One name that has come up often this year in the fanciful world of Prospectville is the Diamondbacks’ Paul Goldschmidt. He leads the minors with 22 home runs, in case you didn’t know. That sort of thing tends to get fantasy owners’ attention. As does Kevin Towers, the team’s GM, recently hinting that the D-backs may consider promoting a few of their minor leaguers in the weeks surrounding the All-Star Game. Seems like a good time to take a look at Goldschmidt and a few others in the system.

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Alas, for the first time in almost two months, there are no really big names to cover this week. (Thanks for the break, front office folks.) As such, nobody below is likely to make an impact in mixed leagues. But there are still two new names — and a pair of old friends — worth looking at in single-league play.

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Things are starting to level off amongst the catchers these days, but there are still a few that are gaining and losing value as the season progresses.  Here’s a look at a few names you might want to keep in mind… Read the rest of this entry »

Mariners top prospect Dustin Ackley will step into a major-league batter’s box for the first time when he faces off against Philadelphia’s Roy Oswalt just about 12 hours from now. You probably shouldn’t wait that long to pick him up.

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There’s news of Dustin Ackley’s debut Friday. We’ll look at the 2009 No. 2 pick more in depth for tomorrow’s post. For now, let’s rewind and point out a handful of guys who were promoted in the past week, including one who just might be more valuable than Ackley.

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It may look like the only way for Dan Uggla’s season to head is up. That is probably true, but he also has some underlying issues, beyond a low BABIP, that are causing his bad season.

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Two weeks into June, it’s about time to update our rankings for American League outfielders. Again. Also in this installment? An apology to Melky Cabrera.

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As Tom Petty once sang: the waiting sucks. (I may be paraphrasing.) So while anticipation is brimming over a prospect who will make his major league debut later today, alas, there was ungood news about another elite ‘spect who was also ready to help fantasy owners, until as Phil Collins once sang, something happened on the way to the big leagues. (Paraphrasing again.) Plus? A whopping kit and a heaping caboodle of other callups.

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Tier 1A
Robinson Cano

Tier 1B
Rickie Weeks

I still have Cano as the top ranked 2B based on his previous seasons and overall health. Weeks is producing a bit more in 2011 compared to Cano, but as long as they are this close, I will put Cano first.

Tier 2
Ben Zobrist
Ryan Roberts
Ian Kinsler
Kelly Johnson

This Tier’s rankings, and the rest that follow, are very fluid based on the needs of your team. If your team needs a few more SB, but can afford to take a hit in AVG, you may look at Kinsler -or- you could be looking for a more rounded producer like Roberts.

Also, I am putting players with multiple position eligibilities higher in the different tiers. With all the trips players have made to the DL this season, it is nice to have the extra flexibility to move players around.

Kelly Johnson was let go by many teams because of his early season struggles. It looks like he has forgotten the early struggles and is back near the top the 2B rankings.

Tier 3
Dustin Pedroia
Martin Prado
Brandon Phillips
Neil Walker
Danny Espinosa

This Tier was tough for me to rank. Pedroria could have easily been moved to Tier 2 (based on previous good results) with Espinosa being moved down a Tier (based on little previous production). As a whole, an owner really can’t go wrong with any of these players.

Tier 4
Michael Young
Placido Polanco
Howie Kendrick

These 3 are similar in that they hit for AVG, have few HR and SB and are qualified at several positions. This would be a nice group of players to have on your bench in shallow leagues. They can fill in when other players on your team are not playing for any reason.

Tier 5
Chase Utley
Darwin Barney
Mike Aviles
Allen Craig
Adam Kennedy
Maicer Izturis
Michael Cuddyer
Brett Lawrie
Daniel Murphy
Gordon Beckham
Eric Young (Jonathan Herrera)

Currently there is a large drop off from Tier 4 to 5, but some names do stick out.

Utley has just gotten back from the DL with subpar results. As his production increases, he will quickly move up.

Cuddyer (0.264 AVG/7 HR/3 SB) is having a similar year to Neil Walker (0.265 AVG/8 HR/2 SB) in non team related stats. Cuddyer only has a total of 40 Runs + RBIs, while Walker has almost twice that number (73). If the Twins offense gets clicking Cuddyer has a great chance to improve.

Colorado is back with Eric Young at 2B. He will be a great source for SB, if he keeps his job. I believe he shouldn’t of lost it to begin with and his replacement, Herrera, shouldn’t have lost it this time.

Tier 6
Jed Lowrie
Aaron Hill
Alberto Callaspo
Ryan Theriot
Orlando Cabrera
Jamey Carroll
Justin Turner
Freddy Sanchez
Ty Wigginton

I expect to find most of these players to be owned but on the bench. It is tough to tell how players are being used with all the multiple position eligibilities I am actually looking at what the availability level is for certain positions in different sized leagues for my Saturday article.

Tier DL
Brian Roberts
Tsuyoshi Nishioka

Frustration Tier
Dan Uggla
Ryan Raburn
Chone Figgins

These 3 are completely under producing and driving their owners crazy this season. I am not sure I would actually trade for any of them, but would see if they become available on the waiver wire for a chance they break out. With these three, the only way is up.

In this installment: Kyle McClellan‘s temporary rotation replacement and Jack Cust’s potential DH intruder.

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