Prospect Report: Will The Cardinals’ Oscar Taveras Be 2013s Mike Trout?

Fantasy owners are always looking for the next big thing. After finding it with (or missing out on) Mike Trout in 2012, you know fantasy owners are going to be looking that much harder for the next top prospect. Who could it possibly be? While no one is going to post the unlivable numbers Trout did, the Cardinals’ Oscar Taveras has the potential to make an immediate impact.

At just 20-years old Taveras spent the entire 2012 season at Double-A and more than held his own. He posted a .321 average, and did so in believable fashion courtesy of a .323 BABIP and 10.5% strikeout rate. It is the latter number that is truly impressive, as it was an improvement despite a step up in the talent he was facing (not to mention his young age).

He also showed power, ripping 67 extra base hits (37 doubles, 7 triples and 23 home runs). Just imagine what could be possible as he continues to mature and get stronger.

Throw in some speed (11 stolen bases) and what is there not to like? He has continued to rake this offseason, playing in the Dominican Winter League. Over his first 71 AB he was hitting .338 with 3 HR, striking out just 9 times.

Just to give you an idea of how good he is, CBS Sports’ C. Trent Rosecrans posted a quote from Kolten Wong, another of the Cardinals top prospects (click here for the post):

“The kid’s unbelievable, I’ve played with him for two years and that’s not changed,” Wong said. “His hand-eye coordination is something i’ve never seen before. He hits everything. Every pitch, it can be bouncing off the ground and he’ll hit it, if it’s around his head, he’ll hit it, and if you hit a pitch in the strike zone, he’ll hit it really far. That’s just how he is.”

Baseball America recently ranked Taveras as the second best prospect in the Texas League, behind the highly touted Rangers’ shortstop Jurickson Profar. They described him by saying:

“He has a smooth stroke that generates good bat speed and he uses the whole field. While Myers generally gets higher marks for his pop, some scouts think Taveras will have more playable power in the big leagues. He has a tendency to chase high fastballs, but his hand-eye coordination allows him to keep his strikeout numbers low.”

In other words, if you talk to players or scouts the consensus appears to be the same. Taveras is among the top prospects in the game, and having already mastered Double-A there is no reason to think that he won’t open 2013 at Triple-A. The real question is, will he arrive before or after his 21st birthday (June 19, 2013).

Regardless of when it comes, there is no question that he is likely to make an impact in 2013. For those in deeper formats, stashing him makes sense on draft day. If you are in a shallower league, monitor the news and be ready to strike. Is he going to be Trout? No one will, but he could easily be the best thing 2013 has to offer.

Make sure to check out all of our extremely early 2013 rankings:

• Catchers
• First Basemen
• Second Basemen
• Third Basemen
• Shortstops
• Outfielders
• Starting Pitchers
• Closers