Jason Heyward

As January comes to an end and pitchers and catchers embark on warmer weather down south, fantasy baseball draft boards and dreams of greatness will slowly come out of hibernation. 

For those eager managers looking to get a leg up on the competition, here is a list of five young national league outfielders to target this spring. 

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Last season, the Atlanta Braves became the envy of the league, when MLB.com named Jason Heyward as the top prospect in their annual listing of the Top Prospects in Major League Baseball.

There are some guys in baseball I must accept I will never own. This is because their prices are projected so far ahead of their realistic value in fantasy baseball, that their owners will stubbornly demand my left arm for them, regardless of the statistics that place their value more in the appendix vicinity.

Some of them are overvalued because they are mediocre producers at very shallow positions, and others are superb producers at a position loaded with stars.

One way or the other, they just aren’t worth inquiring about anymore. 

The Atlanta Braves look like they are headed in a good direction after the signing of Dan Uggla, a scrappy power hitting right-handed second baseman.  The Braves definitely need some right-handed power in the middle of their order.  Someone like Uggla will increase production and also provide some protection for a youngster like Jason Heyward.

The first thing I will forever remember about Jason Heyward was his very first at bat as a major leaguer.

Facing a 2-0 count against a veteran pitcher in Carlos Zambrano, Heyward’s first swing connected with Zambrano’s fastball and flew into orbit, as did every Braves fan’s expectations for the 20-year-old rookie.

And the guy didn't disappoint.

The 2010 season started off with a bang when Jason Heyward hit a home run in his first career at-bat.  The Braves definitely had their ups and downs throughout the season but in the end the Braves and their fans couldn’t be all that upset with the results other than the fact that it marked the end of the Bobby Cox era. 

This past year presented Atlanta Braves fans with plenty of moments to relish.

This was the first time the Braves had reached the playoffs since 2005 and was the final season for venerable manager Bobby Cox.

But, I'm staying away from those topics for this slideshow.

Instead, I'm focusing on singular moments over the course of the calendar year that Braves fans will be talking about for years to come rather than events that involved a culmination of years/months of dedicated work to draw their fanfare.

Though it was mostly Jason Heyward grabbing all the rookie headlines this season for Atlanta, Jonny Venters was the team's true freshmen MVP. Often times, the players that fly under the radar and have the least amount of pressure put on them become the major contributes to their team.

There are prospects, and then there are mega-prospects.

When each new baseball season rolls around, teams and fans evaluate the talent that each organization holds. Each organization has its gems, some of whom get compliments as the next Alex Rodriguez or Roger Clemens. 

In recent years, players like Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper, the Upton brothers, and Jason Heyward have been the league's biggest attention-getters. Over the course of the last 30 or so years, there has been seemingly more and more attention given the apparent superstars of tomorrow.

As a fan of the Atlanta Braves, we have had much to complain about for the past few years.  However, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I believe we should also consider a few things that we can give thanks for as fans of this great franchise.

The fact is that 2010 was just a starting point for what should be a nice few years of success in Atlanta.  I do predict the Braves should be very competitive in 2011 and battle the Phillies again for the NL East title.  I honestly think this year the Braves should win the division as long as there are no major injuries.