The Best Minor Leaguers You've Never Heard of (Pt. 1)

This is the start of a series I'll be doing to highlight some great minor league talent you might not have heard about.

Today's prospects:

Sean Rodriguez, SS Angels
RotoJournal Score: 92.7
Age: 21

Year Lg G AB HR RBI R SB AVG
2006 A 116 455 24 77 78 15 .301
2006 AA 17 62 5 9 15 0 .355
2006 AAA 1 2 0 0 0 0 .000

Rodriguez was off the radar in 2005, but put up big numbers at Single-A in 2006. While he made the jump to AAA in '06, don't expect him to reach the majors soon, as he's just 21, and the Angels are loaded with middle-infield type prospects. Still, 29 home runs and 15 steals means that you don't want to lose track of his progress.

Jay Bruce, OF Reds
RotoJournal Score: 91.8
Age: 19

Year Lg G AB HR RBI R SB AVG
2006 A 117 444 16 81 69 19 .291

Just 19 years old, Bruce tore up the Midwest League, displaying power and speed to make scouts drool. Jay had an OPS of .871 in '06, and was named MVP of the Midwest League All-Star Game. He should move through the Reds' system quickly if he continues to put up decent numbers at such a young age.

Emilio Bonifacio, 2B Diamondbacks
RotoJournal Score: 85.7
Age: 21

Year Lg G AB HR RBI R SB AVG
2006 A 130 546 7 50 117 61 .321

Bonifacio, a switch-hitter, had a great season in the Single-A California League, including an .824 OPS. He has blazing speed, and turned some heads in Diamondback camp this spring. Bonifacio's time from home to first is just 3.9 seconds. His power numbers bear monitoring, as he played in a hitters park in 2006.