If you are like most and wondering why the surprising A's, still in contention, would wave the white flag and trade Rich Harden for a pair of marginal outfield prospects, a pitcher and a catcher hitting around the Mendoza Line in Class A, check these guys out:

• Lefty Gio Gonzalez, a key piece in the Nick Swisher trade ...
• Righty Trevor Cahill, 20, their top homegrown pitching prospect ...
• And righty Brett Anderson, 20, a key piece in the Dan Haren trade.

As if they needed any more young pitching, the A's have already had a stacked young rotation. They are enjoying breakthroughs of Pitch-22 (good enough to start, once too valuable in relief) Justin Duchscherer and Haren trade chips Greg Smith, 24, and Dana Eveland, 24 -- a new-wave Big Three if you will.

That terrific trio above appears to be well on its way to setting them up well in the long term with the next wave.

Gonzalez is the closest, having the most minor league experience and proving dominant of late in Triple-A. In the past month, he has posted strikeout totals of 13, 12, seven (twice) in four of his past four starts. He has allowed just two earned runs in the past 21 innings, striking out 27.

For the season, Gonzalez is merely 6-6 with a humble 4.56 ERA, but he has a .239 batting-average against and 110 strikeouts in 102 2/3 innings. The 49 walks are alarming, but after the Harden deal, Gonzalez went out and posted six one-hit innings Wednesday night, fanning seven and walking just one.

A second-half opportunity could present itself to Gio Gonzalez. (Getty Images)

Unlike recently acquired No. 5 starter Sean Gallagher, who is more advanced despite being younger at age 22, Gonzalez is more a knockout pitcher in the mold of a Harden. Strikeouts and hard stuff tends to bring more homers, though, which is something Gallagher does a great job of limiting.

So, too, do Futures Gamers Cahill and Anderson. This pair of 20-year-olds have recently been promoted to Double-A and look like potential top 20 prospects in baseball next spring.

Cahill was our No. 1 player to watch in the Futures Game, having gone a combined 8-4 with a 2.62 ERA, 121 strikeouts and a ridiculous .167 batting-average against in 17 games and 106 1/3 innings between Class A (14 games, 87 1/3 innings) and Double-A (three games, 19 innings). He has allowed just four homers combined to date. Just four!

A rare combination of a groundball pitcher (almost 2 1/2 groundouts to flyouts) who also gets strikeouts and limits homers makes us believe Cahill is something real special. You can't hit him, he makes you hit it on the ground when you do make contact and you rarely take him deep. Wow. He isn't as certain to arrive in the second half as Gonzo, but he deserves to be owned in far more than just 2 percent of CBSSports.com's leagues right now.

Just a step behind Cahill is his left-handed Double-A complement Anderson, who is exactly a month older. Anderson is a combined 10-4 with a 3.87 ERA, 95 strikeouts and a .240 batting-average against in 16 games and 83 2/3 innings between Class A (14 games, 74 innings) and Double-A (two games, 9 2/3 innings).

Like Cahill but to a lesser extent, he is tough to take deep (seven homers allowed) and gets more outs on the ground, almost 2-to-1. Anderson is owned in less than 1 percent of CBSSports.com's leagues, so he too is undervalued in deeper AL-only and long-term keeper leagues.

Gonzalez is our initial pick to take a flier on in Fantasy immediately, but Cahill is the favorite long term. Both Cahill and Anderson can really raise their stock this Sunday at Yankee Stadium at the Futures Game. It should be fun to watch.

If you are hoping for a 2008 arrival for Cahill and/or Anderson, you might have to root against them this Sunday, though. They could position themselves to be the aces of Team USA in the Olympics, Ben Sheets-style.

Prospect watch

Every Thursday, we break down all the minor leaguers who are owned in at least 1 percent of our Fantasy leagues. This will be your essential guide to unearthing the elite prospects before they hit the big time.

