Note To Self: Read Brandon Kruse Before My 2010 Drafts

by Ray Guilfoyle on Oct 13, 2009 9:00 AM EDT in Baseball Comment 5 comments

Tampa Bay Rays' Ben Zobrist lines a second inning RBI single off New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia during a baseball game Friday, Oct. 2, 2009 in St. Petersburg, Fla. Rays' Jason Bartlett scored on the hit. Catching for the Yankees is Jorge Posada. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

4 months ago: Tampa Bay Rays' Ben Zobrist lines a second inning RBI single off New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia during a baseball game Friday, Oct. 2, 2009 in St. Petersburg, Fla. Rays' Jason Bartlett scored on the hit. Catching for the Yankees is Jorge Posada. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

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I know what you are saying. Who in the world is Brandon Kruse. Brandon Kruse writes for Ron Shandler's Baseball Forecaster. A few days ago, I was flipping through my 2009 Baseball Forecaster and stumbled upon his article titled: "Speculating on Breakouts-1". Kruse looked players who had a Rotisserie value of $10 or less the prior year and who met all of the BaseballHQ filters for their respective breakout profile. Had I read this article before my 2009 drafts I could have had a few sleeper hitters who had breakout years in 2009. Here is who he wrote about-9 players in all:

1. Brian Anderson (OF, CWS)

2. Erick Aybar (SS, LAA)

3. Manny DelCarmen (RP, BOS)

4. Joe Mather (OF, STL)

5. Martin Prado (MI, ATL)

6. Ramon Ramirez (RP, KC)

7. Seth Smith (OF, COL)

8. Eugenio Velez (2B/OF, SF)

9. Ben Zobrist (SS/OF, TB)

Well, it's obvious not everyone on this list had a breakout season, but a few really standout. Ben Zobrist had a huge breakout season going 27-91-91-17-.297. Can he duplicate his performance in 2010?

Martin Prado had a nice breakout season as well. He took over the 2B job from soon-to-be-traded 2B Kelly Johnson. In 450 ABs, Prado went 11-49-64-.307 with 38 doubles.

The Rockies Seth Smith had a breakout season also. In 335 ABs, he went 15-55-61-4-.293. Those numbers project to around 25 HRs and 85 RBIs if he played everyday, which could happen should Colorado were to deal RFer Brad Hawpe in the offseason.

In his first year as a full-time starter, Erick Aybar went 5-58-70-14-.312 in just over 500 ABs for the Angels this year. He is one of the reasons why SS Brandon Wood rides the pine when he gets called up to the big league club.

Everyone looks for sleeper picks before their drafts. I suggest taking a look at Kruse's article in the 2010 version of Shandler's Baseball Forecaster before your drafts in 2010.

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