Fantasy Baseball Sleepers 2012: Which Young Players Are Ready for Big Years?

The youth movement currently sweeping through MLB will soon reach the shores of the fantasy baseball world, giving managers a fresh crop of free swingers with which to stack their lineups. Twenty-two would appear to be the magical age unifying this year's most promising youngsters, all of whom should be at or near the top of your big board on draft day.

Mike Stanton

Mike Stanton has already proven that he's a big league-caliber star (34 home runs, 87 RBI, .537 slugging in 2011), though his third season with the newly-christened Miami Marlins should be yet another step up for the burly right fielder. Stanton will be expected to serve as the biggest bopper in a lineup replete with basepath rabbits, including Emilio Bonifacio, Hanley Ramirez and free-agent signee Jose Reyes.

With those speedsters serving as RBI opportunities and the likes of Logan Morrison and Gaby Sanchez in as protection, expect Stanton to see plenty of eminently hittable pitches thrown his way and for him to deposit them accordingly, on the way to a 40-homer, 100-RBI season.

Eric Hosmer

Things are finally looking up for the Kansas City Royals, thanks in large part to Eric Hosmer. The hard-hitting first baseman finished third in the American League Rookie of the Year balloting after hitting .293 with 19 home runs, 78 RBI, 34 walks and 11 stolen bases to boot in 128 games.

Give the Miami native the comfort of a starting spot from the outset of spring training and watch him slug 30 roundtrippers by season's end. 

Brett Lawrie

The Toronto Blue Jays have been one of the most homer-happy teams in the majors in recent years—a trend into which Brett Lawrie should fit quite well.

That is, assuming he hasn't already. The Canadian-born blue chipper hit .293 with nine homers, 25 RBI and seven stolen bases in 43 games with the big club last season. With big bats like Jose Bautista, Colby Rasmus, Adam Lind, JP Arencibia and Edwin Encarnacion all around him, don't be surprised if Lawrie finds a rather comfortable niche for himself (and your fantasy team) to the tune of 25 homers and, say, 80 or 90 runs driven in.

Starlin Castro

Now, if power isn't your first concern when looking into young players, then be sure to give Starlin Castro a strong look. The third-year shortstop for the Chicago Cubs would be lucky to match his 10-homer output from last season, but should still hit in the .300 range, drive in 60 or 70 runs and find his own way back to home plate 80 times or so.

Throw in 20-25 stolen bags and you've got yourself a well-rounded ball player who can help your fantasy team rack up points across the board.

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