Loving September

Last night was great excitement. Perhaps I was the only person not drawn to the NFL after 4:00 and perhaps it was a result of my Patriots hopes being crushed, but fantasy baseball had all the drama in my heart of a real baseball playoff game. I know how Hilary Clinton feels having won in West Virginia after watching Elijah Dukes put me ahead in the 14th inning of a meaningless Braves/Nats game.

Dukes was a player I just added to my team ten days ago and he's a guy who if you want to start talking about keepers has me really excited. Depending on your league format you might have keepers based on the round a player was drafted in or if they were claimed off of free agency. If you do a league based on when players were drafted Elijah Dukes stock has risen significantly.

Dukes had always been a highly regarded prospect when he was drafted back in 2002 by Tampa Bay (think about a Carl Crawford, BJ Upton, and Elijah Dukes outfield - yikes that would have been scarey). Now he may have finally put his troubled off the field problems behind him and is ready to be that great player everyone thought he could be. He is still just 24 years old and is playing in a market that will protect his "baggage" as he continues to mature. With 10 home runs and 13 steals in only 226 at bats he can easily put together Corey Hart or Nick Markakis numbers if he stays healthy next year.

If you weren't quick enough to snag Dukes up, here are some other outfielders to think about in terms of going from unappreciated to a rising fantasy star:

Nate McLouth: He will need some lineup protection without Xavier Nady and Jason Bay next season, but 100 runs and a 20/20 season is great from a guy who was supposed to platoon at the start of the season.

Lastings Milledge: Dukes teammate has also put the past behind - though his problems were more on the field with the Mets. He also has had the top prospect tag next to him and also had a breakout year of sorts and should not go far from the cleanup spot next season.

Andre Ethier: I'm just going to go ahead and stick a fork in Andruw Jones. Ethier has had the best month of his fine breakout season in September much like Matt Holliday did back in 2005 and could be a huge run scoring threat if the Dodgers resign Manny Ramirez in the offseason.

Carlos Quentin: Don't let the wrist thing fool you, this guy is a great hitter and will be next season. Arizona GM Josh Byrnes has done some great things, but he should not be let off the hook for giving up the AL MVP for 4 months for nothing. Unlike Ryan Ludwick, Quentin's season was not a fluke - he's young and has always had potential. Ludwick is old and more likely to be a Chumbawamba type player rather than a career guy.