Mitch Meluskey (.300 AVE., .401 OBP, 14 HR in 337 AB's) C, Arlen Pilots- Given Meluskey's knock on his work behind the plate (he threw out just 23% of potential basestealers last season), you can expect to see Mitch get most of his at bats in the designated hitter position. Pilot incumbent Jason Kendall figures to be Arlen's everyday backstop, so manager Brian McDaniels will most likely unilize Meluskey's potent bat as a DH against right-handed pitchers, where he batted .321, with all 14 of his homers in 280 at bats. Meluskey won't see many southpaws, as his average dipped to a paltry .193 with no homers in 57 AB's.

Rafael Furcal (.295 AVE., .394 OBP, 40 SB's) SS/2B, Arlen Pilots- The speedy Furcal could have the largest impact of any of the 2001 rookies. Arlen already has a young star at shortstop in free agent Miguel Tejada, so expect the Pilots to resign Tejada, trade veterans Edgar Renteria and Eric Young, and go with Tejada at short and Furcal at second. That would surely be an impressive middle infield for the Pilots.

Kazurhiro Sasaki (37 Saves, 3.16 ERA in 62 IP), RP, Boise Borg- The elder "rookie" import from Japan helps give Boise a very impressive bullpen in 2001. Sasaki joins Derek Lowe, Turk Wendell, and free agent Rob Nen to provide the Borg with a staunch bullpen crew to help bail out a weaker starting staff. Sasaki also gives Boise some insurance in case Nen's gets price tag gets too high for manager Larry Hill.

Mark Quinn (.294 AVE., 33 2B's and 20 HR's), OF, La Vista Longhorns- The rookie Quinn joins a very young, rapidly improving expansion team out of La Vista. The Longhorns, entering their second GGSL season, will most likely use Quinn at the DH position, partly because of his weak glove, but more for his .359 batting average against lefties. Look for Quinn and Ben Grieve to possibly platoon in leftfield and designated hitter.

Chuck Smith (3.23 ERA, 118 K's in 123 IP and 19 starts), SP, Montreal Red Dogs- You can pretty much pen the rookie Smith into Montreal's starting rotation. Smith, acquired from Lake Erie, will likely join Aaron Sele, Bartolo Colon, and free agents Brian Anderson and Denny Neagle in the Red Dog starting staff.

Scott Strickland (9 saves, 3.00 ERA in 48 IP), RP, Montreal Red Dogs- The home-grown rookie Strickland looks to play a very prominent role in Montreal's 2001 bullpen mix. Strickland join closer Bob Wickman and Curtis Leskanic to provide the Red Dogs with much needed bullpen depth.

Matt Herges (3.17 ERA in 110 IP), RP, Newtown Pioneers- Herges will likely see plenty of action out of the Newtown bullpen in the upcoming 2001 season. Look for the rookie to be the workhorse of the Pioneer bullpen, possibly leading the team in appearances and relief innings.