Today's Fantasy Rx

Note: The beginning of most stat lines includes the following data: H/AB for BA/OBP/SLG.

Arizona: Danny Bautista, OF
56/212 for .264/.313/.335 with 1 HR, 21 RBI, 15 R, 2/4 SB%,
and a 13:38 BB:K.

Bautista finally regained his health only to lose his starting job to Raul Mondesi, and now he barely deserves a roster spot in spite of his overly expensive contract. This season's performance is far closer to his career marks than the .325/.367/.500 he managed in 154 at-bats in 2002, and as his ground-fly ratio climbed to 2.25 this season, we can't expect his power to reappear any time soon. Perhaps the only positive in his skill set this season is a 3.67 #P/PA, which indicates a welcome improvement in his patience. Unfortunately his .06 walk rate and .82 contact rate depict a player with little overall plate discipline, and without either power or speed, he won't help many roto teams. Deal or cut Bautista to make room for someone who possesses at least some immediate upside.

July Underachiever: Craig Counsell, SS/3B/2B
Old stats: 43/158 for .272/.385/.367 with 3 HR, 15 RBI, 28 R, 6/8 SB%,
and a 28:20 BB:K.
Recommendation: wait.
Stats since recommendation: 13/68 for .191 with 0 HR, 4 RBI, 3 R, 2/4 SB%,
and a 7:6 BB:K.

Previous Underachievers: April: Junior Spivey; May: Tony Womack; July: Lyle Overbay.

We'll continue tomorrow with American League underachieving pitchers.

Today's Fantasy Rx: As I mentioned yesterday, Anaheim, Colorado, Montreal, and Toronto look like teams ready to fall completely out of contention, so several young players should see significant increases in playing time. Look for Robb Quinlan, Alfredo Amezaga, Jeff DaVanon, Rene Reyes, Garrett Atkins, Juan Uribe, Jamey Carroll, Kevin Cash, & Reed Johnson to either emerge or remain starters over the last few weeks of the season. Out of this group of mostly veteran minor leaguers, Amezaga's stock could risk the quickest as he displayed good defense and impressive plate discipline at AAA Salt Lake. We expect him to start at shortstop for the Angels in 2004, likely pushing Eckstein to 2B, and while he might continue struggling due to Anaheim's tough September schedule, his long-term fantasy upside should make him a definite target for you in any keeper league where he remains available.