Fantasy Impact: All Breakout Team

The Holy Grail in fantasy baseball is to land that breakout player. A player who other owners ignore and you draft late, or pick up on the free agent market, and he busts out to unexpecedly(to everyone but you) carry your team to the championship. So, who is this year's Ben Zobrist or Zack Grienke? I probably don't know any more than you do. It's always fun to try to predict who might have that big breakout season and make you look like a genius though. One disclaimer: You never want to build your team around hopes for a breakout season. It's always fun to prognosticate, but you are much more likely to get results from players who have established track records of productivity in the major leagues. Still, you also want to try to grab 2 or 3 breakout candidates late in the draft rather than settle for the mediocre proven production that may be still available. Here's my All-Breakout team for 2010. Criteria is that they are no longer Rookie of the Year eligible.:

Catcher: Matt Wieters, Baltimore Orioles- This one is a no-brainer. He's on pretty much everybody else's list too, so he's very unlikely to be a bargain on draft day. My only caveat is that I think his breakout will be so huge, it may be worthwhile to grab him right behind the elite hitters even if you already have Joe Mauer on your team. Wieters will probably out-perform a lot of utility players so you aren't hurting yourself by carrying two catchers. In the process, you deny another team the luxury of having a breakout, elite hitting catcher to compete with you.

First Base: Daric Barton, Oakland A's- First base was tough as there are very few first basemen who aren't already established hitters in MLB. Barton was supposed to be the centerpiece of the Mark Mulder trade to St Louis, it seems like forever ago as he has never been able to stick at the MLB level. He's going to get another chance this year as Chris Carter is probably not quite ready. Barton is having a strong spring and should win the starting job. He won't hit for the kind of power you want from a first baseman, but he'll hit for a high average with a great OBP and doubles power.

Also consider Chris Davis, Texas Rangers.

Second Base: Howie Kendrick, LA Angels- Kendrick's MLB career has been a disappointment so far. He had one false start with a demotion to the minors and several nagging injuries, but he ended up hitting .291/.334/.444 with 10 HR's and 11 SB's in 374 AB's. A full healthy season with an upward career trajectory could easily lead to a batting championship, with HR's and SB's in the high teens.

Third Base: Ian Stewart, Colorado Rockies- IStew was the darling of prospect watchers for years. He has shown prodigious power at the MLB level already, but is challenged t make contact and has been blocked at his normal position by Garrett Atkins so has been moved around a lot. With Atkins gone, he'll have a clear shot at the starting 3B gig in Colorado. With just a bit higher BA, he could easily put up 30-40 HR's.

Also consider Gordon Beckham, White Sox.

Shortstop: Stephen Drew, Arizona D'Backs- Drew was my pick for breakout shortstop last year, which should tell you something right there, but I'm not sure what. Drew has the talent and seemed poised for a breakout last year after a nice second half in 2008. Alas, he was plagued by nagging injuries and regressed. These kinds of players can keep on regressing and Drew appears to be possibly following the same path of a career full of nagging injuries, but they can also bust out bigger than anyone once they finally have a healthy season. Drew may be in a "perfect storm" situation where his normal development curve converges with a healthy season and enables him to play up to his prodigious potential.

Also consider Yunel Escobar, Atlanta Braves.

Outfield: BJ Upton, Tampa Bay Rays- Pretty much every thing I said about Stephen Drew could also be said about Bossman Jr. He stole 42 bases last year and we know he has the power potential. He is now a full year removed from shoulder surgery. Here's a player who might slip fairly far on draft day because he's disappointed so many times, but that could make him the bargain of the year.

Outfield: Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds- One rule of thumb in looking for breakout candidates is to look for players who were highly rated as prospects, but got off to slow starts in MLB. Some players just need to adjust, others may simply fall victim to small sample sizes early in their career. Bruce showed the power last year, was hampered by an injury and struggled to make consistent contact. Again, all it takes is health and a slightly better BA and he's putting up 30-40 HR seasons.

Outfield: Colby Rasmus, St. Louis Cardinals- At one point was a consensus top 5 prospect. Struggled a bit while the Cards promoted him aggressively. Put up good enough numbers last year that he's a good bet to show his full potential this year.

Starting Pitcher: Brett Anderson, Oakland A's- As good as he was last year, his peripheral stats suggest he might have been a bit unlucky. Combine that with his natural career trajectory, and you could easily have a Zack Grienke-like season. This is widely predicted enough that he may not be a bargain on draft day though.

Starting Pitcher: Jonathan Sanchez, San Francisco Giants- Another breakout that is being fairly widely predicted. Sanchez has the raw stuff to hang with anybody. Fastball in the mid-high 90's and emerging secondary stuff. He was terrific for the Giants last year after the no-hitter and has always had great K-rates. Just his natural career trajectory could easily take him to the next level this year.

Starting Pitcher: Phil Hughes, New York Yankees- Once one of the most highly rated pitching prospects in baseball, Hughes has struggled after an impressive start to his MLB career. He pitched very well out of the bullpen last year and could break big if he wins the #5 starting pitcher slot for the Yanks, as if the Yankees need another dominant starting pitcher!

Starting Pitcher: Yovani Gallardo, Milwaukee Brewers- Another highly rated prospect who lost 2008 to an injury and was disappointing in 2009. Look for him to put it all together this year. Bonus is he's a great hitter for a pitcher too!

Starting Pitcher: Homer Bailey, Cincinnati Reds- Another highly rated pitching prospect who has been a huge disappointment in multiple MLB opportunities. Finally started to put it together last last season going 3-1, 2.41, 37.1 IP, 16 BB, 35 K's. in September and October. Probably the riskiest pick of the 5 pitching breakout candidates, but if he has finally figured it all out, he could become a dominant starter as soon as this season.

Relief Pitcher: Carlos Marmol, Chicago Cubs- Many observers believed Marmol should have been the closer from the beginning of last season for the Cubs. He actually struggled a bit in the setup role after a dominating 2008, but Kevin Gregg struggled even more as the closer and Lou Piniella made the change late in the season. Look for Marmol to become one of the elite closers this year with the position settled.