Fantasy: 5 youngsters to target in your MLB draft
Mookie Betts, OF, Boston Red Sox
2015 Steamer Projections: .283/.348/.423, 9 HR, 47 RBI, 57 R, 18 SB
Every team in baseball passed on Betts in the 2011 draft - the 5-foot-9, 155-pound Tennessee native fell to the Red Sox in the fifth round - and fantasy managers would be equally remiss to overlook Betts when draft day rolls around. After torching the upper levels of the minor leagues in 2014 - Betts hit .346/.431/.529 with 46 extra-base hits and 33 steals between stops in Portland and Pawtucket - the diminutive infielder made a compelling late-season cameo with the Red Sox.
Over his first 52 games in the majors, Betts hit .291 with five home runs and seven stolen bases, walking in roughly 10 percent of his plate appearances while demonstrating enough extra-base power to assuage concerns over his ability to hit the ball over the fence. Not only does Betts wield an advanced approach at the plate, but the 22-year-old is also poised to join a lineup teeming with talented hitters and should accumulate plenty of runs even if he isn't driving in too many of his teammates. Though he's ostensibly poised to fight for playing time in center field with Rusney Castillo, Betts possesses so much upside that manager John Farrell will get creative in finding ways to get him at-bats.
Kris Bryant, 3B, Chicago Cubs
2015 Steamer Projections: .260/.333/.498, 22 HR, 57 RBI, 51 R, 6 SB
Bryant, the second overall pick in 2013, so dominated his first full season of professional baseball that ESPN's Keith Law recently identified him as the game's best prospect in lieu of five-tool phenom Byron Buxton. It's easy to see how the 6-foot-5 third baseman earned that distinction, though, as he led the minor leagues with 43 home runs in 2014 while posting a .325/.438/.661 line against the Double-A and Triple-A pitchers unfortunate enough to face him.
Despite some concerns over his propensity towards striking out, Bryant showed in 2014 that his plus-plus power and ability to hit for a high average can withstand a bit of swing-and-miss. His arrival in Chicago is imminent, and Bryant is primed to slot into the middle of a revamped lineup that should enjoy more offensive success in 2015 following the offseason addition of Dexter Fowler and the impending breakout of ...
Jorge Soler, OF, Chicago Cubs
2015 Steamer Projections: .262/.318/.470, 24 HR, 78 RBI, 66 R, 4 SB
The 23-year-old Cuban is expected to be a key figure in the Cubs' 2015 renaissance after tallying five home runs while hitting .292 (with a 145 OPS+) across 24 games in September. Small sample caveats apply, but Soler looked like a bona fide major-leaguer during his brief time in Chicago despite logging just 54 career games above High-A. Armed with crazy bat speed and immense raw power, Soler's performance in the minor leagues was nothing short of spectacular, as he compiled a .307/.383/.551 line over parts of three seasons after signing a nine-year, $30-million deal with the Cubs in 2012.
His inability to stay healthy, however, has evoked some concern. Persistent injury problems - in his legs, especially - have limited Soler to just 175 games since he made his stateside debut three years ago. Should Soler manage to withstand the rigors of a 162-game schedule in 2015, though, and show a little more patience at the plate than he did last season, his talent could make him a solid fantasy asset.
George Springer, OF, Houston Astros
2015 Steamer Projections: .236/.320/.448, 29 HR, 79 RBI, 77 R, 14 SB
Springer's rookie season was cut short by a quad injury that simply refused to heal, but the 25-year-old showed in 2014 why the Astros grabbed him with the 11th pick in the 2011 draft. After stumbling through his first two weeks at the major-league level, Springer absolutely exploded, managing a .900 OPS with 20 home runs and four stolen bases over his last 61 games before landing on the disabled list in July.
As expected, the strikeouts were abundant - only six players with at least 300 plate appearances fanned more often than Springer - but his combination of power and speed (and on-base ability) quickly made him a fantasy commodity worth grabbing. Springer is unlikely to hit for a high average until he cuts back on the strikeouts, but he wields impact potential in every other category despite just 78 games on his MLB résumé.
Noah Syndergaard, SP, New York Mets
2015 Steamer Projections: 3.61 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 8.80 K/9 (38 IP)
The only thing standing between Syndergaard and the major leagues is the charmingly plump body of Bartolo Colon, who's entering the final year of his contract and remains the most expendable starter in New York's tentative rotation. Still, Syndergaard is poised to make his MLB debut at some point in 2015 after emerging over the last few seasons as one of baseball's best pitching prospects.
The towering right-hander battled an elbow issue and the hostile environs of the Pacific Coast League in 2014, but still managed 145 strikeouts while allowing just 11 homers over 133 innings in Triple-A against players roughly six years his senior. Equipped with both the stuff and command to succeed immediately in the majors, Syndergaard is worth stashing in fantasy leagues as he'll be getting the call in the event of an injury or trade involving any of the Mets' starters.