I note that several of the players that look good today are players that were very highly touted as minor league prospects but struggled for a few years.

Vernon Wells is a good example. He came in a class that included a lot of flops.... Ruben Mateo was highly touted in that class as well as Travis Dawkins and many pitching flops. But it took Wells about 3 years to really blossom.

Angel Berroa is another one... I think he was rated as an A- prospect in the 2002 version of Stats Inc Minor League Scouting Notebook.

I had both of these guys at one point.... but when they struggled I gave up on them and traded them for players who could help right away. The reason I was so willing to give up on them was due to the struggles of top rated prospects like Mateo, Ankiel, Grieve, etc.

Another guy I picked up a couple years ago was Marcus Giles. I drafted him in the first round in two leagues.... and in my other leagues he wasn't taken until the 2nd round. Made me think I was the only one that liked the guy... but it worked out well.

What I am finding out now is that over time many (but not all) of these guys will work out if you are patient enough.

Now that the PB value cap is actually a factor patience will be even more important. When you're trying to get under that cap the three year project with a low PB value will fit easier than that stud reliever with a PB value of 2.500.

In summary-- the lessons I have learned are:

(1) Don't mortgage the farm to pick up a top 5 rookie pick (unless its a no-brainer like Pujols, etc).

(2) But once you have invested in a highly touted prospect hang on to them long enough to make sure you know what they will do.