I did not attend the Arizona Fall League in 2006, so I missed my chance to see Ryan Braun, Hunter Pence, Troy Tulowitzki and some of baseball's best rookies-to-be in action. But I was in Phoenix this past weekend, courtesy of the 13th Annual First Pitch Arizona, a fantasy baseball symposium hosted by our friend and colleague Ron Shandler from BaseballHQ.com, and I saw the next round of possible stars. The key is figuring out who they are and differentiating Brandon Wood from Kevin Kouzmanoff.
The seminar lasts for a few days and discusses the good and bad from baseball the past season, while also looking ahead so fantasy baseball fans can get a jump on 2008. There are panels with baseball and fantasy experts and fans come from all over to watch, listen and learn. Oh, and the weather doesn't stink, either. While most of the topic matter centered on young players we would be seeing while in Arizona, there was also time spent on the shocking Carlos Pena, the disappointing Andruw Jones and other veterans from the recent season.
We've got plenty of time this offseason to focus on the veterans, but here are some thoughts on the young players I saw. I was in the Phoenix area for two full days, and I attended four games. As a Phillies fan, I had hoped to watch recent first-round draft pick Joe Savery in action, but didn't get a chance. I also did not see Cameron Maybin, Evan Longoria or Adam Miller, for various reasons. But I did see plenty since there are six teams made up of 35 players each, with every major league team sending seven eligible players, generally in the Double- and Triple-A range.
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Eric Karabell
