Some forgotten fantasy prospects

[Russell James]

I just picked Manny Parra up in a dynasty league of mine and I cannot believe that he was available. A league that has been extremely competitive this year and this guy somehow slipped through the cracks. Everyone is fighting over Kershaw, Scherzer and future draft picks that Parra was an afterthought. Yet he posted an extremely high K/9 rate last month, with an ERA below 3 and a low WHIP. He has been aggressive in the strikezone which has caused his BBs to drop and his Ks to rise. How this guy has been going unnoticed is beyond me. He is available in many leagues and is a strong buy in every type of league, especially dynasty leagues.

Clay Buccholz is another guy that seems to be available in many leagues. He averaged a little over 1K per inning and is the premier prospect of the Red Sox. He is stuck in the minors right now but will eventually get brought up.

Ryan Garko is another guy that is available in too many leagues. This guy had a horrible May, but has been turning it on lately. The Indians are in desperate need of a bat since their pitching hasn't been that bad and Hafner is on the DL with a .221 average. Garko and James Loney were the two darkhorses at 1B at the beginning of the season. Loney has done well and Garko slumped early on which caused many to drop him and forget about him. He has been tearing the cover off the ball the past few games and seems to be doing much better against righties. His average has climbed from the .200 basement to .267 in the past few weeks. Last month he batted an even .300, with a .360 OBP and .488 SLG. Those are respectable numbers. He still struggles with right handed pitching (.247) but has shown signs of improvement.

Those are the 3 that I have noticed, but I am sure there are more that I am missing. Alex Hinshaw looks to be a very good reliever.

[King Tim]

It's been a bumpy ride this year for Parra but he has looked real good of late. I expect him to explode in the 2nd half.

[stumpak]

Milledge is another guy that has been turning it up a bit. I refuse to give up on him, due largely to the extremely high hopes that the most respected forecasting services had for him (Prospectus, PECOTA, and in particular Sickles, who was predicting .300+/20). I would like him better if he was hitting higher in the order, but I think he is a great buy low in dynasty and some keeper formats. He also may be worth a look in deeper redrafts - there is a good chance he can go .280/10/20 from here on out, which is nothing to sneeze out.

[RedHopeful]

Milledge is another guy that has been turning it up a bit. I refuse to give up on him, due largely to the extremely high hopes that the most respected forecasting services had for him (Prospectus, PECOTA, and in particular Sickles, who was predicting .300+/20). I would like him better if he was hitting higher in the order, but I think he is a great buy low in dynasty and some keeper formats. He also may be worth a look in deeper redrafts - there is a good chance he can go .280/10/20 from here on out, which is nothing to sneeze out.

He has been hitting out of the 3 spot lately and he's around been hitting around .280 around the last ten games or so.

[Russell James]

Good Call on Milledge, he has been picking it up as of late.

Milledge just needs some time. I think he and Zimmerman will both be solid players by next year.

[RedHopeful]

Gotta include Billy Butler. Since his demotion to Omaha, he has absolutely KILLED the ball. Through tonight in 53 AB's, he is hitting .377/.441/.679 with an OPS of 1.120!@! He is showing a live bat, power and a good eye. Haven't read about how his defense is coming along at 1b but I don't think I've noticed any errors in the box scores. I've got to expect he'll be called up soon and very well could post some really solid numbers in the majors.

Another guy who was demoted and is murdering AAA ball is Jeff Clement. He is showing incredible power and Seattle will probably bring him back to the big leagues in the near future (especially considering their consistent offensive woes this season.)

Lastly, watch for Nelson Cruz of the Rangers. If Hamilton or Bradley get hurt, he could get the call up. He's been up before in the majors w/o that much success but he seems to have put it together according to some scouts and is more than ready to remain in the majors.

[WTP]

Just a quick note from me to give you a thumbs up for Alex Hinshaw.

I wrote about Hinshaw here at the end of last month, which makes me feel good about hitting the bandwagon pretty early. 16K and 3BB for him in 8.1IP so far, and while Brian Wilson is doing okay, his control will always keep him near that "shaky closer" line. It's still early on Hinshaw, but in a competitive league, you have to be early to catch the good ones.

[markj11]

Just a quick note from me to give you a thumbs up for Alex Hinshaw.

I wrote about Hinshaw here at the end of last month, which makes me feel good about hitting the bandwagon pretty early. 16K and 3BB for him in 8.1IP so far, and while Brian Wilson is doing okay, his control will always keep him near that "shaky closer" line. It's still early on Hinshaw, but in a competitive league, you have to be early to catch the good ones.

I put him on my watch list last week. Can you tell me more about him? What innings is he pitching? I'm in a holds league but I'm guessing he isn't pitching important innings/situations.

[Another Blown Save]

I recently picked up Elijah Dukes in few leagues and he's been on fire this month.

[WTP]

I put him on my watch list last week. Can you tell me more about him? What innings is he pitching? I'm in a holds league but I'm guessing he isn't pitching important innings/situations.

Well, he hasn't landed any holds this year, which is surprising since it looks like he's always coming in for the 7th and 8th innings lately. That said, the Giants bullpen is pretty terrible, and it won't take long before he's the top setup guy if he keeps pitching well. Pick up the talent, and the roles will work themselves out.