2007 Breakout Young Stars

Well going into each new season, I like to pick a pitcher and batter from each league that I think will be breakout stars both from a fantasy perspective and in real baseball. These are guys that usually don't have a ton of hype and are available towards the tail end of your fantasy drafts. Here are my picks for the 2007 season:

National League

Chris B. Young, OF, ARZ - Young will be starting in the OF for the "young" Diamondbacks who could be this year's version of the 2006 Marlins. He has good plate discipline and a nice combination of power and speed and could easily be a 20/20 guy this season.



Ian Snell, P, PIT - While Snell may only be good for 11-12 wins this season due to playing on a bad team, he's going to have good ERA, WHIP, and strikeout numbers. Snell had quite an impressive strikeout rate (8.18 K's per 9) last season in his first full year in the majors. Take out one bad blow up start and his ERA and WHIP were pretty good as well. I fully expect him to pitch 200 innings this year with over 180 K's and an ERA in the mid 3's.


American League

B.J. Upton, 3B, T.B. - While he may not have the hype of fellow Devil Ray phenom Delmon Young, I fully expect Upton to impress this season. Not only does have a great combination of power and speed but he'll also be playing all over the diamond for the Devil Rays at 3rd, 2nd, and occasionally the OF, making him even more valuable in your fantasy league.



Matt Garza, P, MIN - While the Twins may have just sent him down to the minors, I fully expect Garza to be back up in the Bigs shortly and to be the rookie pitcher that makes the biggest impact in the AL this season. (I'm not counting Matsuzaka as a rookie, but that's a blog post for another time.) How long can the Twins really keep throwing out Sidney Ponson and Carlos Silva? He's got the makeup and the fastball to be a dominating pitcher in the future and a number 2 or 3 on the Twins this year. If possible, keep him stashed on your bench for now in fantasy.