Top Rookies to watch and stats thru May 10

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Gordon's name nearly Royalty already

May 11, 2006 Eric Mack Senior Fantasy Writer Tell Eric your opinion Roberto Clemente's baseball card: $6,000. A Mickey Mantle: $6,500. An Alex Gordon? Priceless. Or $7,500, if you can get it at that right now. Third base phenom Alex Gordon, 22, will be a mint Fantasy player in short order. (AP) A Topps rookie card of the phenomenal Royals third base prospect is drawing major media attention, and top dollar, after it was "mistakenly" printed before it was allowed by MLBPA rules. (Sounds like a stroke of serendipity for Topps, actually, and has collectors rushing to Wal-Mart to try to snag an early shipment of the 2006 boxes.) Although it is the error and scarcity that is drawing the card's high price tag, it also helps Gordon, 22, is one heck of a talent. One that was drafted No. 2 overall in last June's amateur draft, behind only Justin Upton. Gordon signed late, had a smashing debut in the Arizona Fall League and opened eyes in big league camp this spring (.333). In his first official pro stop, he is currently hitting .310 with seven homers, 17 RBI, 22 runs and eight steals for Double-A Wichita. With just 129 dynamite pro at-bats on his resumé, he is just a phone call away from an arrival in Kansas City. You want a little prospect hype? Follow the dollar signs. Money talks, and in the case of Gordon, it's screaming. It has been quite a week for the 6-foot-1, 220-pound Nebraska product.A mini 5-for-13 Double-A Wichita hot streak (three doubles and a homer), a little drama about his priceless piece of cardboard and a Thursday morning guest appearance on sports talk show Cold Pizza. That appearance comes a night after being removed after one at-bat for Double-A Wichita, leading many to wonder whether it was a precursor to a call-up to Kansas City. Instead, it's more likely he was removed to get some sleep to make his early a.m. appearance on national TV. His last national TV appearance came in the College World Series last June, when he was named Baseball America's College Player of the Year. His next national TV spot should come as a member of the Royals. Perhaps very soon. Gordon, who is currently owned in just 3 percent of CBS SportsLine.com's Fantasy leagues, should be stashed away immediately in all AL-only leagues that allow reserves. Those in keeper leagues likely already know all about him, but we have to tell the rest of you Gordon is even more promising than already-arrived Nationals Rookie of the Year candidate Ryan Zimmerman (.248-5-18-18-2), who has been viable in mixed formats and owned in 65 percent of our leagues. This week, the Royals organization publicly promised changes after their dismal start, one of which was the demotion of struggling third-base prospect Mark Teahen (.195-2-9-10-2), a key piece of the Carlos Beltran trade a few summers back. Gordon could have been called up to replace Teahen that day, but the Royals will run recently hot Esteban German (.370-0-6-7-1) and Tony Graffanino (.241-2-8-5-0)out there at third base for now. Rest assured, they will be doing nothing more than keeping the position warm for Gordon. The phenom could get the call as soon as this Friday in Baltimore or, more likely, when the Royals return home (May 19 vs. St. Louis). It could be a way to help sell tickets for a weekend series. If you're skeptical even Gordon could sell tickets in Kansas City, we refer you to the market on his rookie cards. Heck, it could eventually take all of his club-record $4 millon signing bonus from last September to get one. (He didn't get that kind of money to sell tickets in Double-A.) Rookie watch Here are the top rookies in Fantasy to date (stats through May 10): Top 5 AL Fantasy Rookies Position, player, team Rotisserie stats 1 CL Jonathan Papelbon, BOS 0-1, 0.47ERA, 17K, 0.684WHIP, 12SV Forget Rookie of the Year votes, he could get tallies for Cy Young. 2 SP John Koronka, TEX (4-1)-3.65-25-1.196-0 He's proving to be Texas' best pitcher, better than Kevin Millwood. 3 SP Justin Verlander, DET (4-3)-3.77-27-1.256-0 Through seven starts, six have been quality (five in a row). 