In this final week to make roster moves, owners are making one last grab for rookie callups. David Price finally got the call, and understandably, owners have taken advantage. Price will have to compete for innings with fellow prospects Jeff Niemann and Mitch Talbot, not to mention the other members of the Rays' outstanding staff. Taylor Teagarden faces a similar playing time predicament in Texas, as he becomes one of 17 catchers on the Rangers’ roster. Actually, he only has to compete with Gerald Laird and Max Ramirez, and he is managing regular at-bats, relegating Laird to occasional DH duty and Ramirez to the bench. Teagarden is off to a nice start, hitting .361 in his first dozen games. Given his uneven minor league record, though, he is nothing more than a desperation AL-only catcher at this point.

Indians' hurler Scott Lewis may be less heralded than Price and Teagarden, but he could contribute more in the Fantasy's final week than either of them. He may get his last start against the White Sox in the season's final series. The Chicago lineup is a tough assignment, but if the Sox wrap up the division by then, he could be facing a lineup loaded with reserves. Lewis could thrive at U.S. Cellular Field, a notorious home run park, as he has not been prone to the long ball in his minor league career.

More guys in demand

Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B, Cleveland
Week 25 Ownership: 12 percent
Week 26 Ownership: 18 percent
Rank in AL Most Added: 6th (tied)
The Skinny: Cabrera is proving to owners that he has left his early-season slump behind. When he was demoted to Triple-A in early June, he was batting .184 with no power. With those stats, a lineup full of Asdrubals would have barely eeked out two runs per game, according to RC/27. Since his recall in July, Cabrera has hit for a higher average and with more power than he did during his successful '07 late-season stint. He may still be underrated. His current skill stats don't read too differently than Orlando Hudson's, yet he is on fewer rosters than Hudson, who is out for the season. There must be a lot more owners who need an upgrade or injury replacement at second base for the last week. Cabrera could be their solution, even if they are in a mixed league.

Year Team Walk Rate Whiff Rate Iso Power H/BIP RC/27
2007 Akron (Double-A) 11% 11% 0.144 33% N/A
2007 Cleveland 10% 18% 0.138 33% 4.8
2008 Cleveland 12% 22% 0.111 30% 4.1

Marco Scutaro, SS, Toronto
Week 25 Ownership: 23 percent
Week 26 Ownership: 29 percent
Rank in AL Most Added: 6th (tied)
The Skinny: Scutaro has been steadily gaining in popularity, if for no other reason than he keeps getting playing time. With injuries to Aaron Hill and Scott Rolen and the departure of David Eckstein, there has been plenty of work for Scutaro. Because of his versatility and ability to draw a walk, he is the kind of player who is nice to have around on a real major league roster. He is less valuable in Fantasy, because he doesn’t stand out in any particular category. In fact, he doesn't rank higher than 13th among major league shortstops in any 5x5 category. Scutaro's ownership (29 percent) and active roster (22 percent) rates highlight just how underrated Asdrubal Cabrera is, as Scutaro is a clearly inferior option at second base, yet he is active in many more leagues.

Year Team Walk Rate Whiff Rate Iso Power H/BIP RC/27
2006 Oakland 12% 18% 0.132 31% 4.6
2007 Oakland 9% 12% 0.101 28% 3.9
2008 Toronto 11% 13% 0.086 29% 4.4

Others drawing interest

Rank Player Week 25 ownership Week 26 ownership Percentage change
1 Scott Lewis, SP, Cleveland 1% 13% 12%
2 Alfredo Aceves, SP, N.Y. Yankees 10% 21% 11%
3 Taylor Teagarden, C, Texas 4% 14% 10%
4 David Price, SP, Tampa Bay 47% 56% 9%
5 Nelson Cruz, OF, Texas 35% 42% 7%

Guys Dropping Like Flies

Zach Miner, SP, Detroit
Week 25 Ownership: 27 percent
Week 26 Ownership: 23 percent
Rank in AL Most Dropped: 3rd (tied)
The Skinny: Owners have soured on Miner, as two consecutive bad starts jacked his ERA up from 3.46 to 4.29. Like a poor man's Chris Volstad, Miner has little value for owners interested in strikeouts, but he has been able to keep his ERA down as a prodigious producer of ground balls. But heading into Week 26, trends can go out the window depending on the matchups. He will start twice at home, pitching against the Royals and the Rays. Neither team hits a lot of home runs, and Miner can be successful as long as he keeps the ball in the park. He is a good AL-only pickup for teams that need a little ERA help in the final stretch.

Year Team BB/9 K/9 HR/9 H/BIP ERC
2006 Detroit 3.1 5.7 1.1 31% 4.44
2007 Detroit 3.7 5.7 0.5 32% 3.95
2008 Detroit 3.5 4.6 0.7 25% 4.12

Others wearing roster repellant

Rank Player Week 25 ownership Week 26 ownership Percentage change
1 Armando Galarraga, SP, Detroit 87% 82% - 5%
1 Carl Pavano, SP, N.Y. Yankees 28% 23% - 5%
3 Nick Blackburn, SP, Minnesota 67% 63% - 4%
3 Glen Perkins, SP, Minnesota 61% 57% - 4%
Glossary
Runs Created per 27 Outs (RC/27) -- An estimate of how many runs a lineup would produce per 27 outs if a particular player occupied each spot in the order; ex. the RC/27 for Miguel Cabrera would predict the productivity of a lineup where Cabrera (or his statistical equal) batted in all nine spots; created by Bill James
Component ERA (ERC) -- An estimate of a what a pitcher's ERA would be if it were based solely on actual pitching performance; created by Bill James
Base Hits per Balls in Play (H/BIP) -- The percentage of balls in play (at bats minus strikeouts and home runs) that are base hits; research by Voros McCracken and others has established that this rate is largely random and has a norm of approximately 30%
Isolated Power -- The difference between slugging percentage and batting average; created by Branch Rickey and Allan Roth
Walk Rate -- Walks / (at bats + walks)
Whiff Rate -- Strikeouts / at bats

Al Melchior was recently a Fantasy columnist and data analyst for Baseball HQ and will be providing advice columns for CBSSports.com. Click here to send him a question. Please put "Melchior" in the subject field.

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