by Warren 'Dan' Bogard
It’s good to get in the habit of checking the list of top fantasy producers over the last 30 days. While it’s great to be dialed in to daily production and two-week production, it usually takes longer sustained performance for fantasy values to really shift. If a player sticks among the leaders for a 30-day window, you can bet that player is fantasy relevant. Let’s take a look at some surprising players who have been sneaky good this last month. Allow me to preface this by saying that few (if any) of these players will be available in deep leagues.
Pitchers
Carlos Carrasco (47% owned)
30-Day: 42.2 IP, 4 W, 28 K, 1.90 ERA, 0.87 WHIP
’11 YTD: 94.0 IP, 8 W, 60 K, 3.54 ERA, 1.16 WHIP
Carrasco was a key part of the original Philadelphia/Cleveland deal that brought Cliff Lee to the Phillies the first time around. I gave Carlos the nod earlier this year in an article about young guns poised to break out; it’s time to add him if he’s still available. The K/9 isn’t mind boggling, but Carrasco can be a quality start machine.
Tim Stauffer (53% owned)
30-Day: 41.0 IP, 3 W, 37 K, 1.98 ERA, 0.98 WHIP
’11 YTD: 106.0 IP, 4 W, 88 K, 2.97 ERA, 1.19 WHIP
I don’t know why Stauffer doesn’t get more attention. Maybe he trades at a discount due to his once questionable rotation spot, or sloppy innings in Triple-A in recent years. While he has matched up against Houston, Minnesota, and Atlanta in the last 30 days, I think he's making a name for himself in 2011. In my opinion, Stauffer has been performing at an elite level for long enough to deserve a roster spot in all but the shallowest leagues.
Scott Baker (59% owned)
30-Day: 44.0 IP, 4 W, 40 K, 2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP
’11 YTD: 105.2 IP, 6 W, 101 K, 3.15 ERA, 1.19 WHIP
Kind of like Kevin Slowey, Baker has been one of those Minnesota pitchers boasting great potential. After following up a very average 2009 by posting a 4.49 ERA, 1.34 WHIP in 2010, he’s been surprisingly dominant in the first half of 2011. Many fantasy managers would gladly add Baker’s healthy ERA, WHIP, and K/9 stats to their virtual staff, yet he’s just 59% owned.
Swiss Army Bats
Players with multiple position eligibility are among the most coveted bats in daily head-to-head leagues. I could write an entire article about why they create value as cheap insurance for front line position players, provide valuable at-bats when other players have off, and free up roster spots for more pitching. Instead, I’ll just give the nod to two of the best jack-of-all trades in the game who have recently been raking at the plate.
Ty Wigginton 1B, 2B, 3B, OF (59% owned)
30-Day: 28/101, 16 R, 9 HR, 19 RBI, 1 SB, .277 BA
’11 YTD: 57/213, 30 R, 13 HR, 34 RBI, 4 SB, .268 BA
Wigginton is now starting at 3B for Colorado. He’s getting regular at-bats and has rewarded his manager by recently launching 9 HRs. Ty is easy to add for depth at key positions.
Michael Cuddyer 1B, 2B, 3B, OF (84% owned)
30-Day: 31/97, 15 R, 5 HR, 17 RBI, 5 SB, .320 BA
’11 YTD: 78/276, 33 R, 10 HR, 30 RBI, 7 SB, .283 BA
Cuddyer started the season with painfully slow production. Lately he has been hitting fourth for the Twins, and he has been on fire. Justin Morneau is now out “until August” recovering from surgery to repair a disc in his neck, so count on Cuddyer to continue logging plate appearances in the heart of the order indefinitely. However, don’t expect the SB’s to keep piling up; he stole 3 of his recent 5 in one game against the White Sox.
Middle Infield
J.J. Hardy SS (63% owned)
30-Day: 38/103, 21 R, 9 HR, 18 RBI, 0 SB, .369 BA
’11 YTD: 59/192, 30 R, 11 HR, 30 RBI, 0 SB, .307 BA
Who says SS is a thin position? Hardy is hitting leadoff in Baltimore. He’s productive. Pick him up if you need him. I would argue that Hardy has been the best fantasy SS in the game for the past month. Maybe Jose Reyes has him by a nose, but third place isn’t even close.
Danny Espinosa 2B (70% owned)
30-Day: 32/110, 15 R, 7 HR, 19 RBI, 5 SB, .291 BA
’11 YTD: 68/286, 40 R, 15 HR, 48 RBI, 9 SB, .238 BA
The power is real, folks. If he can continue to hit for average, he will finish the year as a top-6 second baseman for fantasy purposes. Espinosa is just 24 years-old, so there is reason to believe he can still improve his performance at the plate. Three years from now, it will be fun to see how Espinosa compares to another top-prospect, Dustin Ackley, who has also been effective in his Major League debut.
First Base/Outfield
Brennan Boesch OF (77% owned)
30-Day: 40/107, 23 R, 6 HR, 15 RBI, 1 SB, .374 BA
’11 YTD: 84/280, 53 R, 10 HR, 38 RBI, 4 SB, .300 BA
Boesch retained his spot in the order in front of Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez when Magglio Ordoñez returned. I’m not at all surprised that he’s scored 23 runs in the past 30 days.
Michael Morse 1B, OF (84% owned)
30-Day: 35/112, 23 R, 8 HR, 24 RBI, 1 SB, .313 BA
’11 YTD: 72/240, 34 R, 15 HR, 46 RBI, 2 SB, .300 BA
Who says the Washington Nationals have no offense? Morse has put up more Rs, HRs, and RBIs than Miguel Cabrera in the last 30 days.
Closing Thoughts
All of these players have probably been on your fantasy radar now for a while. What’s important to realize is just how productive these guys have been over the past few weeks. Every pitcher mentioned has been on par with Roy Halladay and Jered Weaver for the last 5 or 6 starts. Each batter has measured up to the likes of Miguel Cabrera, Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Braun, and Evan Longoria over the last 100 or so ABs. Will the production last? Time will tell.
Unrelated, But Awesome
Cliff Lee has thrown 3 complete game shut-outs in his last 3 appearances. Looking at his game log since his start on May 21 (against Texas), I can’t remember a more dominant stretch of games in the last few years for any major league pitcher. Mr. Lee, I tip my hat to you … and Justin Verlander.
Warren 'Dan' Bogard contributes weekly articles to MLBDepthCharts.com with a 'Fantasy Perspective'. Click HERE for his archive of work on this site and click HERE to follow him on Twitter.
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