I've started the vetting process to decide who is in and who is out for our player profiles in the RotoWire Fantasy Baseball Guide 2011. It's an arduous process, but it's pretty valuable in terms of spotting non-obvious prospects and tracking some of the guys that we wrote about last year but might not have spent a lot of time covering during the season. Typically a team has 45-50 guys make the cut, and there's about 5-to-10 that I agonize over before cutting.

Our first team this year is the Atlanta Braves, who had more guys miss the cut but barely than most, perhaps because they have a pretty deep system, or perhaps because this is the first team I'm vetting and my scythe isn't terribly sharp yet. Here's the guys that came close but didn't make the cut - you tell me if I'm remiss in leaving them out.

Juan Abreu - Double-A closer, good fastball and strikeout rate, but a high walk rate and the Braves' deep bullpen kept him out.
Christian Bethancourt - Good glove but really had a rough year at the plate in Low-A - only 14 walks in 399 AB's.
Willie Cabrera - Low profile prospect - had a good year, but not much power.
Barbaro Canizares - Might have a chance at Randy Ruiz type of career in the AL or Japan. Awful defender, not that young.
Scott Diamond - Just average velocity and decent but not good strikeout numbers - gets overshadowed in this system.
Cory Gearrin - Sidearm reliever, might get a shot in the bullpen if injuries hit in 2011.
Yasser Gomez - Cuban defector, made his U.S. professional debut in Double-A as a 30-year old.
Lee Hyde - Late bloomer in 2009, stalled out at Triple-A, but still on the 40-man for now.
Mychal Jones - The toughest cut for me - Jones might make it to Atlanta by September, maybe earlier pending what they do with their shortstop position in the offseason. He's pretty toolsy, but also struck out 123 times in 504 at-bats between three levels.
Matt Lipka - Supplemental first-round pick in June, did well in the Gulf Coast League.
Adam Milligan - A shoulder injury wrecked his season, but had good power in 2009.
Brett Oberholtzer - Had a pretty sick year at High-A Myrtle Beach (107:18 K:BB), but his stuff has been described as "average." I want to see what happens when he hits the Double-A wall.
Jose Ortegano - Made the 40-man roster last year but then got torched at Triple-A Gwinnett.
Tyler Pastornicky - Came over to the Braves in the Alex Gonzalez for Yunel Escobar trade. Good OBP skills, currently playing in the AFL.
Scott Proctor - Still on the 40-man, for now, but I don't expect the Braves to protect him.
Wilkin Ramirez - Just never gained plate discipline as a skill.
Zeke Spruill - Missed a lot of 2010 with a broken hand. I don't think he reaches the majors until Sept. 2012.