Some have already gotten the call (Justin Smoak, Michael Stanton, Pedro Alvarez) while others are still waiting for their chance (Domonic Brown, Jeremy Hellickson, Brett Wallace). Setting keeper leagues aside, let’s take a look at how these potential stars of the future will fare during the Dog Days of Summer.

Justin Smoak, 1B, SEA – Smoak was the guy that Mariners’ GM Jack Zduriencik wanted all along. Leaving Arlington will hurt, but Smoak figures to bat at the heart of Seattle’s lineup behind run-scoring machines Ichiro and Chone Figgins. Unfortunately that hasn’t been the case so far as manager Don Wakamatsu has been slotting Smoak at sixth in the order. Either way, Smoak is a great value in the second half as his .206 average and awful .231 BABIP should correct themselves, especially since Smoak has an astounding 23.2-percent line drive rate so far.

Pedro Alvarez, 3B, PIT – For 2010, I hate Alvarez. He has immense power and clobbered minor league pitching in the offense-heavy International League, but he struck out over 28 percent of the time in Triple-A and has fanned an incomprehensible 34 times in just 84 at-bats with Pittsburgh (41.7%). To compound matters, Alvarez’s 36.2-percent O-Swing% ranks 315th of 360 players with at least 90 plate appearances. He’ll struggle to bat over .230.

Jose Tabata, OF, PIT – Unlike his co-Pirate Alvarez, Tabata actually has some fantasy value right now – just not a ton. He already has eight steals in just 29 games, which would be just over 44 thefts per 162 games. Also unlike Alvarez, Tabata is striking out just 15.5 percent of the time and has 14 walks to just 18 strikeouts. Plus, the speedster is hitting line drives or ground balls 81.3 percent of the time…that’s a good thing. Don’t be fooled though. Tabata’s a one-category performer right now.

Travis Wood, SP, CIN – In three starts Wood has a 2.18 ERA and a minuscule 0.68 WHIP after turning in a one-hit gem against the Fightin’ Phils on July 10. Maybe I’m being optimistic, but I project Wood as a reliable second-half starter until he hits his innings limit. Consider this: In 42 starts at Double- and Triple-A the last two seasons, Wood has posted a 2.27 ERA. Given the Reds’ recent track record with young starters (Mike Leake, anyone?), I’m willing to gamble on Wood.

Domonic Brown, OF, PHI – In the interest of full disclosure, I have already stashed Brown on my fantasy team’s bench. Now, I’m in a keeper league so there is a little more incentive for me to roll the dice here, but Brown is that kind of talent. Unfortunately, he has nowhere to show off as Philadelphia’s outfield is loaded with Shane Victorino, Raul Ibanez, and Jayson Werth. The silver lining? Werth is in the last year of his deal and could be traded by the deadline. Brown’s recent promotion to Triple-A might be the Phillies’ way of getting him ready in the event that a roster spot opens up. Right now, though, he appears to be nothing more than a September call-up.

Jeremy Hellickson, SP, TB – The Rays started the season with a plethora of young arms in camp, and Hellickson was the odd man out and ready to jump in at the first sign of struggle in the Rays’ rotation. The problem for Hellickson turned out to be that Tampa Bay’s rotation was superb to start the year. Since then Wade Davis has come back to earth and is the most likely starter to be replaced, but it will probably take an injury for Hellickson to get his chance.

Daniel Hudson, SP, CHW – When Jake Peavy’s lat detached, Daniel Hudson latched on with the ChiSox. With a minor league strikeout-to-walk ratio of 4.18, Hudson is a prime candidate for successful spot starting with back-of-your-rotation potential.

Brett Wallace, 1B/3B, TOR – To answer your question, no, there is no more frustrating minor league player to keep tabs on than Wallace. When will the Jays promote him?! Apparently the organization has decided to demonstrate rare patience with their most Major League-ready prospect. Wallace strikes out at a decent clip (around 25 percent) and doesn’t walk a ton, but he makes solid contact and is a line-drive hitter. He won’t ever be mistaken for Stanton, but when he gets the call someone will add him to their team.

It’s a common phrase we use when something is said that really surprises us. It’s something so surprising you do not believe it at first and as the messenger to repeat the message so you can make sure you heard correctly.

Like most things in life, this saying can be applied to fantasy baseball.

