There are several players having surprising seasons and wowing fantasy players with unexpected numbers (Dallas Keuchel, for instance) and gaudy home run totals (Alex Rodriguez).
But there remain a handful of players who are, for whatever reason, lurking just beneath the surface. They aren’t household names, don’t offer a ton of pizazz, but they quietly have been strong fantasy performers.
Nathan Karns is probably the poster child for this group of under-the-radar fantasy contributors. The 27-year-old rookie Rays starter has a 3.47 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, and 103 strikeouts over 109 innings. His peripherals suggest this isn’t a fluke (a 3.40 FIP means he is right where he should be in ERA), while Karns’ minor league track record — a 3.45 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 10.3 K/9 — should buoy the confidence of fantasy owners hoping he will keep this up. Karns eventually may hit a dead arm phase, but he has pitched 130-plus innings in each of the past two seasons, so he doesn’t have the same burnout concerns as a younger, more inexperienced pitcher.
VERDICT: Even if the ERA and WHIP rise a little, Karns still will get strikeouts. Hold on and you possibly can ride him to a roto victory.
Royals outfielder Lorenzo Cain quietly turned things around for his fantasy owners last year, hitting .301 with five home runs and 28 steals over 133 games. This season, however, Cain has taken his progression a step farther, currently carrying career highs in average (.315), OBP (.370), slugging (.502), and (naturally) OPS (.872). His 10 home runs in just 83 games already have eclipsed his previous career-high of seven, and his 18 steals have him on pace to beat the 28 from last year.
Fantasy owners have waited a fairly long time for Cain to blossom — the 29-year old showed some nice power and speed numbers in the minors, and his name earned some extra hype points when he was included in the 2010 deal that sent Zack Greinke to the Brewers. Cain also has been a nice contributor in the daily fantasy baseball world, with 10 games of 20 points or higher on DraftKings, and 12 games with 10 or more points since June 27.
VERDICT: The developing power coupled with steady batting average and speed make Cain a solid fantasy play going forward, but beware of injuries — he is not a stranger to the disabled list.
Nationals closer Drew Storen is not a secret to fantasy players — he was the 10th pick in the 2009 draft and has a 2.80 career ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and 95 career saves. But Storen has experienced a huge leap in his strikeout rate this season, to go along with the low ratios. Only once in his career has Storen neared a 9.0 K/9 (it was 8.8 in 2011). But so far this season, the 27-year-old has struck out 44 batters in 36 ?/? innings pitched, putting him at 10.9.
VERDICT: Grab him in a deal or hold tight if you own him. A 10-plus K/9 from a closer is a huge fantasy boost.
Cameron Maybin is younger than you think — he debuted in 2007, famously hitting a home run off Roger Clemens in his first at-bat. Just 28 years old, an opening-day-eve trade from the crowded Padres outfield to the rebuilding Braves gave Maybin a chance to play every day. And the oft-injured outfielder already has his most at-bats (303) since 2012.
With those at-bats, Maybin has established a career-high (in seasons with more than 10 games played) batting average (.284) and is just one home run short of tying his career high (he has eight so far). Throw in 16 steals, 45 RBIs and 41 runs scored, and Maybin seems to be showing glimpses of what Baseball America thought he could become when they ranked him as a top-eight prospect in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
VERDICT: Maybin’s .332 BABIP isn’t so far off his career mark of .315 that owners should panic and sell. Lots of smart people saw lots of talent here. It just took a while to materialize.
For more from Nando Di Fino and the Fantasy Sports Network team, tune into FNTSY on Cablevision Ch. 147. You can also hear Nando on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio’s “RotoExperts” show weekdays from 9-11 a.m.