Jed Lowrie - Lowrie singled three times and homered yesterday against the Yanks, and at the risk of getting too carried away we're talking about a guy recovering from both wirst issues and mono, two power-sapping ailments if ever there were any. The problem for Lowrie, as Drew outlined, is the Red Sox current configuration for 2011. Youkilis, Pedroia, and Scutaro are all under contract for next season. I can't see the club declining Big Papi's option for next year that results in no salary increase for him. That leaves Adrian Beltre, who has a player option for 2011. Right now the option results in a 45% pay cut, something that Beltre will likely decline given his success this season. However, if Beltre gets 35 more plate appearances this year (4.375 per game, easily attainable) the player option jumps to an 11% salary increase for next year. It will be rather interesting to see how the Sox handle Beltre's playing time these last 8 games...it obviously has a tremendous impact on Jed Lowrie's future. If he is guaranteed playing time going into April 2011, I think he's a must-have in just about all formats. If he isn't, he becomes a reserve player in AL-only and deeper mixed formats.
Jayson Nix - Nix hit two solo homers yesterday against the Royals to give him 14 for the year (in only 306 ABs), but I get the sense that the greater amount of playing time this year has exposed him as a sort of multi-positional Pedro Feliz, only without the defensive chops. His plate discipline has degraded further this year, and without showing a hint of the double-digit SB speed from 2009 he's been the epitome of a one-trick pony, and that trick has only been decent. The Tribe is likely better off giving Andy Marte another whirl next year, as the two players have roughly the same skill set except Marte is one year younger and has a little bit better grasp of the strike zone. Either way, Nix is still a stopgap-level solution only for AL-only leagues.
Josh Beckett - I continue to be skeptical of a "big comeback" by Josh Beckett next season. Will it be better than 2010? I would expect so...if it isn't he probably won't have a job. People talk about him finally being healthy at this point in the year, and if that's the case he has still allowed 8 homers and 18 earned runs in his last 3 starts (16 1/3 IP) against playoff offenses. His velocity, contact rate, K rate, BB rate, HR rate, and HR/FB percentage have all been in decline for between 2 and 4 years, and Beckett is 30 now with a pretty fair amount of mileage on that arm. My expectation is that Beckett will be a #3 or #4 caliber starter next season, and while the K rate will offer upside as long as it is there, I wouldn't grab him expecting a return to greatness....more of a return to solidity.
Hank Conger - Conger has been getting backup catcher PT for the last few weeks in Anaheim, and although I am a big Conger fan I wonder how he might fit into Mike Scioscia's defense-first approach behind the plate....namely because Conger's defense might be qualified as "passable". Might. Conger's plate discpline has steadily improved as he has climbed the minor league ladder, he's hit between .290 and .305 everywhere he has been, and he has 40 XBH in 406 AB's this season as a 22 year old. I would love to see him win the job next spring, but I have a feeling that he'll either be the backup or in AAA to start the year. He will definitely merit watching though, as offense-first catchers are still the exception rather than the rule.
Justin Smoak - For me, Smoak is definitely a sleeper for next season....the only problem is the Mariners' continual desire to compete when they really should be rebuilding. The 23 year old has solid plate discipline, his power seemed to be developing consistently throughout the minors, and he actually wouldn't have a half-bad line for his first MLB experience except for the 110-point underperformance in BABIP vs. expectations. The M's don't have a lot of players actually under contract for next year just yet, so it's likely that they will give Smoak every chance to win the job next spring. The home park is going to hamper his potential quite a bit, but particularly in OBP-based leagues he could have a place from the early going.
