his career minor league average of .293, with 33 homers and 44 steals in 266 games. But we optimistically projected a .277 average, 14 homers, 55 RBI, 50 runs and two steals after he went off this spring. Not exactly a Fantasy star, but perhaps a useful one in deeper leagues.
The Devil Rays were hoping they had a star when they took him No. 1 overall in the 1999 amateur draft and were tickled to get him. But it was a draft class that produced: Josh Beckett (2nd overall), Barry Zito (9th), Ben Sheets (10th), Brett Myers (12th), Jason Jennings (16th), Alex Rios (19th), Chris Duncan (46th), Brian Roberts (50th), Carl Crawford (52nd), John Lackey (68th), Justin Morneau (89th), Hank Blalock (105th), J.J. Putz (185th), Erik Bedard (187th), Aaron Harang (195th), Coco Crisp (222nd) and Chris Capuano (238th). And that was just the first 10 rounds.
Hamilton is easily the least valuable, and least owned, Fantasy player of that group. But he is the most available. An important thing to remember in really competitive leagues.
If you're worrying why he only started getting playing time up until two days ago, here's how to justify picking up a reserve outfielder who has gotten just 12 plate appearances this season (nine in the past two days):
He had the flu last week and wasn't able to make his planned spot start. He was limited to three pinch-hitting appearances.
We don't suggest starting him in a standard mixed league. We like players who actually play every day more. But he is certainly a rookie flier to take if you have reserve room and a whole lot of patience.
"I'm excited but, I don't know, we'll go through it and see how it feels and let everybody know afterwards," Hamilton said before popping off for two homers. "I was disappointed last week (Thursday) when I was going to get my chance and couldn't make it (due to the flu)."
Yes, he will still be a No. 4 outfielder behind Dunn, Griffey and speedy catalyst Freel, but anyone with his talent and hot bat deserves more than spot duty. He plays in a great home hitter's park and a solid lineup to be a part of when he actually is a part of it.
Asked if Hamilton would play when the Reds open a three-game series at Chicago on Friday, manager Jerry Narron chuckled and said, "Josh has got a good chance of playing somewhere. We've got to get him on the field. The spring he had and the at-bats he's having right now, he looks like he belongs here."
Rookie watch
Here are the top rookies in Fantasy to date (stats through April 11):
Before we go on, we have to give our pre-emptive warning: If a young player is not on this list, make sure he's a rookie before trying to call us out for overlooking him (or even politely asking us why he's not listed). We have only considered players to have appeared in a game so far.
| Top 5 AL Fantasy Rookies | ||
| Position, player, team | Rotisserie stats to date | |
| 1 | SP Daisuke Matsuzaka, BOS | 1-1, 2.57 ERA, 14 K, 1.143 WHIP, 0 SV |
| He proved more human in Fenway debut, but he's still pretty great. | ||
| 2 | RF Delmon Young, TB | .375 AVG, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 5 R, 0 SB |
| He is heating up now. We can't wait to see him over the long haul. | ||
| 3 | 3B Akinori Iwamura, TB | .444-1-3-9-3 |
| Great walk-to-strike ratio and three steals are a bit surprising to us. | ||
| 4 | SP Dustin Moseley, LAA | (1-0)-1.50-4-0.833-0 |
| Doesn't count Thursday outing; a candidate for demotion, though. | ||
| 5 | RP Joakim Soria, KC | (0-0)-0.00-5-0.600-1 |
| Rule-5 draftee could serve as closer until Octavio Dotel returns. | ||
| Honorable mentions: SP John Danks, CHW; OF Elijah Dukes, TB; 3B Alex Gordon, KC; OF Travis Buck, OAK; 2B Dustin Pedroia, BOS; RP Sean Henn, NYY. | ||
| Top 5 NL Fantasy Rookies | ||
| Position, player, team | Rotisserie stats | |
| 1 | OF Jeff Baker, COL | .636 AVG, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, 0 SB |
| He's still a reserve, but he can slug his way into more at-bats. | ||
| 2 | OF Josh Hamilton, CIN | .333-2-3-3-0 |
| He too needs to get more at-bats before he truly can take off. | ||