April is especially a “say what?!” month because with just one month’s worth of data, numbers tend to be very skewed so here are my “say what?!” player of the 2010 season so far:

My 2010 “Say Whaaaaat?!” Team

C –  Jason Varitek – 39 PA/5 HR/.800 SLG
1B – Paul Konerko – Leads MLB with 13 home runs
2B – Kelly Johnson/Ty Wigginton – Lead all second basemen with 10 home runs
3B – Casey McGehee – Second among 3B in RBI (28)
SS – Alex Gonzalez – Leads all shortstops in HR (10), RBI (27) and SLG (.594)
OF – Andruw Jones – Nine home runs and six steals in 107 plate appearances
OF – Juan Pierre – Leads MLB with 15 steals…and has a .292 OBP
OF – Austin Jackson – Has a .371 BA and…and a .511 BABIP…Just sayin’

Surging

Juan Pierre, OF, Chicago White Sox

I mentioned Juan Pierre in my “say what?!” team above, but it was more because I could not believe that he led the league in steals despite posting an on-base percentage that is 50 points lower than his career average. Over the last week, Pierre has batted .313 and has a .353 OBP that has led to five steals. If he can continue to get on base at a decent rate, it is not crazy to think he can approach 60-70 steals this year.

Vladimir Guerrero, DH, Texas Rangers

It will be interesting to see how Vladimir Guerrero will respond to the hot summer days in Texas, but for now he seems like he’s back to his old self. He has batted .360 over his last seven games and hit four home runs and led the league with 13 RBI. The Rangers’ lineup is no joke and he should continue to get plenty of RBI opportunities batting in the cleanup spot.

Victor Martinez, C/1B, Boston Red Sox

Victor Martinez had a horrendous April, in which he batted .238 with one home run and five RBI. However, so far in May he has two home runs and nine RBI in just nine games. The entire Red Sox offense is starting to come around and Martinez will love to have the speedy Jacoby Ellsbury back in the leadoff role in the next week or two.

Falling

Carlos Pena, 1B, Tampa Bay Rays

Yikes! May has not been kind to Carlos Pena as he has come to the plate 34 times and walked back to the dugout empty handed 31 times. Out of those 31 failed at-bats, 13 were of the strikeout variety, which is downright embarrassing. By this time, you should know what Pena is and what he isn’t so a slump like this is not out of the norm. He will kill your batting average, but should provide you with 35-40 home runs so there is some value in that.

Chone Figgins, 2B/3B, Seattle Mariners

What has happened to Chone Figgins? I’ve been holding on to hope that he will turn around his season, but he is currently sitting on a .185 batting average and while he is walking more this year (17.5 BB%), his strikeouts are much higher as well (27.8 K%). He is affected by a very low .247 BABIP, especially for a speedster and his .194 BABIP on grounders is 70 points lower than his career average. All is not lost for Figgins, but he needs to get it going fast.

Hunter Pence, OF, Houston Astros

Through my traveling as a freelance writer, I actually had the opportunity to talk to Hunter Pence at a Reebok event in January and I asked him if he had big things in store for us fantasy owners in 2010. Naturally, as a Pence owner myself in 2009, I was left both excited and disappointed at the end of the season, but it has become clear to me that when Pence told me he wouldn’t disappoint this season he was lying right to my face. Well, Mr. Pence, not only have you discouraged me from asking other baseball players fantasy-related questions in the future, but you are hereby shunned from my fantasy teams FO-RE-VER. Yes, I displayed absolutely no stats in this paragraph so here is a link to his Yahoo! player page.

Pickup of the Week

Mike Aviles, SS, Kansas City Royals

Mike Aviles was everyone’s favorite sleeper middle infielder for the 2009 season. Thirty-six games and a .183 batting average later, Aviles was a huge bust. He was recently called up from Triple-A when Alex Gordon was demoted and in eight games Aviles has batted .417 with two home runs and five runs. He is definitely worth a look because he plays a very shallow position that is full of underachieving players such as Alexei Ramirez, Yunel Escobar and Asdrubal Cabrera.

On the Mend

Nelson Cruz, OF, Texas Rangers

Cruz was placed on the DL on April 27 with a hamstring cramp and the rest has appeared to work wonders. He is scheduled to start a rehab assignment today and if all goes well he should be back in the major leagues by Thursday or Friday. Hamstring injuries are always unpredictable but it seems like Cruz owners should prepare to activate the slugger very soon.

