An All-Star in each of his last two seasons, Thigpen is the heir apparent to the Jays’ catching job. Drafted because of his bat, his defense has come along much better than expected. With Greg Zaun as the starter, Toronto will make room for Thigpen whenever he’s ready.

Cannon has always shown power, with 59 homers over the past two seasons. But he’d also struck out nearly 300 times in 2005-2006. He may have started putting it together in the AFL, where he won MVP honors and finished first in homers, RBIs and SLG while coming in fourth in the batting race.

He’s getting his shot now as the Red Sox second baseman, and for good reason. He’s hit .308 in the Minors since being drafted in 2004 to go along with a nifty .392 OBP. He’s extremely difficult to strike out and his .454 SLG shows he’s got more pop than you’d expect from a diminutive middle infielder.

The first high school bat taken in the 2006 draft, Rowell didn’t disappoint in his debut, hitting .328 with a .918 OPS at two stops. He’s the best impact bat in the O’s system now, and while a strained oblique has slowed him this spring, he’ll move quickly through the system, even if he eventually gets a new defensive home.

It’s not easy to stand out in the Rays' system, with all of those offensive prospects, but Brignac did just that by winning California League MVP honors and then continuing to hit while helping Montgomery win the Southern League title. It’s hard not to like a shortstop who slugged .539 a year ago.

With the disciplinary problems behind him, Young is ready to begin what could be a storied big league career. He’s the complete package, and improved plate discipline will make him even better. He’s on the short list for AL Rookie of the Year candidates.

The Yankees haven’t been this excited about a homegrown hitting prospect in quite some time. He can do it all with the bat and will hit for power and average. He’s got good speed and a terrific outfield arm. Don’t let the fact that he’s 18 fool you; he could move quickly.

In his first full season, Ellsbury hit a combined .303, posted a .382 OBP and stole 41 bases. He actually got better when he got promoted and helped Portland win the Eastern League title. Now he’s knocking on the door and should be the Red Sox leadoff hitter and center fielder for a long time.

It doesn’t seem fair for the Rays to have added another premium bat, but Longoria proved he is just that with a scorching pro debut. He hit .315 with 18 homers (.597 SLG) and climbed all the way to Double-A, where he promptly hit .345 with three more homers in the playoffs.

While the Rays' bats get all the attention, there are also some legit arms to watch out for. McGee could end up being the best of the lot. The 20-year-old led the organization with 171 K’s (8th-best in the Minors) while posting a 2.96 ERA and .211 batting average against.

It’s a question of when, not if, Hughes reaches New York in 2007. A rough spring showed Hughes what he needs to work on in Triple-A, but with all the question marks in the big league rotation, it’s clear Hughes will be called on to contribute sooner rather than later.

A converted infielder, Salas has been pitching for only two-plus years. He’s been unhittable as a reliver in the Minors, striking out 156 in 133 innings. In 2006, he had a 0.71 ERA and .128 batting average against on his way to the big leagues. He’ll work his way into the closer role at some point soon.