After a long wait we finally get the grand entrance! Makes ya feel good, right? Especially if you had the patience to wait for it. Aaah, patience. It’s one of those things you have to learn. No one has it by default (haha, come hang with my three kids 3 and under if you don’t believe me), and it’s something you seemingly always have to ‘work’ to find. It’s a fruit of the Spirit. It’s also the fruit of an experienced fantasy baseball player.

Finding the right prospects ahead of the curve is a key element to the equation of winning in fantasy. Can you be the first to jump the gun and get the guy still in the minors that will come onto the scene and take you over the top? While they can backfire (ahem, my bad? Where you at A.J. Reed?!?), when they hit they can be the  to winning your league.

Think Ryan Braun in 2007 (.324/91/34/97/15). As a damn rookie in 114 games! Now, that was a different era, and Braun has different juices flowing through his veins now, but he wasn’t the only one to make an immediate impact:

• Melvin Upton Jr. in 2007 (.300/86/24/82/22 in 126 games – essentially his peak form)
• Max Scherzer in 2008 (3.05 ERA, 10.61 K/9 in 56 IP)
• Kyle Schwarber in 2015 (.246/52/16/43/3 in 273 AB)

Those are a few examples, and if you snagged those guys your team became significantly better after the draft. I’m not including the likes of Bryce Harper (2012) or Kris Bryant (2015) here, because they were almost universally drafted in their respective years, and, similarly, you should know by the title I’m not talking about the kid who made a great splash last year for the Dodgers, Corey Seager (.337/17/4/17/2 in 113 AB last season), as he was drafted this year. No, we’re truly looking for the player we’ve been waiting on, the player we’ve been patient with, but was largely undrafted. This week it’s a certain 2B we’ve been very patient for, and he’s finally here!!! Don’t look now, but he’s already creeping…

• Jurickson Profar, 2B (13.3%) – Oh, not the name you expected? Who’d you think I was highlighting? Trea Turner? C’mon now…I’ll take the better prospect. “(Gasp!) Did he really just say that?” Yessir. And I’ve been patiently waiting to say it for three years now since I drafted him in an AL-Only. Sure, Turner arrived in the bigs over the weekend, and is already up to 30%+ owned, but it won’t last long (called up due to paternity leave for Ryan Zimmerman), and I believe his perceived value is tied more to the infield situation in Washington than his own offensive prowess (he’s a faster Zack Cozart…). On the flip side, Profar was the #1 prospect in baseball three years ago, flashed incredible pop at a young age prior to his injury (only 23 yo now), and possesses enough wheels to get 15-20 SB in a full season. The playing time is the obvious concern here with Rougned Odor back from suspension, the Rangers committed to Elvin Andrus at SS, and the money designating Fielder as their DH, albeit undeservingly. However, Profar has hit safely in every game since his call up (7 straight through Saturday) with multiple hits in 5 of those games. Already blasting 2 HR with 9 runs, Profar is proving he’s both healthy and capable in his call-up. Even with Odor back, the Rangers should use Profar to spell Beltre, potentially fill in at 1B and DH (like he did Saturday) and get some OF reps with all their injuries. If he continues capitalizing on the opportunity, he won’t stay unowned for long as, if nothing else, he’s an incredible MI option.

Enough creepin’…Here are your Top 100 Hitters for Week 10!