For much of this young baseball season, fantasy owners have been counting down the days until minor league phenomenon Stephen Strasburg breaks into the majors. While Strasburg has been dominating the hitters in the Double-A Eastern League and, more recently, the Class AAA International League, another excellent top-tier prospect has been paving his way to the majors.

Michael Stanton is the Marlins' best prospect in years, drawing comparisons to Miguel Cabrera, who broke into the 2003 World Champion Marlins roster at the age of 20. Stanton has been simply torching Double-A pitching and could reach the majors next month along with Strasburg.

Every baseball fan with even a passing interest in the sport has heard of Strasburg, and the fact that he is owned in 90 percent of fantasy leagues yields little opportunity to dispense meaningful fantasy advice. Stanton's name is not nearly as familiar to the casual fan or fantasy owner; therefore, he remains available in about half of all fantasy leagues.

Stanton has hit 16 home runs in just 38 games at Double-A Jacksonville. He is hitting .310 despite a 3-for-30 slump that ended with a 3-for-5 showing Friday night. He also has knocked in more than an RBI per game through Friday, when his ribbie total reached 39.

The power displayed by Stanton is awe-inspiring, but not surprising. As an 18-year-old at Class A Greensboro, the 6-foot-5 right-handed slugger hit 39 home runs in 125 games. He drove in 97 runs and hit .293.

Last year, Stanton split time between high-A Jupiter and Class AA Jacksonville. His batting average suffered with his promotion as he hit .255 on the year with 28 home runs. The major drawback to Stanton is his propensity to whiff. He struck out 297 times in his two full seasons in the minors. So far in 2010, he has not made contact any more regularly, striking out 42 times in 38 games.

Still, the Marlins brass are high on Stanton, and they are unlikely to promote him unless they can give him quality at-bats. They will have a difficult time keeping him in the minors much longer, and once he gets the call to Miami, he will become a must-have fantasy outfielder, like Jason Heyward of Atlanta has become in his rookie campaign.

Whereas Strasburg was the most common minor leaguer selected during fantasy drafts, another pitcher in his first season of pro baseball in the U.S. was a common choice by owners. Aroldis Chapman defected from Cuba to the U.S. and signed with the Cincinnati Reds. After losing out in the competition to become the Reds' fifth starter, Chapman began the year with AAA Louisville.

Chapman has had varying degrees of success in the highest rung of the Reds' minor league ladder. In his first three starts, the 22-year-old lanky lefty gave up one earned run over 15 innings. He struggled with his control, though, allowing 10 bases on balls in those outings.

In his next four starts, Chapman yielded 17 earned runs in 20 innings, walking 11 and striking out 23. Chapman's most recent outing, on Wednesday, ended his skid. He struck out seven, walked three and surrendered three hits in 5 2/3 shutout innings against Phillies affiliate Lehigh Valley.

Unlike Strasburg and Stanton, Chapman has not played well enough to be a shoo-in to reach the majors before September, especially with the Reds atop the National League Central, a position few anticipated at this point in the season.

Even so, there is capacity on the Reds roster for Chapman. Opening Day starter Aaron Harang has been ineffective this season, posting a 6.02 ERA and 2-5 record in eight starts. Harang is 14-36 since the beginning of 2008, and Cincinnati will attempt to move him at some point this year.

If the Reds fall out of the race, Bronson Arroyo is an additional candidate to be on the way out of the Queen City. When either Harang or Arroyo leave, an opening will be available for Chapman. Fantasy owners will want to keep an eye on moves the Reds are making, for when they appear ready to trade or reassign Harang or Arroyo, Chapman will become a viable fantasy option.

Dan Massey's Fantasy Sports appears each Sunday. E-mail him at dmassey@lnpnews.com.