Dee Gordon (SS - LAD) - Dee Gordon stole his 61st base of the season on Sunday, 6 more than fellow NL speedster Billy Hamilton. Gordon has returned phenomenal value for owners who gambled on him over Alex Guerrero this spring. Going into next year, Gordon will carry a much higher price tag after holding his own at the plate by hitting .289/.329/.378 in his first full season as a regular starter. Gordon's wheels have provided him with well-deserved batted ball luck evidenced by his .348 BABIP on just a 21% line drive rate. He doesn't strike out much (just 16.7%) and he makes great contact (87.3%). He'll likely remain atop the Dodgers' powerful lineup for the foreseeable future.
Javier Baez (SS - CHC)- After homering in back-to-back days, Baez failed to hit one out of the park on Sunday. However, he did manage to go 1-for-3 with his 4th stolen base on the season. Baez's speed has been his most overlooked tool during his cup of coffee with the Cubs this season and he's now perfect in his save opportunities. Taking into account his stat totals at Triple-A, Baez would have had a 30 HR and 20 SB season this year. As promised, Baez has brought a boat load of strikeouts with his great power. Through 39 games, he has 70 strikeouts (with a strikeout rate exceeding 40%) and his batting average is just .177. The poor batting line will likely do little to depress his value on draft day next season, especially since he's flashing his promising power upside, evidenced by his 25% HR/FB ratio. According to ESPN's Homerun Tracker, Baez's 9 homeruns have been hit for an average distance of 405 ft with an elite 106 MPH speed off the bat.
Gregory Polanco (OF - PIT) - The beleaguered rookie had a nice day at the plate on Sunday, going 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored against the Cubs. Polanco was sent back down to Triple-A at the end of August after suffering through a 2-week slump. Since being called back up with the club in September, the outfielder has struggled to find consistent at-bats and had just 4 hits in the month coming into today. On the season, he's now hitting .241/.315/.342 but that line is a little deceiving. The rookie's batting average of balls in play is just .279 but he has a solid 20% line drive rate. Based on that batted ball data, his BABIP should be closer to .320. On the bright side, his strikeout rate isn't terrible (18%) and his walk rate is above league average (10%). The end of the year slump might depress his value on draft day next year and I'm expecting much better stats from the player we know already has a lethal power/speed combo.
Marco Gonzales (SP - STL) - Over Marco Gonzales' last 3 starts, he has yielded just 3 runs. On Sunday, he faced off at home against the Colorado Rockies and gave up just 1 run on 4 hits while striking out 9. He also walked 4 batters, which is exactly what is holding him back from becoming a fixture in the Cardinals rotation. Since being called up to the majors, Gonzales' has posted a terrible 14% walk rate despite having better than average control in the minors. Thanks to a few rough starts earlier in the season, his ERA continues to look ugly at 4.34 (although today's start did lower it from 5.01). Today's 9 strikeouts is a little unusual based on his history but he has shown the potential for high strikeout ability (28% strikeout rate at Double-A). However, his 8.5% swinging strike rate and less than league average chase rate provide little hope for the high strikeouts to continue.
Jonathan Lucroy (C - MIL) - Lucroy had a solid game for the Brewers on Sunday going 3-for-5 with 2 runs scored. Like many catchers, Lucroy was slow to get going early in his career but he has steadily increased his production the last 3 years. In 2014, he has finally taken a big step forward and can now be considered one of the elite catchers off the board next season. On the year, he has 13 HR, 67 RBI, 71 runs scored with a slash line of .303/.371/.477. Lucroy has incredible pitch selection with a minuscule 5% swinging strike rate and a fantastic 87.5% contact rate. With Buster Posey's production slowly declining, Lucroy has a legitimate shot at being the first catcher off the board next year, although division rival Devin Mesoraco also has a good case.
Follow me on Twitter @MichaelWaldo to get player tidbits this season. I'll happily answer any keeper or trade questions for your team. You can follow Fantistics on Twitter @Fantistics.
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