Major league prospects for 2003: some rookies who could make a crucial contribution to their big league clubs this season include pitcher Francisco Rodriguez, catcher Victor Martinez, first basemen Hee Seop Choi and Lyle Overbay and outfielders Joe Borchard and Hideki Matsui - Baseball's Top Rated

Baseball Digest, March, 2003 by George Vass

It may seem like a long leap to the majors for "green" youngsters such as Willis, Burnett and Williams, but it has been done before, and not only by Gooden. It could happen again this coming season.

It would be remiss not to mention a possible "wild card" pitching entry for rookie of the year honors. in either league. During the off-season the Yankees signed Cuban defector Jose Contreras, a right-handed starter with a great record in international competition. Contreras, 30, has been compared to Roger Clemens, with people predicting he would win between 15 and 20 games out of the box.

"He's good--very, very good," one scout said. "He has the potential to be an immediate No. 1."

At this writing, however, Contreras was not affiliated with any major league team.

Similarly, among position players, there was one Japanese sluggers without U.S. major league affiliation at this writing who could vie for rookie honors. The Mets were talking to third baseman Norihiro Nakamura, who hit .294 with 42 HR and 115 RBI for Kintetsu of the Pacific Coast League.

Of course, there was also an ample supply of position players honed in the U.S. minor leagues who would be competing for big league stardom and rookie awards.

Among the most highly-rated N.L. youngsters were the following:

First basemen Hee Seop Choi of the Cubs and Lyle Overbay of Arizona; second baseman Joe Thurston of Los Angeles; short-stop Bill Hall of Milwaukee; catcher Dane Sardinha of Cincinnati; and outfielders Marlon Byrd of Philadelphia, Tony Alvarez of Pittsburgh, Xavier Nandy of San Diego, Wilson Ruan and Luke Allen of Los Angeles, and Jim Rushford of Milwaukee.

Among the most promising A.L. newcomers:

First basemen Travis Hafner of Cleveland, Eric Munson of Detroit and Ken Harvey of Kansas City; second basemen Chone Figgins of Anaheim, Willie Blomquist of Seattle and Esteban German of Oakland; third basemen Mark Teixeira of Texas and Drew Henson of the Yankees; shortstops Ed Rogers of Baltimore, Brandon Phillips of Cleveland, Omar Infante of Detroit, Angel Berroa of Kansas City and Jace Brewer of Tampa Bay; catchers Miguel Olivo of the White Sox, Victor Martinez and Josh Bard of Cleveland, Dusty Wathan of Kansas City and Kevin Cash of Toronto; outfielders Hideki Matsui of the Yankees, Robb Quinlan of Anaheim, Joe Borchard of the White Sox, Coco Crisp of Cleveland, Rocco Baldelli of Tampa Bay and Jayson Werth of Toronto.

Some of these players are considered front-runners for the rookie awards, including Choi, Byrd, Hall and Thurston in the N.L. and Matsui, Hafner, Victor Martinez, Quinlan, Infante, Cash and Teixeira in the A.L.

Choi, 24, who is 6-5 and 240 pounds, has hit 82 home runs and slugged .528 with a .386 batting average during four U.S. minor league seasons. The Cubs let veteran Fred McGriff depart in order to clear first base for Choi after he hit 26 home runs at Class AAA lowa in 2002 and then tore up the Arizona Fall League.

He struggled with the Cubs in a September call-up, but the consensus is that he'll make good in a big way sooner or later.