Hank Blalock - Blalock has definitely flown under the radar a bit this year, but the 28 year old has had a much better year than meets the eye. What's killing his stat line is twofold: a drastic reduction in his patience, and a BABIP that is about 100 points lower than you would expect. If that corrected even some of the way, we'd be looking at a guy hitting 280/330/560 and trying to write him into the All-Star game. Instead he's had his playing time cut a bit at the expense of guys hitting half as well. I think Blalock will turn out to be an excellent buy at this level.
Winston Abreu - Winston Abreu is stepping into a very unsettled bullpen situation in Tampa, and his plus fastball/slider combo might actually work their way into some saves before too long. The 32 year old Abreu has struck out almost 11 batters per nine during 14 minor league seasons, but his control and a lack of opportunity have prevented him from any success at the big league level. He is a definite sleeper for some saves later this year, and he should certainly be on your watch list.
Juan Rivera - Drew and I rarely disagree on a player, so perhaps I ought to clarify my position on Rivera. The Angel LF bashed his ninth homer of the season last night against Barry Zito, giving him four doubles and four homers in the last eight games. More importantly, it brings his seasonal totals right back to where you'd expect them to be given his long but sporadic track record. Career ISO - .185, 2009 ISO - .192. Career HR/FB - 13.1%, 2009 HR/FB - 12.9%. He's averaged around a homer every 20-25 AB's for the past five years, and that's right where he is this season. His playing time isn't very consistent, but he seems to be. The only issue I have is that his BABIP is about 20 points higher than you'd expect, meaning that he's more a .290-.300 hitter than .310-.320. Still, he's worth having as a mid-level OF.
Sean Rodriguez - Drew is likely right about Rodriguez in his fight for playing time in the LAnd where prospects go to die, but the PCL slugger did manage a start at 2B last night and delivered a monster homer in the Angels 9-7 win. He's able to play six different positions supposedly, so perhaps he'll get some Chone Figgins-type action if Mike Scioscia is feeling creative. I think he does warrant a pickup for the power potential there, but a reserve slot is probably all you should expect for the time being.
Adam Kennedy - Adam Kennedy couldn't have been many people's choice to lead the A's in all three triple slash stats when he was acquired from the Rays this spring, but he's made the most of his playing time thus far, hitting 313/387/493 and swiping six bags to boot. Looking back through Kennedy's career, he's always had an above-average LD%, but that hasn't translated into higher BABIPs except in 2002 and 2004, so maybe his luck is finally turning a bit. He certainly merits consideration right now in most formats while he's hot, and with the perpetual injuries that the A's seem to face in the infield he may very well find himself with consistent playing time all year long.
