Melky Cabrera - Let's call this a big up arrow, as Brett Gardner's injury opens the door for Cabrera to get even more playing time to take advantage of his semi-breakout season. Cabrera's stats sell him a bit short I think, as he has made strides in nearly every aspect of hitting this season. His HR/FB rate has nearly doubled, his plate discipline has improved significantly, his contact rate is at a career high, and he's even tossing in a few steals. I think he could be a very underrated player for the next month or two, and he probably has a bit more power growth in him as well, as he just turns 25 in two weeks. I would definitely be a buyer.
Pat Burrell - Burrell cracked his seventh homer of the year in garbage time last night, bringing his ISO for July up to .231, which almost makes up for his perpetually low AVG. At age 32, Burrell has had a difficult year with the Rays, but can we safely say this is the end of the line? Of his top five comparables, only one of them had any significant success after age 31 (Dwight Evans), and Evans was the strongest defender (and thus likely the most athletic) of that group. The others had a grand total of four productive seasons after age 31 (Danny Tartabull-0, Tim Salmon-2, Ralph Kiner-1, Greg Luzinski-1). I guess what I'm saying is that maybe it's Burrell's neck that is the problem this year, but it seems more likely that it's just Father Time. He could still offer you some pop the rest of the way, but he's no sure bounceback candidate.
Franklin Gutierrez - Sometimes the stats regress to the peripherals, but sometimes the peripherals move up to the stats as well. In Gutierrez's case, the latter seems to be happening a bit. Gutierrez singled three times last night to bring his July AVG to .380, and he's slugging over .600 for the month as well. The power still isn't there to the extent that we'd hoped for, but his BABIP has regressed almost to the point of "luck neutrality", and his BB rate and K rate are both moving in the right directions for him. I guess the best way to put it would be that I'm warming up to him a bit.
Andy Marte - In a stunning turn of events, the Indians have decided that they are going to reward Andy Marte for his brilliant season at AAA this year, giving him the playing time at 1B created by the trade of Ryan Garko to San Francisco yesterday. Marte has put up an OPS of nearly 1.000 at AAA this year, and is still just 25 despite already being written off by nearly everyone. There are far worse flyers to be taken than Marte, although the fact that Matt LaPorta is playing a lot of first base in the minors as well doesn't bode well for Marte getting a lot of on-the-job learning time.
Alexi Casilla - I swear, the Twins middle infield is the Spinal Tap drummer of sports. It's been over a decade since the days of Chuck Knoblauch, and before that was what, Roy Smalley? Alexi Casilla appeared to have some promise last year, but he's completely cratered this year, showing no power, little contact, and horrible luck to go along with it. He still offers some modicum of speed, but Mark Grudzielanek is likely just a few weeks away, so unless Casilla heats up in a hurry he won't be playing much soon.
