Fantasy Baseball Manager of the Year

Fresh Blood: September Call Ups — Batters

September 1, 2006 — With major league rosters expanding to 40 players, plenty of productive minor leaguers are about to get a cup of coffee in The Show. And some of these players could offer you that little extra “oomph” you need down the wire in your run at the title.

Or, if your’re out of contention, you might want to start stocking up on young talent as potential options for the future in your keeper leagues.

Now, odds are Delmon Young — the heralded, bat-throwing Tampa Bay OF phenom — has already been snatched up in your league. And wisely so. Called up on Tuesday (Aug. 29), Dmitri Young’s little brother has only gone 8-for-11 (.727 avg) with 1 hr, 4 rbi and 3 runs. But if you didn’t get Delmon, not to worry. There are other players to keep an eye out for (scour that wire!).

With that in mind, this MOTY Talk focuses on batters who may get the call.

Should come as no surprise that, yes, MOTY#'s can be generated for minor league players. Which is exactly what you’ll find below. Though there is a caveat — while players excel at every level of the minors, we only examined those in AAA and AA (or a combination of the two if the player split time between them). Players and stats in A-ball weren’t considered, though look for comprehensive MOTY rankings for every league in the future … insight to help you research players for 2007.

Also note that just because we list guys here it doesn’t mean they’ll get the call. Given their numbers it would make sense, but it’s no guarantee. And some of the guys you’ll see may have already been called up recently … or been up and down in 2006. On the flip side, there are a lot of players in the AAA and AA ranks, so there may be some who you don’t see but think deserve to be mentioned … though if you know their names, making the list isn’t all that insightful.

One factor to consider when looking at September call ups is the organizations they play for. Pay closer attention to those called up by teams well out of the divisional and wild card races — Pirates, Royals, Orioles, Cubs, Mariners, Devil Rays — teams building toward the future that want to get a look at their younger talent. Equally, with the NL East locked up and probably wanting to rest some of their regulars for the playoffs, figure that Mets call ups might have a chance to log some time. Same goes for other teams as they secure their playoff positions.

Keeping in mind that the stats listed are AAA, AA or combined (“comb.”) through Aug. 29, here are some players to check out if you need a bat or two:

Potential Call Ups — American League

Potential Call Ups — National League

Questions, thoughts, cool stories of how the MOTY System has helped your fantasy baseball team? Drop us an email. Your comments might show up here in a future MOTY Talk.