Andrelton Simmons (SS-ATL) - The Braves already traded one shortstop of the future away recently, with Elvis Andrus going to the Rangers a few years ago in the Mark Teixeira deal. They won't make that mistake again with Simmons. Simmons was back in the lineup Sunday after missing four days with a shoulder injury, and if you factor in all the missed time due to the finger, he's already looking at being labeled "Injury prone". Simmons was 1-for-4 on Sunday to leave him at a solid .292/.342/.423 in 137 at-bats. Given he just turned 23, the sky is the limit, and I could see him being a top-eight fantasy shortstop next year, and that may be conservative. The Braves have always been known for their ability to develop young pitching, but here are a few guys recently who have come from their system on the offensive side: Jason Heyward, Freddie Freeman, and Simmons.
Jeurys Familia (P-NYM) - Familia didn't pitch on Sunday, but he's still worth a mention. Despite an ugly outing (.2 IP, 5 ER) in his last appearance on 9/20, he's starting to get some play as a future long-term closer, so that's certainly a guy worth a look headed into 2013. Familia, 22, has been a starter for most of his minor league career, and in 137 Triple-A innings this year, he had a 128?73 K:BB. Too many walks of course, but he does do a good job limiting the long ball and his fastball in the big leagues this year averages 95.8 mph. The Mets believe his long term future is as a closer, but they will surely bring in some competition this spring given his control and lack of experience.
Lucas Duda (1B/OF - NYM) - The Mets are reportedly toying with trading either Ike Davis or Duda this winter in an effort to build depth within their organization. I can't imagine them dealing Davis without a huge return, but if they do, Duda could very well be the team's starting first baseman. After going 1-for-3 with a walk on Sunday, Duda is batting a modest .245/.336/.397, so it's confusing as to why they are so high on him. Duda was much better last year for the Mets, batting .292/.370/.482 in 301 at-bats, but it's possible that pitchers have figured him out. He's seen his EYE dip from .58 to .44 and his contact rate from 81% to 70%, so in my book, he's probably a backup.
Ryan Wheeler (3B-ARI) - We don't know the extent of the injury as I type this, but after Chris Johnson exited Sunday's game after being hit in the hand by a pitch, Wheeler replaced him at third base. Wheeler then proceeded to draw a bases loaded walk, but he still had a modest .226/.284/.344 batting line at that point. Wheeler has just one homer for the Diamondbacks in close to 100 at-bats, so that's far from what the team would need out of a corner infielder next year. Wheeler had 15 homers in 362 at-bats for Triple-A Reno, but that's not exactly a difficult environment in which to go deep. He could still be the team's third baseman of the future, but that's far from certain.
Jordan Lyles (SP-HOU) - With the new regime in Houston, I think they will be fine long term, but the lack of quality pitching invokes comparisons to similar challenges in Kansas City. Lyles was supposed to be a quality #3 or at worst a #4, but after allowing three runs in four innings Sunday, he's now sitting with a 5.44 ERA in 132.1 innings. His K:BB is a modest 96:41 and he's allowed 20 home runs, so there really isn't much in the way of positives to say here other than he's still just 21 (22 in October). It's hard to see him adding enough velocity in the next couple years for his ceiling to be much higher.
