As the regular season comes to a close and we look towards the playoffs, there are some performances which one should keep an eye on. From hyped players to underrated players, there are six players that stand out to me when looking at the numbers.

Carlos Santana, C/1B, Cleveland Indians
Final line: 72 R, 18 HR, 76 RBI, .252 AVG

There may not be a more intriguing catcher in all of baseball, Carlos Santana has tremendous power and just needs to work on his approach at the plate before the results really show. Acquired by Cleveland in the deal that sent Casey Blake to the Los Angeles Dodgers, expectations were very high on the top prospect. Something I notice when I watch him play is that he seems to try and hit home runs every time he’s at the plate. In this day and age, the pitching is so good (evidenced by the seven no-hitters we’ve seen in 2012) that you need to try a different approach.

Santana’s stats over the past month: 17 R, 4 HR, 15 RBI, .273 AVG

I don’t see why Santana can’t put up a .270 average, with 20-25 home runs and 80-90 RBI. The talent is there and he’s headed right for his prime at age 26. He’ll likely have catcher and first base eligibility, which is great for fantasy players as well.

Homer Bailey, SP, Cincinnati Reds
Final line: 13-10, 3.68 ERA, 168 K, 1.24 WHIP

After being selected seventh overall in the 2004 MLB amateur draft, Bailey simply couldn’t live up to the expectations placed upon him by fans, the Reds organization and the media. He may not be a prototypical ace, but Bailey’s progression is very intriguing going into next year. What’s more is that he threw the seventh no hitter of the 2012 season against the Pittsburgh Pirates in his final start before the playoffs begin. When the Reds needed him to be at his best, he didn’t disappoint them at all.

Bailey stats over the past month: 40.2 IP, 3 W, 39 K, 1.99 ERA, 0.79 WHIP

Bailey can be a very effective pitcher if he is able to command his pitches, that 0.79 WHIP shows just how sharp he’s been for the Reds. I look forward to seeing him in the playoffs and beyond.

Evan Longoria, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays
Final line: 39 R, 17 HR, 55 RBI, .289 AVG

Quite simply, when healthy, Longoria is a fabulous player. The trouble is, he can’t seem to stay healthy for a full season. We’ve seen Longoria put up MVP caliber numbers before and I have no doubt that he can do it again. If you pro-rate Longoria’s numbers, you’re looking at a 30 plus home run guy, with over 100 RBI and an average hovering around .300. Longoria and the Rays didn’t make the playoffs in 2012, but he finished his season in an impressive fashion.

All he did was hit three solo home runs in the Rays win over the Baltimore Orioles, 4-1.

Longoria’s stats over the past month: 15 R, 8 HR, 19 RBI, .296 AVG

Chris Davis, 1B/3B/OF, Baltimore Orioles
Final line: 75 R, 33 HR, 85 RBI, .270 AVG

Texas just didn’t have the patience for Davis to be brought along, they rushed him to the big leagues and the result was a hitter that had tremendous power, but struck out a ton at the same time. Now, with the upstart Orioles, Davis is very capable of being a middle of the order bat and I can see him repeating this performance in 2013. As much credit as you have to give to O’s manager Buck Showalter, the players like Davis who have come through in the clutch deserve a lot of credit as well.

If you need an example of how much power this guy possesses, have a look at this video.

Davis’ stats over the past month: 20 R, 10 HR, 20 RBI, .330 AVG

Norichika Aoki, OF, Milwaukee Brewers
Final line: 81 R, 10 HR, 50 RBI, .288 AVG, 30 SB

Lost in the all the hype around rookies like Yu Darvish, Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Yoenis Cespedes is Aoki. Aoki isn’t your typical rookie; he’s a 30-year-old veteran from Japan and signed with the Brewers for a bargain at $1 million. Aoki has allowed the Brewers to move Corey Hart to first and he looks like a great hitter to me.

There was little-to-no hype around this guy when the Brewers signed him, but he’s giving them incredible value and I’m sure he has helped more than a few fantasy baseball teams in 2012. He gets on base, steals bases and scores runs. Expect more of the same from Aoki in 2013.

Aoki’s stats over the past month: 21 R, 4 HR, 18 RBI, .296 AVG, 8 SB

Yu Darvish, SP, Texas Rangers
Final line: 16-9, 3.90 ERA, 221 K, 1.28 WHIP

Darvish had his ups and downs in his first major league season, but overall he was pretty much exactly what the scouts pegged him to be. He’s a player that will rack up a ton of strikeouts, he’ll have starts where he looks like an average pitcher and then he’ll have starts when he’s utterly dominant.

We’ve seen the good in Yu Darvish as we head towards the playoffs and I think he’ll lower that ERA in 2013. Like Bailey, command is the biggest key to Darvish’s success in the major leagues. A 0.78 WHIP is very impressive for a guy that has as many pitches to play with as Darvish does. Once he figures out how to harness his fabulous repertoire, look out, he’s going to be dominant.

Darvish’s stats over the past month: 29.2 IP, 2 W, 33 K, 1.82 ERA, 0.78 WHIP

Mac can be found on the forums as dmvincent, and you can also follow him on Twitter @MacVincent1.

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