Jerome Williams - Williams improved to 4-0 in his return to the big leagues after a 4-year hiatus, as he's posted 4 QS in 6 while tallying a 2.95 ERA. His standard rates don't look all that impressive on the surface (2.95 BB/9, 5.91 K/9, 50.8% GB) outside of the solid GB rate, but the big velocity bump and the excellent swinging strike%, contact rate, and chase rate make me think that perhaps there's actually something here. It's a small sample size to be sure and the schedule hasn't been arduous, but there's definitely enough promise here for Williams to be worth a look come spring. It's nearly impossible to do anything other than root for the guy if you know his story, and while the odds are against him a bit as he turns 30 in December, at this point I would certainly make him a late-round choice in deeper mixed leagues and single league formats.
Brent Morel - Morel homered again yesterday, and rather quietly has put up this September line: 271/400/671 with 13 R, 19 RBI, 15 BB, and 2 SB. It hasn't been a pretty year for Morel, as his OBP is still under .300 for the season, but the 24 year old has a couple of things going for him that are keeping him (as far as I can tell) an undervalued commodity. First, let's keep in mind Morel's career minor league line of 305/354/464 and the fact that he reached double figures in both homers and steals in 2008 (counting his NCAA stats), 2009, and 2010. Then, we can take a look at his batted ball data this year and see that he's about 40 points below expected on BABIP. Those two data points would lead to fairly severe expectations for improvement in 2012, yet Morel is likely one of the least-discussed regulars in the league. I think he's a very solid sleeper for 2012 in most formats, and a potential .275-15-75 player next season.
Leonys Martin - Martin got his first start for the Rangers after being up for almost 4 weeks, and the 23 year old singled, doubled, and scored twice in four trips to the plate in the 7-3 win over Seattle. Martin was excellent in his first pro ball exposure at AA this season but scuffled quite a bit at AAA, so it's tough to tell what we've got here. With 19 steals and 5 triples in less than half a season it's clear that speed is a plus for Martin, but with only 8 XBH in 40 games at AAA, and with a listed build of 6'1", 180, the power is a question mark. Josh Hamilton is under contract for next year and David Murphy and Nelson Cruz are still in their arbitration years, so a starting job might be difficult to come by for Martin, but I doubt they signed him to a 5 yr, $15 MM deal to have him sit around, and none of the aforementioned three are truly center fielders. Martin definitely has a shot to play in 2012....the spring training battle merits watching as he easily could help in the fantasy-critical SB category right out of the gate. He also may play quite a bit these last four games, so those of you battling down to the wire might be able to use him right now as well.
Lorenzo Cain - Lorenzo Cain finally got the call to Kansas City after a breakout year at AAA this season, filling in for the ill Alex Gordon for the last two days. Cain was on a 20/20 pace for 162-game schedule this season at Omaha to add to a 312/380/497 line while playing a very solid CF. Unfortunately, the breakout campaigns of Melky Cabrera and Jeff Francoeur have made it difficult for the Royals to justify creating a spot for Cain, and the same thing might potentially prove true next season. Cabrera and Francoeur were both 27 this year while Cain is just 25, and Cain is vastly superior defensively with more upside in the AVG and speed categories, but the whole "devil you know" issue will likely rear its ugly head until Melky reverts back to the first 2650 PA's of his career at the expense of the most recent 700. I think it's likely that the Royals open up with Cain either at AAA or as the 4th OF but that he grabs Melky's spot by June 1 next season...I know that's a pretty specific prediction but I can absolutely see it happening. Cain is a very solid choice for 2012 in deep leagues and AL-only formats if you're willing to be patient, but his value is by no means guaranteed....he could easily end up riding the pine much of next year if the age-27 twins continue their hot hitting.
Guillermo Moscoso - Moscoso tossed his 4th quality start in his last five outings last night against LA in a 4-2 loss, going 7 innings and allowing 4 runs, 3 earned. Let's get this out of the way up front so we can talk about something else: Moscoso has been extremely fortunate this year. His FIP ERA is 4.22 despite an actual ERA of 3.38, and a neutral HR/FB rate would push his FIP ERA up to 5.00. I've seen signs the past few months, however, that Moscoso might retain value even post-regression. His control has gone from solid to excellent recently, as he hasn't walked more than two men in nine starts. His K rate has also been improving a bit, as since August 1 he's fanning over 6 per 9. The GB rate is absurdly low, but in his home park it won't be as much of a burden as it is elsewhere (2.42 home ERA vs. 4.70 on the road). All in all, I can envision Moscoso being a useful spot-starter in all formats next year, with a chance of being a viable 4th or 5th starter in many formats with a slight improvement in GB rate. It's easy to just focus on his good fortune this year, but there's a decent pitcher under all that luck as well.
