A mid-round draft pick in most leagues, Lopez gave owners excellent bang for the buck up the middle. His power production has increased in each of his past four seasons, a promising sign for the 25-year-old second baseman who's just entering his prime.

Lopez has now hit in 11 straight, although he has only four extra-base hits and four RBIs during that stretch. While Lopez is well off his .297 pace from 2008, his 25 homers and 94 RBIs are both career highs, and a reminder of why Lopez is a top-10 fantasy second baseman. While his .304 on-base percentage is worrying, Lopez is still just 25 and improving by the season, so it wouldn't be surprising to see him take a step forward there in 2010.

It's likely Lopez will become the first player since Bret Boone in 2004 to lead the Mariners with fewer than 100 RBIs. Still, it's been a nice season for the 26-year-old, who has provided strong power numbers for a second baseman.

Branyan missed his 27th consecutive game on Sunday, as a herniated disk in his back hasn't improved to the degree necessary for him to safely take the field. "I would say I'm probably between 80 and 85 percent right now and if I pushed it to come back and tweaked something again, I would go into the offseason having to go through the whole [rehab] process again." Although the hulking first baseman took pregame batting practice and swung the bat well on Sunday, he was too sore on Sept. 25 to take grounders at first base. He also hasn't been able to run full speed. Even if Branyan missed the rest of the year, he's already had a fulfilling campaign by establishing career highs in home runs (31), RBIs (76) and runs (64). The Mariners have had a litany of players man first base in Branyan's absence, including Jose Lopez, Mike Carp and Jack Hannahan.

Lopez has a six-game hitting streak after Saturday's performance, leading him to boost his batting average to .272. It's nowhere near the .297 figure he produced last year, but his uptick in homers -- from 17 to 25 -- has made up for the reduced batting average.

Although Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said he sees Tuiasosopo more as a third baseman, the 23-year-old was in the lineup at second base Thursday, moving Jose Lopez over to first. With Adrian Beltre holding down the hot corner for now, Tuiasosopo will likely see limited opportunities at third for the remainder of the season.

Lopez could very well be one of the most underrated players in the American League, if not all of baseball. It's not often that you stumble across a second baseman capable of reaching 100 RBIs and 20-plus homers, but Lopez is certainly one that can. He only needs to knock in 10 more runners to break the century mark in RBIs for the first time. At just 25 years old and with over 700 at-bats under his belt, the best could be yet to come for Lopez.

Lopez has been dialing up the power during a modest five-game hitting streak, sending three out the yard to establish a new career high in homers. After carrying a .226 average into June, the 25-year-old has come on strong, raising his average to .272. With 85 RBIs, he’s poised to surpass the 89 ribbies he totaled in a career year last season.

Lopez homered for the second game in a row, so it's apparent he could be breaking out of a slump that had plagued him since late August. Owners should jump on the bandwagon now, as the second baseman's five homers in 10 games from Aug. 20-29 showed an unquestionable level of power.

Despite the homer, Lopez is still embedded in an .091 (2-for-22) funk. An optimist will note that both his hits have gone for extra bases -- he hit a double on Sept. 1 -- but the fact remains Lopez is continuing to struggle at the plate after he notched a .258 batting average in August.

Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu continues to explore all of his options for filling Russell Branyan's spot at first base while he recovers from a herniated disk in his back. Lopez is the latest candidate, as he's worked out some at the position before and is a little more experienced than some of the Mariners' other infielders. That, and Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu wanted to give the versatile Hall a chance to play a little more infield. Branyan is on the 15-day disabled list until at least Sept. 13, and it's possible that he might not return this season. Another option at first is Mike Carp, who was among the first batch of Sept. 1 callups.

Lopez is annually one of the sneakier options at second base, and he racked up 20 homers for the first time in '09. His .271 batting average isn't close to his .297 mark of last year, but he's already surpassed his home run total by three and he's only 10 RBIs short of last year's total.

Lopez made August the second month in '09 that he's recorded at least 20 RBIs. They're the first two months in which the second baseman has put up 20-plus ribbies since May 2006, when he brought home 25 runners.

Having already exceeded his career high of 17 homers this past weekend, Lopez is powering his way toward the 20-mark without hesitation. Monday was his third long ball in the last five games. The Mariners have come to rely on Lopez heavily for run production, made clear by his third spot in the lineup and 76 RBIs. All things considered, that's an excellent place to be for a 25-year-old second baseman.

Lopez, who had gone hitless over his last eight at-bats before busting out with the jack, ended a 16-game power drought, which was his longest since early May. After a slow start to the campaign, the 25-year-old second sacker has picked up the pace. With 73 RBIs, he’s on track to break his previous career high of 89 ribbies, set last year.