Two years ago he was shot out of a cannon. 34 homers in 451 at-bats and a batting average of .324 likely secured multiple titles for tons of fantasy owners. Ryan Braun’s Ruthian like finish to the 2007 year is just one example of an unlikely player who caught fire and provided his owners with a fantasy championship.
The year before that a mediocre kid named Hanley Ramirez hit a puny .268 with 6 homers before the All-Star break. Since that time he has achieved rock star status (not to mention his dominant completion to that season) and still likely remains the best player in baseball.
The thing that will drive us all crazy is that the next Ryan Braun and Hanley Ramirez is right out there for the taking. There will be at least one guy that is floating in the free agent pool RIGHT NOW who will be talked about 2-3 years from now as the guy who vaulted fantasy owners into a different realm.
Over the next few weeks, I’m going to take a look at six guys who just might be the next “really big” thing in baseball.
The Contenders
Nolan Reimold – Reimold is likely the best bet to make a Braun-like run this season. He’s owned by only 19 percent of the clubs in Yahoo! despite having already hit 7 homers in 85 at-bats. If you do the math, that’s pretty much the pace that Braun had en-route to his monster finish in 2007. Last season Reimold hit 25 bombs in barely 500 at-bats in AA. The knock on him, and why he’s seldom mentioned as an “elite” prospect, is his age – 25. And while a 24 year old tearing up AA isn’t all that impressive, his introduction to the big leagues thus far has been. Before his call up, Reimold was hitting close to .400 in 100 at bats and hitting plenty of long balls, so realistically this guy has a chance to be a true-impact player. Would I bet on him being the next Ryan Braun? Doubtful. A major contributor capable of big numbers? That’s definitely a strong possibility.
Dexter Fowler – I’ve written briefly about him before and after seeing him in spring training, it was evident that he is going to be special. The comparison that is thrown out there is Alex Rios, which is a shame. Before Alexis Rios was “Alex Rios” he was compared to Dave Winfield. While I won’t say that Fowler will live up to big Dave’s bird killing ways (I still can’t believe he got arrested after a game for allegedly trying to throw a baseball at a seagull), I think Dex has the chance to be an Alfonso Soriano like talent with slightly less power and a bit more average. Fowler is a super intelligent player who was recruited by multiple Ivy League schools. His previous four years in the minors saw an incredible ascent in each season with his on base skills culminating with a .430 OBP in AA – Tulsa (and unlike Reimold, Fowler was only 22 when achieving that feat). In Yahoo! he is only owned in 22 percent of the leagues and don’t be surprised if he uses Coors to bust out ala Hanley Ramriez over the next few months.
More to come…
{ 0 comments… add one now }
You must log in to post a comment.