Dmitri Young

Young's career seemed over due to his dwindling production in Detroit and off-field troubles, but Nationals GM Jim Bowden gave him another chance and Young responded with his best season since 2003. Bowden rewarded him with a two-year deal in July, but Young's playing time is going to depend heavily on Nick Johnson's health. Granted, it's a pretty safe bet that Johnson won't play 150 games, but Young is still second on the team's pecking order at first base, and isn't likely to see much time in the outfield. His at-bats could be very inconsistent.

Young was cut by the Tigers in September after dealing with legal and substance problems. Before that he had two trips to the disabled list with a quadriceps strain, and was away from the team for two months while undergoing treatment for drug and alcohol dependency at a California rehabilitation center. Young still has power, but at this point he's trying to revive his career and will likely need to stay healthy and sober in the minors before getting a chance in the big leagues. Still, he's a name to remember since he still has upside if he puts his life and game back together.

New Tigers manager Jim Leyland wants Young, who missed time last season with toe and hamstring injuries, to lose some weight this offseason so he can play left field and first base in addition to DH. The more Young plays in the field the more likely it becomes that he'll suffer some sort of injury. He's productive when he plays, but be wary.

After an All-Star year in 2003, Young missed nearly a third of the 2004 season after breaking his leg in just the Tigers' second game. He still managed to assemble a decent campaign after returning, but never looked quite as good as he did in 2003 and was forced into the DH role because he wasn't mobile enough to play the field. His leg shouldn't give him any problems in 2005.

Young was possibly the only credible major league player on the Tigers, and his All-Star nomination was actually deserved. He set a career-high in homers and RBI and posted a very respectable .372 OBP. Probably the only Tiger you want on your fantasy team.

Young tried to play through a hernia for a few weeks, then decided it probably wasn't a good idea. Ultimately, surgery was required, and Young didn't play over the final four months of the season. The Tigers thought they were getting a character guy when they acquired him from the Reds after the 2001 season, but Young turned into somewhat of a headache late last year, saying he wasn't interested in playing third base for 2003 and really doesn't want to DH, either. Detroit would love to move Young, but his big contract (he's in the second year of a four-year, $28.5 million deal) figures to block that. Oh, Young can still hit a little bit, but he needs to be healthy and happy before any significant numbers are going to follow.