Will Jacoby Ellsbury or Coco Crisp be the starting center fielder in Boston?

While we have plenty of snow here at Farm Report Central, they certainly are not in Florida and Arizona, where Spring Training is well underway. With that in mind, here are the top five position battles to watch this Spring Training involving prospects:

1. The Florida Marlins Center Field

Cameron Maybin was the centerpiece of the trade between the Marlins and the Tigers this past offseason, sending Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera to Detroit. One of the game’s top prospects, Maybin has the potential to be a five-tool stud. However, Maybin has all of 26 games experience at Double-A, none at all at Triple-A, and his experience in the major leagues after his call-up was far from a positive one. Further, the Marlins do have options in center, the most interesting one being Alejandro de Aza. De Aza started brilliantly in April, hitting .303 with three RBI, four runs, three doubles, one triple, and one stolen base in 33 at-bats. However, a misdiagnosed injury would derail de Aza for months, and he would struggle significantly upon his return, barely hitting over .200 in his last two months. Will the speedy de Aza get another chance, or will the Marlins trust the raw Maybin?

2. The Boston Red Sox Center Field

Is Coco Crisp going to have a chance to regain his center field job? For right now, the Red Sox’ official website lists Crisp as the starting center fielder, but after his postseason struggles, and the successes of Jacoby Ellsbury after replacing Crisp, have many wondering whether he will return to the outfield as a starter in 2008. Most of the trade rumors this winter coming out of Boston have involved Crisp, but a trade has yet to occur, and one has to wonder if the Red Sox are willing to sit millions in salary on the bench in favor of Ellsbury. Of course, the Sox have money to burn at this point, and they have shown in the past that money will not dictate who does or does not play. Ellsbury is an elite prospect, but he is likely to be overvalued this year, considering his extremely hot late season call-up. Ellsbury is an on-base machine, and he will steal bases when he gets on, but he is also not going to hit for power, making the Johnny Damon comparisons extremely flawed.

3. The Cincinnati Reds Center Field

Our third spot, our third center field battle. This one is the most interesting, as there are multiple options here, but only one right one. Of course, when Dusty Baker is your manager, right options are not always the ones chosen. The best choice would be the top prospect in the game today, Jay Bruce; however, there are two other in-house options the Reds will look at, Norris Hopper and Ryan Freel. Hopper put up respectable numbers for the Reds in 2008, hitting .329 with 14 RBI, 51 runs, and 14 stolen bases in 307 at-bats. His lack of power, though, and his ability to play all outfield positions make him a far more appealing fourth outfielder. As for Freel, he has always been more attractive as a super-sub, playing anywhere in the outfield and most infield positions as well, than as a regular. Bruce is an amazing prospect, having dominated at all three stops in the minors last year at just 20 years old. The smart play for the Reds would be Bruce, but the rumblings out of Cincinnati, including talk of Kenny Lofton, indicate that smart plays might not be what we should expect out of Cincinnati this year.

4. The Washington Nationals Center Field

While he technically has too many at-bats to count as a rookie, with 184 at-bats last year with the Rays, Elijah Dukes is plenty young enough to merit discussion here as he is still only 23. His major league debut was far from special, and his baggage is certainly an issue. That said, he is also extremely talented. In 2006, Dukes hit .293 with 10 home runs, 15 doubles, 50 RBI, 58 runs, and 9 stolen bases in just 283 at-bats in Triple-A. The season before that, Dukes hit 18 home runs, 73 RBI, 73 runs, 19 stolen bases, and a .287 batting average in 446 Double-A at-bats. Dukes will be competing for playing time with Wily Mo Peña, Austin Kearns, and Lastings Milledge in the Nationals outfield. While Peña and Kearns are likely set, one could see Kearns beating out Milledge for the starting spot in center field. Milledge has more experience at the major league level, but he is only 22, and he too came to the majors with plenty of tools. However, with significant experience above Double-A, Milledge has done little to impress. In 346 career at-bats in Triple-A, Milledge has a .283 batting average, 8 home runs, 41 RBI, 61 runs, and 18 stolen bases (with ten times being caught stealing). In 350 at-bats in the bigs, his numbers are even less impressive, with a .257 batting average, 11 home runs, 51 RBI, 41 runs, and 4 stolen bases in 8 attempts. While not a significant sample size, those are also not numbers indicative of an elite prospect. As such, the battle between Dukes and Milledge is going to be far closer than most think, and Dukes could win out here.

5. The Colorado Rockies Second Base

Will the newly signed Marcus Giles show that he still has something in the tank, or will it go to one of the two prospects competing for the spot, Jayson Nix or Ian Stewart? Giles was simply horrid in 2007, hitting .229 with 4 home runs, 39 RBI, and 52 runs in 420 at-bats, and he has progressively been on the decline since his breakout 2003 season. Giles only signed a minor league contract, so the Rockies will lose nothing by casting him aside. Ian Stewart is a stud prospect still, but his is a far better third baseman than he would be second baseman. That leaves Nix. Once a stud prospect, Nix’ status has fallen somewhat, but the 25-year-old second baseman is coming off a very solid season in Triple-A, where he hit .292 with 11 home runs, 58 RBI, 80 runs scored, and 24 stolen bases in 32 attempts. Look for Nix to win out here.

That wraps up this week – next Sunday, we look at the top five stories involving prospects on the mound this Spring Training.