Ambrosius on Rick Ankiel: "He's a solid prospect who should go for $16-20 next year as one of the Cardinals' starting pitchers."

Rick Ankiel, Cardinals: The Cardinals' 20-year-old left-hander is still looking for his first major-league win, but he was dominant in the minors. Ankiel went 13-3 with a 2.36 ERA at Memphis and Arkansas with 194 strikeouts in 137 innings. He took the loss in Wednesday's game against the Braves, but struck out nine in six innings to give him 25 Ks in 23 IP. He's a solid prospect who should go for $16-20 next year as one of the Cardinals' starting pitchers.

Pat Burrell, 1B, Philadelphia: Burrell earned a promotion to Triple-A at season's end and finished the year with a .339 average, 28 homers and 89 RBIs. The top pick of last year's draft is a disciplined hitter who will likely start the 2000 season at Triple-A before making his home at first base in Philly by mid-season.

Alfonso Soriano, SS, Yankees: The Yankees' hot-shot shortstop has 30-30 potential and was dominant at Double-A Norwich, hitting .305-15-68 with 24 stolen bases. He hit only .183-2-11 during his callup to Triple-A Columbus and will likely begin there next year before moving up to the majors. With Jeter in the way at shortstop, look for Soriano to move to second or third base, where he could develop into one of the game's top stars. He's only 20 years old, but fantasy-leaguers will bid $6-$10 for his services in next year's draft and hope that the Yankees somehow find a way to keep him on their big league roster.

Chad Hermansen, OF, Pittsburgh: The Pirates are beginning to stockpile some real talent, with this former No. 1 pick likely to start next year in left field. Hermansen hit .270-32-97 with 18 stolen bases and is only 21 years old. Playing alongside Brian Giles, Pittsburgh could have one of the best one-two punches in all of baseball.

Nick Johnson, 1B, Yankees: Johnson is a full year away from the majors, but he's a solid hitter who should hit above .300 on a consistent basis. He hit .345-14-87 at Double-A Norwich and will be brought along slowly with Tino Martinez signed through next year.

That's a solid five-pack, but don't forget about Texas OF Ruben Mateo, Colorado C Ben Petrick, San Diego C Ben Davis, Colorado OF Derrick Gibson and St. Louis 2B Adam Kennedy. All of them had solid minor-league seasons and could be impact players in the majors next year.

POTENTIAL PROSPECTS
Two players to keep an eye on for the future include Oakland 3B Adam Piatt and Braves' SS Rafael Furcal. Piatt won the Triple Crown in the Texas League, hitting .345-39-135 in 129 games. Piatt, 23, won the first Triple Crown in the league since 1927. Piatt was an All-American shortstop at Mississippi State who hit .288-20-107-20 last year in the California League. Don't expect a promotion to the big leagues next year ¡ especially with Eric Chavez in the way at third base ¡ but he's definitely a prospect to keep an eye on.

Furcal is the top speedster in the minors who burned two Class A leagues for 96 stolen bases. Furcal, a slick-fielding shortstop, hit .337-1-29 at Macon and .293-0-12 at Myrtle Beach. He's a long way from the majors, but with stolen bases on the decline these days, Furcal could be a one category wonder in the near future.

San Francisco OF Calvin Murray was named Pacific Coast League Player of the Year after hitting .334-23-73 with 42 stolen bases. But he's collected only five at-bats since his promotion to the big leagues as the Giants try to stay in the playoff hunt.

FREE AGENT FINDINGS
For fantasy-leaguers who retain players from year-to-year, it's important to know who can be free agents at the end of this season. It's not an all-star list, but there are several stars worth noting. They include Cincinnati OF Greg Vaughn, Cleveland RP Mike Jackson, Minnesota RP Mike Trombley, Mets' 1B John Olerud and Yankees' P David Cone. Vaughn, Jackson and Olerud could attract some interest on the open market, but Cone should re-sign with the Yankees during the off-season. Expect Cincinnati to also do everything it can to retain Vaughn's rights.

