Jason Kubel - Kubel singled and homered last night against the Jays as he continues to provide some sorely needed offense for the purposely punchless Twins. I still contend that Kubel is finally catching up from the lost year of development time, and that he is an excellent sleeper in all formats. This is his age 27 year, he added 20 points of ISO last season, and once Joe Mauer returns he'll have a reasonable amount of lineup protection in what is otherwise a fairly poor batting order. Remember, this is a player that posted a minor league SLG of over .500 over a five year period before he was 22. I love his upside.
Carlos Quentin - I'm not sure what you can really take from a game like this where everyone is killing the ball, but Carlos Quentin certainly appears to be picking up where he left off in 2008. After a tremendous career at Stanford, Quentin's minor league numbers were solid but not spectacular given the bandboxes that he played in. After a 2007 in which he scuffled mightily in his first extended big-league exposure, the D-Backs shipped him to Chicago, where he promptly had an MVP-caliber season before breaking his wrist in early September. At age 26, he appears to be poised to repeat that performance after socking a pair of homers yesterday against the Tigers. Most projections, just by the nature of the software, are going to forecast some regression for Quentin after just one year at this level. I would be willing to wager on the over....his plate discipline has always been tremendous, and players frequently add a bit more pop around their mid-20's.
Brian Anderson - Deeper leagues only, but Brian Anderson suddenly has some value for the first time since, oh, right before he flopped as the starter three years ago. He's turning 27 this year, and he has a nice little power/speed combination that the Sox have successfully kept under wraps the last few years. With Dewayne Wise separating his shoulder last night, Anderson figures to play for much of the next month-plus. He walked twice and stole two bases last night to give us all a taste of the speed part of the equation, and the minor league SLG of .474 (most of it at age 22 and 23) illustrates the other half. I'd certainly be interested in leagues with barren waiver wires.
Felix Pie - Pie had a solid night yesterday, going 3-4 with his first Oriole HR. There's a temptation to write guys like this off after a couple years of regression, but Pie is still just 24 and the tools are just as evident as they were three and four years ago when he was tearing up the minors. His plate discipline is still a work in progress, leaving him prone to slumps and streaks, but he still should be a very attractive option in keeper league formats whether you need him in your lineup currently or not.
Fausto Carmona - Carmona had another tough outing yesterday, allowing nine baserunners and four runs to the Royals in just five innings. His control has never really returned after his stellar 2007 campaign, and that fact, combined with a bit of BABIP regression, has pushed him from a budding ace to a complete enigma. The stuff is still there, as the contact percentages are fairly consistent the past few years, so with a bit more control he could easily bounce back. For the time being, I'd go with more consistent options if I had them available, but I certainly wouldn't cut bait.
