Virtually every contending club depends on several players' having career years. Star players are, of course, expected to contribute. But a team's supporting cast must also chip in if a club is going to avoid fading when the games pile up and the late-summer heat starts to wilt the also-rans.

 

Unexpected contributions are sometimes found when prized prospects make their big-league debuts with a splash. Sometimes, they come completely out of the blue when a struggling veteran manages to put the pieces of his game back together. Sometimes, they are the result of patience, persistence, good coaching -- and lots of luck.

 

Each of the remaining eight National League contenders has had at least one example of these kinds of players, spanning the gamut from the much-anticipated debut of Jeff Francoeur to the completely unexpected resurgence of Jae Seo.

 

Atlanta: Jeff Francoeur

 

In a year when the quality and depth of the Braves' organization has shone even brighter than usual, Francoeur has been the brightest new star in the Southern firmament. Called up to Atlanta just before the All-Star break, Francoeur went 3-for-3 with a home run on July 20 to push his batting average to .409 and his slugging percentage to .864. The 21-year-old rookie's statistics have been spectacular ever since. Through Sept. 6, Francoeur has blasted 12 homers and 15 doubles in only 175 at bats, good for a .337 BA and 1.014 OPS.

 

The real question is whether Francoeur is a supernova, a nova, or a shooting star. While considered a five-tool prospect with excellent bat speed, his record in the high minors this season was certainly not eye-popping: 13 HR/.275 BA/.322 OBP/.487 SLG in 84 games (he also played 18 games at Double-A at the end of 2004). While the anti-Moneyball crowd doesn't like to hear it, walking only four times nonintentionally in 48 games is alarming, though it is completely consistent with his minor-league record (seven walks in 84 games in Double-A this year, and only two walks in 25 games in the Arizona Fall League). Another warning sign is the right-handed slugger's huge platoon split (.469 BA, 1.500 OPS vs. left-handed pitchers; .293 and .843 vs. right-handers). Lefties are going to adjust to him sometime, and Francoeur's reaction to that adjustment will be key to his continued success.

 

Florida: Todd Jones

 

Jones persuaded scouts that he still had some life left in his right arm last year by pitching well in middle relief in Cincinnati. But a midseason move to a contender (Philadelphia) didn't work out, so he was cut adrift again. Fortunately for both Jones and the Marlins, his raft washed up on the beach in South Florida, where the 37-year-old veteran's remarkable comeback has been a key element in the Marlins' wild-card run. Without Jones' 35 saves, 1.15 ERA and, especially, his two home runs allowed in 62.2 innings, Florida's chances of staying in the race with closer Guillermo Mota injured and ineffective would have been very slim.

 

The big change in Jones this year is the addition of his brain to his pitching repertoire. Like many ballplayers blessed with exceptional skill, Jones relied on his natural talent for far too long -- in fact, until his ability was no longer above-average and he was bombed out of both Detroit and Colorado. When he could no longer blow his fastball by good hitters, Jones didn't know how to pitch with only average velocity, a decent slider, and an unreliable changeup. But with the mentoring of pitching coach Mark Wiley and the help of catcher Paul Lo Duca, Jones has learned to set up hitters and to pitch to their weaknesses, making his average stuff so much more effective. There's no reason he can't continue to do so for a few more years, though asking for another season like 2005 is unrealistic.

 

Houston: Morgan Ensberg

 

Waiting until age 27 to become a semi-regular is certainly not the mark of a budding star, but Ensberg is making a strong bid to defy the odds. After a surprisingly productive season in 2003, when he punished southpaws in limited action (seven home runs, 1.021 OPS in 98 at-bats), Ensberg experienced a drastic power outage in 2004 (one HR, .759 OPS vs. LHPs). No one could pinpoint exactly what the problem was, and the profusion of remedies only added to Ensberg's confusion to the point where his career prospects looked fairly dim.

 

Ensberg's inside-out swing and wide stance made him vulnerable to being busted inside, and once pitchers figured that out, he was helpless till he learned to pull the ball. But to his credit and the Astros' great relief, he learned to do so to the tune of 35 round-trippers and 64 extra-baggers in 475 at bats so far, enough to help Houston's anemic lineup. Without Ensberg's thump in the middle of the Astros' order, Houston would have by far the worst offense in the NL; even with him, Houston is currently 13th in runs -- ahead of only Pittsburgh, San Fran and Washington.

 

New York: Jae Seo

 

A 4.90 ERA and 5-10 record in 2004 punted Seo out of the rebuilt Mets plans for this season. With below-average velocity and without a true plus pitch, the 28-year-old right-hander needs sharp command as well as a good game plan to succeed because he will always allow plenty of hits. While Seo pitched creditably at Triple-A Norfolk for most of the first four months of 2005, no one would have dared predict his 5-0 record and 1.70 ERA since being recalled in August.