With little movement expected this off-season, teams may hold off another year, and wait for the big fish to emerge after the 2000 season. The list of free agents is almost too good to be true, with the likes of Seattle OF Ken Griffey Jr., Seattle SS Alex Rodriguez, Cleveland OF Manny Ramirez, Texas OF Juan Gonzalez, Houston 2B Craig Biggio, Houston P Mike Hampton, Toronto OF Shawn Green, Toronto 1B Carlos Delgado, Atlanta 3B Chipper Jones, Atlanta P John Smoltz, Cincinnati SS Barry Larkin, Philadelphia C Mike Lieberthal, L.A. P Ismael Valdes, Minnesota P Brad Radke, Yankees' 1B Tino Martinez, Anaheim OF Jim Edmonds and Yankees' P Andy Pettitte. Wow, what a free agent class.

Griffey and Rodriguez could command $20 million or more per season, with Ramirez getting $15 million or more per season. It will be interesting to see how teams deal with their current stars during the next year. Waiting until the end of next season to sign their own stars could be lethal for most of these teams.

RISING STARS
Pittsburgh knew they were getting a good player when they traded for Brian Giles during the offseason. But what they didn't know was that he was capable of putting up power numbers comparable to Hall of Famer Willie Stargell. Giles was hitting .310 with 36 homers and 106 RBIs through Wednesday and could be the first Pirate to hit 40 homers since Stargell in 1973. Giles was named the NL's Player of the Week and has hit 11 homers with 27 RBIs during his last 20 games.

For all the fuss that the Dodgers are making over Raul Mondesi, the star outfielder is having a pretty good season. Mondesi is hitting only .248, but he has a chance to post the second 30-30 season of his career. With 25 games left in the season, Mondesi had 28 homers, 80 RBIs and 27 stolen bases.

In case you haven't noticed, Texas C Ivan Rodriguez is also intent on becoming the first 30-30 catcher in major-league history. Rodriguez will get plenty of MVP votes this year as he's currently hitting .327-31-93 with 24 stolen bases. Keep on running, Ivan.

Speaking of catchers, one of the top-ranked catchers for next year will be San Diego 3B Phil Nevin, the former No. 1 pick who is excelling as the Padres' new cleanup hitter. Nevin played 31 games behind the plate and will qualify there all next year. He's been solid since moving into the cleanup spot and is now hitting a surprising .274-22-72.

Another 30-30 candidate is San Diego OF Reggie Sanders, who is hitting .292-23-60 with 31 stolen bases. Solid.

RECENT CALLUPS
St. Louis has called up Jose Jimenez, who earlier this season pitched a no-hitter and a two-hitter against Randy Johnson and the Diamondbacks, but was still 5-12 with a 5.81 ERA. He was sent to Triple-A Memphis, where he posted a 2-2 record with a 3.04 ERA and should get a few starts down the stretch. The Cardinals also activated Alan Benes, who hasn't pitched in the majors since July of 1997 due to shoulder injuries. Benes pitched 15 innings in the minors with three teams and will be held to a strict pitch count.

Toronto OF Vernon Wells has gotten 24 at bats with Toronto, but is hitting only .125 with one run batted in. This 20-year-old had a great minor-league season, but he's in over his head in the majors.

Kansas City DH Joe Vitiello is also off to a rough start, batting .214 in 14 at bats with three RBIs.

The Diamondbacks added a veteran for the stretch run, promoting former Oakland OF Ernie Young to the big leagues. Young hit .294-30-95 at Triple-A Tucson, setting franchise records in homers and RBIs.

ON A ROLL
Mets' P Octavio Dotel has pitched extremely well since being called up to the big leagues, winning his last seven decisions. Dotel is currently 7-1 with a 4.86 ERA and has allowed only 57 hits in 76 innings while striking out 76.

Other top players over the past week include: Greg Vaughn (6 homers, 13 RBIs), Baltimore OF Albert Belle (.517, 3 HRs, 10 RBIs), Arizona OF Steve Finley (.455-4-9, 8 runs), Boston P Pedro Martinez (2-0, 0.64 ERA, 26 Ks in 14 IP) and Houston P Mike Hampton (2-0, 0.64).

(Do you need instantaneous help on Draft Day? Fantasy Sports Magazine now updates its football Cheat Sheets, Top 100, position-by-position rankings, team depth charts and transaction reports every day at www.fantasysportsmag.com. Check it out for the most current Cheat Sheet to take to your fantasy football draft!)