Denard Span - Span just keeps hitting, adding a double and a steal to his tally last night against the Yanks. He has looked every bit the leadoff man in August, hitting 325/400/525 with three steals in three tries. The BABIP of .361 shows that there's a bunch of luck involved, and I'd be surprised if he ever puts up an ISO of .200 for a whole month, but as hot as he is right now he's got to be a starter in just about all formats. He was walking more in AAA this season than he has in the past, so perhaps that part of his improvement is legitimate. If that's the case, there's probably a more than insignificant chance that he actually could be the leadoff man the Twins have been looking for. I'm still a bit skeptical, but watching him a few times the past few weeks I'm coming around a bit.
Justin Verlander - Verlander threw his fourth straight non-quality start last night, getting banged around by the Blue Jays for six runs in just 4 1/3 innings. Verlander's velocity is down over 1% this year, which the more I study pitching seems to be the tipping point for a "problem" of some sort. Clearly his control is an issue this season, as his BB/9 have increased from slightly under 3.0 to over 3.5. He's also been unlucky, as his strand rate has dropped about 10% this season, which may correspond to the drop in K rate he's experienced: he just isn't finishing as many people off. All those things added up have me fairly concerned that his heavy workload at age 23 and 24 has caught up with him. He's another one of those guys that have too much potential to bench unless your reserve options are very strong, but reasons for optimism are few and far between for him right now.
Shaun Marcum - Marcum survived against the Tigers last night, posting his second straight quality start following three clunkers since he returned from the DL. My issue with Marcum is that, despite the fact that he hasn't walked three men in a game since April, he's throwing about 10% fewer strikes since returning from the DL than he was earlier in the season. Coupled with the fact that he's lost about a full mph in velocity this season, I'm a bit concerned that he's not 100%. He's had one of the easiest schedules in the AL since the break, but it's going to get tougher soon. I guess we'll see if concerns are grounded or not. I would consider reserving him if you have some solid bench options for his next two outings against Boston.
Asdrubal Cabrera - Cabrera homered again last night, and is now hitting 275/380/465 since coming back from the minors, a line that probably represents the optimist's viewpoint of how he should have played from minute one this year. Cabrera has had some bad luck this year, as his BABIP has dropped 66 points despite a higher LD%, but he's also striking our once every four at-bats, and that's something that hasn't changed since coming back from AAA. There's still plenty of reason for optimism, as Cabrera is still just 22. He's gotten hot enough to warrant a look in shallow leagues, and clearly he should be in the lineup in deeper and AL-only leagues.
Nick Markakis - Markakis is blossoming into one of the top players in the AL this year on the strength of a much improved batting eye and a steady increase in power. The 24 year old smacked two doubles and a triple last night against the Tribe, giving him 52 extra-base hits for the year. His ISO is steadily climbing toward the .200 mark, and when combined with an over 50% increase in walks per plate appearance he's starting to look like a slightly slower Bobby Abreu in his prime. I expect a bit more power improvement before he's done, and he should easily be in consideration for one of the top hitters in the AL throughout his prime.
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