I really haven’t paid too much attention to Aubrey Huff in the second half but oh my LORD has this guy had a GREAT season. Huff went 2-5 last night with a HR and 2 RBI, bringing his season totals to an incredible .314/32/106/95. It looks like he will easily break all of his career highs and should at least tie his career high in HR of 34. Huff has hit over .300 before in a season but it’s been 5 years since he’s done it. I don’t think that this is an aberration at all for Huff. I think a lot of people overlook his career .288 average and ability to really hit for power when he’s healthy. He’s been healthy this entire year and has crushed the numbers he’s put up through the previous 5 years. His BHIP is right on average, as is his LD%, EYE and K% but his GB/FB is much lower at .99, the first time in his career it’s been under 1.00. Huff should still have 2-3 years like this left in him and I think he is a great choice for 3B next year in any league and I wouldn’t mind reaching for him with some of the talent on Baltimore’s offense (Roberts, Markakis, Jones, etc).
With the exception of one terrible month and drop in power, Alex Rios has really had quite a good season. After his 2-4 performance last night, including a HR and 3 RBI, Rios’ season line is .295/15/76/90/30. He’s really been very similar to the Dodgers’ Matt Kemp this year and Kemp has been one of the most talked about young players in the game for 2008. The only reason we haven’t discussed Rios with as much misty-eyed admiration is because we expected 20-plus homers easily and he also hit .231 in May, which brought his BA down for quite a while. I think Rios is a great candidate to be one of the top 5-tool OF in the AL next season.
Gil Meche bounced back from a terrible start against Cleveland last week with a good outing last night against the abysmal Mariners, pitching 7 innings and allowing 2 ER on 6 H and 3 BB with 7 K’s. Meche has put together a decent year with a 12-11 record and a 4.08 ERA. He has pitched very well in the second half, posting a 3.11 ERA with a 6-2 a record and a 9.69 K/9. The post-AS break numbers are a good sign in my opinion and I think the quality Meche has been putting up in the summer months will lead to a very good start in 2009. He’s going to be high on my board and you will probably be able to get him as a 4th starter, which will carry phenomenal value if he has a good year.
Everyone who remembers the name Freddy Garcia, raise their hands. All of you should because it was only back in 2006 that the guy won 17 games for the White Sox. Garcia, who signed a minor league contract with the Tigers in late August, pitched 5 scoreless innings for Detroit last night IN Texas. Not bad for a guy who hasn’t thrown a single pitch since early 2007. This is a guy I’d watch over the offseason and coming into spring training as he may be able to make a splash on the comeback path. He won’t be dominating but you never know what kind of boost he could give you off of the wire if he begins 2009 well.
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