The Houston Astro’s victory over the Texas Rangers on March 31st seems like a lifetime ago. Since that point, we’ve all been wrapped up in the day to day minutia of our teams and trying to get to the top of standings. Today, we’ll take a step back from the day to day and look at some relative ADP surprises in AL-Only leagues.

• Nate McLouth, Baltimore Orioles: Nate McLouth is at 7th on ESPN’s Player Rater. Not just for AL-Only leagues, but 7th in all of baseball. With an ADP of 199 in AL-Only Leagues, anyone who drapped McLouth late is reaping the rewards now. McLouth basically hasn’t been fantasy relevant since 2009 when he swatted 20 homeruns between Pittsburgh and Atlanta. As FanGraph’s Eno Sarris explains “Basically, McLouth has quit swinging at pitches that are down in the zone.” His plate discipline numbers stand in stark contrast to what he has done his entire career. His career O-Swing% is 21.7 and this year, he has reduced it to 17.4%. His walk and K numbers are impressive as well. His walk rate is up to 14.6% and his K% is down to 8.7%. While it seems unlikely that Nate McLouth is an entirely new player, those who took a gamble on him on draft day, consider yourself rewarded.
• Brandon Moss, Oakland Athletics: Moss had an unheralded but good 2012 season. For whatever reason, this was not reflected in 2013 ADP. Moss was selected after guys like Mark Texieria and Jeff Keppinger. In 2013, he slugged an insane .596, which really is not that far off from his minor league power profile. So far in 2012, Moss has a .394, even though he is striking out 27.9% of the time. He has only hit 4 home runs in 2013, with 2 doubles. Once the power begins to align with his previous numbers, those who drafted him are going to get even more of a bargain.
• Chris Carter, Houston Astros: Two players that were traded for one another are both having great seasons. Well, great in relation to high power, low average hitters. While Moss has been having a good year in terms of batting average, Carter is hitting below the ACTUAL Mendoza line of .220. Carter was drafted after retreads like Mitch Moreland and Adam Lind and has already hit 6 home runs, 2 doubles and a triple in 2013. His K% of 41.5 is truly outrageous and likely to regress back to his 34.5% career number. His walk rate is also lower than his career number of 11.8%. If those numbers regress, Carter wont kill as bad with batting average and will provide a real source of HR’s and RBI’s.