A couple weeks ago, I noted five players to watch for June - Reggie Ambercrombie, Mike Aviles, Juan Rivera, Reggie Willits and Jordan Schafer - and asked which would have the most value this month.  With eight days to go, Aviles has clearly been the best with a 344/369/656 slash stat line this month.

Here are five more players to watch for 2008 and 2009.

C Max Ramirez Texas Rangers:  With a hamstring injury sending starting catcher Gerald Laird to the D.L., the Rangers awarded one of their best hitting propsects with a call to the majors.  After a 363/457/662 slash stat line, Max Ramirez immediately becomes one of the best #2 catchers in AL-Only formats based on the hope he gets catcher-eligibility for 2009.

2B Jeff Baker Colorado Rockies: I was this close to cutting Baker from my NL-Only team when he was nuclear in June to the tune of 5 HRs, a SB and a slashstat line of 409/438/864.  He is already 2B-eligible for 2009 so taking a flyer on him in keeper leagues doesn't carry the risk he won't be eligible at a more offensively-shallow position.  (Unlike Max Ramirez who carries the risk of not appearing in enough games at catcher like Jeff Clement did in 2007.)

2B/OF Eric Patterson Chicago Cubs:  The Cubs recalled Patterson when Carlos Zambrano went on the D.L.  Normally, I would have written Patterson off as a non-entity on Lou Piniella's veteran-focused Cubs team, but Sweet Lou said something interesting the last time Patterson was returned to AAA.  He said Patterson deserved to be playing.  This led me to put him back on a Player-To-Watch list.

A 25-year-old 2B slugging .519 in AAA has nothing left to prove.  If anything, the Cubs need to showcase Eric Patterson for potential trades.  With playing time, I can see Patterson providing Kelly Johnson-like production.

2B Travis Denker San Francisco Giants:  I have had Denker in the back of mind ever since he was rated the 4th best propsect in baseball by Dave Luciani of Baseball Notebook.  With Ray Durham eventually giving way to a younger player, Denker has to be watched.  He has the pop and on-base skills to contribute on a rebuilding team.

From Baseball Notebook's 2005 Top 100 Propsects:

He's almost certainly the least known of the top listed prospects. A late selection (round 21) of the Dodgers in the 2003 draft, I've often heard Denker compared to Marcus Giles, probably because they're both small guys with good power upside. He produces an incredible amount of power for someone so small and his walk rates, when considered in combination with age, are extraordinarily good. He's up to six years away from being an impact player in the big leagues but years from now, I suspect people will be looking back at him as a player that was unfairly ignored because he was small by baseball standards.

LHP David Price Tampa Bay Rays:  After scaring fantasy drafters with an Spring Training elbow injury, Price has returned with a vengence to dominate High A to the tune of 37 Ks in 34.2 innings with seven walks and a 1.82 ERA.  Now that he is in Double-A, he becomes the next great propsect that fantasy leaguers preserve their #1 waiver priority for.

With the major league draft occuring this afternoon, Baseball America has a special edition of their Prospect Hot Sheet available now that covers the top minor leaguers through May.  It does not include a prospect who has dominated over his first three professional starts, though.  Tampa Bay Rays' prospect David Price did not log enough playing time to qualify.  Although believiing his absence makes him any worse than the Top 5 prospect in the game right now would be a mistake.

I look at this list and see a foreshadowing of who will be highly-ranked next March when Baseball America's Top 100 for 2009 comes out.  If you take out the prospects likely to be ineligible for that list next season ( Jay Bruce, Clayton Kershaw, Jeff Clement, Chase Headley), you are left with a good working list of the top prospects going into 2009.

Ones I'd add are Price, Rick Porcello of Detroit, and Travis Snyder of Toronto.  While I cannot envision Mat Gamel in the Top 10, his efforts at AA do not lie.  The fact that Bill Hall has failed so far with the bat for the Brewers and is now asking for a trade means Gamel has a clear path to playing time with the Brewers.  Whether his glove makes him a net negative in the majors is the only question preventing him from seeing Milwaukee.

For the complete write-ups of all the players along with some who just missed, head over to Baseball America .  To read the transcript of the chat that took place on Tuesday, click here . (Rankings from BA along with italicized write-ups.)

