Today's Fantasy Rx

Once again, we're presenting prospect lists specifically geared towards fantasy baseball with no consideration of "peak" or "long-term potential" other than what a player will contribute in standard 4x4 and 5x5 leagues.

We've ranked players in three lists for this article. The top 150 prospects list is meant for Ultra drafts, the top 42 prospects is intended exclusively for owners in extremely deep leagues who desire the best prospect trade bait, and our top 25 prospects of 2005-06 list is meant for traditional roto leagues with three-round minor league drafts.

I projected four values for each prospect listed below: his likely value in 2005, his 2005 roto upside, his likely 2006 value, and his likely long-term upside considering the prospect's tools, skills, and age. After averaging these values, weighted heavily towards potential 2005 considerations as well as adjusting the relative value of pitchers downward due to the greater volatility in projecting pitcher development, we arrived at a rough ranking of the prospects in each league.

A few players on the first list will be minor league veterans who only need a chance to succeed in the majors. I designated these players with an asterisk for those of you only interested in drafting more traditional prospects.

Rule 5 draftees have a ^ next to their names; their placement on the list assumes they remain with their new teams. Ignore them if returned to their former franchise as they have practically no chance of breaking camp with their old team.

Before beginning, we want to note our appreciation for all the resources available to everyone interested in minor leaguers from established analysts like John Sickels, as well as Kevin Goldstein and everyone at Baseball America. We hope you enjoy these two days of prospects.

Note: We employed MLB rookie guidelines, so no one here has exceeded 130 MLB AB or 50 MLB IP, or has accumulated 45 days on an MLB roster prior to September 1st of any season.

