Gonzalez, Banks: 1-hit wonders?

Everyone is always looking for the hot rookie, even though as fantasy purists, we know deep down only one of every 3.5 or so actually work out.

And maybe 1 in 10 live up to the hype.

But for those of you who missed out on Jay Bruce and Clayton Kershaw or Edinson Volquez or Evan Longoria, keep your chin up.

There's more goodies coming.

Oakland OF Carlos Gonzalez (above) and San Diego SP Josh Banks are two rookies who are hot off the press right now.

First, let's rap about Gonzalez, who was probably the most critical piece of the Dan Haren deal. Ranked by at least one publication as the top prospect in the Diamondbacks organization, Gonzalez is a five-tool guy, although the speed probably won't translate to double digit swipes.

The center fielder of the future for the A's hit .287 in five years of minor league ball and posted 23 and 17 HRs the past two years. Much like Jay Bruce (whose batting average in five games is still over .500), Gonzalez opened eyes in his debut, going 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and an RBI.

The biggest unknown is how much playing time little Gonzo will get in a crowded Oakland outfield, once the Travis Bucks and the Ryan Sweeneys of the world get healthy, assuming that happens. Teams usually don't call up their top-tiered prospects to sit on the bench, so expect 4-5 starts a week and if he performs, he'll play every day.

Oakland's a tough park to jack HRs, so don't expect a Mark McGwire-esque rookie season, but 15 the rest of the way is not a pipe dream. Gonzalez hit 8th last night, so unless he gets moved up in the order, his run and RBI production may be only borderline mixed-league worthy.

Quickly, I'll give you the 411 on Banks. Just a moderate prospect with the Blue Jays, he's finally getting a grande cup of coffee with the Padres and he couldn't be pitching in a better ballpark than Petco.

The pedigree is average at best: a former 34th round pick who has career minor league numbers of 4.34 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 7.3 K/9 innings over 761 IP.

But Banks threw 8 scoreless innings out of the bullpen (including 6 in the 18-inning marathon on Sunday) and this afternoon, he stretched that scoreless streak to 16 before the Giants scored a single run in the 9th inning.

Opportunity could be an issue once Jake Peavy and Chris Young come back to the rotation, but Young is having trouble smelling and tasting food right now, so a quick return is dicey at best. And with Shawn Estes as some of Banks' rotation competition, he doesn't have to be lights out to keep his spot.

Still, even in today's complete game gem, Banks only fanned 5 Giants, which is like only taking a couple circus peanuts and some hard candy from a baby.

He's a good NL-only or a deep mixed-league add, or if you're streaming a spot, looking for a guy with upside who could stick.