| 3 | SP Micah Owings, ARI | (1-1), 1.59 ERA, 11 K, 1.059 WHIP, 0 SV |
| No way he should be sent down once the Big Unit returns. | ||
| 4 | SP Jason Hirsh, COL | (1-1)-3.09-11-1.114-0 |
| Through two starts he's making Astros look dumb for dealing him. | ||
| 5 | RP Henry Owens, ARI | (0-0)-0.00-2-0.714 |
| This gut says he's the best option to close for Marlins right now. | ||
| Honorable mentions: C Carlos Ruiz, PHI; SP Chris Sampson, HOU; OF Chris B. Young, ARI; OF Alejandro De Aza, FLA; SS Troy Tulowitzki, COL; UTL Alberto Callaspo, ARI; C Chris Iannetta, COL; RP Matt Lindstrom, FLA; 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff, SD; OF Kory Casto, WAS; RP Dustin Nippert, ARI; RP Joe Smith, NYM. | ||
On the verge
Here are some of our favorite prospects who are in the minor leagues and are worth tracking closely:
| Minor league hotlist | ||
| Position, player, team | Minor league stats | |
| 1 | SP Mike Pelfrey, NYM | High A: (0-0)-3.00-2-1.333 |
| Our NL ROY fave will make season debut Friday, barring rainouts. | ||
| 2 | SP Jon Lester, BOS | Low A: (0-0)-0.00-10-0.875 |
| Chomping at the bit to stretch out; it shouldn't be long once May hits. | ||
| 3 | SS/3B Brandon Wood, LAA | Triple-A: .219-3-5-5-0 |
| Playing 3B now; it shouldn't take long to supplant Maicer Izturis. | ||
| 4 | RF Billy Butler, KC | Triple-A: .286-3-7-7-0 |
| Gordon's slow start might keep the Royals from rushing Butler. | ||
| 5 | SP Adam Miller, CLE | Triple-A: (1-0)-3.38-5-2.000-0 |
| Despite so-so start and Cliff Lee's return, he is still a favorite here. | ||
| Honorable mentions: 3B Ryan Braun, MIL; SP Matt Garza, MIN; SP Mark Prior, CHC; SP Andrew Miller, DET; SP Homer Bailey, CIN; SP Phil Hughes, NYY; SP Kevin Slowey, MIN; SP Dustin McGowan, TOR; 1B/OF James Loney, LAD; 3B Adam LaRoche, LAD; 3B Evan Longoria, TB; SP Tim Lincecum, SF; OF Hunter Pence, HOU; 1B Daric Barton, OAK; OF/1B Adam Lind, TOR; C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, ATL; 1B Joey Votto, CIN; 3B/OF Josh Fields, CHW; SP Yovani Gallardo, MIL; SP Nick Adenhart, LAA; OF Terry Evans, LAA; OF Felix Pie, CHC; OF Adam Jones, SEA; SS Sean Rodriguez, LAA; SP Clint Everts, WAS. | ||
Baby talk
Jeff: I have many teams interested in Billy Butler from my roster in a deep AL/NL keeper league. Will he have much of a Fantasy impact this season?
Emack: It depends on your return, obviously, but Butler is extremely young to expect him to hit stride right away in the big leagues. He still cannot buy a drink legally until April 18. Long term, he has the potential to be a first-round Fantasy pick someday -- a Mark Teixeira-like talent. This spring, we projected Butler to get two months of action (225 at-bats) and go .289-9-33-29-0. That level of production is a little optimistic, especially since Gordon's slow start could give the Royals pause with their next best hitting prospect.
Pearson: Is Alex Gordon the stud everyone said he was? Will he come around, or will he be a bust to all us Fantasy owners who drafted him? What do you think is his problem so far?
Emack: Give him time. He will be fine. He will still outslug every AL rookie hitter not named Delmon Young. Heck, he homered right after you sent us that e-mail.
Steve Burns, Liverpool, Nova Scotia: When do you see Brandon Wood up with the big club? Also, how is Jeff Niemann fairing so far and will Rays use him soon to bolster the weak staff?
Emack: I think Wood's transition to third could get him called up early this season, perhaps before June. Once he arrives, he will be someone to have in most Fantasy leagues. There is heavenly power potential in his bat, although he has a devil of a time with his strikeout rate in the minors. So far so good on Niemann through one Triple-A outing: five innings, two earned runs, four hits, one walk and seven strikeouts. He needs to string a bunch of healthy and effective starts together before the Devil Rays rush him up. June is a possibility on him, though. Tampa starters really have to be Scott Kazmir-good to be worth using in most Fantasy leagues.
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.
