Dexter Fowler 2009

The days when any hitter on the Rockies roster is considered a guaranteed success are long gone, thanks to the humidor, but with prospect Dexter Fowler unexpectedly winning a spot on the team for opening day 2009, I thought he'd be worth taking a look at. Fowler's main claim to fame is a .335 batting average (and .431 on base percentage) at AA last year. Unfortunately, he does back that up with much power (only 9 HRs) and while fast (20 SBs), he's not really fast enough for that to be a major bonus for his fantasy owners. Also, the high batting average in 2008 is somewhat out of line with the rest of his minor league career. At 23 years old, I think there's room for Fowler to be a pretty good major leaguer, but he's never going to be a fantasy superstar. I actually like him better as a 'real' player, where his excellent on base skills should make him a good leadoff hitter, and his ability to play center field gives him added value.