Jack Cust
The Jack Cust HR barrage continued on Saturday with his 4th HR in 5 games, this time off sinker-baller Fausto Carmona. Cust has an extensive and prodigious power track record in the minor leagues as he's accumulated 191 HR's in 10 minor league seasons. He's never really been given a chance because defensively he's a huge liability and his brief stints in the majors haven't been productive. However a few weeks back with the A's rationed by injuries, Billy Beane made a keen pickup in adding Cust for the exciting PTBNL and cash considerations. The move's been a boost to a struggling A's offense as Cust's immense power has paid immediate dividends. As far as a fantasy option goes, Cust should be solid for the short term as he'll be the full time replacement for Mike Piazza. Cust has already shown his power capabilities over the last week but it's more than just a hot flash in the pan, Cust posted a 1.016 OPS last season at AAA in 138 games with an EYE of 1.15. He's accomplished everything he needs to at the AAA level and the extended shot at the big leagues could be all Cust needs to show his 20+ HR potential. He won't hit for a ton of average, but he'll hit HR's and drive in some runs hitting in the middle of the depleted A's lineup.
Josh Barfield
Barfield came into the season as one of the more popular 2B sleepers in drafts however his horrid start in April caused a lot of fantasy owners to sour quickly on the young 2B. Don't look now but Barfield's starting to put it together as another 2-4 game on Saturday moved his average up to .212. It doesn't seem like much but Barfield is 17-43 over his last 14 games. The speed hasn't come yet as he's only stole 2 bases during this span and 3 on the season, but the power is coming around as 3 of his last 4 hits have gone for extra bases including two 3B's on Saturday. Barfield's EYE remains uninspiring, but he's very talented and still learning a new league. Last year during the 2nd half (first time playing the NL) he hit .307-.345-.485, so he's shown the ability to adjust and eventually hit. I think this will be the case again with Barfield this season and it looks like he might be learning even quicker in the AL with this recent hot streak. He's a good bet to finish the season with 15 HR's and 20 SB's and he's available in plenty of leagues right now on the FA wire. Take a look at your current 2B or MI position and adjust accordingly if he's available in your league.
Ian Kinsler
As happy as Ian Kinsler owners were early on in the season I'm sure most of you are miffed by the prolonged and painful slump Kinsler's currently going through. As a Kinsler owner in nearly 85% of the leagues I play I'm here for you and I know there are plenty of you out there because we were hyping Kinsler hard coming into the season. So what's going on here, was Kinsler's quick start nothing more than a flash in the pan? Or is this prolonged slump just that a slump. Kinsler's 6 for his last 51 and during that time period he's struck out 10 times and walked 5. So his EYE (career .63 in the minor leagues and brief major league career .65) of .50 during this span isn't atrocious and during this span 2 of his hits were for extra bases so his BHIP% has been an abysmal .102. For the season, Kinsler's HR Rate, EYE, and OPS have all improved from even his minor league totals, despite the massive slump. I actually think this is a good time to try to buy-low on an owner who's frustrated by Kinsler's prolonged slump and who thinks he's the next Chris Shelton. Kinsler's currently sporting a ridiculously low .169 BHIP%, he's going to bring the average up eventually and it's just a matter of time before he goes on another HR binge. I still think he's a great bet for a 20-20 season and will ultimately finish as the 2nd best fantasy 2B behind Chase Utley, buy low now if you can.
Reggie Willits
Fantasy owners need to take note of Reggie Willits. Willits is playing in place of Garrett Anderson in LF and is making a case for a permanent spot in the lineup. Willits put together another multi-hit game atop the Angels lineup on Saturday his 3rd in the last 4 games and his 6th on the season. Willits is currently sporting a .365 batting average and a nice .434 OBP. While he won't keep this up for long (current BHIP% of .414 is obviously unsustainable) in the batting average category, his on-base skills are legit. Willits has never had an OBP below .370 at any level and when he gets on base he's incredibly good at turning those trips on base into SB's as he racked up 129 SB's in 4 seasons. Willits is a must add in deeper leagues if he's still wandering around on the FA wire for some reason because of the speed benefits (he could steal 15-20 in limited time), but he should even be considered in more shallow formats right now because of the immediate speed factor he can add. While his long-term role is unclear right now while Garrett Anderson is out Willits is assured of playing time and while he's playing, he'll be swiping!
Jeremy Accardo
Two saves in two days for Accardo and during that time he's struck out 5 of the 6 batters he's faced. Accardo's numbers this year are eye popping with 18 K's, 5 walks, and 7 hits in 16 2/3 innings of work. While the hits allowed will rise as he's currently benefiting from an extremely low BHIP%, the dominance in the K:BB department suggest he's taking big steps forward. With the news that BJ Ryan is out for the year, Accardo looks to be the clear option in the closer's role going forward (which we've pointed to for a few weeks now). Accardo is a must add in any formats he's still available in and is currently posting some of the more dominant peripherals around. He could be the JJ Putz of the 2007 season.
