Out of Nowhere

Aviles has done well, but too bad, it's for the Royals.

John Donovan, over at SI.com, wrote an interesting article about guys who have come out of nowhere to help their teams down the stretch, but he forgot about the little guys, the guys who are losing. They still have good players, so here's a list of them.

Omar Infante (ATL)
You knew I'd have a Brave, and when Chipper went down, he was there to pick up the slack. At the beginning of the season, he was only supposed to be a utility infielder. Also considering he had a hand injury coming into Spring Training and missed all of April, his 71 games played is fairly impressive for a utility guy. His line so far is .305/.354/.453 with 3 HR, 29 RBI and R, and 18 2B with a . His play has made a few people mention that Johnson should be traded and Infante inserted into the everyday lineup at second base. I think he's too valuable as a super-utility guy, especially with other options in the wings.

Matt Joyce (DET)
I wrote about this guy earlier, but he's been great so far. When Gary Sheffield has gotten his numerous injuries, Joyce has stepped in and given the Tigers an excuse to trade an outfielder this offseason. His .268/.327/.563 line with 12 HR, 33 RBI, 32 R, and 14 2B is pretty impressive when you understand he's only played in 63 games this season at age 23 (just turned 24). He should be a young, cheap option for a long time.

Mike Aviles (KC)
Unless you're Ron Rollins, you probably haven't heard of this guy, but he's been pretty good this season when Tony Peña Jr. decided to ... well ... not hit. In 69 games, Aviles has a .332/.358/.503 line with 7 HR, 35 RBI, 44 R, and 23 2B. Now, if he could only learn some patience at the plate because a .330 average usually doesn't hold up like that.

Chris Davis (TEX)
In 53 games, Davis has a .268/.310/.537 line with 12 HR, 36 RBI, 35 R, and 12 2B. Not bad for a guy called up in the middle of the year to take Blalock's spot at third. This guy wasn't totally out of nowhere if you paged through the number of good Ranger prospects, but unlike most of those, he's actually doing something at the major-league level.

Willie Harris (WAS)
This guy should be numero uno on the steroid watch list as he has 12 HR this year with no more than 2 in any other year. It's not an at-bats thing as he has had more at-bats in two previous seasons (one being last year). Yet, he's hitting .255/.344/.452 for the Nats with 46 runs scored. There's been talk of signing him for the next couple of seasons. Can you say Dmitri Young?

Paul Maholm (PIT)
Remember this guy from a couple years ago? In his first 6 games, he was 3-1 with a 2.18 ERA. In the next two seasons, he was a combined 18-25 with ERA's of 4.76 and 5.02. This season, he's a cool 8-7 with a 3.64 ERA, and with another 9 innings, he will surpass his career-high for innings pitched. Now, if the Pirates could just get their talented young pitching to all pitch well at the same time, Snell, Gorzelanny, and Maholm might be quite a 1-2-3 punch. But, alas, they are the Pirates.

Jody Gerut (SD)
After a 2003 season in which he had 22 HR and 75 RBI, Gerut has fallen off the face of the planet until a rejuvenation in San Diego (really, who wouldn't want a rejuvenation there?). So far in 93 games, Gerut is hitting .295/.354/.490 with 13 HR, 39 RBI, 44 R, and 15 2B. Not bad for a guy given up for dead, and that's in Petco.