Who Made Waves in the Desert?

PHOENIX -- The beauty of spring training is watching all the young players and trying to figure out which ones are going to be stars. In the quest to separate the hyped prospects from the ones who are legit, I've been polling scouts in the Cactus League to get some of their impressions.

The players who could make their presence felt in 2009 are after the jump.

Taylor Teagarden, C, Rangers: The Rangers have Teagarden (top right) and Jarrod Saltalamacchia at catcher, but word is that Teagarden has much more potential. "He'll shut down the running game. He can really catch, and he makes it look easy." He is more advanced defensively than offensively, but the bat is coming. Another scout said: "He is going to be an All-Star."

Chris Davis, 1B, Rangers: He's 6-foot-4, 235 pounds of slugger. He doesn't really count for a breakthrough because he played 80 games last year and hit 17 homers, but I wanted to share these comments anyway. "He's just a monster. He could come out and hit 25 to 30 homers this year."

Brandon Wood, 3B, Angels: This guy (top left) been on the radar for a few years. If the Angels can move Chone Figgins (to another position or another team), Wood will finally get his chance. "He has a chance to be very good. He has a lot of power."

Brett Anderson, LHP, A's: Thanks to the A's injuries and poor performances by more experienced pitchers, Anderson (right) looks like he'll go right into the rotation at age 21, with barely any experience above Double-A. "He's going to be a lot of fun. He'll pitch like a No. 2."

Jose Arredondo, RHP, Angels: Last year he had an impressive debut as a middle reliever, so he is perhaps too accomplished to really qualify for this list. Still, one scout said that it won't be long before Arrendondo takes the next step: "I think he'll be closing this year. That's how good he is."

And the players who are a year or more away ...

Sean Doolittle, 1B, A's: Doolittle was sent to minor league camp midway through March, but the A's kept bringing him back to play in big league exhibitions and he kept mashing. He's been compared to Don Mattingly defensively, and he's got power. "He's the position player that has got me the most excited... Guy looks like a big leaguer. He can hit, play defense, has life."

Kyle Blanks, 1B, Padres: Right now he's blocked by Adrian Gonzalez, but he (right) could push his way up to allow the Padres to trade Gonzalez for a few prospects. Blanks is 6-6, 265 pounds and he can he move. "It's rare that you come across a guy with his size, strength and polished approach at the plate."

Matt LaPorta, 1B-OF, Indians: Considering he was the top prospect the Indians got in the C.C. Sabathia deal, he'd better be good. By all indications, he is. "He is a very physical kid who has the strength, plate discipline and bat speed and leveraged swing to project plus power in the big leagues."

Michael Brantley, OF, Indians: The son of former big leaguer Mickey Brantley, Michael is not going to be rushed to the big leagues because of Grady Sizemore. He'll get there, though. He's a premium top-of-the-order hitter. "A great athletie with instincts for the game. He has an advanced feel for the bat and a short, quick swing."