Danny Richar - Richar hit his second homer of the year last night against the Royals, and although he's only batting .192 through his first 52 AB's, I'm a bit optimistic about him. He's only 24, and if we ignore the low batting average for a bit he's been able to post an EYE of .131 and an ISO of .173. He's walked more than he's truck out and shown credible power for a second baseman that is still on the good side of the development curve. If the Sox remain patient with him, I think that he could become an above average player at 2B. He's only a viable starting option in deeper leagues at present, however.
Raul Ibanez - Ibanez is in a different world right now, hitting two more homers last night and hitting 431/507/908 this month. After accounting for park effects, he's probably brought his stat line for the year up to a respectable level for a corner OF(280/338/468). He certainly falls into the "ride him while he's hot" category right now.
Shawn Marcum - Marcum's outing last night wasn't one of his best, as he allowed ten baserunners and six runs in just three innings to the A's. Every month or so Marcum seems to have a game where he gives up a couple of long balls in a tough outing, but his control is so good that as long as he's keeping the ball in the park he's excellent. The one thing to keep in mind is that he's been very "hit lucky" this year, and even if it lasts the rest of this year it is something that's certain to correct itself at some point. He also allows quite a few hard-hit balls (.193 ISO against) for someone that has decent superficial stats (ERA, W/L), which is another clue that he's a bit above his head right now. I stand by my prediction that he'll finish the year with a 4.00-plus ERA, but he might be one of the rare pitchers that allows a bunch of homers in the minors but ends up being a capable mid-rotation starter. The emphasis there is on might be, of course, as there are a whole bunch of guys that just allow too many homers to make it work (Josh Towers, anyone?).
Jack Hannahan - I suspect that Hannahan is a 4-A sort of player, or else it probably wouldn't have taken him five years to reach the majors from AA. We should watch his first month or so carefully, however, as he has shown substantially improved discipline and power in each of the past two seasons at AAA. In each case, his ability has essentially gone from utility infielder to acceptable, so it isn't like Hannahan has a chance to be a star, but at age 27 he is likely at the peak of his ability, and if that ability allows him to be an adequate major league 3B than he can help the last month-plus while Chavez is on the shelf. I think it's more likely that he'll hurt more than help, but another few days of watching might give us more information.
Ryan Raburn - Since starting to play nearly every day on July 23rd, Ryan Raburn has hit for average and power.......but has walked zero times in 76 AB's against 18 strikeouts. Basically, there is no way that he continue to exhibit this kind of batting average (.349) without being a bit more patient, although the ISO is just a touch better than his typical minor league performances (.221 ). With Raburn hot and playing every day, he's worth using in AL-only leagues and deeper mixed leagues, but making sure you have another option close at hand is a necessity, because a slump could (and should) come at any time.
