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By Steve Kwan
Fantasy Sports 101 Baseball 

You can only have so many superstars on your fantasy baseball team, which is unfortunate because I’ve always dreamed of fielding an entire team of Ichiro clones. But when the superstars are gone, fantasy owners are presented with a choice: Take a player you know has limitations, or go with the upside rookie with zero experience and loads of potential.

The temptation of adding future all-stars to your current batch of stars might be strong, but that isn’t always a savvy fantasy move.

Take last year, for example. Many owners touted Alex Gordon as the new David Wright and then promptly took him in between the eighth and 10th rounds. In a nutshell, that didn’t work out. Jeremy Hermida was also a popular sleeper prospect pick for the past two years, yet this year he is somehow still a sleeper prospect in most circles. Owners who picked him higher than the last couple of rounds were not rewarded for their careful scouting.

This year’s prospects are no different from Hermida and Gordon; all are extremely talented and expected to be given a chance to play this year, but because this is their first prolonged taste of life in the big leagues, nobody knows how they’ll do. 

The following is a list of 15 players that have the potential to become fantasy impact players this year. The key word, of course, is “potential." Some picks are more sound than others, but all of them carry the risk of backfiring on you if your expectations let them.

SP Phil Hughes, New York Yankees
Hughes made 13 starts last season, with varying degrees of success. He was also injured for a good part of last year and watched from the sidelines while Joba Chanberlain replaced him as the crown jewel of New York’s young arms. Hughes still has the talent to be a top-end starter, but he’s also ranked dangerously high on draft boards so far considering that he didn’t make a strong debut in 2007.

SP Ian Kennedy, New York Yankees
Kennedy is currently penciled in to be the fifth starter for the Yankees. He is ranked much lower than Hughes on draft boards and looked good in his three starts last season. Considering that the Yankees have a strong lineup to back him up, Kennedy would be a low-risk value pick at the end of your draft.

SP Johnny Cueto, Cincinnati Reds
Much like Chamberlain has overtaken Hughes, Cueto has overtaken Homer Bailey as the Reds' most valued pitching prospect. He is in a three-way battle for two of the starting spots this year, and if he sticks, he could have the same kind of impact Cole Hamels did in 2006. Then again, we are talking about Cincinnati here.

SP Homer Bailey, Cincinnati Reds
Bailey was formerly one of the most hyped prospects in the game, but was underwhelming in his sporadic starts last season while spending most of his time back in the minors. With some Major League experience under his belt coming into this year, Bailey nevertheless will need a strong spring to make the Reds' rotation. However, he reminds me of another top prospect who became a top ace after struggling early in his career: Toronto’s Roy Halladay.

SP Clay Buchholz, Boston Red Sox
So much for the Red Sox being able to ease Buchholz into their short-term plans. They got word that Curt Schilling would miss at least half the season with a shoulder injury and, in the process, found a gaping hold in their rotation. In comes Buchholz, who would have been eased into a heavier workload had it not been for the injury. It's not likely that he is dominant form for an entire season, but he'll show flashes of it. He's a great athlete, one of the best in the organization, and commands three plus pitchers for strikes.

OF Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston Red Sox
Usually a strong postseason elevates a player's draft stock to unrealistic levels (re: Paul Konerko), but Ellsbury has been relatively far from the fantasy radar despite his late-season exploits. He is currently going in the latter rounds of live drafts, giving him fantastic value if you’re looking for a third or fourth outfielder. Coco Crisp is still around, but it's pretty safe to expect Ellsbury to win the starting job and put up a big number in the steals department.

OF Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles
Jones might be more valuable in real life than in fantasy terms, but he will be given every chance to claim center field for himself in Baltimore. He is currently going undrafted in most leagues, so if you want a prospect who’s a lock to play every day from now on, Jones is your guy.

OF Carlos Gomez, Minnesota Twins
Prior to the Johan Santana trade, Gomez was described by the Mets as “an outfield version of Jose Reyes”. That’s high praise indeed, but unlike Adam Jones, Gomez will find himself in a spring training struggle to be the Twins' starting center fielder. Owners who monitor this situation closely could be rewarded with a waiver-wire gem; If scouting reports hold true, Gomez has the potential to out-perform Ellsbury.

OF Justin Upton, Arizona Cardinals
Justin is widely considered by scouts to be the most talented of the Upton brothers, and he should have an eventful rookie season. Arizona shipped out multiple outfield prospects in anticipation of Upton making the position his for the next decade, so he’s going to get his at-bats. Hopefully, he follows the trend of his brother B.J. instead of his teammate Conor Jackson, who regressed last year. Upton is being drafted behind Ellsbury in live drafts, and with guys like Jones and Gomez lurking, that price might be a little high. It’s a chance I’ll take, though.

OF Lastings Milledge, Washington Nationals
The former top-prospect-turned-problem-child was given to the Nationals for next to nothing by the Mets (catcher Brian Schneider), and now Milledge should finally get his chance to shrug off his attitude problems and just play the game. He will either bat second or third in Washington, and if his obvious talent shines through his reputation, he will be a great waiver wire pickup.

OF Michael Bourn, Houston Astros
Lost among all of Houston’s high-profile new faces is Bourn, who came to Houston in the Brad Lidge deal. Bourn has shown talent for stealing bases and getting extra-base hits, and although Hunter Pence has been getting all the attention, Bourn could be almost as valuable of a pick. He’s a popular last-round pick in many live drafts so far.

OF Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds
Bruce is the reigning minor league player of the year, but as of right now the Reds don’t seem to have a starting place for him. But the instant that Ken Griffey Jr. suffers from yet another unbelievable injury, look for Bruce to get his chance. He could also move right in to center field if Ryan Freel, who throws his body around to a fault, goes down with an injury. However, with no Major League experience to speak of, he’s the most likely to flounder among the outfielders on this list.

3B Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
Longoria has long been touted a future star, and until very recently he was being drafted ahead of guys like Troy Glaus. However, as news leaked out that he would have to actually compete to be a starter this year, a rash of fantasy owners dropped him. Their irrational moment of panic should be your gain; take Longoria if you have the space, and you have a potential top-tier third baseman. If he doesn’t perform well, it didn’t really cost you anything if you picked him off waivers now, did it?

C Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs
Soto is still available on waivers in some leagues, so if you don’t have an elite catcher, you might want to give him a look. Soto’s average was sky-high last year, and even if he does tail off this year, he’s a much better value pick than other catchers like Kenji Johjima and even Jason Varitek.

1B Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds
Rounding out Cincy’s impressive collection of prospects is Votto, who will tangle with Scott Hatteberg to start at first base for the Reds. Votto has crushed minor league pitching in both Double-A and Triple-A. He was also impressive in his September audition with the Reds last season. Provided that he can beat out Hatteberg for the job, Votto, who is going undrafted in most leagues, could be a great waiver wire pickup in the mold of Conor Jackson and Ryan Garko.