4 C Kenji Johjima, SEA .271 AVG, 3 HR, 19 RBI, 15 R, 0 SB After mini-slump in late April, he has picked it up again in May. 5 RP Francisco Liriano, MIN (1-0)-3.60-28-1.500-1 It's likely days -- not weeks -- before he's inserted into rotation. Honorable mentions: SP Casey Janssen, TOR; CF Brian Anderson, CHW; OF Nick Markakis, BAL; RP Joel Zumaya, DET; RP Boone Logan, CHW; 2B Ian Kinsler, TEX. Top 5 NL Fantasy Rookies Position, player, team Rotisserie stats 1 LF/C Josh Willingham, FLA .303 AVG, 7 HR, 27 RBI, 13 R, 1 SB Joe Borchard and Jeremy Hermida's return mean more time at C? 3 SS Hanley Ramirez, FLA .315-2-14-30-8 He could very well wind up in the All-Star Game if he keeps this up. 2 1B Prince Fielder, MIL .323-5-18-19-3 Sorry Prince, the position(s) above make you third-best here. 4 SP Sean Marshall, CHC 2-0, 3.12 ERA, 26 K, 0.894 WHIP Pitched well enough to survive return of Kerry Wood and Mark Prior. 5 2B Dan Uggla, FLA .287-4-16-20-3 The Marlins look like they have something with their middle infield. Honorable mentions: 3B Ryan Zimmerman, WAS; 2B Josh Barfield, SD; OF Conor Jackson, ARI; SS Ronny Cedeno, CHC; SP Taylor Buchholz, HOU; SP Josh Johnson, FLA; RP Takashi Saito, LAD; SP Michael O'Connor, WAS; RP Ramon Ramirez, COL; C Ronny Paulino, PIT; RP Adam Wainwright, STL; SP Brian Bannister, NYM; OF Andre Ethier, LAD. On the Verge Here are some recently hot minor-leaguers worth tracking (stats through Wednesday, May 10): Minor league hotlist Position, player, team Minor league numbers 1 SP Cole Hamels, PHI Triple-A: (2-0)-0.39-36-0.478 Apparently the Phillies just needed to see him allow a Triple-A run. 2 3B Alex Gordon, KC Double-A: .310-7-17-22-8 Mark Teahen's demotion is the precursor to his imminent arrival. 3 OF Billy Butler, KC Double-A: .304-5-17-23-0 Just 20, but his call-up has to be a package deal with Gordon, right? 4 SP Jeremy Sowers, CLE Triple-A: (4-1)-1.40-26-1.267 Recent streak has him ahead of Fausto Carmona for call-up now. 5 SS Stephen Drew, ARI Triple-A: .303-6-22-19-1 Still a favorite here to make a huge impact in Fantasy leagues in '06. Honorable mentions: Triple-A OF Shin-Soo Choo, SEA; Triple-A SP Abe Alvarez, BOS; Double-A OF Hunter Pence, HOU; Triple-A C Jeff Mathis, LAA; Triple-A SP Chad Billingsley, LAD; Triple-A SS B.J. Upton, TB; Triple-A Joel Guzman, LAD; Triple-A OF Elijah Dukes, TB; Triple-A OF Delwyn Young, LAD; Triple-A OF Corey Hart, MIL; Triple-A OF Nelson Cruz, MIL; Triple-A SP Jered Weaver, LAA; Triple-A OF Lastings Milledge, NYM; Triple-A SP Anthony Reyes, STL; Double-A SS Brandon Wood, LAA; Triple-A SS Jason Bartlett, MIN; Triple-A 1B Larry Broadway, WAS; Triple-A SP Jason Hirsch, HOU; Double-A SP Cesar Carrillo, SD; Triple-A SP Dana Eveland, MIL; Double-A C George Kottaras, SD; Double-A SP Mike Pelfrey, NYM; Class A SP Homer Bailey, CIN; Double-A SP Shawn Hill, WAS. Baby talk Joe Mamone, Toronto: I have Cole Hamels in my minors system, but once we activate a minor leaguer you can no longer return him down. I lose protection on him unless I use a roster spot. If I keep him in my minors, I don't have to protect him. If I call him up, I am forced to protect him. Should I bring him up for this Friday's start? Or hold on to him until next year? Emack: Hamels has been as dominant as a pitcher can be in the minor leagues, allowing just two homers in 195 career innings. We say he becomes as intriguing as Felix Hernandez immediately, especially since Hamels will be pitching for a contender in Philly, which promises to give him far more run support than King Felix gets. Susan Waldman, Valley Stream, N.Y.: Assuming Francisco Liriano and Cole Hamels secure spots in their respective rotations, which pitcher would you rather have at this point? Emack: Hamels, because he pitches for a contender with a great offense. The pitchers are very close in talent and stuff, but Hamels is moving into a more promising situation. Liriano's Twins can't or won't score enough runs for him. Sverre Bakke, White Salmon, Wash.: What's the scoop on Angels SS/MI prospect Brandon Wood? His name was conspicuously absent from the "On the Verge" list posted near the bottom of the feature about Cole Hamels and other hot prospects who might be making their MLB debuts shortly. Emack: Wood is still a top three, perhaps a top one, Fantasy prospect. That power potential is immense. But he won't be causing Orlando Cabrera to be moved or traded anytime soon. The Angels would really have to go in the tank -- moreso than now even -- before they trust bringing Wood up. There was talk he could arrive as a DH, but the Angels have not found much success of late, doing that with Howie Kendrick. Wood can and will put up huge Double-A numbers, but he's likely nothing more than a late second half call-up at this point. You can e-mail Emack your Fantasy Baseball prospect and rookie questions to DMFantasyBaseball@cbs.com. Be sure to put Attn: Prospects in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state. Be aware, due to the large volume of submissions received, we cannot guarantee personal responses or answers to all questions.