* - denotes players not on a 40-man roster nor considered a prospect due to age

^ - denotes players selected in the 2004 Major League Rule 5 draft

Rotohelp's Top 150 AL Ultra Fantasy Prospects for 2005
1. Jeremy Reed, OF, SEA
2. Tadahito Iguchi, 2B, CHW
3. Dallas McPherson, 3B, LAA
4. Jason Bartlett, SS, MIN
5. Nick Swisher, OF, OAK
6. Joey Gathright, OF, TB
7. Casey Kotchman, 1B, LAA
8. Dan Johnson, 1B, OAK
9. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, TEX
10. Terry Tiffee, 3B, MIN
11. Denny Bautista, SP, KC
12. Russ Adams, SS, TOR
13. Gabe Gross, OF, TOR
14. Joe Blanton, SP, OAK
15. Mark Teahen, 3B, KC
16. Curtis Granderson, OF, DET
17. Ian Kinsler, SS/2B, TEX
18. Matt Diaz, OF, KC
19. Jamal Strong, OF, SEA
20. Jason Kubel, OF, MIN
21. Matt Watson, OF, OAK
22. Shin-soo Choo, OF, SEA
23. Eric Crozier, 1B, TOR
24. Franklin Gutierrez, OF, CLE
25. J.D. Durbin, SP, MIN
26. Scott Kazmir, SP, TB
27. Brandon McCarthy, SP, CHW
28. Dan Meyer, SP, OAK
29. John Maine, SP, BAL
30. Kyle Denney, SP, CLE
31. Alberto Callaspo, SS/2B, LAA
32. Byron Gettis, OF, DET
33. Wilson Valdez, SS, CHW
34. Chris Young, SP, TEX
35. Felix Diaz, SP, CHW
36. Juan Dominguez, SP, TEX
37. Val Majewski, OF, BAL
38. Erick Aybar, SS, LAA
39. Jesse Crain, RP, MIN
40. Felix Hernandez, SP, SEA
41. Maicer Izturis, SS, LAA
42. Jonny Gomes, OF, TB
43. Hanley Ramirez, SS, BOS
44. Chien-Ming Wang, SP, NYY
45. Justin Huber, C/1B, KC
46. Michael Aubrey, 1B, CLE
47. Scott Baker, SP, MIN
48. Cha Seung Baek, SP, SEA
49. Kameron Loe, SP, TEX
50. Fernando Cabrera, RP, CLE
51. Omar Quintanilla, SS/2B, OAK
52. Adam Stern, OF, BOS^
53. Alex Graman, SP, NYY
54. Delmon Young, OF, TB
55. Gustavo Chacin, SP, TOR
56. Marshall McDougall, IF, TEX
57. Jeff Mathis, C, LAA
58. Aaron Hill, SS, TOR
59. Ryan Raburn, 2B, DET
60. Boof Bonser, SP, MIN
61. Walter Young, 1B, BAL
62. Scott Atchison, RP, SEA
63. Pete Zoccolillo, OF, TEX
64. Kendry Morales, 1B/OF, LAA
65. Andy Phillips, IF, NYY
66. Josh Rabe, OF, MIN
67. Jason Alfaro, IF, TOR*
68. Greg Dobbs, 3B, SEA
69. Tony Alvarez, OF, CHW
70. Robinson Cano, 2B, NYY
71. Mike Rouse, IF, OAK
72. Ryan Garko, C, CLE
73. Greg Jacobs, OF, SEA
74. Francisco Cruceta, SP, CLE
75. Brian Sweeney, SP, TB
76. Aaron Rakers, RP, BAL
77. Jason Botts, 1B/OF, TEX
78. Dave Gassner, SP, MIN
79. David Espinosa, OF, DET
80. Abe Alvarez, SP, BOS
81. Arnaldo Munoz, SP, CHW
82. Mitch Maier, 3B, KC
83. Andy Sisco, SP, KC^
84. Andy Abad, OF, CLE
85. Huston Street, RP, Oak
86. Andres Blanco, SS/2B, KC
87. Matt Guerrier, SP, MIN
88. Earl Snyder, 3B/1B, TB
89. John Baker, C, OAK
90. Daric Barton, C, OAK
91. Chris Snelling, OF, SEA
92. Shawn Garrett, OF, OAK*
93. Brandon League, RP, TOR
94. Alejando Machado, IF, BOS
95. Kevin West, OF, MIN
96. Tony Giarratano, SS, DET
97. Nick Gorneault, OF, LAA
98. Jake Woods, SP, LAA
99. Juan Tejeda, 1B, DET
100. Guillermo Quiroz, C, TOR
101. Ervin Santana, SP, LAA
102. Paul Phillips, C, KC
103. Damon Hollins, OF, TB
104. Wil Nieves, C, LAA
105. Fausto Carmona, SP, CLE
106. John Rodriguez, OF, CLE*
107. Zach Sorensen, OF, LAA
108. Alexis Gomez, OF, DET
109. Jarrod Matthews, SP, TB
110. Keiichi Yabu, SP, OAK
111. Kelly Shoppach, C, BOS
112. Dustin Moseley, SP, LAA
113. Jake Gautreau, 3B, CLE
114. Eric Duncan, 3B, NYY
115. Francisco Rosario, SP, TOR
116. Francisco Liriano, SP, MIN
117. Jeremy Brown, C, OAK
118. Brad Snyder, OF, CLE
119. Brant Colamarino, 1B, OAK
120. Steven Shell, SP, LAA
121. John Hattig, 3B, TOR
122. Freddie Bynum, UT, OAK
123. Tripper Johnson, 3B, BAL
124. Travis Blackley, SP, SEA
125. Jason Cromer, SP, TB
126. John Rheinecker, SP, OAK
127. Brian Anderson, OF, CHW
128. Chris Ray, SP, BAL
129. Dustin Delucchi, OF, SEA
130. Brandon Moss, OF, BOS
131. Elijah Dukes, OF, TB
132. Pete LaForest, C, TB
133. Mike Vento, OF, NYY*
134. Jeff Deardorff, 3B, TB*
135. Simon Pond, OF, BOS*
136. Andrew Brown, SP, CLE
137. Scott Dunn, RP, LAA
138. Chad Orvella, RP, TB
139. John Hudgins, SP, TEX
140. Brad Knox, SP, OAK
141. Alex Romero, OF, MIN
142. Colter Bean, RP, NYY
143. Kevin Reese, OF, NYY
144. Seung Song, SP, TOR
145. Jorge Campillo, SP, SEA
146. Joel Peralta, RP, LAA
147. Josh Stewart, SP, CHW
148. Kenny Baugh, SP, DET
149. Jorge DePaula, SP, NYY
150. Ryan Sweeney, OF, CHW

