Randy Ruiz (DH – Blue Jays)
Randy Ruiz cracked his 7th homer of the season on Friday night in just his 80th at bat. Ruiz makes for a very interesting case. He has spent 11 seasons in the minors, and has been a part of 10 different organizations. The immediate thought that comes to mind upon processing this information is that he must be a bum – but that is not true at all. Ruiz has a .304 / .378 / .531 line in his minor league career, which most recently includes a .320 / .392 / .584 line at Triple-A this season. It is very rare to see a player dominate the minor leagues to this degree and only have 140 career major league at bats in 11 professional seasons. The most likely reason for this is that Ruiz does not have a position, and he has spent the vast majority of his minor league time with NL organizations. It’s a shame that he didn’t arrive in the AL sooner, since there is absolutely no question that he is a major league hitter. I would expect the Blue Jays to continue to give Ruiz plenty of playing time over the rest of the season, which makes him a great source of power in the final month.
Dallas Braden (SP – Athletics)
Dallas Braden was officially shut down for the season due to an infection in his foot. Dallas finishes the season with a very respectable 3.89 ERA and 1.36 WHIP. Braden has never been highly regarded by scouts due to his lack of electric stuff. He has always been categorized as more of a gimmick pitcher (used to throw a screwball before shoulder surgery, and currently throws a hilariously slow changeup), but the bottom line is that he gets guys out, regardless of how hard he throws his fastball or how much movement is on his slider. It is kind of hard to believe that a player can have a career minor league K/9 of 10.1 and BB/9 of 2.4, and still be largely disregarded as a prospect. But, having a fastball that averages about 88 MPH will do that to you. The scouts were accurate on some levels, as his K rate has not carried over to the majors (5.33 K/9); but, his command (2.77 BB/9) and effectiveness (3.89 ERA) have made the transition. Braden won’t go early in drafts next season due to not having a high ceiling and missing a good chunk of the ’09 season, but he can look mighty nice filling out the back end of a fantasy rotation.
Koji Uehara (SP – Orioles)
Koji Uehara was officially shut down for the season on Friday, as he finishes the season with a 4.05 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in just 66 innings pitched. Uehara was a very nice little secret before sustaining injury this season, and he will likely be a useful and extremely undervalued option heading into next year. Uehara’s 4.05 ERA doesn’t jump out at a casual observer, but some of that can be attributed to a 68.3% strand rate. Had his ERA more closely resembled his FIP (3.54), he would have garnered much more attention in mixed leagues. Uehara misses an acceptable number of bats (6.48 K/9), but his true value lies with his outstanding command (1.62 BB/9). Additionally, Uehara was 2nd in the AL this season in first pitch strike % (68.1%). He did allow a high FB rate this season (52.6%), which will cause his ERA to be inflated due to the long ball; nevertheless, he will be a solid mixed league contributor in the WHIP category. I would target him very heavily in the late rounds next season.
Michael Brantley (OF – Indians)
With Grady Sizemore’s season ending, Michael Brantley has all but been assured everyday CF and lead-off duties for the remainder of the season. Brantley is not a difficult player to figure out – he is a contact machine with no power and lots of speed. His numbers across 5 minor league seasons confirm these assertions (10.3% K rate, 12 HR, 149 SB). If Brantley is able to get on base consistently, which he can easily achieve (.387 minor league OBP), he will be very useful in BA, runs, and especially SB in AL-only leagues down the stretch. He swiped 46 bags in Triple-A this season, has already stolen 2 bases in his first 8 major league games, and has reportedly been given the green light to run from his manager. He’s a must add for those in need of speed.
Gordon Beckham (3B – White Sox)
Gordon Beckham returned to the White Sox lineup on Friday night after missing time with an oblique then a finger. Beckham wasn’t chosen 8th overall in last year’s draft because he oozed 30/30 potential; rather, he was chosen because he was nearly a finished product coming out of college. It is no surprise that he reached the majors in his first professional season, and it is also not surprising that he has posted a .274 / .350 / .458 line in his first taste of the majors. Beckham has not been overmatched by the transition whatsoever, and has posted a marvelous looking EYE (0.60) for a 23 year old. As I mentioned earlier, Beckham doesn’t possess elite power/speed tools, but he does have a refined approach at the plate that should result in many years of consistent 20/10 HR/SB seasons with a .300 BA. His future is most likely at 2B, so I like to think of him as a less dynamic version of Chase Utley.
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