Every Thursday, Minor Matters will unveil its Top 10 opposing players for the 2011 season. Yes, the Thunder are clearly the most interesting topic on this blog, but wouldn't be nice to hear about the next Matt Wieters, Carlos Santana or Stephen Strasburg to come through the Eastern League. Yeah, I thought so too.

No. 5 - Anthony Gose

Bio: A former Phillies prospect, he was dealt to the Astros in the Roy Oswalt deal, then subsequently flipped to Toronto for Brett Wallace. He's a speedy ballplayer who has potential as a Michael Bourn type (lazy comp, I know). He needs to make contact a little bit more, and work on picking better opportunities to steal.

2010: He entered the season at just 19 years old, and hit .262/.332/.724 combined between two High-A teams (Clearwater and Dunedin). He doubled 20 times, smacked 13 triple and seven homers, and swiped 45 bases in 79 tries. He was also a part of the Florida State League All-Star squad.

What People Are Saying:

One of the fastest prospects in baseball, Gose led the minors with 76 steals in 2009 but wasn't as successful in high Class A. He's still working on reading pitchers and getting good jumps, and he got caught a minor league-high 32 times in 77 attempts. His center-field defense and arm strength give him two more plus tools, but his bat still needs to come around. He needs to cut down on his strikeouts and put the ball in play more consistently. He could develop average power, though he'll be better off putting the ball in the gaps and wreaking havoc on the bases. -- Nathan Rode, Baseball America

While Gose isn't as fast a Gillies, he's only a step behind, and he's ahead of Gillies in terms of converting his speed into baseball value. He's an excellent base stealer with good instincts in the outfield, allowing him to cover a considerable amount of ground. Scouts saw a rapidly improving approach, as he learned how to force pitchers to give him better pitches by working the count more effectively. He had early-round possibilities as a pitcher out of high school, and his arm is a cannon. -- Kevin Goldstein, Baseball Prospectus

When You Can See Him: Gose and the Fisher Cats come in to Waterfront Park from April 29-May 1, June 3-5, June 27-29 and August 29-Sept. 1.