Rotohelp's Top 42 2005 AL Fantasy Prospects for Long-term Leagues
1. Joey Gathright, OF, TB
2. Jeremy Reed, OF, SEA
3. Tadahito Iguchi, 2B, CHW
4. Ian Kinsler, SS/2B, TEX
5. Dan Johnson, 1B, OAK
6. Felix Hernandez, SP, SEA
7. Delmon Young, OF, TB
8. Jason Kubel, OF, MIN
9. Jason Bartlett, SS, MIN
10. Nick Swisher, OF, OAK
11. Huston Street, RP, OAK
12. Brandon McCarthy, SP, CHW
13. Casey Kotchman, 1B, LAA
14. Scott Kazmir, SP, TB
15. Fernando Cabrera, RP, CLE
16. Shin-soo Choo, OF, SEA
17. Hanley Ramirez, SS, BOS
18. Mitch Maier, 3B, KC
19. Daric Barton, C, OAK
20. Eric Duncan, 3B, NYY
21. Dallas McPherson, 3B, LAA
22. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, TEX
23. Joe Blanton, SP, OAK
24. Denny Bautista, SP, KC
25. Mark Teahen, 3B, KC
26. Jesse Crain, RP, MIN
27. Curtis Granderson, OF, DET
28. Dan Meyer, SP, OAK
29. John Maine, SP, BAL
30. Wilson Valdez, SS, CHW
31. Scott Baker, SP, MIN
32. Chad Orvella, RP, TB
33. Jamal Strong, OF, SEA
34. Chris Young, SP, TEX
35. Franklin Gutierrez, OF, CLE
36. Alberto Callaspo, SS/2B, LAA
37. Michael Aubrey, 1B, CLE
38. Ervin Santana, SP, LAA
39. Erick Aybar, SS, LAA
40. Francisco Rosario, SP, TOR
41. Francisco Liriano, SP, MIN
42. Walter Young, 1B, BAL

Rotohelp's Top 25 AL Fantasy Prospects for 2005…
who should merit keeping at $10 in 2006 per traditional rules
1. Jeremy Reed, OF, SEA
2. Tadahito Iguchi, 2B, CHW
3. Dallas McPherson, 3B, LAA
4. Dan Johnson, 1B, OAK
5. Jason Bartlett, SS, MIN
6. Nick Swisher, OF, OAK
7. Joey Gathright, OF, TB
8. Ian Kinsler, SS/2B, TEX
9. Joe Blanton, SP, OAK
10. Casey Kotchman, 1B, LAA
11. Curtis Granderson, OF, DET
12. Shin-soo Choo, OF, SEA
13. Hanley Ramirez, SS, BOS
14. Franklin Gutierrez, OF, CLE
15. Jason Kubel, OF, MIN
16. Walter Young, 1B, BAL
17. Huston Street, RP, OAK
18. Mark Teahen, 3B, KC
19. Russ Adams, SS, TOR
20. Felix Hernandez, SP, SEA
21. Dan Meyer, SP, OAK
22. Scott Baker, SP, MIN
23. Chad Orvella, RP, TB
24. Gabe Gross, OF, TOR
25. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, TEX

Today's Fantasy Rx: Not only should Jeremy Reed emerge as the AL Roto Rookie of the Year, he should cruise past $20, approach $30, and possibly even challenge $40 if Mike Hargrove lets him run. Tadahito Iguchi ranks as an excellent second choice considering his all-around offensive upside and $40 long-term potential thanks to the combination of his speed skills and Ozzie Guillen's green light on the bases. Few other youngsters appear guaranteed significant roles, a list that includes Dallas McPherson, Jason Bartlett, Nick Swisher, Russ Adams, Joe Blanton, Mark Teahen, Scott Kazmir, and Huston Street, but due to either limited qualitative or quantitative upside, only Bartlett appears to possess a reasonably good chance of contributing double-digit value. Counting on AL rookies outside the top trio will leave you little margin for error barring a surprising BA contribution from someone like Swisher, who at least looks like a strong addition to sim teams, albeit not a potentially dominant asset at the moment like Iguchi or Reed.