Dan Uggla (2B - Marlins) - “And his name...is DAN UGGLA!!” Shoutout to the Marlins TV announcers on that one. We’ve heard that HR call a lot over the last couple of weeks as Uggla continues to the pound the ball into the stands. He hit his 22nd of the season to drop his AB/HR to 16.9, close to his career-best of 16.6 back in 2008. In total, Uggla is having the best season of his 5-year career. He is currently posting a career-high FPI of 0.68 (his previous years starting in 2006 were 0.62, 0.57, 0.66, and 0.60). His OPS is .864, close to his career high of .874 (again in 2008). His BB/K, despite dropping from last year’s career high of 0.61, is still the 2nd highest of his career at 0.51 (yes, even better than ‘08’s mark of 0.45). There have been plenty of hot hitting second basemen in the league this year, from Robinson Cano to Rickie Weeks. But Dan Uggla certainly belongs in the fantasy conversation for his power and consistency year-to-year.
Domonic Brown (OF - Phillies) - The Domonic Brown era began in Philly on Wednesday night. The highly touted Phillies prospect was called-up to the big leagues when the Phillies placed OF Shane Victorino on the 15-day disabled list. I think the Phillies’ announcers may have been a bit premature comparing the youngster to Willie McCovey, but he did look pretty good in his debut. The youngster finished the night 2-for-3 with 2 RBI, 2 runs, a double, and a sac-fly. Not bad for your first day in the majors. Brown’s name has been flying around Baseball America, fantasy keeper leagues, and baseball card prospectors for quite some time.... and rightfully so. Before being called up yesterday, Brown was hitting .327 in the minors with 20 HR, 68 RBI, 17 SB, and an OPS of .980. The 6’5” 200-lb Brown is the perfect blend of speed and power. It will be interesting to see how the Phillies handle the OF situation if they can’t trade Jason Werth and when Victorino returns. In the meantime, Brown should get plenty of playing time and is certainly worth the claim in any league format.
Carlos Lee (OF - Astros) - Its amazing what one good day can do to a guy’s numbers. With 2 HR on Wednesday, Lee’s AB/HR went from 31.0 to 26.9. Overall, it has been a very disappointing season for Lee and his fantasy owners. His OPS of .682 is still the lowest of his career, along with his average of .239 and OBP .283. Of course, the Astros are so bad he is still leading the team in RBI. The 34-year-old Lee could be seeing some effects of his age (one possible theory), but I still think the may have a little life left in the remaining two months of the season. Wednesday might have been a good start.
Starlin Castro (SS - Cubs) - Castro was called-up in May and instantaneously produced for fantasy owners looking for a SS. That month, he hit .310 with 2 HR, 12 RBI, and 10 runs. He slumped in June, but manager Lou Piniella stuck with him and it has paid off. This month, he has been virtually unstoppable. With a 2-for-4 performance on Wednesday (along with his 4th SB of July), Castro is hitting .382 with a .421 OBP, 13 RBI, and 13 XBH. The 20-year-old Castro will undoubtedly be in the running for NL Rookie of the Year if he can finish strong.
Angel Pagan (OF - Mets) - Angel Pagan was in the middle of a nose-dive until he went 2-for-5 last night with his 9th HR of the year. Prior to last night’s game, he was just 3-for-17 in his previous 5 games. Despite the slight slump, Pagan has been a solid fantasy option all season. Aside from April, he has hit .300+ in each month with at least a .360 or higher OBP. The power really isn’t there (just 9 HR and an ISO of .170), but he has 35 XBH to yield an OPS of .839. Overall, he is a 0.77 FPI outfielder, mostly due to his high average and speed (23 SB in 29 attempts). April was a pretty bad month for him, but if you take his stats starting on May 1st, he’s even better overall - posting a .319 Avg, .881 OPS, and a 0.84 FPI. Not sure why Pagan doesn’t get more credit, but he certainly deserves 100% ownership at this point.