Down on the Farm

Brett Wallace, 1B, Toronto Blue Jays

How does Brett Wallace sleep at night? He has nine home runs in 31 games down at Triple-A to go along with a triple slash line of .294/.361/.597. Then he looks up at the current Blue Jays lineup and sees Lyle Overbay starting at first base and he is slugging .301 in 32 games. Yes, you read that right. Overbay’s slugging percentage is almost the same as Wallace’s batting average. It is only a matter of time before Wallace gets the call to the big leagues and once he is up he will show that he has the ability to get on base and hit for decent power.

“1. Tyler Flowers
2. Dayan Viciedo
3. Jordan Danks
4. Kyle Drabek
5. Brett Wallace

Also, what do you think about Domonic Brown? I would think about drafting him and keeping him on the bench for the year. He’s supposed to be big.

What do you think?”

Well, here’s what we think:

Tyler Flowers (C – CHW)

He’s ready to play in the majors now because of his bat, which is all you should care about, but the White Sox will hold him back a little longer because he isn’t up to speed defensively. He has great power and patience at the plate (15 HR, .423 OBP in 108 games last year), but he probably won’t see a lot of time as an everyday catcher unless something happens to A.J. Pierzynski or the White Sox fall out of the race fairly early. When he does get the call to the majors, I could see him hitting 18-22 home runs in a full season with good walk numbers, but he will strike out frequently and could struggle with his batting average early on. Remember, Matt Wieters didn’t put it all together until September so it would be wise to temper expectations for Flowers right off the bat.

Dayan Viciedo (3B – CHW)

Viciedo is another Cuban defect who is very similar to his fellow teammate, Alexei Ramirez, in terms of plate discipline. He posted a .317 OBP with 89 strikeouts and 23 walks in the minors last season, but he did get better as the season went along. I think he is still a year away as he is only 20 years old (supposedly), and he still needs to refine his skills at the plate before he can be successful at the major league level.

Jordan Danks (OF – CHW)

Power isn’t his thing, but he could be a good contributor in runs, average, and steals in the future. The question is — when will he get his chance? The White Sox brought in Juan Pierre and Andruw Jones this offseason, which makes their outfield a little crowded in 2010. Danks started 2009 great, batting .322 with 25 runs and five steals in Single-A ball, but he battled injuries at the end of the season in Double-A and finished with just a .266 average. Watch him in spring training to see if he’s back to normal, but I expect him to start the season in Double-A with a short stint in Triple-A before we see him in the majors. He could be a September call-up.

Kyle Drabek (P – TOR)

Drabek came over in the Roy Halladay trade so there will be a lot of pressure and talk about him coming up to majors, but I don’t see it happening in 2010. He just came off Tommy John surgery in 2009 and had a very successful season, posting a 3.19 ERA while striking out 150 batters and walking 50 in 158 innings at Double-A. The Blue Jays are in no rush to bring him up this season because they aren’t playing for a 2010 championship. I could see him getting the occasional spot start if there are injuries, but it’s more likely that you will see him in September when rosters expand.

Brett Wallace (3B – TOR)

If we don’t see Wallace in the majors by May 15^, I’ll be shocked. He clearly has the offensive skills to play at the major-league level, and the Blue Jays only have the very replaceable Lyle Overbay standing in his way. Wallace, a lefty at the plate, is an odd hitter in the fact that he rakes against left-handed pitchers to the tune of .357/.441/.476. When called up, he should contribute in batting average and will get on base at an above-average level. His power is a little average for a first baseman, but he should deliver at a clip of 25 HR per 162 games. Definitely watch him in spring training because if he tears it up, the Blue Jays might be inclined to give him a chance right away.

Domonic Brown (OF – PHI)

Brown is the best prospect on this list by a decent amount because he has the highest ceiling. The biggest knocks on him right now is his fielding and lack of bulk, both of which should keep him in the minors for most of the 2010 season. Let’s be honest here; the Phillies are in no rush to bring up a 22-year old when he can’t field his position well. However, when he finally does refine all his skills, this guy could be a legitimate .300 hitter with 30-homer power and 15-steal potential — a true five-tool player in the making. He will be worth waiting a year before he get’s regular playing time in the major leagues.

There you have it.