Alejandro De Aza - A single, double, walk, and two more steals for De Aza yesterday as the 27 year old is now hitting 324/365/565 through 108 AB's. Clearly there is a ton of regression to come here, but De Aza has hit a bit more than I thought at AAA the past few years, putting up what amounts to a 35-40 2B, 7-10 3B, 10-15 HR pace up pretty consistently for the past three half-seasons. He's hit at least .300 in each of the three years, and he also has swiped 49 bases. In short, he can play a little...much more than it appeared during that ridiculous 2007 trial with Florida. He may retain enough value to be useful in deeper leagues even after the regression, is my point.
Nolan Reimold - Reimold has been playing most of the time lately, and after another three times on base yesterday he's now 5-12 with 6 walks over his last four games. He's always had a bit of power and solid plate discipline, it's just the opportunities that have been lacking. Reimold was ready for a full-time trial with the O's back in 2008, but the O's made him wait until a few months into 2009 before giving him a shot. He hit very well (279/365/466) as a 25 year old rookie, but when he struggled for 100 AB's to start last year they seemed to move to the next option rather quickly. He's certainly good enough for an AL-only OF spot when he's playing consistently, and I stubbornly believe that if given the time next spring he'd be a worthwhile starter in deeper mixed leagues as well.
Alex Liddi - I'm not sure about the wisdom in bringing up one of your top hitting prospects so that he can pick up 3 DNP's and twice be pinch-hit for in his first 6 games on the 25-man roster. The 23 year old Liddi has severe contact issues, but he's managed over 60 XBH in each of the past three minor league seasons, including a 30 HR campaign in AAA this year. Like many of the borderline prospects coming up at this time of the year, its unlikely that any of them fanning more than 25% of the time in the minors can make enough contact to produce in the majors, but on a team going nowhere and DHing Miguel Olivo and Adam Kennedy of all people, don't they owe it to themselves to start the process of finding out if Liddi is an exception? He's a marginal prospect for 2012 and beyond with some power upside, but obviously isn't going to play enough (and has the aforementioned contact issues) to help now.
Jai Miller - Jai Miller might be getting another shot to prove hes not a 4A player, as the A's called him up yesterday and immediately slotted him in RF. Miller has 104 XBH over 721 AB's between last year and this at AAA, and he swiped 16 bases this year as well, so there's a bit of toolsy-ness to him, but 2 more Ks last night have him at 181 and counting. There aren't too many Mark Reynolds-types that can provide value with contact rates in the mid-60's, and Miller has been dealing with that at AAA. I can only imagine what he'll do at the big league level. No, I think that despite Miller's tools, he just can't possibly hit enough to contribute at this level, but there's a tiny chance here that I'm wrong.
Ryan Lavarnway - Ryan Lavarnway appears destined to be yet another guy that has hit at every level, only to sit around and collect splinters waiting for a big-league chance. The possessor of a minor league ISO of .237 through 1372 AB's at five different levels, Lavarnway received one AB in his first 7 days up this time, and with Boston floundering in the wild-card race they likely won't be resting Ortiz and Gonzalez very much, while Saltalamacchia has been hitting well behind the dish. Lavarnway certainly deserves a shot at some playing time, but I can't see where he gets it....both now and in 2012.
