Prospects are usually the sole dominion of keeper and dynasty league owners. In a redraft league, there is usually hype around a few players. Jose Abreu, Masahiro Tanaka, Billy Hamilton, and Gregory Polanco were among the most popular last year. There were also plenty of useful, under-the-radar types like Jacob deGrom, Kolten Wong, Danny Santana, and Collin McHugh.

What follows is a list of 107 prospects, gathered for their proximity to the big leagues and potential for valuable contributions. There will be names missing, if only because my methodology for hunting down candidates was imperfect. I used FanGraphs’ depth charts, 40-man rosters, and top prospect lists to gather everybody I believed could be a positive contributor in 2015.

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Chad Young and I have written a couple times about our general disdain for prospects in ottoneu. It’s not that we dislike all prospects, they’re just rarely a cost effective means to build (or even rebuild) a team. It would be fantastic to own Kris Bryant for $3. Unfortunately, his average price is actually $10 – on par with Danny Salazar and more than Nolan Arenado. Of course, Bryant is a “can’t miss” star. Right? Right!? While prospects of his caliber don’t often fail, it does happen. Given that his owner has probably invested upwards of $20 over the last couple years, Bryant needs to do a lot better than “not fail” in order to be a profitable asset.

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This 30-part series will look at the projected Top 5 freshman contributors for each big league club for the year ahead. The rankings take into consideration a mixture of ceiling, readiness and potential playing time allocation, which is to say some players with lower ceilings may be ranked ahead of others with higher ceilings because they project to have a greater impact in the coming season.

In a Nutshell: The Diamondbacks made a lot of moves this winter in an effort to get younger and boost up their farm system. I actually prefer most of the in-house prospects they already had when compared to the near-MLB-ready talent they brought in. From a ceiling perspective, and compared to the rest of the league, Arizona could have some of the best prospects contribute at the big league level in 2015.

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This 30-part series will look at the projected Top 5 freshman contributors for each big league club for the year ahead. The rankings take into consideration a mixture of ceiling, readiness and potential playing time allocation, which is to say some players with lower ceilings may be ranked ahead of others with higher ceilings because they project to have a greater impact in the coming season.

In a Nutshell: Promotions and trades (not to mention so-so draft results) have left the system somewhat bare and the ceilings for upper-level talents modest. The list below definitely lacks a “wow” factor.

1. Stephen Piscotty, OF: The Jason Heyward trade was good news for Cardinals fans, but not as well received (I would assume) by the family and friends of Piscotty. A former third baseman, he was being groomed as the next corner outfielder in St. Louis before the deal put the kibosh on that for 2015 — unless an injury occurs to Heyward or Matt Holliday. He has a chance to hit .280-.300 with 15 or so homers. Piscotty makes good contact and will even steal the odd base.

2. Marco Gonzales, LHP: A polished southpaw, Gonzales has a modest ceiling considering he was selected 19th overall in the 2013 amateur draft. He doesn’t have “stellar stuff” but he succeeds due to above-average command/control (although that slipped during his MLB debut) and a plus changeup. Gonzales has a chance to settle in as a No. 3/4 starter. He’ll compete for a rotation spot in spring training but he has the likes of Jaime Garcia, Michael Wacha and Carlos Martinez ahead of him, which means he could be destined for more Triple-A time or a bullpen spot.

3. Randal Grichuk, OF: Like Piscotty, the acquisition of Jason Heyward puts a damper on the 2015 outlook. However, Grichuk is a little ahead of his fellow rookie on the depth chart (but has a lower ceiling) so he may spend the year with sporadic playing time as the club’s fourth or fifth outfielder. The young outfielder has some pop in his bat but his overly-aggressive approach puts a dent in his production and hurts both his on-base percentage and his ability to make consistent contact.

4. Tim Cooney, LHP: Cooney, 24, is very similar to Gonzales. The southpaw’s best asset is his changeup, followed by perhaps his durability or command/control. He was prone to the home run ball in 2014 at the Triple-A level so it’s something to be cautious of as he settles into a big league role. Unless injuries blow through the Cardinals’ starting staff in 2015, Cooney is likely to see his first big league action or a middle or long reliever. His ultimate ceiling is that of a No. 4 starter.

5. Sam Tuivailala, RHP: A former pro shortstop, it took Tuivailala a couple of seasons to acclimatized himself the new role on the mound. Things really clicked in 2014, though, and played at four different levels, including the Majors. He features an upper-90s fastball and promising curveball, which should allow him to eventually settle in as a high-leverage reliever.

