Ian Kinsler (2B - Rangers) - Since coming off the disabled list last Friday, Kinsler has done nothing but hit bombs. With another one last night, Kinsler has 3 HR in the last 4 games and a total for 26 on the year. His AB/HR rate is easily the best of his career. Starting in 2006, Kinsler posted HR rates of 30.2, 24.2, 28.8 and now 16.2 in 2009. Despite the huge bump in power, his overall OPS is still lower this season at .827 than last year's .892. The 70 point drop in average is the main driver, dropping from .319 in 2008 to .249 as it currently stands. Overall, his outstanding 2008 FPI of 0.81 is now 0.69 which is in-line with 2006 and 2007 of 0.65 and 0.67. Injuries have played a role in Kinsler's season and is likely the cause of the drops in the aforementioned stats as well as other rates like PA/K (8.6 to 7.4) and PA/BB (12.8 to 10.9 despite a flat BB/K from 0.672 to 0.677). With power and speed, Kinsler will be the 2nd-best fantasy 2B for many years to come (Chase Utley will likely continue to be the consensus).
Delmon Young (OF - Twins) - Delmon Young's power surge continued on Tuesday, hitting his 4th HR of the month (all in the lsat 8 games). He only has 7 HR for the entire season and has been a huge fantasy disappointment in terms of power and production. But at just 23 years old, perhaps Young is figuring out his power stroke and its just now starting to show? I highly doubt it. He has 1,600 big-league ABs under his belt and you would think the power would have emerged at some point over the last 3 years. His career-high is 13 with the Rays in 2007 in 645 AB. Dating back to his farm-league days, Young hit 25 HR in 513 AB in Single-A ball, and 26 HR in 558 in AA ball for AB/HR rates of 20.5 and 21.5. When he started to reach the higher levels, his power dropped. In Triple-A, he hit just 8 HR in 342 AB for a rate of 42.8. When he reached the majors in late 2006, he hit 3 HR in 126 AB and posted rates of 42.0, 49.6, and 57.5 through 2008. With his most recent surge, he has bumped it to 37.1, but heading into August he was at 69.3. Its been a nice bump for fantasy owners, but I don't expect it to last for long and I would be shocked to see him break below the 30.0 AB/HR level in 2009.
BJ Upton (OF - Rays) - Well its about time, right? After being dropped to 8th in the lineup, BJ Upton finally showed-up and gave fantasy owners a little production. He went 3-for-4 with a triple, a home run (his 8th of the year) and 2 RBI. It was his first HR since June 30th, his first triple since July 4th and his first extra base hit since July 29th. Yup, its been that bad, as Upton owners know all too well. With back-to-back months of OBP sub-.300, he stolen bases are way down as well as he has one of the worst seasons of his career. Despite a "break-out" on Tuesday, you have to keep him benched until he can really put together a few consecutive games of positive results. Unfortuantely, he's the kind of player that just kills you to let go outright so keep him as a stashed player for now.
Billy Butler (1B - Royals) - Ok, so my man-crush on Billy Butler over the last year or two has been a little exaggerated. But Butler is now hitting .301 with 14 HR and 64 RBI for the season and ranks 2nd in the majors in doubles with 41 (behind Brian Roberts with 45). That gives him an OPS of .843 and an FPI of 0.66. The tough part is he only has 1B eligibility, making it tough to find a spot for him on most mixed-league fantasy rosters. But if your Utility spot is being occupied with a sub-0.66 FPI guy right now, Butler isn't a terrible replacement. And, according to CBS, he's unowned in 30% of all leagues.
Julio Borbon (OF - Rangers) - The 23-year-old Borbon is tearing-up the base paths. After stealing four bases on Saturday against the Red Sox, he stole another 3 yesterday against the Twins, giving him 7 in the last 3 games (he didn't play on Monday). He has also multi-hit games in each of those starts and is 11-for-20 for the month. Playing time should be more regular is he keeps this up and could be a huge boost to the top of the lineup for the Rangers. He's going to be your typical speed/average guy (think Nyjer Morgan and Denard Span). In 407 AB in the minors this season, Borbon hit just 2 HR but swiped 25 bases in 32 attempts while hitting .307 with a .367 OBP.
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