A quick primer to begin: This is not a list of my top overall prospects — Shelby Miller would not lead that list. No, this list exists only to serve those of us in fantasyland. The names that follow are, at this moment, the prospects who have the best chance at offering positive contributions for fantasy owners in 2013. My method here was quite simple: each player was assigned a grade for both potential fantasy impact, and for current opportunity. Those variables were weighed equally, totals were then tallied, and finally, I sorted out the ties and adjusted here and there as I saw fit. Opportunity grades are always tough. At this point in the year, circumstances can shift overnight and a prospect’s ETA can change dramatically (see Miller). My plan is to revisit this list before opening day, and also to keep a running Top Ten Fantasy Prospects throughout the year in order to keep us posted at any given moment as to which fantasy-relevant prospects are next to arrive in the bigs. In any case, this list should suffice for those of us drafting early.

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This post is about 3000 words due to wanting to cover everyone. Stupid, OCD! OCD Voice, “Don’t forget to touch your elbow 75 times before ranking these guys, it’s good luck!” Due to its length, I’ll get right to the good stuff. All the 2013 fantasy baseball rankings are there. All 2013 Fantasy Baseball Position Eligibility is there. All 2013 fantasy baseball sleepers are there. All 2013 fantasy baseball rookies are there. All 2013 fantasy baseball dollar values are there. All 2013 fantasy baseball hitter projections are there. All 2013 fantasy baseball pitcher projections are there. And everything tangentially related to nonsense is there. Anyway, here’s the top 100 starters for 2013 fantasy baseball:

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As of right now, Dan Straily is in the 2013 Oakland rotation. That is what I’m going off of for this post. So, if you’re coming from Google in three months wondering if Straily will be in the rotation, the answer is “I don’t know, but in November he was.” For more information on the question, click the “Home” tab on the top, go to my newest post and ask if my Dan Straily fantasy post from November still makes sense.

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Organizational Talent Rankings via Baseball America
2012 (26) | 2011 (28) | 2010 (12) | 2009 (3) | 2008 (27)

2012 Affiliate Records
MLB:  [94-68] AL West
AAA:  [86-58] Pacific Coast League — Sacramento
AA:  [64-74] Texas League — Midland
A+:  [56-84] California League — Stockton
A:  [67-72] Midwest League — Burlington (Beloit beginning 2013)
A(ss):  [33-43] New York-Penn League — Vermont

Arizona Fall League PlayersPhoenix Desert Dogs
Gary Daley (RHP); Brett Hunter (RHP); James Simmons (RHP); Max Stassi (C); Grant Green (OF)

Graduated Prospects of Note
Jarrod Parker (RHP); A.J.

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Okay, it’s more of a blog post than an awards show, but it’s still really effing prestigious.  Well, maybe it’s not prestigious either, but no one watches sports award shows anyway, and I think we can all agree that the ESPY’s would be much better if it were simply a short-form blog post.  I’ll be digging into team-by-team 2013 previews in the coming weeks, so what we have for you here is one last look around the 2012 Minor League Baseball action.  Enjoy.

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As always on Saturdays we come to you live and direct with some of the lesser owned two start chaps that may be wandering your waiver wire like a lost kid at the Walgreens.  This week has some tasty options of the buy low variety, and 2 guys that are especially hot and pitching stupid.  Stupid in this case is a good thing, and if I really needed to explain that then, well, stupid does makes sense.  So enjoy this week’s selections of pitchers with that two start persuasion.  (Please note that pitchers and match-ups change.)

Kyle Kendrick (Mia vs LeBlanc, Hou vs Lyles) True story, his porno name would be Sweetums Swampfoot.  Last 5 starts he has been money, 4-1 with an ERA a tick above 1.50, yes that’s a one in front.

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For the past few weeks I’ve been super pumped for Dan Straily‘s arrival — like, Brett Lawrie-on-a-shizzload-of-RedBull pumped.  I first wrote about him here, providing a little background and a brief scouting report.  Then, earlier this week, I rolled out my Top Ten Prospects for the Stretch Run, and Straily topped the list.  He debuted on Friday night.  I watched.  And what I saw was pretty much what we expected:  Straily worked his fastball at 91-92, touching 93 a handfull of times, commanding it all over the zone, and drawing variable contact.  He countered with his sharp slider and his fading change often.  Both offerings looked like plus pitches, generating whiff-rates right around 25%.  He also threw a few curveballs, but he used the pitch sparingly, and it looked like nothing more than a get-me-over type.  When he needed to throw strikes, he threw strikes.  And as his pitch count reached toward triple-digits, his velocity didn’t dip, and his pitch movement remained steady.  There was one glaring mistake, however:  the run he allowed in the fourth inning on a sac fly from Rajai Davis.  Straily flat out hung that slider — zero movement, 82 mph, fat part of the plate.  Davis should’ve blasted that pitch.  Check it out the Brooks Baseball charts from that at bat and see what I mean.  And check out the rest of Straily’s Brooks charts here — the site is off-the-chain cool.  In all, though, I was impressed.  The A’s ‘pen squandered his W, but Straily looks like he’ll handle himself very well going forward.  Go ahead and blow out your FAAB.

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