A little background on my home league before we dive into today’s post would be a good thing, as it is a custom Yahoo! league. It is a keeper 6×6 format with total bases and holds being the extra categories and with on-base percentage rather than batting average. The league is a snake draft, despite my best efforts to change it. Sporting the normal positions plus two catchers, CI and MI, as well as two OF positions in addition to individual LF/CF/RF slots and two utility options, it is a deep league.
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I’m not sure I’ve seen this before. As of this writing, the Padres have either completed or began finalizing five trades in the last 48 hours. I feel like we’re living inside a copy of MVP ’05. The Padres are positioned to make still more trades to alleviate a roster crunch. Seth Smith, Carlos Quentin, Cameron Maybin, Will Venable, and Yonder Alonso are currently looking at just three or four spots. Somebody has to go. Then there’s Tim Federowicz, whose role with the club may have been co-opted by the David Ross signing. The Friars have also shown a willingness to re-package players, so we could see an unexpected swap involving Wil Myers, Derek Norris, Justin Upton, Will Middlebrooks, or even Matt Kemp.

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This 30-part series will look at the projected Top 5 freshman contributors for each big league club for the year ahead. The rankings take into consideration a mixture of ceiling, readiness and potential playing time allocation, which is to say some players with lower ceilings may be ranked ahead of others with higher ceilings because they project to have a greater impact in the coming season.

In a Nutshell: The Pirates have pretty solid depth on the field, although the catcher and shortstop positions feature fringe-average starters. The pitching staff has a couple of question marks.

1. Tyler Glasnow, RHP: The Pirates should open 2015 with a solid starting rotation featuring a mix of young power and veteran guile. Glasnow is the future of the Pittsburgh staff, although he spent the 2014 in A-ball. The right-hander struck out 157 batters in just 124.1 innings of work and held his opponents to a .174 batting average. He’ll open 2015 in Double-A and has the talent to reach the Majors in the second half of the year despite his inexperience.

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This 30-part series will look at the projected Top 5 freshman contributors for each big league club for the year ahead. The rankings take into consideration a mixture of ceiling, readiness and potential playing time allocation, which is to say some players with lower ceilings may be ranked ahead of others with higher ceilings because they project to have a greater impact in the coming season.

In a Nutshell: The Brewers enter 2014 with few question marks in the field and a strong starting rotation. However, no team has too much pitching, so there’s always a need there… and the bullpen is a potential weaknesses.

1. Taylor Jungmann, RHP: Jungmann is an underrated pitcher because he doesn’t throw as hard as he once did and because he prefers to put the ball in play (on the ground) rather than chase the “sexier” out via the whiff. With that said, the right-hander out of Texas did see a significant spike in his K-rate in 2014 (while maintaining his strong GB rate) thanks to a change in approach (including pitching more off his fastball). The strong-bodied Jungmann has a chance to be a mid-rotation workhorse for the Brewers beginning in 2015.

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This 30-part series will look at the projected Top 5 freshman contributors for each big league club for the year ahead. The rankings take into consideration a mixture of ceiling, readiness and potential playing time allocation, which is to say some players with lower ceilings may be ranked ahead of others with higher ceilings because they project to have a greater impact in the coming season.

In a Nutshell: The Reds’ left-field picture currently looks like a dog’s breakfast and I remain (perhaps in the minority) a non-believer in Billy Hamilton as an impact starter in the outfield. The infield is more or less set for Cincinnati. No team has too much pitching, so there is always a need there…

1. Jesse Winker, OF: Missed time in 2014 slowed Winker’s timetable but he still has a shot at receiving meaningful at-bats for the Reds in 2015. The club currently has a gaping hole in left field and a trade of Jay Bruce could create another hole in right field. He offers strong on-base skills and solid power potential. A left-handed hitter, he handled southpaws very well in 2014, which bodes well for playing time projections.

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This 30-part series will look at the projected Top 5 freshman contributors for each big league club for the year ahead. The rankings take into consideration a mixture of ceiling, readiness and potential playing time allocation, which is to say some players with lower ceilings may be ranked ahead of others with higher ceilings because they project to have a greater impact in the coming season.

In a Nutshell:: The club certainly has some holes in the outfield. Question marks also remain at both second and third bases.

1. Kris Bryant, 3B: Incumbent Luis Valbuena will likely open the 2015 season at the hot corner but expect Bryant to take over by the early summer time. The slugging prospect — who turns 23 in January — doesn’t really have anything left to prove in the minors (.325/.438/.661 between AA and AAA) but the Cubs will save some money on him by delaying his arrival in the Majors and it’s not clear yet if the club will even be capable of competing for a playoff spot in 2015. Bryant swings and misses a lot but he’ll most likely be a superstar in the making.

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