Jeremy Bonderman: Fantasy owners of Bonderman in keeper leagues will have a whole winter to ponder whether his complete second-half collapse, 3-8 record with a 6.19 ERA was the product of a tender elbow or just bad skills. At the midpoint of the season, his skills were elite; 8.2 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9, and even factoring in his disaster second-half, his skills still look pretty good; 7.5 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, and a 48% GB%. He will be only 25 years old at the beginning of next year, but keep an eye on the medical reports before deciding whether or not to protect him.
Jermaine Dye: Dye's 2007 season, 28/77/.253, has not lived up to his career-year in 2006, 44/120/.315. Nagging injuries and a .196 BHIP% has not helped his cause. It is also encouraging that Dye finished the season strong, 17/42/.276 in the second-half, and that heisskill set has remained relatively stable, 2006/2007 Ct%'s of 78%/79% and BB/9's of .50/.42. Expect Dye, who will be 34 at the beginning of next year, to bounce back to a level somewhere in-between his 2006 and 2007 seasons.
Javier Vazquez: Vazquez closed out a strong season, 15-8 with a 3.74 ERA, with 7.2 inning, 2 ER performance the other night against Detroit. His skills have always been elite, 2005/2006/2007 K/9's of 8.0/8.2/8.9, and BB/9's of 1.9/2.5/2.1, but something always got in the way of his replicating the 3.24 ERA that he put up in 2003. In 2005, it was a problem with gopheritis, 35 home runs allowed, and last year it was a 64% strand rate. At 31 years of age, he should remain a valuable fantasy commodity next year.
Sean Casey: It is hard to believe that team that battled for a wildcard spot that deep into the season could give 449 AB to such a powerless hitter as Casey, 4 home runs for the season, at such a power position as first base. This is the third consecutive season that his power numbers have declined, 2004/2005/2006/2007 home runs of 24/9/8/4, and at the age of 34, it is hard to believe that they will ever come back. With his skill set of a high contact rate, 91%, and a decent batting eye, 8.0 BB%, but no power or speed, he would best be utilized strictly as a pinch-hitter.
Hank Blalock: Despite missing more than half the season with a shoulder injury, Blalock is recovering the power, 10 home runs and 16 doubles in 208 AB that had mysteriously been in a three-year downtrend, 2004/2005/2006 home runs of 32/25/16, to the extent that it had fallen below league average. What is even more encouraging is that Blalock is delivering the power with a much improved contact rate, 82% vs. 76% from his career 2004 season, while maintaining a similar walk rate, 9.2% vs. 10.7%. The return of the power is fully supported by his FB% climbing back towards his 2004 numbers, 2004/2005/2006/2007 FB%'s 48%/36%/37%/46%. He will be the magic age of 27 next season and looks primed for a big year.
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