AOL Fanaticos

"Pitchers and catchers report" is already a phrase that brings elation to millions of baseball fans, but after a particularly nasty winter, it's even sweeter to know that Spring --and the 2010 Major League Baseball season-- is just around the corner. With the first 2010 Major League Spring Training games only weeks away, excitement for another great season of Major League Baseball is revving up.

Of course, for Latin American fans, baseball doesn't take the winter off. The Dominican Republic just turned in a stellar performance in the Caribbean Series, winning a tournament that showcased a number of impressive young Major League prospects. It's a good bet that a few of those prospects will soon take their place among the large number of superstar Latin American Major League Baseball players.

In that spirit, here's a look at what to expect from some of the top Latin American baseball players, including perennial All-Stars, prospects on the rise, and veterans on the comeback trail, for the upcoming 2010 Major League Baseball season.

ROOKIES TO WATCH

• Aroldis Chapman, LHP Cincinnati Reds The off-season bidding war for the 21-year-old (he'll turn 22 before the season) Cuban defector and World Baseball Classic standout Aroldis Chapman ended in the southpaw fireballer signing a six-year $30.25 million deal with the Reds. He will be in the mix for the fifth spot in the Reds rotation during Spring Training, but speculation is that his live but raw arm --his fastball has been clocked at 102 MPH-- and youthful inexperience will see him begin the season at Triple-A Louisville. However, if the Reds find themselves languishing through April and May, chances are that Chapman will be an early call-up. Much of Chapman's success, and perhaps the Reds, by extension, will depend on his ability to develop his changeup and work on controlling that blistering fastball.

• Neftali Feliz, RHP Texas Rangers Another hard-throwing 21-year-old, Dominican Neftali Feliz dazzled following his call-up in August of 2009, striking out 39 batters and walking only 8 in 31 innings of relief. The main question surrounding Feliz isn't so much can he perform, but where. Rangers president Nolan Ryan suddenly has a glut of solid pitching in Arlington, meaning he can continue to protect his young future star by using him out of the bullpen. However, the pressure will mount over the course of the season to figure out whether Feliz will take his three plus pitches, including a high 90's fastball, to the starting rotation or to the back end of the bullpen. A sudden drop in Feliz's velocity in September last season could point to fatigue issues, which may make the decision for the Rangers.


• Alcides Escobar, SS Milwaukee Brewers The situation at shortstop for the Milwaukee Brewers was made crystal clear with the trade of streaky J.J. Hardy to Minnesota, the job now belongs to hot prospect Alcides Escobar. The 23-year-old Venezuelan would love to have a 2010 season similar to the 2009 season of fellow countryman and shortstop Elvis Andrus, who combined super-slick fielding with blazing speed on the basepaths for a Rookie of the Year runner-up campaign. In his late-season call-up, Escobar was predictably impressive with the leather, but also put together a .304 average and scored 20 runs in 125 at-bats. He doesn't have a lot of pop, but with some improvement of his base-stealing instincts and a little more discernment at the plate, Escobar could slide into the number two spot in the potent Brewers lineup and plate plenty of runs while taking away quite a few in the field.


• Carlos Santana, C Cleveland Indians If all goes well in Cleveland, the confusion between this 23-year-old Dominican catching phenom and the legendary guitarist will quickly be sorted out. The music won't get started as soon as the Indians had hoped, however, as Santana was forced to undergo surgery on his throwing hand to remove a bone over the winter. He should be healed and ready to go by the middle of Spring Training, which is good news for a team that traded away popular star Victor Martinez and solid backup Kelly Shoppach to clear the way for Santana to be their catcher of the future. Once a bigtime catch-and-throw prospect in the Dodgers organization, Santana put on his hitting shoes in double-A Akron, clubbing 23 home runs and driving in 97 runs. Expect Santana to arrive sometime mid-season and be behind the plate for the Indians for many years to come.

THE STARS

• Albert Pujols, 1B St. Louis Cardinals It's hard to imagine the best player of the decade, according to Sporting News, getting even better, but that's how 2010 could shape up for Albert Pujols. The 30-year-old Dominican not only is enjoying greater arm extension thanks to an October surgery that cleaned up nagging bone spurs in his right elbow, but he is also looking forward to a full season with slugger Matt Holliday hitting behind him. With Holliday's lineup protection, Pujols hit .357 with 25 RBI and six homers in the final month of last season. Still, it would be hard to improve on his 2009 MVP campaign, in which he nearly set career highs in home runs, RBIs, runs and stolen bases, and received a career high 115 walks. Only an unsual drop-off in power numbers --he didn't hit a home run over his last 21 regular season games (he still finished with 47 bombs)-- shows any indication that Pujols won't continue his assault on the history books with his tenth consecutive season of at least 30 home runs, 100 RBI, and a .300 average.


• Felix Hernandez, RHP Seattle Mariners Long expected to become a superstar, Venezuelan "King" Felix Hernandez finally lived up to his enormous potential and more with an outstanding 2009 season. After going 19-5 with 217 K's and a 2.49 ERA (which includes a ho-hum 1-3, 4.30 May), only the mind-blowing brilliance of Kansas City's Zack Greinke kept King Felix from taking home Cy Young hardware. At 23 years old, however, the ace of the rejuvenated Mariners will have plenty of chances to win the Cy Young. More importantly to Felix, his team demonstrated a commitment to winning a World Series, signing him to a long-term extension through 2014 and significantly improving the team around him with the acquisitions of ace Cliff Lee and speedster Chone Figgins. The sky is the limit for King Felix.


