Greg Halman

No one doubts Halman's power, which provided 33 homers and 21 doubles last season, but it is hard to project him as successful in the majors with a BB:K ratio that is otherworldly. Halman walked 37 times and struck out 169 times in 424 at-bats last season -- that's a strikeout every 2.5 at-bats. The last two seasons combined, he's drawn 66 walks and struck out 350 times. His tools are outstanding and no one will give up quickly, but unless he improves his strike-zone judgment and learns to hit off-speed pitches, there won't be a place for him at the major-league table. In 29 at-bats after a late-season callup with the Mariners last season, Halman had one extra-base hit, one walk and 11 strikeouts. He has the tools to be a 30-30 player (he managed to steal 15 bases for Triple-A Tacoma last year), but not until his strike-zone judgment improves.

Halman made no progress learning the strike zone last season, continuing to swing wildly at everything and striking out a whopping 183 times in 121 games. He can't hit breaking balls, but somehow saw enough fastballs to slug 25 homers. Blessed with tremendous physical tools (he's been compared to Ken Griffey Jr.), he's very unlikely to find success against major league pitchers unless his strike-zone judgment improves. Halman is just 22 and still has time to adjust, but this is a definite high-risk, high-reward type player.

The organization's minor league player of the year, Halman has huge power and excellent speed. He totaled 63 extra-base hits, including 29 homers, and 31 stolen bases (in 38 attempts) between High-A and Double-A last season. He remains a high-risk/high-reward player, though, because of his strike zone judgment, which improved last season from horrendous to poor. Halman struck out an eye-popping 142 times in 128 games last season with 32 walks. He kept that up through 21 games of the Arizona Fall League with 37 strikeouts and two walks. This is a big season for Halman, who needs to improve his eye at the plate and learn to hit breaking balls. Halman could make it to Seattle by 2010, but he's only 21, so time is on his side. At this point, he could develop into anything from a superstar to a massive bust.