Note: A player must have rookie status entering the 2007 season in order to qualify for our lists. We rank players based on their potential and the likelihood they will reach that potential.
1. Troy Tulowitzki, COL: The Rockies’ 2005 first round draft pick (7th
overall) was so impressive in his first full professional season that
Colorado made him its everyday shortstop for the final month of the
season. Tulowitzki, 22, only hit .240 with a .610 OPS in 96 big league
at-bats, but his .291/.370/.473 line from Double-A Tulsa (423 at-bats)
shows that he will likely become an above-average offensive shortstop.
Yet another Long Beach State baseball product, Tulowitzki also made contact in 83.2% of his Double-A at-bats and walked 46 times to 71 strikeouts. The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder has established himself as a slick fielder, so you can count on him sticking at shortstop and emerging as one of the better hitting players at the position in the National League.
2. Reid Brignac, TB:
Very few minor leaguers stacked up with Brignac, 20, in 2006. Playing
in just his second full professional season after being drafted 45th overall (2nd
round) in the 2004 draft, the lefthanded hitter tore apart High-A
Visalia by launching 21 home runs and putting up a .326/.382/.557 line
in 411 at-bats.
Convinced that he was ready for the next level, the Devil Rays promoted Brignac to Double-A Montgomery on August 3rd. He initially struggled upon being promoted but finished strong, as he hit three more home runs and produced a .300/.355/.479 line. Brignac (6-foot-3, 170-pounds) could be ready to join the Devil Rays as early as next September. If he enters 2008 as a rookie, he’ll likely be atop this list.
3. Elvis Andrus, ATL:
Sometimes mentioned along with Fernando Martinez and Jose Tabata as one
of the top teenage, international signees in the game and other times
tabbed as one of the most overrated prospects in the game – along the
lines of Joel Guzman – Andrus, 18, is an impressive defender with a ton
of upside. But when will he recognize it offensively?
He stayed afloat in his first full major league season, batting .265/.324/.362 with three home runs and 25 doubles in 437 Single-A Rome at-bats. Like Martinez and Tabata, Andrus’ has a projectable frame that could someday make him a superstar. Next season will be a major test for the Venezuela native.
4. Erick Aybar, LAA:
Probably not the first Angel you expected to see on this list – we
think Brandon Wood is going to end up at third base – Aybar, 22, has
tormented pitchers at five minor league levels since signing with the
Anaheim in 2002. Last season, he batted .283/.327/.413 in Triple-A Salt
Lake with 32 stolen bases in 50 attempts (64.0%). He’ll need to improve
his success rate on the base paths to get the green light consistently
in the big leagues, but Aybar is very close to being an average major
league shortstop.
5. Sean Rodriguez, LAA: The 90th overall draft pick (3rd round) in 2003, Rodriguez, 21, had an amazing year, hitting 34 home runs to go with a combined .307/.387/.557 line between High-A Rancho Cucamonga, Double-A Arkansas, and Triple-A Salt Lake. The Florida native added almost 25 pounds of muscle between the end of the 2005 season and the start of 2006, so this wasn’t just a fluke season. Rodriguez is the real deal. He could blossom into a household prospect name by midseason in 2007.