Brandon Wood 2009

Few hitting prospects create as much disagreement about fans as Brandon Wood. His supporters point to his tremendous power (31 home runs in 395 minor league at bats last year), his age (24), potential for dual position eligibility (third base and short stop), and respectable minor league batting averages (between .270 and .321 in his primary level each year). His detractors believe that his tendency to strike out (147 in 545 total at bats in 2008) will prevent him from succeeding at the major league level. For 2009, there's also uncertainty about whether he'll spend the entire year in the majors. Based on his strong Spring Training so far (8 for 17 with only one strikeout), I think Wood will make the Angels opening day roster, and that he'll have some success. Don't expect a high batting average (.250 seems reasonable), but he should hit enough home runs to make up for that. Wood is a good late round pick in deep leagues, as he's a perfect fit for the high risk, high reward profile that you should be targeting near the end of most drafts.