Now, we would never actually root for an injury -- OK, maybe some of us would wish bad things on their Fantasy opposition -- but Chris Capuano's strained left groin and placement on the 15-day DL is a bit of serendipity for 100 percent of CBS SportsLine leagues. Forty percent are currently smiling because they already own his replacement.
Welcome to the majors, Mr. Yovani Gallardo. Now go out and do what you've been doing.
That is: Looking like the next Francisco Liriano.
Gallardo is getting called up Thursday, according to MLB.com, and if he is not needed in relief this weekend he would make his first big league start Monday vs. the San Francisco Giants. So, not only do you get to enjoy the next big thing in Fantasy Week 12 (June 18-24), you get to enjoy it twice, because he should be a two-start pitcher.
Now that he's sitting on your roster, we will explain why we think he can be the next Liriano, who went 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA and 144 strikeouts in 121 innings last year.
Liriano, 6-feet-2, 185 pounds, arrived at age 21 last year after going 29-28 with a 3.42 ERA, 551 strikeouts and 174 walks in 484 1/3 innings in the minor leagues. He had a 1.22 WHIP and 10.24 K/9. Liriano's pre-majors Triple-A stint look especially similar at (9-2)-1.78-112-24 in 91 innings (second half of 2005).
Gallardo, 6-feet-2, 190 pounds, arrives at age 21 after going 27-12 with a 2.48 ERA, 439 strikeouts and 138 walks in 380 2/3 innings in the minors -- including (8-3)-2.90-110-28 in 77 2/3 innings this season in Triple-A. He has a career 1.11 WHIP and 10.38 K/9.
Heck, Gallardo might even be a tick better at a similar age of development.
That's enough to own the Brewers new starter in any league. We don't know if he will stick around, but if he's truly the next Liriano, he won't be the one losing his rotation spot once Capuano is healthy again.
On the verge
Here are some of our favorite prospects who are in the minor leagues and are worth tracking closely (stats through June 6 -- note: four of our top five from last week were called up):
| Minor league hotlist | ||
| Position, player, team | Minor league stats | |
| 1 | SP Yovani Gallardo, MIL | Triple-A: (8-3), 2.90 ERA, 110 K, 1.043 WHIP |
| Has lost two consecutive games, but he struck out 12 last time out. | ||
| 2 | SP Anthony Reyes, STL | Triple-A: (1-1)-1.64-16-0.773 |
| He's obviously too good for Triple-A; Cards will realize that soon. | ||
| 3 | OF Adam Jones, SEA | Triple-A: .327 AVG, 15 HR, 52 RBI, 47 R, 4 SB |
| When a 21-year-old prospect is doing this in Triple-A, take notice. | ||
| 4 | SP Jon Lester, BOS | A-Triple-A: (1-2)-2.03-37-1.060 |
| His worst outing of the year led to his removal from Boston's DL. | ||
| 5 | SP Matt Garza, MIN | Triple-A: (3-5)-3.41-72-1.311 |
| Lack of command is why they initially choose Scott Baker. | ||
| Honorable mentions: 1B Joey Votto, CIN; SP Blake Hawksworth, STL; SP Eric Hurley, TEX; OF Adam Jones, SEA; OF Justin Upton, ARI; OF Billy Butler, KC; OF Matt Kemp, LAD; OF Jacoby Ellsbury, BOS; SP Clay Buchholz, BOS; OF Colby Rasmus, STL; OF Wladimir Balentien, SEA; OF Terry Evans, LAA; 3B Chase Headley, SD; SP Radhames Liz, BAL; DH/C Taylor Teagarden, TEX; SP Gio Gonzalez, CHW; SP William Inman, MIL; SP Jeff Niemann, TB; SP Mitch Talbot, TB; SP Josh Banks, TOR; SP Troy Patton, HOU; 1B Steven Pearce, PIT; OF Rick Ankiel, STL; C Lou Palmisano, MIL; SS Reid Brignac, TB; 3B Evan Longoria, TB; 3B Chase Headley, SD; SP Nick Adenhart, LAA; SS Sean Rodriguez, LAA; OF Travis Snyder, TOR; SP Clayton Kershaw, LAD; SP John Van BenSchoten, PIT; SP Chris Mason, TB; SP Wade Townsend, TB; SP Wade Davis, TB. | ||