CBSSports.com's most-owned minor leaguers
Player	TM	POS	Own%	All-Star break note
Francisco Liriano	MIN	SP	75	Livan Hernandez is The Franchise's likely ticket to a call-up
Clay Buchholz	BOS	SP	65	Returning Friday and can impact all leagues in second half
David Price	TB	SP	54	Still has yet to be challenged ... can anyone hit him?
Brett Myers	PHI	SP	53	He expects to return right after the All-Star break now
Clayton Kershaw	LA	SP	36	Struggles with command could be expected for elite young LH
Justin Masterson	BOS	SP	34	Returning in the Pitch-22: Good enough to start, too valuable in relief
Max Scherzer	ARI	SP	21	Still held up on the Triple-A DL, so second half is in doubt
Dontrelle Willis	DET	SP	21	Knee issue is a mystery and clearly the reason he is back in Class A
Tom Gorzelanny	PIT	SP	19	Just might return after the short Fantasy Week 16 (July 17-20)
Matt LaPorta	CLE	OF	18	Move to Cleveland could expedite his arrival, pending Olympics
Cameron Maybin	FLA	OF	16	Has been much better after a brutal April, but hot Cody Ross buys time
Ian Kennedy	NYY	SP	15	Not quite up to speed again in Triple-A, but might return in late July
Rich Hill	CHC	SP	13	Sent all the way back to low Class A to get his command in order
Homer Bailey	CIN	SP	13	He is winless in his past 10 starts, but he is pitching better of late
Josh Fields	CHW	3B	11	Didn't figure he'd be so worthless and Joe Crede would be an All-Star
Ian Stewart	COL	3B	8	Great potential, but he's stuck barring Garrett Atkins trade or move to OF
Colby Rasmus	STL	OF	8	Showed progress in June, but he has been held up in July
Asdrubal Cabrera	CLE	2B	6	Bat back to life, so deeper AL-only owners can anticipate post-break call-up
Brandon Wood	ANA	3B	5	Posterboy for free-swinging slugger that can't find consistency at upper levels
Felix Pie	CHC	CF	5	Talent is coming through in minors, but you really can't expect much in '08
Travis Buck	OAK	OF	5	A's are collecting underachieving outfield prospect with hope someone rises
Ronny Paulino	PIT	C	5	On Triple-A DL for past month, so there's not much reason to own him
Matt Wieters	BAL	C	4	Move to Double-A positions him for September call-up and spring 2009 job
Franklin Morales	COL	SP	4	Entered year with such promise, but he looks awful in Triple-A now
Matthew Gamel	MIL	3B	4	It should be interesting to see if he keeps this pace with LaPorta around
Andrew McCutchen	PIT	OF	4	His development gives Pirates chance to sell Jason Bay and/or Xavier Nady
Wladimir Balentien	SEA	OF	4	Free-swinging slugger, but Mariners are in position to get him shot
Nick Adenhart	ANA	SP	3	He has disappointed and the Angels pitching staff has become too stacked
Chuck James	ATL	SP	3	Should get another look in second half but Braves clearly aren't psyched
Jerry Owens	CHW	CF	3	Speedy but White Sox have no use for him and his SB success rate is so-so
Daryl Thompson	CIN	SP	3	Pitched well last time out, so he could get full look after trade deadline
Adam Miller	CLE	SP	3	He would be up dominating for Fantasy owners if not for another injury
Dallas McPherson	FLA	3B	3	He really doesn't belong in Triple-A, so what are the Marlins waiting for?
Gio Gonzalez	OAK	SP	3	Has improved after slow start and Rich Harden deal can open door for him
Steve Pearce	PIT	RF	3	Got a brief look last week, but doesn't look ready to be major leaguer yet
Brandon Jones	ATL	OF	2	Has been disappointment in Triple-A, so clearly not ready for majors
Jed Lowrie	BOS	SS	2	Red Sox have considered making the move to him in the second half
Ben Broussard	CHC	1B	2	No way he proves useful in Fantasy if he sticks with this club
Jason Hirsh	COL	SP	2	Too strong starts in July should make him a candidate for post-break arrival
Rick Porcello	DET	SP	2	Elite talent is a bit raw, but the Tigers might need him down the stretch
Runelvys Hernandez	HOU	SP	2	He didn't warrant being owned while in the majors. Cut and ignore journeyman
Fernando Martinez	NYM	OF	2	Has nice bat speed for teenager in Double-A, but not an impact guy this year
Shelley Duncan	NYY	DH	2	Currently on DL in Triple-A, but Yankees don't seem to need him in '08
Matt Murton	OAK	LF	2	Has OPS bat the A's like long term, but heads to Triple-A for now
Carlos Carrasco	PHI	SP	2	We're excited about his potential to help, but Phils more likely to trade for SP
Matt Antonelli	SD	2B	2	Good strikeout-to-walk rate, but he has been a huge disappointment this year
Anthony Reyes	STL	SP	2	Cardinals rotation is falling apart, so Reyes should be called on in second half
Travis Snider	TOR	OF	2	20-year-old should get September look for rebuilding Blue Jays
Kendry Morales	ANA	1B	1	Ship has likely sailed on his becoming a big league regular
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