Fantasy Baseball Sleepers 2012: Young Sluggers Poised for Breakout Seasons

Early on in your fantasy baseball draft, you're going to be on the prowl for players who are already well established as great fantasy producers.

Later in the draft comes the fun part: prowling for players who may become great fantasy producers.

Specifically, trying to locate the top up-and-coming sluggers is always a fun process. They're typically aren't many of them in a given year, and it can be hard to determine who they are.

I'll save you the trouble. There are five young sluggers that you absolutely must target, and they're listed below.

5. David Freese, 3B, St. Louis Cardinals

You know David Freese because of what he did in the postseason in 2011. In 18 games, he hit a ridiculous .397/.465/.794. His OPS was 1.258, a number that makes Jose Bautista look like a whimpering little girl.

The big question facing the Cardinals is whether Freese can be even half this productive over a full season.

That's iffy. Freese has looked pretty good early in his career, but he's been limited because of various injuries. He's a good hitter, but logging an excess of at-bats has been a problem.

There's a chance people will overdraft Freese because of his postseason heroics, but he should definitely be on your radar if he's still around in the later rounds of your draft. In limited at-bats over the last two seasons, Freese has a line of .297/.355/.426. If you draft him and he stays healthy, you're going to get upwards of 20 homers and at least 80 RBI.

Of course, we know from Freese's postseason heroics that his ceiling is much higher than that. If he stays healthy, the sky's the limit.

4. Mike Moustakas, 3B, Kansas City Royals

I thought about including Eric Hosmer on this list, but the truth is he had his breakout season in 2011. He's ready for stardom.

Mike Moustakas, on the other hand, still has much to prove. He's slated to start the 2012 season as Kansas City's starting third baseman, and the Royals will be looking for great things out of him.

You know, kinda like what they saw out of Moustakas in September of 2011. After struggling in his first couple months with the big club, Moustakas exploded to hit .352 with a .580 slugging percentage in the season's final month. His OPS was .960.

This was right on par with what Moustakas did in the minors. He owned the Pacific Coast League in 2010 and was having a very productive season in 2011 before he was called up. He was working towards a great big league career, and he took the next big step in September.

Moustakas is going to be way more overlooked than Freese. You'll be able to get him later in the draft, and you won't regret taking him if you do.

3. Jesus Montero, C/DH, Seattle Mariners

How highly do the Mariners think of Jesus Montero?

Highly enough to trade Michael Pineda, an ace on the rise and a 2011 All-Star, for him pretty much straight up. 

There's a lot of pressure on Montero to perform, but he should be used to that. He did, after all, come up through the Yankees' farm system. 

When Montero finally broke into the big leagues, he started dominating right away. In just 61 at-bats with the Bombers, Montero hit .328 with a .590 slugging percentage. He took to the majors like a duck to water.

Things won't be as easy for Montero in Seattle. He's not going to be surrounded by great hitters, and Safeco Park is one of the toughest hitters' parks in baseball.

But Montero has plenty of ability, and that's what counts. 

He also has catcher eligibility, which is another thing that counts. If you can't get one of the top catchers, Montero should be high on your wish list.

2. Brett Lawrie, 3B, Toronto Blue Jays

Brett Lawrie wasted no time introducing himself to the league after the Blue Jays called him up in August last season. He hit .326 with six home runs that month, posting a 1.055 OPS.

Lawrie cooled down in September, but he was still pretty good, hitting three homers with an OPS over .800. He earned the right to be Toronto's starting third baseman this year.

If you want one stat that proves how good Lawrie is, just take a look at his ISO. It's a stat that measures, in a nutshell, a hitter's raw power.

Lawrie's ISO last season was .287. That was higher than Mike Stanton, Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun and Matt Kemp.

Those guys are pretty good, for the record.

There's a possibility Lawrie will be overdrafted, but I'd definitely consider him a solid third-base option once the best of the best come off the board.

1. Mike Trout, OF, Los Angeles Angels

You're probably wondering why Bryce Harper isn't on this list. Truth be told, I'm just not positive that he's going to play a major role with the Nationals this season.

There are no assurances that Mike Trout will play a big role with the Angels this season. There's no space for him in the outfield, as the Angels have spot committed to Vernon Wells, Peter Bourjos and Torii Hunter.

Trout has more upside than all three of them. Combined.

Trout got some time with the big club last season, hitting .220 with five homers, but he also had a dismal .281 on-base percentage. He did not explode out of the gate, as the Angels no doubt hoped he would.

Nevertheless, nobody argues with Trout's talent. He is widely regarded as one of, if not the, best prospects in baseball, and he has very little left to prove in the minors. He's hit .338 in the minors with an OPS of .930, and he's also stolen 102 bases.

The Angels aren't going to be able to hold Trout back for long this season. Once he arrives, he's going to be a star, and a top-notch fantasy producer.

Don't hesitate to grab him in your draft.