Rookie watch
Here are the top rookies in Fantasy to date (stats through June 6):
| Top 5 AL Fantasy Rookies | ||
| Position, player, team | Rotisserie stats to date | |
| 1 | SP Daisuke Matsuzaka, BOS | 7-5, 4.52 ERA, 85 K, 1.307 WHIP, 0 SV |
| He has his critics, but he's on pace for 18 wins and 222 strikeouts! | ||
| 2 | SP Jeremy Guthrie, BAL | (3-1)-2.70-42-0.930-0 |
| Leo Mazzone has taken him off scrap heap to thick of ROY race. | ||
| 3 | OF Reggie Willits, LAA | .321-0-13-32-15 |
| Leads all major league rookies with 32 runs scored and 15 steals. | ||
| 4 | RP Hideki Okajima, BOS | (2-0)-1.14-29-1.078-4 |
| He has been good enough to sap some value from Jonathan Papelbon. | ||
| 5 | 3B Akinori Iwamura, TB | .330 AVG, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 23 R, 4 SB |
| Injury again holds him back, but he could lead off when healthy. | ||
| Honorable mentions: OF Delmon Young, TB; 2B Dustin Pedroia, BOS; SP Kevin Slowey, MIN; SP Brian Bannister, KC; SP Andrew Miller, DET; OF Travis Buck, OAK; OF Elijah Dukes, TB; RP Dustin Moseley, LAA; RP Joakim Soria, KC; SP John Danks, CHW; SP Tyler Clippard, NYY; 3B Alex Gordon, KC; SP Brian Burres, BAL; RP Santiago Casilla, OAK; OF Adam Lind, TOR. | ||
| Top 5 NL Fantasy Rookies | ||
| Position, player, team | Rotisserie stats | |
| 1 | OF Hunter Pence, HOU | .354 AVG, 5 HR, 25 RBI, 17 R, 5 SB |
| He will have to keep hitting if he wants to hold off this No. 2. | ||
| 2 | OF Josh Hamilton, CIN | .257-9-20-22-3 |
| June has been his worst month, but he will get hot again soon. | ||
| 3 | 3B Ryan Braun, MIL | .303-4-10-14-2 |
| He likely would be leading this list had he started year in majors. | ||
| 4 | SS Troy Tulowitzki, COL | .266-3-27-33-1 |
| Developing a flair for the dramatic with walkoff HR this week. | ||
| 5 | SP Micah Owings, ARI | (4-1), 3.76 ERA, 38 K, 1.405 WHIP, 0 SV |
| Overlooked rookie starter is doing well in contender's rotation. | ||
| Honorable mentions: SP Tim Lincecum, SF; OF Chris Young, ARI; 3B Mark Reynolds, ARI; SP Justin Germano, SD; OF Felix Pie, CHC; C Carlos Ruiz, PHI; C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, ATL; RP Henry Owens, FLA; SP Chris Sampson, HOU; OF Tony Gwynn, Jr., MIL; OF Michael Bourn, PHI; SP Homer Bailey, CIN; 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff, SD. | ||
Baby talk
Russ Loomis: I'm looking for a third-base prospect. Do you think Evan Longoria will be given the job next year?
Emack: Longoria, 21, is a talent on the level of Braun and Alex Gordon -- albeit with less steals potential. He is hitting .270 with 14 homers, 46 RBI, 47 runs and two steals through 64 games and 226 at-bats in Double-A. His problem is rookie Akinori Iwamura has shown well and would have to move to second -- where B.J. Upton has looked like an All-Star (offensively). Longoria will be an elite Fantasy 3B someday, but we cannot guarantee he will be coming opening day 2008 at this point. Definitely stash him, if you can, just in case, though.
You can e-mail Emack your Fantasy Baseball questions to DMFantasyBaseball@cbs.com. Be sure to put Attn: Prospects Report in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state. Be aware, due to the large volume of submissions received, we do not guarantee personal responses to all questions.
