I'm with colleague Nando Di Fino in declaring the Phillies' Darin Ruf one of the more underowned hitters in Fantasy.
Granted, most 27-year-olds who hit .266 with seven home runs in 305 at-bats at Triple-A prior to a midseason promotion aren't so deserving of a second look. But last year, Ruf led all minor-leaguers with 38 home runs, and he did it at Double-A, which is usually a tougher adjustment than Triple-A. Maybe losing the battle for the starting left field job in spring training put him in a funk. Since arriving in the big leagues July 6, he has looked much more like the player who compiled a .299 batting and .380 on-base percentage over five minor-league, reaching base in all 24 of the games he's played so far.
But his greatest attribute is power. The 400-foot shots come so effortlessly for him. He has two already, including one against Kris Medlen over the weekend that would have left all 30 ballparks. He also has two home runs of more reasonable distance, giving him four in 81 at-bats.
And I predict more to come, making Ruf an ideal waiver claim for all those owners who lost Nelson Cruz to the Biogenesis suspensions.