Week 25 of the fantasy baseball season is complete and there were many great individual performances this week that helped propel head-to-head league owners to wins. From the best in the game to some surprise fantasy contributors, here's a review of the top 10 fantasy baseball players from September 24-30*.
10*. 3B Chase Headley, San Diego Padres
Week 25 statistics*: 8/22 H/AB, 6 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 SB, .364 AVG
Despite having little to play for with the Padres, Headley had home runs on back-to-back games on the weekend against the San Francisco Giants to reach 31 homers on the year. He also tied Milwaukee Brewers' Ryan Braun for the National League lead with 112 RBIs.
9. SP Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers
Week 25 statistics: 15.0 IP, 2 W, 0 SV, 16 K, 1.20 ERA, 1.00 WHIP
On his way to possibly another AL Cy Young Award, Verlander continued his dominance in September with eight strikeouts in seven innings on September 29 against the Minnesota Twins.
8. SP Anibal Sanchez, Detroit Tigers
Week 25 statistics: 15.1 IP, 1 W, 0 SV, 14 K, 0.59 ERA, 0.78 WHIP
Sanchez one-upped his teammate with two very good starts in Week 24. Facing two easy opponents in the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins, he had a complete game shutout against the Royals and allowed just one earned run to the Twins.
7. RP Ernesto Frieri, Los Angeles Angels
Week 25 statistics: 4.0 IP, 1 W, 3 SV, 2 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP
Despite his move to a closer committee that includes Kevin Jepsen and Scott Downs, Frieri has been excellent for the Angels with his 21st, 22nd, and 23rd saves of the season.
6. RP Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta Braves
Week 25 statistics: 3.1 IP, 1 W, 3 SV, 7 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.30 WHIP
With his 42nd save of the season, Kimbrel put up his 13th consecutive scoreless outing and has lowered his ERA on the season to 1.02. He has not allowed an earned run since August 31 against the Philadelphia Phillies.
5. SP Homer Bailey, Cincinnati Reds
Week 25 statistics: 9.0 IP, 1 W, 0 SV, 10 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.11 WHIP
Bailey was the talk of the week with the major's seventh no-hitter of the season against the Pittsburgh Pirates. In what will be his second to last start of the regular season, he'll face the St. Louis Cardinals in the regular season finale.
4. 1B/OF Brandon Moss, Oakland Athletics
Week 25 statistics: 10/26 H/AB, 9 R, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 1 SB, .385 AVG
Moss put together an effective week of hitting numbers, highlighted by his five RBI performance against the Seattle Mariners on September 29. Despite primarily serving as a platoon player this year, he has become a very good fantasy option for his power numbers.
3. OF Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers
Week 25 statistics: 11/24 H/AB, 7 R, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 0 SB, .458 AVG
Kemp ended his poor September with a solid week of numbers against the San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies. With four multi-hit games and great all-around numbers, he is trying to do all he can to keep the Dodgers in playoff contention.
2. OF Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals
Week 25 statistics: 13/27 H/AB, 8 R, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 3 SB, .481 AVG
Harper had a hit and run scored in every game this week and added to his great overall numbers with three homers and three steals. With the Nationals still playing for home-field advantage in the playoffs, his numbers have been helpful in the team's wins.
1. 1B/3B/OF Chris Davis, Baltimore Orioles
Week 25 statistics: 11/26 H/AB, 8 R, 5 HR, 10 RBI, 1 SB, .423 AVG
With five homers this week, Davis was on an excellent power spree for the Orioles. From helping them clinch their postseason spot to surpassing the 30-homer mark, he has been one of the best fantasy surprises of the season.
Honorable mentions (ranked 11-15 in order): St. Louis Cardinals 2B/SS Pete Kozma, Oakland Athletics OF Yoenis Cespedes, Tampa Bay Rays SP David Price, Baltimore Orioles OF Nate McLouth, Los Angeles Angels OF Torii Hunter
*Rankings according to Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball rankings in default scoring leagues (head-to-head, 5x5 scoring). Statistics gathered from games on Monday, September 24 to Sunday, September 30. H/AB: Hits/At Bats, R: Runs Scored, HR: Home Runs, RBI: Runs Batted In, SB: Stolen Bases, AVG: Batting Average, IP: Innings Pitched, W: Wins, SV: Saves, K: Strikeouts, ERA: Earned Run Average, WHIP: Walks + Hits / Innings Pitched.
Sources:
Chase Headley News & Notes, Yahoo! Sports
Justin Verlander News & Notes, Yahoo! Sports
Anibal Sanchez Profile, Yahoo! Sports
Ernesto Frieri News & Notes, Yahoo! Sports
Craig Kimbrel Game Log, Yahoo! Sports
Homer Bailey News & Notes, Yahoo! Sports
Brandon Moss Game Log, Yahoo! Sports
Matt Kemp Game Log, Yahoo! Sports
Bryce Harper Game Log, Yahoo! Sports
Who's Hot, Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Baseball
More from this contributor:
Fantasy Baseball 2012 - Week 24 Most-Added Pitchers: Fan's Review
Fantasy Baseball 2012 - Week 24 Most-Added Batters: Fan's Review
Fantasy Baseball 2012 - Week 24 Top Performers, September 17-23: Fan's Review
Fantasy Baseball 2012: Week 25 Waiver Wire Pitchers, Deep League Pickups
Fantasy Baseball 2012: Week 25 Waiver Wire Batters, Deep League Pickups
Austin Chang is a lifelong baseball fan, San Francisco Giants supporter, and fantasy baseball player since 2005 who has been a Top 3 finisher in 70% of the leagues he has played in. Follow this contributor on Twitter @_austinchang.
