Kevin Kouzmanoff

Kouzmanoff has never quite reached the offensive expectations he garnered as a prospect, but the saving grace was often his excellent defensive work at third base. He struggled in the field early last season with the A's and quickly lost his job to Andy LaRoche before a groin injury slowed him in May and he was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento in June. As expected, he hit well in the hitter-friendly PCL as a 29-year-old with an .891 OPS at Sacramento before the Rockies acquired him in August. He didn't do enough with Colorado (.713 OPS) to stick and signed a minor league contract with Kansas City. His contract has an opt out clause on May 1 if he's not on the big league roster, so he may just be insurance if Mike Moustakas struggles this spring.

Kouzmanoff had his numbers dip for the third straight season, posting a terrible .679 OPS and dragging down the A's lineup as a result. The A's briefly flirted with Adrian Beltre in the offseason, but had been unable to land a replacement for Kouzmanoff at press time. The team went out and added three big bats in the winter, however, which at the very least will slide Kouzmanoff into a less prominent spot in the A's lineup. He'll be the starter at third base again failing any further acquisitions, but likely won't be productive enough to have anything more than marginal value in even the deepest of leagues.

He's been consistent at a level somewhere between average and replacement level, an example of a player who looks good by traditional stats but whose inability to reach base crushes an offense. Kouzmanoff doesn't run well and his defense is just passable, making him a one-trick pony, and that trick doesn't play well 81 times a year. He should be elsewhere for at least part of 2010, raising his fantasy value with the likely move to a better home park.

Kouzmanoff suffered a late-season swoon that may have been the result of a bothersome right shoulder. He had it scoped in the offseason with the procedure being described as more of a clean-up than anything else, as no damage was found, especially to the rotator cuff, thus he is expected to be ready for the start of spring training. Late season struggles aside, 2008 was a fairly productive year for Kouzmanoff, though he still needs to cut down on his strikeouts to fully maximize his run-producing potential.

Kouzmanoff was given the keys to a full-time major league role in 2007 and he crashed out of the gate. After his average bottomed out at .108 on May 7, he hit .309 the rest of the way and finished with 18 homers, 74 RBI and 30 doubles. The Padres expect Kouzmanoff to hit in the heart of the order in 2008, which should boost his RBI total. He frequently hit sixth or seventh in 2007. Kouzmanoff is a well-rounded hitter that should occupy a prime place in the San Diego lineup for years to come.

After toiling in the minors for four seasons, Kouzmanoff amped his value with a stellar 2006 (1.083 OPS in the minors), earning a full-time 2007 gig in San Diego. San Diego general manager Kevin Towers thought so much of Kouzmanoff that he parted with second baseman Josh Barfield, a well-regarded youngster. That puts immediate pressure on the young third bagger to contribute right away. If he can handle the job, you may be looking at a 25-30 homer season out of Kouzmanoff. A great sleeper if there ever was one.

Kouzmanoff is a selective and powerful hitter who could advance quickly should the post-Aaron Boone era begin in Cleveland in 2007. Kouzmanoff suffered from back problems in 2005, but hit .339 with 36 extra-base hits for High-A Kinston when healthy.

Played 52 games for Arkansas-Little Rock in 2003 and transferred to Nevada last season for 54 games. Hit .362 with 25 home runs and 113 RBI in college. Last year for Lake County he hit .330 with 16 home runs and 87 RBI in 123 games. The Tribe moved him up for seven games at Double-A Akron, where he struggled to .208 with one home run and six RBI. He'll begin the season at Single-A Kinston.