Need help picking 2 more AL prospects

[crcbsjh]

12 Team
AL-Only
Keeper League (can keep players up to 3 years)
3 Minor League spots per team

I won this league last year, and did so by mortgaging much of my future to pick up studs in-season that were in the final year of their contracts. Therefore, this is a rebuilding season...

Here's my roster post-draft:

C: V Mart (Yr 1)
C: Mathis (1)
1B: Andy Phillips (1)
2B: Grudz (1)
SS: Michael Young (2)
3B: Aaron Hill (1)
CI: Inge (1)
MI: Alex Gonzalez (1)
OF: Matsui (3)
OF: Hunter (3)
OF: Jeremy Reed (2)
OF: Markakis (1)
OF: Brian Anderson (1)
DH: Nevin (1)

P: Verlander (1)
P: Harden (1)
P: Lilly (2)
P: Chacon (2)
P: The Gambler (3)
P: Cotts (3)
P: Rafael Soriano (1)
P: Mo Rivera (3)
P: Towers (1)

* If I'm not in contention (which is a very good possibility), the 3rd year players will be moved in-season for better keeper prospects.

I have Daric Barton as my lone ML player at this time. I can add two more.

Here are the minor leaguers that are already rostered:

Alex Gordon
Jered Weaver
Eric Duncan
BJ Upton
Santiago Casilla (!)
Chad Orvella
Howie Kendrick
Brandon Wood
Kendry Morales
Delmon Young
Craig Hansen
Tony Giarratano (!)
Andy Marte
Billy Butler
Chris Snelling (!)
Fausto Carmona - because he was being called up to CLE
Shin-Soo Choo

I'm trying to decide on two players from the following list. Please give your thoughts on which two you would take, ranked in order of preference.

Jon Lester - SP BOS
Jeremy Sowers - SP CLE
Justin Huber - 1B KC
Dustin Pedroia - 2B BOS
Erick Aybar - SS LAA (but where will he end up?)

If there are others I should consider, I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks for the input!

[Jenkins]

Jon Lester and Philip Hughes

[thedude]

Lester
Peodria-you need a MI

Jeff Clement if he is avaiable because this kid is a stud @ catcher.

[crcbsjh]

Thanks. So far it seems like Lester is the one to get. Does everyone feel he is much superior to Sowers? What are the chances of either of them making the majors this season? Or are they both considered more probable for 2007?

Philip Hughes is pretty raw, but has stud potential for the Yankees.

And if Mathis turns out for me, I don't have much need for Clement at C. Unless I want to stockpile the position for trade value.

I think Pedroia would be good due to my middle infield weaknesses. Is Loretta signed beyond this year in Boston, or is he somebody the Sox would move to make room for Pedrioa if he's deemed ready in 2007?

Are there any other AL middle infield prospects I'm overlooking?

[Niffoc4]

I think Pedroia is tops among the choices you gave, from what I have read at places like Baseball Prospectus...
and I actually like Sowers over Lester, because he is closer to being ready (I believe) and not from NY or BOS (read: not overhyped)

The only other MI prospects I can think of are Howie Kendrick (who you might want to consider) and Reid Brignac.
Also you might want to think about a 1B maybe Ryan Garko or Wes Bankston.

[raiders_umpire]

I would add 2 of these 3 players---Cameron Maybin, Jon Lester, Phillip Hughes

[rhd]

For those you listed, I would rank them like this:

Erick Aybar - SS LAA (I think he'll end up in CF, if they dont trade him)
Justin Huber - 1B KC
Dustin Pedroia - 2B BOS
Jon Lester - SP BOS
Jeremy Sowers - SP CLE

But I would rank the following players higher than some of those:
- A. Jones - OF Sea
- J. Clement - C Sea
- C. Maybin - OF Det (if you dont mind waiting 3-4 years)
- F. Gutierrez - OF Cle (he's made an adjustment in his pitch selection, had a great Winter League season and is having a great start at AAA. He along w Huber probably will be in MLB faster than the others. You can put either in your DH slot, as A. Phillips is the weakest player you have and Nevin qualifies at 1B.)
- N. Reimold - OF Bal (5-tool talent and everyone's pick to rocket up the prospect charts this year. Might be in MLB as soon as late 2007.)
- M. Moses - 3B Min (needs to work on his plate disicpline, but is having a very good start this year.)
- A. Loewen - SP Bal (an exceptional talent, had a great Ariz FL, and had a terrific first start in minors this yr. His MLB contract means he must be kept on the 25-man MLB roster next year or the O's lose him. It's beginning to look like he might be ready.)

So, including my suggestions, here's how I'd rank them:

- E. Aybar
- A. Jones
- J. Clement
- C. Maybin
- D. Pedroia
- J. Huber
- F. Gutierrez
- N. Reimold
- M. Moses
- J. Lester (having a rough start this year)
- A. Loewen
- J. Sowers (There actually are some more that I'd rank above Sowers. He supposedly has limited upside but a strong chance of reaching it. I really dont care much for rookie pitchers in roto in general, especially those who dont have top-of-the-rotation potential.)

Also, if your league allows you to draft players in foreign leagues, D. Matsuzaka (in Japan) is another one to consider. Of course, you'd be taking a risk in that he might sign w an NL club, but he's worth considering, if eligible. He might be in MLB as early as next year, but probably more like 2008.

Hope this helps. Good luck in your draft!

[crcbsjh]

Sowers pitched another very good game (7 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 4K, 0 BB) and now is 2-0 with a 0.47 ERA in 3 starts.

Lester continues to get rocked.

Huber and Aybar continue to rake with the bat.

I'm considering adding Aybar and Huber. I'm afraid that Sowers (since he's not really considered to have "ace" material) is too much of a risk. Is he a great AAA pitcher that will be mediocre-at-best in the majors?

[rhd]

The experts dont think Sowers will be mediocre; they just dont see him as an ace. To me, a mediocre MLB pitcher is a back of the rotation guy. I think Sowers projects as a middle-of-the-rotation starter, which for MLB is very good. But for roto, he doesnt excite me too much rt now. If I had him already, I'd try to keep him, but there are a lot of others I'd want before him.