Every season there are players who seemingly come from out of nowhere to play a crucial part in your fantasy season. Sometimes these players fade away into that same ether that swallowed The Verve, Snow, and Vanilla Ice. There are also those that go on to become the next Wu-Tang, Jay-Z, or Will Smith (I still call him the Fresh Prince).

Jorge Cantu has gone over the 20-HR mark this year. Photo Credit: Chrisjnelson

Jorge Cantu, 3B, Florida Marlins - He came out of nowhere once before with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (they still had the Devil in them back then) in 2005 when he hit .286/.311/.497 with 28 home runs. Injuries and a lack of plate discipline cost him the next two seasons. Now Cantu is back with the same great power and a more patient approach at the plate. Cantu is still just 26, so he should continue to progress as a hitter. Moving Up

John Danks, SP, Chicago White Sox - In most leagues, Danks was a late round selection or a single-digit buy at auction. His 5.50 earned run average essentially guaranteed easy acquisition. You will need a crowbar and a Saturday Night Special to pry him away from his owners now. He improved virtually every aspect of his game. He walks fewer, strikes out more, allows fewer hits, but the key was the increase in his ground ball rate, which has transformed his HR/9 from a disastrous 1.81 in 2007 to this season’s 0.66. The sad part for his owners is that the likeliness of Danks maintaining that HR/9 is very low, considering his career minor league rate was 1.30. Danks is worth keeping, but he will also be taking a slight step down in 2009. Moving Down

Carlos Gonzalez, OF, Oakland Athletics - He strikes out a lot. However, he has demonstrated acceptable patience at the plate, and in the minors he has shown the ability to hit home runs and steal bases. I place his ceiling squarely between Nick Markakis and Matt Holliday. He needs to get the loft back in his swing, but the breakout is coming in 2009. Moving Up

Matt Harrison, SP, Texas Rangers - He's been horrible in the majors when he hasn’t looked brilliant as he did on Saturday, when he pitched eight shutout innings with eight strikeouts. According to all the major sites, it was his birthday (August 16), but in the post-game interviews Harrison revealed that everyone had it wrong; his birthday was really September 16. Harrison is an extreme groundball pitcher with strikeout potential, an excellent combination. His problem in the majors has been the plummet in his strikeout rate from a career minor league rate of 6.37 K/9 to 3.09 in the majors. Draft him late next season or buy him for a song and you may have the next Cliff Lee on your hands. Moving Up

Chris Iannetta, C, Colorado Rockies - The Rockies may have finally developed a catcher who can hit. After flopping last year, Iannetta has arrived. The holdup was a sudden tendency to hit the ball on the ground after his promotions to the majors (career major league GB rate of 56 percent). This is not where you want your power hitters to be. This season he has improved his line drive rate and kept his GB rate at an acceptable 40.7 percent. If he can keep it up, he has the potential to hit .300 with 25 home runs next season. Moving Up

Fred Lewis, OF, San Francisco Giants - He hits the ball on the ground a lot, but that is okay for a player with Lewis’ speed. He may be this year’s most ignored emergence, because he plays for the Giants, who prefer their everyday players to be over the age of 35. For the record, Lewis is batting .288./358./459 with nine homers and 21 stolen bases in 410 at-bats. His performance this season is right in line with his minor league statistics. Moving Up

Paul Maholm, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates - Aside from an awful month of May, Maholm has been consistently excellent this season. His breakout this season is primarily the result of kicking up his K-rate a notch to 6.32 from a career rate of 5.79. Given that his minor league rate was 7.14 K/9, and his worm-killing ways, I think he will continue to excel. Moving Up

Dustin Pedroia, 2B, Boston Red Sox - He looks like a little kid on the field, but Pedroia is stepping up like a man in the Red Sox lineup. His average is up to .321, his power has improved, and he is stealing more bases. There has not been any groundbreaking improvement to his performance indicators. I chalk up his performance simply to the maturation of a great young player. Moving Up

Alexei Ramirez, 2B/OF, Chicago White Sox - It is difficult to measure Ramirez’s potential because we do not have access to his Cuban statistics. Still, from his numbers this year, I would say he needs to hit the ball in the air more often to become the 20-25 home run player that some have projected. His plate discipline has declined post all-star break, but this seems like something he did to boost his power numbers. He scares me. Moving Down

Cody Ross, OF, Florida Marlins - I loved Ross when he was a prospect of the Detroit Tigers. I imagined him to have 20/20 potential. In all these years, he hasn't received consistent at-bats until now. It makes you wonder what might have been. At 27, Ross still has some room to improve. His speed is gone due to a variety of knee and leg injuries, but his power remains. As long as you only expect a decent batting average, in full-time at-bats Ross can provide your fantasy team with 20-25 homers. Moving Up

Anibal Sanchez, SP, Florida Marlins - Sanchez has been solid but unspectacular in his return to the majors. His control is still a bit off, and despite a miniscule 34 percent flyball rate, he has a 13% HR/FB. The strikeouts have been there, however, and once he knocks off the rust, he’ll be a primetime sleeper in 2009. Moving Up

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