Joe Mauer still looks like he could finish the season as the top fantasy catcher despite not hitting for nearly as much power as previous seasons. He went 4 for 5 with his 8th homer of the season, and now has 65 runs batted in as well. I know that a lot of people have been very unhappy with the performance so far, but how unhappy can you be with a .335 batting average and reasonable run production from your catcher?
Gio Gonzalez had a good start yesterday against the Blue Jays, going 7 innings and allowing 1 earned run. He struck out 6, but the 4 walks remain a concern to me. He has been very good lately, and since the All-Star break, Gonzalez is 3-2 with a 2.70 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 40 innings.
Evan Longoria had a good game last night, going 3 for 4 with his 16th homerun and 4 runs batted in. He's hitting .293 with 80 RBI now, 77 runs scored, and 15 stolen bases. The power isn't quite where I'd want to see it right now, at least based on previous seasons, but he's already set a career high in steals, and could set one in batting average, runs and RBI potentially. I think he's probably going to be my #2 3B for next season, but could be my top one if he has a decent power month in September.
Lorenzo Cain went 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored and an RBI. He's now hitting .389 in his short time in the Majors, and is more of a speed guy than anything. He stole 26 bases in only 82 games in the minors this year, and appears to be getting the majority of the playing time in CF for the Brewers.
Mike Leake was sent to the bullpen in an effort to limit his innings for the season. Travis Wood will take his place in the rotation tomorrow, and I think that in all non-keeper formats Leake is droppable with the possible exception of NL-only.
Miguel Cabrera hit 2 homeruns last night to bring him to 30 on the season, and now has 98 runs batted in as well. Throw in the .340 batting average, and I think he's going to be the #2 or #3 player overall for the start of next season.
Dan Uggla is going to be my #3 2B for next season at this rate, as he went 2 for 3 with his 28th homerun. He's now hitting .294 and has 77 runs batted in. To me, he should be right behind Robinson Cano and Chase Utley for next season right now.