Ryan Zimmerman

Zimmerman played second base for a high school summer team that featured B.J. Upton at shortstop and David Wright at third base, but he went undrafted out of high school. Teams won't miss out on the opportunity this time around. His bat control and elite defensive ability have the Royals and Expos targeting Zimmerman, and his polish could give them a quick return on that investment. His professional stock soared he earned MVP honors at the World University Championship last summer, leading Team USA to a gold medal in Taiwan while setting a USA Baseball record with a .468 average. Even more impressive to scouts were his team-best numbers in home runs (four) and RBIs (27) with wood bats. That allayed concerns about a lack of power after he finished with only one home run for Virginia in 2004, though he always has shown gap power. He was among the Atlantic Coast Conference batting leaders again this season and had six home runs. Zimmerman rarely strikes out because of his balanced, up-the-middle approach and shows average speed and good instincts on the basepaths. He's always had excellent defensive skills, with hands, feet, arm strength and range that all rate above-average. He has even played at least a dozen games at shortstop for Virginia, allowing the Cavaliers to get more offense in the lineup, and a pro club might try him in the middle infield. One scout called him the best defender he had ever seen--at any position--and said the only question about Zimmerman was how many Gold Gloves he would win. His makeup also gets high marks; he returned from his strong summer playing with the intensity of a walk-on.