Today's Fantasy Rx

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

Arizona: Alex Cintron, SS
108/348 for .310/.357/.480 with 11 HR, 43 RBI, 56 R, 2/5 SB%,
and a .310/.357/.480.

I strongly recommended Cintron back in May after Arizona promoted him to replace Counsell, and not only has he posted impressive fantasy marks, he emerged as one of the best young position players in the league. While his .07 walk rate isn't great, the combination of a .92 contact rate, 1.39 G-F, and a favorable home park give Cintron as much power potential as any NL shortstop. Cintron's 3.43 #P/PA suggests he still needs to improve his patience, but this career-high number of homers makes him a useful contributor in any league. Teams looking towards 2004 in particular should seek to acquire Cintron as he possesses the talent necessary to maintain this pace indefinitely.

July Overachiever: Steve Finley, OF
Old stats: 109/363 for .300/.377/.529 with 18 HR, 55 RBI, 61 R, 8/15 SB%,
and a 43:64 BB:K.
Recommendation: wait.
Stats since recommendation: 11/57 for .193 with 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, 3/4 SB%,
and a 6:13 BB:K.

Previous Overachievers: April: Carlos Baerga, 2B; May: Chad Moeller; June: Matt Kata.

We'll continue tomorrow with American League overachieving pitchers.

Today's Fantasy Rx: Even if we ignore the roster shenanigans involving Wade Miller, Dan Haren and several other pitchers, several call-ups over the first few days of this month could have an immediate impact on fantasy teams. Yesterday, Milwaukee promoted Luis Martinez and Mike Crudale, Mets added Danny Garcia to the roster, and Detroit recalled Cody Ross. Neither position player posted exceptional AAA stats this season, however both should see regular playing time this month as they compete for starting jobs in 2004.

Crudale looked like a future closer last season, but he lost his job in Spring Training, struggled with injuries to post a 5.52 ERA on a 23:11 K:BB in 29.1 IP with 7 HR at AAA Memphis(PCL) this season, and then moved to the Brewers in the DeJean trade. Of course, we still like his track record, but given the performance of Danny Kolb and Leo Estrella this year, I don't expect him to factor into the closer's mix in Milwaukee.

Luis Martinez is the gem of yesterday's roster expansion as he immediately will move into the Brewers' rotation to start Wednesday against Cincinnati. Martinez managed a surprising 8-5 record and 2.58 ERA on a 116:54 K:BB in 115 IP over 20 GS with 93 H and 11 HR at AA Huntsville(SL), but after almost earning a trip to the majors, he instead dominated at AAA over the past month. He posted a 4-0 record and a .99 ERA on a 46:19 K:BB in 45.2 IP over 7 GS with 37 H and 0 HR for AAA Indianapolis(IL), so he appears ready to excel in the majors. Plan on spending a good amount of FAAB to add him to any non-contending team immediately since even as he should face Houston, St. Louis, Arizona, and Houston to finish the season, his future looks very bright.

The one piece of bad news is that Texas' Ramon Nivar will not return to the majors this year as the Rangers instead will let Laynce Nix play center as Nivar first helps AA Frisco in the Texas League playoffs before heading to the Arizona Fall League. Anyone hoping for help from Nivar needs to find a different source of steals.