Matt Wieters

As minor league opening day has arrived, here’s a handy-dandy guide as to where the Top 100 Prospects are starting the year.

1. Matt Wieters, C, Orioles — AAA Norfolk (INT)
2. David Price, LHP, Rays — AAA Durham (INT)
3. Madison Bumgarner, LHP, Giants — Hi-A San Jose (CAL)
4. Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Pirates — Hi-A Lynchburg (CAR)
5. Travis Snider, OF, Blue Jays — MLB
6. Neftali Feliz, RHP, Rangers — AAA Oklahoma City (PCL)
7. Rick Porcello, RHP, Tigers — MLB
8. Colby Rasmus, OF, Cardinals — MLB
9. Buster Posey, C, Giants — Hi-A San Jose (CAL)
10. Jason Heyward, OF, Braves — Hi-A Myrtle Beach (CAR)

Manager Dave Trembley met with Wieters after Thursday's exhibition loss to the Florida Marlins and informed him of the club's plans

Team officials also want to hold him back for at least a few weeks to preserve a seventh year under club reserve, a strategy employed by the Tampa Bay Rays with Evan Longoria that led to his signing a long-term contract at favorable terms for the team.

Wieters needs to stay in the minors for the first 12 days of the regular season to keep the free-agent clock ticking for an extra year, but team officials have indicated he'll probably play at Norfolk for a month or two to get more professional experience before moving permanently into the major league lineup.

The bigger concern with Wieters is playing time. When will he see the bigs? In front of Wieters is the career backup/part-time option of Greg Zaun. I have a hard time believing that Zaun will hold Wieters off the position, and there is little doubt in my mind that Wieters will perform well enough to warrant a call.

I imagine the only thing really holding Wieters back is money. Figuring that the Orioles do not stand a chance to contend this year in the stacked AL East, the O’s may be wise to hold him back to delay his arbitration clock. If attendance starts to wane, then the O’s may be wise to bring up the young stud to put butts in the seat. Seemingly, there is no way they hold him in the minors past June.

FanGraphs Fantasy Baseball

Welcome to the first in a series of blog entries as we prepare for the fifth (yes, fifth!) season of the H2HWS! Over the next couple of weeks, I will be taking a brief look at each position, listing my top 10 at that position for 2009, along with 1 overvalued and 1 undervalued player - in my opinion, anyway! I'll be aiming to do one every couple of days or so.

The 08 Arizona Fall League season is over, well except for Saturday's championship game. The Solar Sox won their division and are sending Tommy Hanson to the rubber to face the Desert Dogs for the AFL title. The Dogs have won the last four titles.

The AFL has long been a breeding ground for the next generation of major league stars, a "Finishing School" so to speak. You only need to look at the past few All Star games to see that each team is packed with ex-AFL studs, and the talent this year is as impressive as ever. Some of these guys could make an impact in next years fantasy season.

Yahoo! Sports : Unmasking the next wave of catchers

As catchers such as Jason Varitek of the Boston Red Sox, Jorge Posada of the New York Yankees and Pudge Rodriguez of the Detroit Tigers near the end of their distinguished careers, a new generation of receivers is bubbling in the pipeline, with players such as Flowers and Taylor Teagarden, Matt Wieters and J.P. Arencibia, Mike McKenry and Jesus Montero advancing rapidly at the game’s most demanding position.