Derek Jeter - The Yanks will end the season with a double-header on Sunday, but they will have to play without SS Derek Jeter. A lingering hand injury will keep Jeter from playing on the final day of the season. Its a weird position for Jeter to be in, as he has not finished his season prior to October baseball since he began his career in late 2005. Crazy to think Jeter has never played a meaningless game in his entire career until this season. In any event, Jeter will end his season under the 200-hit mark for the first time since 2004, but did manage to reach that .300 level for the 10th time of his career and for the 4th consecutive season. At 34 years old, Jeter's fantasy value has remained consistent for quite some time - high average, runs scored, hits, and mid-level SB totals out of the SS position. Things shouldn't change next year either. One stat that stands-out this year is his 24 GIDP total after hitting into 21 last season. He ranks 7th in the league in grounding into double plays, behind mostly slower power hitters like Adrian Gonzalez, Vlad Guerrero, and Derek Lee.

Mike Mussina - Mike Mussina will take the mound on Sunday in Fenway Park for the final game of the season. He'll be going for his 20th win of the season. If successful, it will be his first 20-win season of his career. Moose was able to reinvent himself this season, changing speeds and featuring non-fastball stuff in the earlier innings to give him a makeover both for the Yankees and for fantasy owners. He has a 3.47 ERA heading into his final start with a 19-9 record, 147 K's for a K/9 rate of 6.8, and 20 quality starts in 33 GS. Moose is currently 39, but still looks like he has some life in him to continue to be an impact pitcher for at least another season or two. Heck, if other 40+ year-olds around the league like Jamie Moyer and Greg Maddux can do it, why can't Moose? If he wins today, he'll be at 270 for his career. He has averaged about 16 wins per year since entering the league in 1991, so two more seasons of 15 wins to get to 300 isn't necessarily out of the question. Even if he last until he's 43, that means he'll need to average about 10 wins a year to reach that magical Hall of Fame number. Even if he gets close, he'll getHOF consideration. As for 2009, it will be interesting to see what uniform he'll be wearing but should be a decent #3 SP in any mixed league format.

Gil Meche - That $55 million contract always come up whenever anyone talks about Gil Meche. But give the guy credit - he has performed as the Royals ace and has given fantasy owners another solid season. His first half was a little rough, but he was able to rebound in the 2nd with a solid performance that gives him a 3.98 ERA, 14-11 record, 183 K's in 210.1 IP, and a 1.32 WHIP. To get there, he needed to post a 3.00 ERA, 8-2 record, a 9.5 K/9, and a 1.21 WHIP following the all-star break. So, in two full seasons with Kansas City,Meche has a combined 3.82 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 7.2 K/9, a 23-and-24 record, and a HR/9 of 0.87. I'll take that. On a side note, one interesting negative trend reversal was his GO/AO rate from 2007 to 2008. With over 200 IP in both years, Meche's GO/AO went from 1.18 to 0.80. Not exactly sure why there would be a 100-out swing from ground to air in such a short time frame, but it might lead to higher HR/9 numbers heading into 2009. Something to keep in mind when you're rankingMeche over the winter.

Miguel Cabrera - Does Miguel Cabrera warrant first round draft consideration next year? Despite his "down" year, I definitely think so. Let's check out his numbers and then I'll let you decide if you think there are 12 other players who can post better numbers. Let's review his 2007 season first (the last one with the Marlins). That season, Cabrera posted a 0.80FPI, .320 average, .400 OBP, .965 OPS, 17.3 HR/AB, and a .62 BB/K. No doubt his first year in the AL showed a drop in production: 0.71 FPI, .294 average, .353 OBP , .895 OPS, 16.4 HR/AB, and 0.45 BB/K. The 25-year-old Cabrera (yes, he's still only 25) posted his worst season of his career. I think its safe to assume that even if he recovers to the midpoint between 2007 and 2008, he is still worth of a late first round pick. Don't place too much value in an off-year.

Jermaine Dye - After a down year in 2007, the 34-year-old Dye had a nice rebound in 2008. His average improved 34 points to .288, FPI climbed to 0.69 from 0.58, HR/AB from 18.1 to 17.0, and OPS from .801 to .880. Heading into the final game of the season with the WhiteSox playoff hopes up for grabs, Dye has 93 RBI, 34 HR, 95 Runs, 77 XBH out of 167 total. As he ages, Dye's fantasy value will obviously continue to trend downward. Last year, his ADP was about 105 (approximately the 8th round in typical 12-team mixed leagues). He'll likely remain at that level with forecasted FPI in the higher 60's.

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