Morgan Ensberg

After banging out 17 homers and 36 RBI before the calender turned to June, Ensberg went in the tank for the last four months of the season. He hit .204 with 11 homers and 17 RBI the rest of the year, and the Astros traded for Aubrey Huff at the trade deadline to take over as the regular third baseman. For the second time in three years, Ensberg tried to play through an injury with adverse results. As of right now, he will start at third base, but he's going to have to show more consistency if he wants to hold off Mike Lamb for the job, particularly with manager Phil Garner not showing much patience with him. Still, with his on-base and power skills, he's a good bounceback candidate.

His monster year looked a lot like his '03, which was the last time he was left alone to play third every day. He's older than you think, so don't get crazy about long-term deals, and consider that third base has become a very deep position before rushing to make him a high pick. He should regress in homers and lose a bit off of the counting stats as well.

Ensberg failed to build on a successful 2003 campaign, hitting just 10 home runs in 411 plate appearences in 2004. Ensberg lost the everyday third base job to Mike Lamb late in the season only to claim stake to it days before season's end. Ensberg is penciled in as the starting third baseman for the Astros and needs to improve on his power numbers to keep his job.

After narrowly making the team out of spring training and spending much of April bolted to the bench, Ensberg finally broke out and demonstrated the power potential that many had seen for him in the minor leagues. Having finally won the confidence of manager Jimy Williams, Ensberg is projected to be the Astros' starter at third base on a near-everyday basis. He crushes lefties (.316/.429/.592) and was serviceable against righties (.282/.358/.509), by far outdistancing former platoon partner Geoff Blum.

Ensberg is old for a prospect, so he can't afford to get off to another slow start like he did in 2002, presuming he even gets a chance to start in 2003. It should be noted that while Ensberg did not hit for power in the majors, his batting eye was solid, demonstrating the potential for improvement.