The Joy of a Minor League Draft, Part 1

I'm not sure if many fantasy baseball aficionados ever get the chance to enjoy the anticipation that accompanies a Minor League Draft. Going into my sixth season of an AL-only, fantasy keeper league, even the most jaded of my league's veterans still clamor as the draft approaches like adolescent girls at the sight of Derek Jeter.

And who can blame us for getting so feverish at the thought of adding a player like Rick Porcello, Matt Wieters or Mike Moustakas to our rosters?

Prospecting for minor leaguers gives us the chance to separate the proverbial Billy Butler's from the Hee Seop Choi's. It's the time of the fantasy off-season where you can claim for sure that you know more baseball than the next guy, and years down the road still brag about how it was you who had the judgement to pass up Rocco Baldelli in favor of Hanley Ramírez.

So for those of you who consider a fantasy draft the equivalent of joy riding through Mudville with Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams, I plan to chronicle and profile the first round of selections for my league's 2008 draft in Part 2 of this series as well as highlight some sleepers selected in later rounds in the final installment.

For now, I offer descriptions of four players I consider marginalized top prospects. These players may or may not be drafted. In Part 3, we'll explore the trends and schools of thought that may dictate their fates on draft day.

For the sake of clairty, I present these following players as exhibits so as not to confuse the list with a ranking.

A) Tyler Robertson, Starting Pitcher (Minnesota Twins)

Of the four players listed here, Robertson perceivably has the brightest future. At the tender age of 19, he breezed through hitters at single-A Beloit of the Midwest League in 2007. Showing exceptional control for a pitcher his age, he improved in every statistical category, posted a 3.72 K-to-BB ratio and only surrendered three home runs in more than 102 innings pitched. So why doesn't Tyler appear on Baseball Prospectus' Top 100 list and why is he only considered the Twins' fourth-best prospect by Baseball America? Is the Twins' system that good? Eh, I think not.

Questions are raised by the pundits about Robertsons' throwing motion and the velocity on his fastball. Many believe that a sloppy/deceptive delivery is to credit for his success last year. At the same time, such a delivery, they argue, may heighten his chances of a severe arm injury. As for his fastball, some scouts have noted it actually has lost velocity since he was scouted in high school while others report it is consistently around 89-92 mph.

Fantasy teams are wont to shy away from young arms to begin with. Will that mentality combined with the doubts that surround Robertson prevent his talents from being heralded in this year's draft? We'll find out...

B) John Jaso, Catcher (Tampa Bay Rays)

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