Jeremy Hermida started his career with a grand slam in his first big-league at-bat. Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

By Mike Bornhorst, Special to SI.com, TalentedMrRoto.com

How to rank a collection of generally unproven talent? By overall ability? Track record? Immediate impact? Or some mixture of all three? Personally, I placed a slightly greater emphasis on players who were going to impact the game sooner, rather than later. Do I really think Kenji Johjima will be a better fantasy player than Andy Marte? No. But this year, only one has a job for sure.

An important thing to remember about minor leaguers -- they're "gap fillers," not cornerstones of your team. Fantasy championships are not won with rookies at the top of your rotation or as your first few outfielders. But knowing which rookies will produce this year allows you to cut corners -- you can bid a few more dollars on that star player, or take a player earlier in the draft than conventional wisdom dictates you should, because you're sitting on a rookie who'll get the job done at the end of the draft. Used properly, drafting rookies can play a key role toward building your championship team.

And so, on to this year's list. The top rookie this year is...

Ray Liotta, Chicago White Sox.

The guy played a great wiseguy, and now plays in a city once famous for its wiseguys. Just kidding (though he does have the top name on this year's list)

1. Jeremy Hermida, OF, Florida Marlins
Hermida inches ahead of Delmon Young in this year's preseason rankings based on the fact that he will have a job with the major league club on Opening Day. Hermida has power (.516 slugging percentage last season), speed (23 SBs in 386 at-bats last season), and has the glove and the arm to play a solid corner outfield. Hermida has a solid sense of the strike zone and will draw plenty of walks on his way to a 30-homer season. Young's upside may be greater, but when the final game of 2006 is played, expect to see Hermida have the better numbers.

2. Delmon Young, OF, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
What's not to love? Delmon's 20 HR, 25 SB and .336/.386/.582 in 330 Class AA at-bats earned Young a promotion to Class AAA. His numbers regressed slightly after the promotion (.285 / .303 / .447, with 6 HR and 7 SB in 220 at-bats). This regression, coupled with his age and the Devil Rays' outfield depth likely will convince the club to keep Young in the minors for the first half. This said, it would be a shock if Tampa didn't find a way to get Delmon into the bigs by the middle of the season. Expect a Ryan Howard-type of arrival, where two-plus months in the big leagues might be all the time he needs to cement AL Rookie of the Year honors.

3. Francisco Liriano, LHP, Minnesota Twins
He is the pitching prospect everyone's salivating over this offseason. With good reason, he throws can consistently throw a mid-90s fastball, slider, and a changeup for strikes, and his velocity and control have improved as he's progressed through the system. The guy struck out 234 batters across three levels (including a brief stop in the majors), so he deserves this attention. Durability issues exist, but it's been more than two seasons since Liriano's missed a significant period due to an injury. Expect the Twins to keep him on a short leash when they trot him out for his first full season in the bigs.

4. Prince Fielder, 1B, Milwaukee Brewers
How many home runs will Prince Fielder hit this season? More than the Brewers' former first baseman (Lyle Overbay), but less than his father (Cecil Fielder). How's that for hedging one's bet. By now Fielder is a known commodity in the fantasy world. Clubbing 30-plus homers shouldn't be a challenge. Not much speed, but that's about the only gripe regarding his game. Fielder should finish among the top half of NL first basemen by the time the season is complete.

5. Conor Jackson, 1B, Arizona Diamondbacks
Signs this spring point to Jackson winning Arizona's starting first base job. But what can we expect from Jackson during his first full season in the big leagues? Look for him to get plenty of RBI opportunities, batting in either the third or fifth spot in the lineup. A notch below fellow frosh first-sacker Fielder, if for no other reason that he doesn't do any one category exceptionally well, Jackson will steal bases, score runs and generally help your team in every offensive category.

6. Matt Cain, RHP, San Francisco Giants
Slated to start the season as the Giant's fourth starter, Cain still (barely) qualifies as a rookie -- his 46 big league innings is dangerously close to ineligibility. Cain brought the pain in 2005, with a 2.33 ERA and sub-1 WHIP during his stay with the Giants. On draft day, he's not gonna come cheaply.

7. Justin Verlander, RHP, Detroit Tigers
Yep, a Detroit Tiger pitcher is one of the top prospects in baseball. The last time that happened, the guy was a guy named John Smoltz. Let's hope one plays out more favorably for the fans in the Motor City. His fastball hits the upper 90s, and at times Verlander appears unhittable. If he doesn't start the season in the big leagues, he'll finish it there. You want Verlander on your fantasy team.

8. Ryan Zimmerman, 3B, Washington Nationals
It took Zimmerman just 250 at-bats to reach the majors. The third baseman started 2005 as a student at Virginia and ended up giving Vinny Castilla his walking papers. Zimmerman doesn't bring a lot of power to the table, but his command of the strike zone is outstanding -- expect solid numbers in average, runs and RBIs should you add Zimmerman to your squad. There are players with more potential ranked lower than him on this list, but given his near-lock on a starting job, he goes into the season as a front-runner for NL Rookie of the Year honors.

9. Kenji Johjima, C, Seattle Mariners
He's technically a rookie, but he's hardly the unknown commodity as your average 19-year-old Class A ball player. Johjima averaged 30 homers a season for each of the past five seasons in Japan. Skeptics point to the shorter fences in Japan's baseball leagues, but that didn't seem to hurt Hideki Matsui. Expect .270 AVG and 20 HR and you'll be happy.

10. Anthony Reyes, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals
Reyes is already well known to most fantasy players. His 2005 Class AAA campaign was outstanding, and he kept on keeping on during his big-league debut last season (2.61 ERA in 13 IP). Reyes is the real deal. Look for him to bump Jason Marquis down to the fifth starter's role before the All-Star Break.