No. 1 JAY BRUCE, CF REDS
Why He's Here: .364/.393/.630 (67-for-184), 10 HR, 9 2B, 5 3B, 37 RBIs, 34 R, 12 BB, 45 SO, 8-for-9 SB

No. 2 MAT GAMEL, 3B BREWERS
Why He's Here: .382/.444/.670 (89-for-233), 54 R, 18 2B, 5 3B, 13 HR, 49 RBIs, 26 BB, 39 SO, 4-for-7 SB
 
No. 3 MATT WIETERS, C ORIOLES
Why He's Here: .329/.426/.576 (56-for-170), 37 R, 6 2B, 12 HR, 33 RBIs, 29 BB, 33 SO
The Scoop: After being taken fifth overall in the 2007 draft, Wieters and the Orioles agreed to a contract just seconds before the new signing deadline of Aug. 15. Wieters' first taste of pro ball came in Hawaii Winter Baseball, where he batted .283/.364/.415 and ranked as the league's top prospect. He was assigned to Frederick to begin 2008 and he has wreaked havoc on pitching since Opening Day when he hit two home runs. He already has three multi-home run games this season and has done most of his damage from the right side, pounding lefthanders to the tune of .417/.462/.938 in 48 at-bats with seven home runs. He also leads the league in basestealers caught, nailing 46 percent of those who try to swipe a bag on him.
 
No. 4 TREVOR CAHILL, RHP ATHLETICS
Why He's Here: 5-3, 2.88, 69 IP, 40 H, 24 R, 22 ER, 20 BB, 83 SO

No. 5 JASON HEYWARD, RF  BRAVES
Why He's Here: .332/.385/.516, 72-for-217, 15 2B, 2 3B, 7 HR, 29 RBI, 43 R, 22 BB, 36 SO, 8-for-9 SB
 
No. 6 CLAYTON KERSHAW, LHP DODGERS
Why He's Here: 0-3, 2.28, 43 1/3 IP, 32 H, 16 R, 11 ER, 0 HR, 15 BB, 47 SO

No. 7 JEREMY HELLICKSON, RHP RAYS
Why He's Here: 5-1, 2.44, 63 IP, 62 H, 19 R, 17 ER, 5 BB, 69 SO
The Scoop: The Tampa Bay organization has been very patient and cautious with moving this Iowa righthander along. He's spent a full season at each level, even though he hasn't taken a full workload, maxing out at 111 innings pitched last year with low Class A Columbus (South Atlantic). While he's been good the last two seasons, he's been outstanding this year. What stands out most about Hellickson's season is his excellent command. In 63 innings he's allowed just five walks and hit four batters while striking out better than a batter per inning. "He's got a great delivery, he works down in the strike zone a lot and he works both sides of the plate," Vero Beach manager Jim Morrison said. "He's got a plus fastball, he keeps hitters off stride and throws the breaking ball for a strike.He gets way out front and gets on the front side really well, which a lot of guys struggle with. He's got a real quick, fast arm, and he'll get the same kind of arm release with his breaking ball and his changeup."
 
No. 8 MAX RAMIREZ, C/DH RANGERS
Why He's Here: .368/.448/.679 in 190 at-bats, 40 R, 70 H, 13 2B, 2 3B, 14 HR, 42 RBIs, 26 BB, 48 SO, 1/3 SB

No. 9 ANDREW McCUTCHEN, CF PIRATES
Why He's Here: .287/.379/.448 (64-for-223), 7 HR, 15 2B, 24 RBIs, 36 R, 28 BB, 40 SO, 17-for-26 SB

No. 10 BEN REVERE, CF TWINS
Why He's Here: .420/.463/.594, 58-for-138, 11 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 20 RBI, 11 BB, 10 SO, 16-for-26 SB

No. 11 MATT LaPORTA, RF BREWERS
Why He's Here: .286/.395/.586 in 210 at-bats, 41 R, 60 H, 14 2B, 2 3B, 15 HR, 49 RBIs, 31 BB, 43 SO, 1/2 SB
The Scoop: LaPorta is making Brewers scouting director Jack Zduriencik and his staff look like geniuses for taking the Florida first baseman with the seventh overall pick last year. LaPorta and Gamel form the most dangerous hitting duo in the Southern League and perhaps in all of the minors. LaPorta is still getting used to playing in the outfield, but there's been no learning curve at the plate for the slugger with a slugging average .300 points higher than his batting average. The thought of adding LaPorta's and Gamel's bats one day to a lineup that already includes Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun is downright scary.
 
