Carlos Quentin (OF—White Sox) Carlos Quentin finished off the season with a fairly strong September, hitting 6 home runs for the month. After struggling a good portion of the year with injuries, Quentin’s .239 batting average was much lower than any fantasy owner would have expected. Expect Quentin to have a bounce back year next season as his BHIP% .223 will certainly improve and assuming his health is not an issue should be able to return to 30+ home runs. Quentin’s OPS dropped almost 200 points from .965 in 2008 to .768 in 2009 so chances are he will also be less regarded come draft day. Look for him to possible slide in the draft but wind up having a solid season overall.
Michael Wuertz (RP—A’s) In fantasy baseball, middle relievers are really valued the same way that closers are. If there is a pecking order for pitching in fantasy, it would have to be starting pitching, closers and then middle relief. To consider a middle reliever on your fantasy roster, he’d have to be pretty special and Michael Wuertz is one middle reliever that is definitely worth consideration. To summarize, Wuertz pitched in 73 games as of Saturday with a 2.76 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. He has a K/9 of 11.6 and a K/BB ratio of 4.35. You might think that the 2.76 ERA might be a little high even though it’s under 3.00 and you’d be right. Looking at Wuertz’s ERC which is an indicator of how well he has pitched outside of the ER, he has a very low ERC of 1.91. This would indicate that he has pitched must better than his ERA would suggest. Combine that with a fielding independence of 2.47, Wuertz may be an overlooked fantasy option. Certainly, if your leagues rewards holds, he is a must have for next year. But even if your league doesn’t, he is an excellent source of WHIP, ERA and strikeouts.
Freddy Garcia (SP—White Sox) It’s been a rough road for Freddy Garcia over the past 3 seasons, but in one of the most important games he has pitched in a long time, Garcia came up big. Yes, he came up big not just for the White Sox, but even bigger for the Twins. While Garcia’s season has been spotty, this last start where he went 7 innings with 7 strikeouts and allowing just 1 ER, could be something to build upon for next season. Garcia ERA 4.34 is elevated when compared to his ERC of 3.21 and a FIP of 3.49. It’s these indicators that could make Garcia a sleeper in next years draft and someone to keep an eye on.
Scott Feldman (SP—Rangers) Scott Feldman had an incredible year for the Rangers racking up a very strong 17-7 record. However with an ERA of 4.02 and peripherals of K/9 of 5.3 and BB/9 of 3.1, they really don’t shout pitching ace. Be careful not to be fooled by Feldman’s record and regard him as being worth more than he really is. Being a contact pitcher he probably won’t be able to maintain a BHIP% of .273 as he did this year and probably won’t be able to keep opponents’ BA at .250. Be careful with Feldman next year as he will probably slip back to the pack and have a season next year that looks more like 2008 than 2009.
Denard Span (OF—Twins) In his first season playing full time, Denard Span has proved to a be a valuable fantasy commodity. A great combination of hitting and speed has made him a real gem. With a slash line of .314/.393/.420, he should have plenty of opportunities to get on base and steal as evident by his 22 stolen bases this season. He has a solid EYE of 0.77 and a good CT% of 90% so there is no reason to think that Span is not capable of keeping a .300 average. His .356 BHIP though is pretty high, but he has the speed that helps to keep that number high. For next year, we can expect some a slightly lower average but he should be a consistent outfield option that will help with average and stolen bases.
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