Today's Fantasy Rx

On the Fifth Day of Outfielders, my true love gave to me:
AL Central "Prospects";
AL East "Prospects",
American Leaguers without PDV,
Single-digit AL PDV,
and American Leaguers with Double-digit PDV.

Minor League Free Agents and AAA/AA Outfielders in the AL Central

Chicago White Sox
Minor League Free Agents:
Chad Durham, 25, B:R, T:R.
110/408 for .270/.334/.319 with 1 HR, 37 RBI, 59 R, 15/31 SB%,
and a 39:81 BB:K for AA Birmingham(SL).
Appropriate 2004 Role: A+ starter.
Long-term Upside & ETA: AAA backup by 2007.
2004 Fantasy Potential: None.
Long-term Fantasy Upside & ETA: None.

Jon Hamilton, 25, B:L, T:L.
99/411 for .241/.316/.350 with 7 HR, 45 RBI, 51 R, 22/32 SB%,
and a 44:78 BB:K between AA West Tenn(SL) and AA Birmingham(SL).
Appropriate 2004 Role: A+/AA starter.
Long-term Upside & ETA: AAAA backup by 2009.
2004 Fantasy Potential: None.
Long-term Fantasy Upside & ETA: Roster filler by 2010.

Scott Morgan, 30, B:R, T:R.
95/359 for .265/.337/.412 with 9 HR, 48 RBI, 47 R, 5/9 SB%,
and a 36:100 BB:K for AAA Charlotte(IL).
Appropriate 2004 Role: AA/AAA starter.
Long-term Upside & ETA: AAAA backup by 2005.
2004 Fantasy Potential: None.
Long-term Fantasy Upside & ETA: Roster filler by 2006.

Nate Murphy, 28, B:L, T:L.
30/126 for .238/.297/.460 with 8 HR, 15 RBI, 22 R, 2/2 SB%,
and a 10:29 BB:K for AAA Charlotte(IL).
84/289 for .291/.372/.460 with 8 HR, 48 RBI, 52 R, 8/14 SB%,
and a 32:68 BB:K for AA El Paso(TL).
Appropriate 2004 Role: AA/AAA starter.
Long-term Upside & ETA: Major league reserve by 2007.
2004 Fantasy Potential: None.
Long-term Fantasy Upside & ETA: $5 by 2008.

Juan Piniella, 25, B:R, T:R.
101/346 for .292/.352/.408 with 4 HR, 27 RBI, 45 R, 12/17 SB%,
and a 28:82 BB:K for AA Birmingham(SL).
Appropriate 2004 Role: AA starter.
Long-term Upside & ETA: AAAA backup by 2008.
2004 Fantasy Potential: None.
Long-term Fantasy Upside & ETA: Roster filler by 2009.

Mario Valenzuela, 26, B:R, T:R.
29/114 for .254/.277/.377 with 3 HR, 10 RBI, 1 R, 1/1 SB%,
and a 3:25 BB:K for AAA Charlotte(IL).
22/62 for .355/.434/.565 with 3 HR, 20 RBI, 13 R, 0/0 SB%,
and a 7:16 BB:K for R+ Great Falls(Pio).
Appropriate 2004 Role: AA/AAA starter.
Long-term Upside & ETA: Major league reserve by 2009.
2004 Fantasy Potential: None.
Long-term Fantasy Upside & ETA: $5 by 2010.

Eric Welsh, 27, B:L, T:L.
74/308 for .240/.307/.442 with 15 HR, 51 RBI, 45 R, 2/3 SB%,
and a 28:74 BB:K for A+ Winston-Salem(Car).
Appropriate 2004 Role: A/A+ starter.
Long-term Upside & ETA: AAA backup by 2008.
2004 Fantasy Potential: None.
Long-term Fantasy Upside & ETA: None.

Prospects:
Cliff Brumbaugh, 29, B:R, T:R.
69/223 for .309/.371/.507 with 9 HR, 30 RBI, 33 R, 1/4 SB%,
and a 23:48 BB:K for AAA Charlotte(IL).
Appropriate 2004 Role: AAAA starter.
Long-term Upside & ETA: Major league reserve by 2005.
2004 Fantasy Potential: Roster filler.
Long-term Fantasy Upside & ETA: $10 by 2007.

I'll continue tomorrow by discussing AL West minor league outfielders.

Today's Fantasy Rx: All five AL Central teams possess quality young outfielder who didn't see the majors in 2003. Chicago's Jeremy Reed owns a good lead on Cleveland's Grady Sizemore in terms of relatively immediate value, however Detroit's Nook Logan, the Royals' Alexis Gomez and Byron Gettis, and Minnesota's Josh Rabe all could contribute within the next few years. Of course, none of the latter group compares favorably to Cody Ross, David DeJesus, or any of the Twins' young outfielders that reached Minnesota this season, so unless you can draft Reed or Sizemore, stick to the big league-ready talent off these teams.