FanHouse Ryan Tucker

Wondering which young players could have an impact in the majors this year? Let MLB FanHouse guide the way in Better Know a Prospect. In this edition we look at three players from the Florida system, where much of the next wave of talent is still a few years away.

Cameron Maybin, OF: Maybin actually made his debut two years ago with the Tigers, but he hasn't played much and he still qualifies for this list. In Maybin, we've got a guy who's first two major league hits, including his first home run, came off of Roger Clemens. It feels like he's been around forever, but in reality he'll turn 22 the day before the season starts. Last year, Maybin get his first significant playing time at Double-A and he was pretty impressive, showing some good plate discipline and nice pop for a young guy. He's probably going to be the Marlins' Opening Day center fielder this year, and he's someone worth keeping an eye on.

Every Thursday, the FanHouse takes a look at the line play in one game for our weekly Between The Lines feature.

If you like upsets you had plenty to choose from this week. Between the Rams-Redskins, Cardinals-Cowboys and Browns-Giants, there were plenty of reminders of why suicide pools are so tough to win.

Among those upsets, the Browns-Giants may not have ranked as the biggest surprise, but it did bring up the question--where had this Browns team been during the first five weeks of the season?

In rewatching the Browns-Giants game, one thing was clear. If the Browns' offensive line plays like this the rest of the year and if Browns offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski keeps calling plays like he did on Monday night, they should be able to shut down the game's best pass rushes.

For the longest time -- basically 1999 to 2003 -- the Cleveland Browns made some dreadful decisions with their first-round draft picks. Obviously, it all starts with Tim Couch (1999). And then there was Courtney Brown (2000), and Gerard Warren (2001). Who could forget William Green over Clinton Portis (2002), and Jeff Faine (2003).

But with the dark days of Chris Palmer and Butch Davis behind the franchise, things have picked up in recent years. Kellen Winslow, Braylon Edwards, Kamerion Wimbley, and now, Joe Thomas and Brady Quinn. While it's easy to point to Quinn as the team's most important pick -- possibly in this version of the Browns' short history -- it may be the other 2007 first-rounder that ends up having the better career.

Cleveland's offensive line is quietly having a solid season. The unit is on pace to give up 28 sacks, the fewest in 13 years. This group is excelling with a rookie left tackle, and missing two of its best players: tackle Ryan Tucker and center LeCharles Bentley. But that's changing:

The news that Ryan Tucker has been suspended for four games for steroids is obviously bad news for the Browns, but it's not as bad as it could have been.

If the Browns had worked out the final details of a proposed deal to send Kevin Shaffer to the Giants in April, they'd be in worse shape. If they hadn't signed Eric Steinbach to a big money deal, and if they hadn't drafted Joe Thomas they'd be in trouble.

But unlike last year when LeCharles Bentley's injury started the complete destruction of the offensive line, the Browns can actually handle the loss of a lineman this year. Shaffer can slide over to right tackle and do a passable job (although as the Akron paper points out, he's not as good as Tucker) while Kelly Butler is still a solid backup. And if Bentley makes it back at some point this season, the Browns could end up going into Week 5 with seven legitimate NFL-starting caliber linemen.

Of course if you're Romeo Crennel you have to wonder if everything is coming together to make your life miserable. While Bill Cowher sits in an NFL studio waiting for a prime coaching opening, Crennel now has to face the Steelers, Bengals and Ravens without his best right tackle. That's not a good way to help ensure coaching longevity.

Terry Pluto's Sunday column is a smorgasbord of Browns notes, including several very interesting nuggets. The most interesting is that the Browns aren't planning on trying tackle Kevin Shaffer at guard, but they could slide Ryan Tucker over.

According to Pluto, the Browns plan to give Shaffer, last year's left tackle, time at right tackle in case first-round pick Joe Thomas wins the left tackle job as expected (he says the Browns expect him to be better than D'Brickshaw Ferguson was for the Jets last year). They don't feel like Shaffer would be a good fit at right guard, but they believe that Ryan Tucker could become a very solid guard, if he proves he's over the emotional troubles that sidelined him for much of last season.