• Miguel Cabrera, 1B Detroit Tigers One wonders just how good 26-year-old Venezuelan Miguel Cabrera can be. The game comes so effortlessly to him that at times he seems lackadaisical, and revelations about his past struggles with alcoholism seem to indicate that his newfound commitment to sobriety could unleash all new physical prowess from an athlete yet to reach his prime. That's a scary thought considering he has averaged 30 home runs, 108 RBI and a .311 average over his seven seasons. A slightly diminished Tigers lineup is the only thing standing in the way of Cabrera putting up career numbers in his third season in Detroit.


• Yadier Molina, C St. Louis Cardinals The youngest brother of the three Fabulous Catching Molinas, Yadier is also arguably the best of the bunch. He put together another outstanding defensive season behind the plate, throwing out over 50% of base stealers, winning his second consecutive Gold Glove, and handling a pitching staff that featured two Cy Young-worthy pitchers. The 27-year-old Puerto Rican was no slouch at the plate, with a .293 average, including a blazing .351 average in September, an on-base percentage of .366, and even nine stolen bases to boot. Make no mistake, though: it's Molina's game-calling acumen and cannon arm that gives him the ability to completely change a game in ways that don't show up in the box score.


• Adrian Gonzalez, 1B San Diego Padres It's simultaneously perfect and a perfect shame that classy Mexican-American star Adrian Gonzalez plays in San Diego. On the one hand, it's his hometown, and he's something of a local demigod just across the border in his family's native Tijuana. On the other hand, if Gonzalez hit in any other park besides the monstrous Petco, or in a lineup that had anyone who was even a kinda-sorta threat with the bat, who knows how good he could be? The situation could soon be changed, for better or worse, as Gonzo is the hottest trade chip in the bigs. Not only is he a Gold Glove 1B, but more importantly he is an offensive juggernaut, bashing 40 home runs, 99 RBI, and taking an league-leading 119 walks with zero lineup protection. A change of scenery, which seems nearly inevitable, to a hitter's park surrounded by a stronger lineup could see Gonzo putting up MVP-type numbers.

SOMETHING TO PROVE

• Carlos Beltran, CF New York Mets Practically the entire 2009 Mets squad could be on this list: Jose Reyes, Johan Santana and Carlos Delgado (who still doesn't have a team to play for), but for diversity's sake Carlos Beltran will represent his walking wounded teammates. The dynamic 32-year-old Puerto Rican went down in June of '09 with a bad bone bruise on his knee, and was not a factor again for the rest of the season. His woes lingered on into the winter, when he surprised everyone, including the Mets, by electing to have surgery on his knee in January, a development that pushed back his availabllity into late April at the earliest. While disappointed, the Mets are likely just hoping that Beltran can return to form for some part of the season, as he represents the only real meat left in their order. When healthy, Beltran is one of the most dangerous five-tool players in the game, though there has to be serious doubt about what kind of speed he will retain following the knee problems. As Beltran goes, so do the Mets offensively, and both have a lot of ground to cover in 2010.

• Francisco Liriano, LHP Minnesota Twins When Domincan Francisco Liriano came on the scene in 2006, he looked like the second coming of teammate Johan Santana, going 12-3 with a 2.19 ERA. Yet as happens with many gas-throwing lefties, Liriano's breathtaking rookie season was cut short by an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. Since returning after missing the entire 2007 season and half of 2008, Liriano has shown only fleeting flashes of his 2006 form. He spent the 2009 season trying to find ways to make up for a significant drop in his velocity, especially of his once nasty slider, to very mixed results. However, while pitching in the championship game of his native Dominican Republic league this past winter, Liriano looked a lot like his old self, consistently zipping his fastball up to 95 and getting some sharp break on his slider. If Liriano is now back to 100% following his surgery, he may again be the ace of a strong Minnesota starting rotation, and a contender for Comeback Player of the Year.


• Alfonso Soriano, LF Chicago Cubs It seems like a lifetime ago that San Pedro de Macoris, DR, native Alfonso Soriano was a 40-40 man, since the past three seasons have seen him steadily decline to a shadow of that player. Coincidentally (or not, depending on how close you live to Wrigley), those three seasons have come while getting paid substantially by the blighted Chicago Cubs. Injuries have been largely to blame for Soriano's woes, but one can't help but feel that perhaps at age 34 his best years have come and gone. Still, Soriano had successful surgery on his knee in September and underwent a rigorous rehab and strength-conditioning program over the winter. With the expectations put on him lower than ever in his once supernova-bright career, it's not unimaginable that he could have a solid bounce-back year, though a return to being a solid contributor all depends on if he can stay healthy, which is one very big if.


• Geovany Soto, C Chicago Cubs Staying on the north side of Chicago, Puerto Rican Geovany Soto has a long hill to climb to prove that his 2008 Rookie of the Year campaign wasn't a fluke. Injuries played some part in turning his 2009 sophomore season into a prolonged whiff-fest, but moreover it just seemed like Soto never got off the bus from the very beginning. In an effort to turn things around, the still young catcher enters his age-27 season a full forty pounds lighter thanks to a healthy, disciplined diet, and by all reports seems to be bursting with energy that he hopes will help spur the Cubs back into the playoffs. Despite his struggles in 2009, he still hit 11 home runs and drove in 47 runs --not terrible for a catcher who split time much of the season-- and managed a serviceable on-base percentage thanks to a lot of walks, so there's reason to be optimistic that the new sleek Soto can bounce back in a big way.