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Well, if the names in the title didn’t make you sit up straight and salivate, wait until you hear this. They’re almost here!!!

Arguably the two biggest names in prospectdom (I’m making words up now) are getting close to big league promotions. What in the heck are you going to do with your waiver priorities if they both hit the wire at the same time?

• Clayton Kershaw | AA Jacksonville Suns | Los Angeles Dodgers - Rumor has it, that Kershaw is going to be called up for a Saturday match-up with the Los Angeles Angels. So, what does he do in his final minor league tune up? He got shelled. Yesterday, Kershaw gave up five earned runs in 3.1 innings as his ERA ballooned to 2.21. However, if you look at the bright side, that’s the first time he’s given up an earned run since tax day, April 15th. He’s still striking out more than a batter per inning, and has 40 strikeouts and 11 walks in 36.2 innings of work. Expect many, many teams to execute the #1 waiver wire priority status if it’s made official that Kershaw will start Saturday. And check out Alex Eisenberg’s latest article about Clayton Kershaw at THT.
• Jay Bruce | AAA Louisville Bats | Cincinnati Reds - Let me get the bad out before I get to the warm, fuzzy stuff about Jay Bruce. Bruce is striking out too much at AAA right now. His contact rate is 75.36% as he’s struck out 34 times in 138 at-bats. But, he’s going to have to work on that “in the bigs” as Baseball America just made Bruce the prospect of the day today and stated that a promotion of Jay Bruce to Cincinnati could be imminent. Bruce has slash stats of .348/.375/.609 with seven doubles, four triples, seven home runs, and seven stolen bases in his 37 games at Triple-A. The biggest prospect in all of baseball seems to have nothing more to learn in the minor leagues.

To say that you must keep up with minor league prospects in order to win your fantasy baseball league is a bit of a stretch. You don’t HAVE to look to the youngsters in the minors, but boy can it sure help. Think about Ryan Braun and Yovani Gallardo from last season. Don’t you think the fantasy GM’s who were tracking them in the minors greatly benefited from signing them upon the call ups to the show?

So, we’re going to keep an eye on the minor leagues this season. Here we go…

1. Cameron Maybin | AA Carolina Mudcats | Florida Marlins - Maybin should have won the center field job for the Marlins out of Spring Training, but a little more minor league seasoning can’t hurt, right? Through 10 games in 2008 he’s averaging .303/.477/.545 with 2 home runs and 3 stolen bases and is just a quick flight away from Miami when Amezaga stops overproducing. Maybin should use the extra time in Double-A to work on hitting lefties, which shouldn’t be a problem for this right-handed youngster. MLB ETA: June 2008
2. Clayton Kershaw | AA Jacksonville Suns | Los Angeles Dodgers - What does a mid-90’s fastball with a plus curve get you these days? Well, if you’re Clayton Kershaw, it gets you to Double-A by the time you turn 20 and also turns you into the top Dodgers pitching prospect. He’s 0-2 so far this season in two starts, but his ERA is good at 3.38 and he’s got a very nice strikeout to walk ratio of 3.00 (12:4). The Dodgers rotation isn’t really rock solid at the #5 spot, and Kershaw could find himself pitching in Los Angeles earlier than expected if he keeps his K:BB ratio rolling along. MLB ETA: July 2008
3. Jo-Jo Reyes | AAA Richmond Braves | Atlanta Braves - This 23-year-old lefty was brought up to Atlanta a bit too early last season and suffered in 10 Major League starts with a 6.21 ERA and an abysmal 0.9 strikeout to walk ratio (27:30). If anyone could benefit from another year in the minors, it’s Jo-Jo. But, it doesn’t look like that is going to happen in 2008. Atlanta starting pitchers are dropping like flies and Reyes is really impressive so far in 2008 in his 2 starts.  He’s yet to record a victory, but he hasn’t allowed an earned run and has a phenomenal strikeout to walk ratio of 4.66 (14:3). MLB ETA: May 2008 (most likely late April… next week even)