 

The difference this year? Seo has added a cutter to his arsenal, refined his splitter (which used to be almost indistinguishable from his changeup), and is throwing his curveball a lot more. The cutter allows him to keep his fastball away from the sweet spot of the hitter's bat; his high-70s curveball is a more effective weapon than his slider, which wasn't hard enough or sharp enough. That's impressive, but Seo will need to keep learning and adjusting if he wants to stick around as a middle-of the-rotation starter.

 

Philadelphia: Ryan Howard

 

For two years, Howard was touted as a top power prospect while his path to the big leagues was blocked by the formidable presence of Jim Thome. For two years, other teams asked Philly GM Ed Wade about Howard's availability. Finally, after a few Starbucks moments last September and this May, Howard got his chance to strut when Thome was disabled again on July 1. At that time, he was hitting a robust .371 with a 1.157 OPS in Triple-A.

 

And strut he has, bashing 14 homers and driving in 40 runs while hitting .282 with an .861 OPS so far. Howard hasn't exactly made Thome and his 430 career dingers expendable, but his success will certainly spur the Phillies to look even harder for ways to move their veteran first baseman and his hefty paycheck as soon as he shows he's recovered from his elbow problems.

 

There's no doubt Howard has primetime power. But he's not young (25), hasn't demonstrated at all that he can hit left-handed pitching (0 HR, .304 OPS so far in 45 at bats), and has the kind of all-or-nothing swing that major league pitchers will exploit ruthlessly if he can't adjust. Howard will get his share of walks because pitchers fear his power, but he also needs to be selective about which pitches he tries to drive -- or else he'll find a lot of his power negated by swinging at pitches that can be hit but can't be driven.

 

St. Louis: Abraham Nunez

 

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa's willingness to give versatile players with limited skills a chance is well known. And in a year when the defending NL champions have been beset by a plague of injuries to key players, Nunez has stood out as the emergency replacement for Scott Rolen. Currently hitting .300 with a .754 OPS, this is the same Abraham Nunez who played eight years for the forlorn Pirates without ever endangering enemy pitchers (career adjusted OPS of 62, 38 percent below average).

 

At 29, the plus-fielding infielder has apparently learned a few things, though. Like, first and foremost, not to get himself out. He has already exceeded his previous career highs in at-bats and home runs, and if he keeps smacking pitches to all fields and doesn't let his 2005 success go to his head, could dramatically lengthen his career as a utility infielder. He could be playing on contending clubs in the future instead of bottom-feeders like the Pirates. However, if anyone gets the notion that Nunez can hit .300 on a regular basis, major-league pitchers will demonstrate that overexposing modest talents like Nunez is not a smart move.

 

San Diego: Robert Fick

 

In a year of mixed success for San Diego -- first place in the NL West with a sub-.500 record -- Fick's modest comeback has been a bright spot. Hitting .294 with a .774 OPS, his left-handed bat has been a valuable asset off the bench for a club that has struggled to find its stride.

 

After the ignominy of bottoming out in 2004 in Tampa Bay in what was his last chance to prove he was a regular, Fick's pull-happy, undisciplined approach both on and off the field had pretty much ruined a promising career. But Fick was thrown a life preserver by the Padres, who signed him late last season as a Triple-A player who might make occasional visits to the majors when injuries mounted up on the parent club. Fick capitalized on the opportunity in May, slugging two homers in 14 at-bats while donning his dusty catcher's mask again. So far, the newly minted supersub has played five positions for the Padres -- including 28 games at catcher -- as well as pinch hitting and DH'ing. In an era of 12-man pitching staffs, that kind of versatility can keep you flying first-class and collecting big-league meal money for a long time.

 

Washington: Chad Cordero

 

In a bullpen full of overachievers and surprises -- greatly aided by RFK's impersonation of a zeppelin hanger -- Cordero has been the gutty, gritty, grind-it-out face of the upside-down Nationals. (Upside-down because Washington has been outscored by its opponents all year, winning virtually all of its one-run decisions in the first half and losing most of them in the second half.) The Nats' closer has gotten a lot of help from a supporting cast that includes Hector Carrasco, Luis Ayala and Gary Majewski, helping the club's bullpen post an ERA of 3.47, which ranks second in the league to St. Louis.

 

Cordero's success is not a mirage due to pitching in RFK. In fact, his road stats are substantially better this year than his home stats. Some have worried about whether the 23-year-old righty might have been overused in Washington's quest for glory. However, while Cordero is on a 78-game pace -- a bit high for closers these days -- he's pitched only 69 innings so far and is projected to pitch only 80. He depends on an interlocking fastball-slider combination that could remain effective for years so long as he retains his command and doesn't lose any of his low-90s velocity.

 

Gary Gillette is the editor of the 2005 ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia, which was published in March by Sterling. Click here to order a copy. Gary can be reached via e-mail at GGillette@247Baseball.com.

Source

 

Apologies if posted.

There are arguably better candidates for each team, but the stories Gillete selected to write are just wonderful.