Adam Eaton (OF-CHA). Eaton went 1 for 5 in an extra-innings loss to the Indians on Friday night. Despite the fact that I have added and dropped Eaton numerous times this year, I still believe Eaton can be a solid 4th or 5th OF in mixed leagues. Coming into tonight's affair, Eaton was slashing .310/.377/.414 with 64 runs and 14 SBs in 453 plate appearances. Projected over a full season (which leads to one of the caveats I have regarding Eaton, which I discuss below), this is solid 3 category value, which in today's fantasy world means Eaton should be owned in most fantasy leagues. Eaton may not be able to maintain quite this high of a BA, as it is currently being supported by a .372 BABIP, which is likely not sustainable, given Eaton's 18% LD rate (although in light of Eaton's speed, he should have a higher than average BABIP, just probably not this high). Offsetting against the lower BA, however, is the fact that Eaton has expressed a desire to steal more bases which, if implemented, could push him close to the 30 SB mark (he did steal 46 bases between three levels in 2012). Also, I still think there is more power in there somewhere (although he only has one this year, he did hit 10 between two levels of the minors in 2011 and 9 between two levels of the minors in 2012). However, unless he stops hitting the ball on the ground 60% of the time, that power potential is unlikely to be realized. The other major negative for Eaton is his inability to stay on the field, as several trips to the DL have limited him to 103 games this year. Unfortunately, similar to how Bryce Harper's continuing injury woes seem to be related to his playing style, Eaton's injury history seems to be related to his reckless playing style. If he could somehow manage to play 140+ games, Eaton should be good for 100 runs and 25 to 30 steals while not hurting you in BA. For this reason, he is going to be on my fantasy sleeper list again next year.
Marcus Semien (2B/3B-CHA). Semien went 1 for 5 in an extra-innings loss to the Indians on Friday nightSemien is another White Sox player who offers intriguing fantasy upside for 2015. Recently returned from a demotion to AAA, Semien has slashed an ugly-looking .218/.292/.322 with 3 HR and 3 steals in 190 major league PAs. However, his potential as a fantasy asset is demonstrated by what he did in his 366 PAs in AAA: .267/.380/.502(!) with 15 HR and 7 SBs. The potential to provide 15-20 HR power and 15-20 SB speed while offering dual MI/COR qualification is what makes Semien's potential so enticing. Semien's primary problem in the majors has been his high K rate (31.0% in his 261 major league PAs). Semien appears to have addressed this issue during his stint in the minors, as he reduced his K rate to 16.1% (while increasing his BB rate to 14.5%) at AAA. It remains to be seen whether this improvement will transfer to the majors, although the fact that he has a 9.4% swinging strike rate in the majors lends to the belief that he should be able to improve on the K rate. Assuming that he can do so, Semien becomes a player to watch for 2015, as he has both the opportunity (there will probably be openings at both second and third base (and possible SS as well) in the Chicago infield), the dual eligibility at both second and third, and the rare power speed combo at those positions to provide significant value. Semien is on my sleeper list for 2015 and I will be watching him carefully in spring training to see if he can cure his contact issues.
Oswaldo Arcia (OF-MIN). Arcia went 1 for 4 with his 15th HR on Friday against the Angles. Arcia is both an intriguing and vaguely disappointing prospect. He raised fantasy owners' hopes in 2013 when, after a surprise mid-season callup, he hit 14 bombs in 378 PAs while posting a respectable (especially considering he had never played above AA) .251 BA. 2014 has been a disappointment as, while Arcia has continued to flash his power potential (15 HR over 339 PAs), any benefit from the HRs has been eliminated by his pitiful BA, which has sunk to .219. While Arcia is never going to be a positive BA contributor due to his woeful plate discipline (30.8% career major league K rate), he does have legitimate raw power, and that is something that is not as common for fantasy purposes as it was several years ago. Arcia should ultimately be able to hit somewhere around .250 and if he can stay healthy (which has been a bit of a struggle this year), has the potential to hit 30 HRs, even playing half his games in Target Field. That is something I would certainly take out of my 5th fantasy OF, and he can probably be acquired for that draft slot/auction value in most drafts next spring.
Lonnie Chisenhall (1B/3B-CLE). Chisenhall went 0 for 3 with a walk against the ChiSox on Friday. Chisenhall is a player as to whom I am having a difficult time getting a handle for purposes of his 2015 value. His season long numbers are being inflated by his ridiculously hot two week stretch in late May and early June, during which he hit 7 of his 12 HR and 27 of his 55 RBI. Thus, while his season line of .296/.359/.462 with 12 HR and 55 RBI looks solid, the fact that much of the production came within the span of a roughly two-week hot streak makes me wonder if we're dealing with a Dominic Brown-type situation (albeit on a somewhat smaller scale) here. Chisenhall has posted some solid peripheral numbers this year, as he has improved his BB rate by almost 2% and he is makind solid contact, as evidenced by his 23.6% LD rate (although this latter number has seen some slippage as the season went on). Going forward, assuming that Chisenhall continues to receive essentially full-time Abs, I think fantasy owners can expect something around a .275 BA (his current average is being propped up by a .344 BABIP), possibly 20 HR (his current HR/FB is approximately 2% below his rate coming into this season) and somewhere around 60 to 70 RBI (depending on the composition of the Indian batting order next year). That probably makes Chisenhall a CI in 12 team mixed or deeper for drafting purposes next year.
Edward Mujica (RP-BOS). With Koji Uehara blowing another save Thursday night, the possibility that the Red Sox will shut him down for the season is looming larger. Mujica therefore makes for a good speculative add for anyone who is still looking to make a run in the save category. While Mujica's season-long numbers (4.13 ERA, 1.36 WHIP) are ugly as a result of his extremely rocky first two months of the season, Mujica has put up a much more respectable 2.28 ERA and 1.27 WHIP over his last 23.2 innings since July 1. Although Mujica is not the second-best pitcher in the Boston bullpen from a pure talent perspective, he does have the all-important "closing experience" (37 saves for the Cardinals last year) and he is the most likely replacement for Uehara if he does get shut down. Owners for whom an additional 4 or 5 saves could make a difference should run to the wire and add Mujica ASAP.
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