Travis Denker is a prospect that most fantasy owners have probably never heard of. I first caught wind of Denker's name in David Luciani's 2006 Top 100 Prospect list at BaseballNotebook.com. Denker has been compared to Marcus Giles because of his smallish size and hard working nature. He's been projected by some as a utility player and others as a potential starting 2B/3B. What the future holds is up in the air but Denker is clearly becoming a prospect to watch as he nears a promotion to Double-A.
Here's a look at Denker's recent minor league performance:
Denker got off to a decent start in 2006 hitting .268/.420/.452 at Low-A Columbus as a 20-year-old but struggled when he was moved up to High-A Vero Beach, hitting .220/.309/.330 in 191 at-bats. The Dodgers decided to start Denker back at High-A again this season and things appear to have clicked for him. He's hitting .354/.419/.508 with four home runs and eight doubles in 130 at-bats. Denker's 16/17 K/BB ratio is the most encouraging sign from his play thus far. He's displayed good command of the strike zone throughout his time in the minors, even when he was struggling to make contact at High-A in 2006. Add the great eye to his power potential (he hit 21 bombs in 2005 as a 19-year-old) and postion and you have the makings of a very nice keeper prospect in fantasy leagues.
If you have limited bench space it probably isn't worth rostering Denker yet in shallower NL only leagues. If you are playing in an Ultra league with deep benches/keeper lists then now is a good time to consider Denker as he's going to be on the radar of a lot more fantasy owners next season if he keeps his offensive performance going throughout the year.
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1 comment:
Thanks for posting this. The Giants traded Mark Sweeney for Denker and that's starting to look like a good move. I like the look of Denker and the start he's off to with the big club.
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