Alex Gordon - Gordon had three singles for four RBI's yesterday against Texas, but it's his power since the break that intrigues me a bit.....his ISO of .240 is actually quite good, which you'd never believe given the lack of hype for him since May. I'll echo Joe's sentiments in saying that I expect a big sophomore season from him, and since 2007 isn't quite in the rear-view yet, a good enough Septemeber to justify a lineup spot in most formats.
Zack Greinke - Three starts back in the rotation for Greinke, and the results have been excellent: 12 IP, 11 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 11 SO. In fact, here's the line from his last ten appearances: 19 IP, 14 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 19 SO. He's gradually being stretched back out from 15-25 pitches to 82 last night, and by the end of the year he should be back to "normal", and he seems to have kept the mid-90's fastball since his return from the 'pen (94-97 last night) . I'd expect him to be in the rotation next season, and once again he'll be a reasonable sleeper candidate for a subpar team.
James Shields - Shields had another strong start yesterday, allowing only one earned run over seven innings to the O's. Since allowing ten runs to the Yanks back in July, Shields has pitched 54 innings, allowed 17 earned runs (ERA of 2.83), and struck out 53 batters. In short, he's been great. Don't be fooled by the 4.01 ERA....he's been a 3.00 ERA pitcher more often than not. He should be active in all formats, although his schedule (TOR, @ SEA, @ LAA, NYY) is less than friendly.
Matt Stairs - Who's hotter than the Wonder Hamster? First he homers in three straight games, then he reaches base five times yesterday against the Sox. His ISO is almost .300 for the season, which is way out of his normal range, but you absolutely must play the hot hand this time of year. He should be active in most formats the rest of the way, although platooning him in daily transaction leagues still makes a ton of sense.
Carlos Guillen - In the maximizing player value category, Carlos Guillen is starting to show slight signs of decline. His EYE (OBP-AVG) is down a bit from last year's career year, and his SB%, which is a fairly good indicator of declining speed, has dropped off a bit as well. Combine these facts with the idea that the Tigers will likely move him to 1B full-time next year, and you have a player that is a good candidate for trade bait over the off-season. At age 32, Guillen is a star at SS, but only above average (and likely declining) at 1B. You might be able to fetch much more in future value for him at this point in his career.
