Moving Up, Moving Down - Future Sleepers

Moving Up, Moving Down, this is my weekly fantasy baseball column for RotoExperts.com. This week I examine some hot properties and evaluate their 2009 potential. I hope you'll enjoy a small sample, or even better head over to the site and check out the entire article.

Future Sleepers

Jorge Cantu, 3B, Florida Marlins - He came out of nowhere once before with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (they still had the Devil in them back then) in 2005 when he hit .286/.311/.497 with 28 home runs. Injuries and a lack of plate discipline cost him the next two seasons. Now Cantu is back with the same great power and a more patient approach at the plate. Cantu is still just 26, so he should continue to progress as a hitter. Moving Up

John Danks, SP, Chicago White Sox - In most leagues, Danks was a late round selection or a single-digit buy at auction. His 5.50 earned run average essentially guaranteed easy acquisition. You will need a crowbar and a Saturday Night Special to pry him away from his owners now. He improved virtually every aspect of his game. He walks fewer, strikes out more, allows fewer hits, but the key was the increase in his ground ball rate, which has transformed his HR/9 from a disastrous 1.81 in 2007 to this season’s 0.66. The sad part for his owners is that the likeliness of Danks maintaining that HR/9 is very low, considering his career minor league rate was 1.30. Danks is worth keeping, but he will also be taking a slight step down in 2009. Moving Down

Carlos Gonzalez, OF, Oakland Athletics - He strikes out a lot. However, he has demonstrated acceptable patience at the plate, and in the minors he has shown the ability to hit home runs and steal bases. I place his ceiling squarely between Nick Markakis and Matt Holliday. He needs to get the loft back in his swing, but the breakout is coming in 2009. Moving Up

Matt Harrison, SP, Texas Rangers - He's been horrible in the majors when he hasn’t looked brilliant as he did on Saturday, when he pitched eight shutout innings with eight strikeouts. According to all the major sites, it was his birthday (August 16), but in the post-game interviews Harrison revealed that everyone had it wrong; his birthday was really September 16. Harrison is an extreme groundball pitcher with strikeout potential, an excellent combination. His problem in the majors has been the plummet in his strikeout rate from a career minor league rate of 6.37 K/9 to 3.09 in the majors. Draft him late next season or buy him for a song and you may have the next Cliff Lee on your hands. Moving Up