MLB Wake Up Call - July 31

Players of the night

Pitching
Derek Holland
vs. Seattle
8 2/3 IP, W, 2 hits, 1ER, 1.04 ERA 10 K, BB

Ok, I'm not going to lie, when I saw the name D. Holland, I had to look up his first name. But Derek was lights out for Texas last night.

I don't want to take any credit away from his gem last night, but 22-year-old is 4-6 on the year with an ERA of over 5.50, so chances of him repeating that outing are slim.

But Texas continues to be in the playoff hunt, and it's performances like that that may get them to October for the first time this decade.

Hitting
Michael Young- Rangers
vs. Seattle
3-for-4, 2 home runs, 2 RBI, 3 runs

It's funny to think how before the season started, many felt Michael Young possibly had the worst contract in baseball for team owners. The aging infielder was coming off of numerically-decreasing seasons and Young was showing reluctance to moving over (again) to third base (Soriano pushed him to short following the A-Rod deal in 2003).

But in 2009, Young has been nothing but spectacular. His 16 homers already top his '08 totals and his .326 average anchors a Ranger lineup full of free-swingers. It doesn't look like he'll reach 100 RBI on the year for the third consecutive season, but Young has become more of a table setter with boppers like Kinsler, Cruz and a struggling Hamilton.

For fantasy keeper-league owners, it makes no sense to drop this guy after the season, but keep tabs on him in '10.