Alfonso Soriano Starting To Hit

Alfonso Soriano has been a terrible disappointment for the Cubs, given how much money they're paying him to attempt adequacy each season. But in fantasy leagues, you don't have to pay him millions and millions, softening the blow if he ends up failing to meet your standards. With that in mind, it might be time to notice that he's starting to hit.

Soriano picked up three hits on April 18, after starting the season hitting .200/.220/.200. It was early enough in the year that the one game brought his OPS up by 80 points, but he didn't stop there: since that game, Soriano has hit .303/.358/.618 with 12 homers, 12 doubles, and strikeouts just 20 percent of the time. One thing he isn't doing is walking, making him dependent on batting average, but his batting average on balls in play isn't highly out of the ordinary or anything, meaning you don't need to expect that kind of natural drop-off from where he is now.

This surge -- one that now takes place in parts of three months -- has Soriano up to .275/.321/.507. It's not fantastic, by any means, but it's good, and it's productive. With all of the injuries that have been going on in the outfield across the majors, someone like Soriano can come in handy. And, if you're wondering why you're seeing his name here now, given how widely-known it is, consider that he's owned in just 77 percent of CBS leagues and 56 percent of Yahoo!'s despite this long bout of quality hitting.

It's hard to trust the 36-year-old outfielder to keep at it throughout the season, but if you're struggling with injuries (a certain author can attest that yes, his outfield is in injury shambles), he's a name to keep in mind -- one you will want to act on fast, before he vanishes off of waivers entirely. You've likely already missed the best he has to offer, but even if his line just stays static from here on out, that will be plenty useful to a squad in need.