No. 12 MADISON BUMGARNER, LHP GIANTS
Why He's Here: 5-2, 2.10, 51 1/3 IP, 43 H, 14 R, 12 ER, 9 BB, 59 SO
 
No. 13 MICHAEL BOWDEN, RHP RED SOX
Why He's Here: 4-3, 2.20, 61 1/3 IP, 39 H, 18 R, 15 ER, 2 HR, 16 BB, 58 SO
 
No. 14 DARYL THOMPSON, RHP REDS
Why He's Here: 5-2, 1.55, 75 1/3 IP, 54 H, 21 R, 13 ER, 2 HR, 16 BB, 68 SO

No. 15 JEFF CLEMENT, C/DH MARINERS
Why He's Here: .369/.488/.738 (48-for-130), 11 HR, 15 2B, 34 RBIs, 32 R, 28 BB, 20 SO
 
No. 16 CHASE HEADLEY, LF/3B PADRES
Why He's Here: .302/.371/.524 (68-for-225), 10 HR, 18 2B, 1 3B, 30 RBIs, 41 R, 22 BB, 58 SO

No. 17 JAIME GARCIA, LHP CARDINALS
Why He's Here: 4-2, 2.81, 64 IP, 57 H, 23 R, 20 ER, 2 HR, 23 BB, 64 SO
The Scoop: Garcia offers an uncommon package of being a prolific groundball pitcher who also has strikeout stuff with a low-90s sinker and a plus curveball. Garcia, who turns 22 on Sunday, struck out more than one batter per inning in Double-A and has continued his success upon his transition to Triple-A. In a system full of sinkerballers like Clayton Mortensen, Mitch Boggs, Tyler Herron, Garcia has separated himself with the quality of his pitches and his on-field success.
 
No. 18 TOMMY HANSON, RHP BRAVES
Why He's Here: 5-3, 2.55, 60 IP, 34 H, 21 R, 17 ER, 21 BB, 69 SO
 
No. 19 CHRIS TILLMAN, RHP ORIOLES
Why He's Here: 6-0, 2.68, 53 2/3 IP, 36 H, 16 R, 16 ER, 2 HR, 28 BB, 58 SO
 
No. 20 SEAN DOOLITTLE, 1B ATHLETICS
Why He's Here: .332/.420/.625, 69-for-208, 43 R, 15 2B, 2 3B, 14 HR, 45 RBI, 34-59 BB-K, 4-for-7 SB

Baseball America's Prospect Hot Sheet  is out and it is headed by just what San Diego Padres' fans need - a major league player who can hit and plays a position other than 1B.  LF Chase Headley heads the list and likely won't be eligible much longer.  A major league teams that bats Paul MAnulty 5th really can't call themselves "contenders". 

Before too long, I expect 2B Matt Antonelli to be recalled, too.  Pushing McAnulty and current 2B Tadito Iguchi into reserve roles makes the Padres that much better by putting McAnulty's patience and power into a pinch-hitting role and allowing the Padres to use Iguchi at 3B late in games without a precipitous drop in offensive ability.  (Yes, that says a lot about the Padres clean-up hitter, 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff.)

Nevermind the rumors that the Padres are interested in adding a AAA CF to displace whatever currently passes for CF in San Diego right now - Jim Edmonds and Scott Hairston hitting 178/265/233 and 210/257/400 respectively.  Adding Cory Sullivan and Matt Antonelli would also add an element of speed that is missing this year for the Padres.  The team has just eight stolen bases in a mere eleven attempts.

Here are a few other notable propsects.  Click through to get the whole list.  Remember there is a chat at 2:30 about it.

1. Chase Headley, San Diego Padres
2. Max Ramirez, Texas Rangers
3. Michael Saunders, Seattle Mariners
7. Fernando Martinez, New York Mets
10. James McDonald, Los Angeles Dodgers
11. Jason Donald, Philadelphia Phillies