Fantasy Baseball 2012: 9 Surging Minor League Pitchers and Hitters to Watch

Here are nine 25-and-under prospects who are obscurely tearing it up at the minor league level.

Whether any of these talents get promoted to the major leagues soon is unknown, but if their numbers are called sometime between late July and early September, be ready to scoop 'em up in 14- and 16-team leagues.

NOTE: I chose not to take the easy route by mentioning Kansas City's Wil Myers (28 HR, 76 RBI, 74 runs, .325 BA at two levels), whose long-term fantasy prowess has been referenced many times in this blog.

(in alphabetical order)

Pitchers

SP Tony Cingrani, Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Double-A)
Age: 22
Parent Club: Cincinnati Reds
2012 Stats: 10-2, 1.19 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 123/30 K-BB
Skinny: Cingrani went 13 starts (and 60-plus innings) before allowing more than two runs in a game. That alone should garner Cingrani (the Reds' No. 10 prospect) prime consideration to be Cincinnati's next big callup to the majors, among pitchers. In the five outings since then, he has surrendered just two runs over 31.1 innings, while collecting four wins and 32 strikeouts. At the very least, Cingrani may be evolving into the organization's No. 1 pitching stud (fractionally ahead of Donnie Joseph/Robert Stephenson).

SP Tyler Cloyd, Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Triple-A)
Age: 25
Parent Club: Philadelphia Phillies
2012 Stats: 12-1, 1.93 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 85/27 K-BB
Skinny: In 19 seasonal appearances (Double-A/Triple-A), Cloyd has yielded three or fewer runs 18 times, and in that span, he's 18-for-19 in giving up three walks or less. But the kid is more than just a proficient source in runs and walks; of the 19 appearances, Cloyd has fanned six or more hitters six times. For what it's worth, Cloyd has posted better numbers than Philly's top pitching prospects—Trevor May (6-6, 4.58 ERA), Brody Colvin (5-4, 4.04 ERA, 1.54 WHIP) and Phillipe Aumont (2-1, 4.66 ERA, 11 saves).

RP Bruce Rondon, Erie SeaWolves (Double-A)
Age: 21
Parent Club: Detroit Tigers
2012 Stats: 1-0, 1.26 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 47/15 K-BB, 24 Saves
Skinny: Rondon has allowed only one earned run since April 26, spanning 29 appearances, dating back to his time in Single-A ball. With the SeaWolves, Rondon has been technically perfect, while collecting 10 straight saves from June 10-30.

SP Zack Wheeler, Binghamton Mets (Double-A)
Age: 22
Parent Club: New York Mets
2012 Stats: 9-4, 2.39 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 95/36 K-BB
Skinny: For this list, we'll conveniently ignore Wheeler's back-to-back meltdowns of five and six runs on June 25 and 30. Instead, we'll fixate on Wheeler's season-long prowess for stifling Double-A hitters and tallying seven or more strikeouts eight times. As the icing on the cake, Wheeler tossed a complete-game shutout on July 14, while racking up seven strikeouts.

Hitters

3B Nick Castellanos, Erie SeaWolves (Double-A)
Age: 20
Parent Club: Detroit Tigers
2012 Stats: 8 HR, 49 RBI, 53 Runs, 5 Steals, .365 BA, .407 OBP, .931 OPS
Skinny: As a Detroit native and lifelong Tigers fan, I've been praying to the baseball gods that Castellanos doesn't get dealt to another club before the MLB trade deadline on July 31. Yes, he plays the same position as Miguel Cabrera, and yes, I've been starving for a World Series title since 1984, but I've also been intrigued by the kid's talents since Detroit stole him in the 2010 draft (thanks to exorbitant salary demands), and it would be a crime to throw that away for a veteran who won't be with Detroit in eight months. By all accounts, Castellanos is the real deal and likely a franchise linchpin for the next 15 years.

C Travis d'Arnaud, Las Vegas 51s (Triple-A)
Age: 23
Parent Club: Toronto Blue Jays
2012 Stats: 16 HR, 52 RBI, 49 Runs, 1 Steal, .333 BA, .380 OBP, .975 OPS
Skinny: The Blue Jays already have a solid young catcher in J.P. Arencibia (13 homers, 43 RBI), but the club can only stash a great prospect like d'Arnaud in the minors for so long. In the last two seasons, d'Arnaud (37 homers, 130 RBI, .317 batting) has separated himself from the pack of under-25 prospects. He's also built up expectations to the point where he could be a top-12 catcher to open the 2013 season, but that distinction is based on him getting quality at-bats in the majors this year—hopefully in the coming weeks.

OF Adam Eaton, Reno Aces (Triple-A)                                                                                             Age: 23
Parent Club: Arizona Diamondbacks
2012 Stats: 5 HR, 34 RBI, 106 Runs, 33 Steals, .381 BA, .465 OBP, 1.001 OPS
Skinny: Across the board, Eaton's numbers are obviously stellar, but he's been a true difference-maker in runs. For example, the Diamondbacks' farmhand has four separate streaks of seven (or more) games with at least one run scored—including a 20-game streak from May 30-June 20. That kind of elite production on the basepaths is only eclipsed by the mind-blowing tallies from our next prospect in the countdown.

SS Billy Hamilton, Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Double-A)
Age: 21
Parent Club: Cincinnati Reds
2012 Stats: 2 HR, 32 RBI, 82 Runs, 109 Steals, .318 BA, .408 OBP, .852 OPS
Skinny: I've run the numbers three times. The "109 steals" from above is not a typo, nor is it some embellishment of a player's immense talent—like the classic Coach episode where Hayden, Luther and Dauber trekked, often on foot, to some mountain-region town in Europe to recruit a prospect known for successfully kicking goat heads 60 yards. Back to Hamilton...the game-by-game numbers are astounding: 30 games of multiple steals, including a season-high five thefts on June 16 (Single-A ball). To hail Hamilton as the next Rickey Henderson, Tim Raines or Vince Coleman doesn't seem like a stretch, considering that Hamilton's current on-base percentage (.408) would respectfully hang with the above three greats...back when they were running wild in the minors.

1B/3B Miles Head, Midland RockHounds (Double-A)
Age: 21
Parent Club: Oakland Athletics
2012 Stats: 20 HR, 69 RBI, 66 Runs, 3 Steals, .358 BA, .416 OBP, 1.073 OPS
Skinny: You don't even need to mention Josh Reddick's superb MLB stats (20 HR, 43 RBI, 54 runs, 8 steals, .268 BA) to acknowledge how the A's have won the initial round of assessment from the offseason trade that brought Andrew Bailey/Ryan Sweeney to Boston and Head, Reddick and pitcher Raul Alcantara to Oakland. Head's stats more than confirm how A's general manager Billy Beane struck at the perfect time, understanding what fantasy gurus have known all along: Excluding Mariano Rivera, closers are essentially a dime a dozen. At 21, Head may be a long shot to earn an MLB promotion in September, but with the current pace, he's certainly doing his part to make it an excruciatingly tough call for Oakland execs.

Jay Clemons can be reached on Twitter, day or night, at @ATL_JayClemons.