By John Manuel
September 23, 2002

1. Andy Sisco, lhp, Boise Hawks (Cubs)
Sisco could have earned this distinction for being the youngest player with the highest upside, understandable given his imposing 6-foot-9, 260-pound frame. League managers universally lauded Sisco's size, stuff and athleticism (his family has an extensive football background), and expect him to get better.

That's a scary thought, because Sisco looked plenty good in his second pro season. Despite his size and the ability to run his fastball up to 95-96 mph–he regularly pitched between 90-94–Sisco dominated more with the poise and advanced feel for pitching that belied his age.

"You look at him and see him throwing four pitches for strikes now, and they will be above-average," Boise manager Steve McFarland said. "Right now, he relies on his split-finger fastball too much, and at one point we had to take it away. We wanted to force him to use his changeup and curveball more, and we want him to learn to pitch off his fastball."

Said Vancouver manager Orv Franchuk: "He looked like Randy Johnson early (in the season) against us. He was getting extension and getting right on top of guys. He showed a lot of poise."

As Sisco tired later in the season, he wasn't as consistent with his mechanics and short-armed his delivery at times. He still dominated a league full of older players.