Sleepers: Arizona Diamondbacks
The Shallow
Felipe Lopez – 2B
How does a professional with eight years of major league experience fall onto a list such as this, you may ask? Well, Felipe Lopez experienced a fall from grace since his humongous 2005 season, where he crushed the ball from opening day on.
After going deep 23 times, and knocking home 85 RBI’s, while batting a solid .291, Lopez also showed some speed with 15 swipes, in what many considered a tremendous breakout type season with the Reds. Lopez quickly plummeted back to reality, losing his starting spot in 2006, only to get traded to the lowly Nationals and making the move to a utility role.
The next three seasons were sub-par, averaging a .262-9-49-25 line and ending up in St. Louis. Piecing together a solid enough run in his 43 game stint, he instilled confidence in the D’Backs, that he can replace O-Dog. Lopez has speed to burn, and with a little bit of protection from Conor Jackson, Mark Reynolds and Stephen Drew, could be a solid option to grab late in your draft. His versatility with the glove makes him much more valuable, as you can throw him into various positions. Depending on your league's settings, Lopez could be available to use as a 2B, SS, 3B as well as a LF. Lopez definitely has the goods to be a valuable fantasy commodity. Hopefully the fans in Arizona will get to see his rise back to relevance.
The Deep
Jarrod Parker – Starting Pitcher
The 9th pick from the 2007 draft, this crafty righty, drafted out of high-school, is from a mold comparable to that of Tim Lincecum. He doesn't have much weight packed on to his 6 foot 1 inch frame (175 lbs.), but still capable of flame-worthy goods, reaching upwards of the high 90’s with his fastball. Great movement on the inner half of the plate; however he needs to develop a mix of pitches to become complete. He hasn’t needed to develop much else, as he has mixed his speeds, and his control is phenomenal.
Many baseball pundits feel that Parker fell to the D-Backs at nine, as he was all but a lock to pursue a collegiate career at Georgia Tech. They were, however, unable to seal the deal, when Arizona signed him with less than two hours on the clock before he went back into the draft. With only one impressive minor league season under his belt, and much room to develop his arm, there is no pressing need to rush his progression.
With an effortless delivery, along with raw athleticism, excellent command and intense mound presence, Parker has the stuff that should comfort the D-Backs and their fans, as he is more than likely only a year or two away from being an important cog in the top-end of their rotation.
