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Top 25: A-Rod making late push

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By The Fantasy Staff / MLB.com

09/29/09 12:22 PM EST

1		Albert Pujols .328-47-132, 15 SB	1	An extended power outage for Prince Albert has thrown a wrench into his quest for 50 homers.
2		Joe Mauer .371-28-92, .602 SLG	3	With a strong final week, Mauer could become the first big leaguer this decade to finish with a .375 average.
3		Hanley Ramirez .346-24-105, 26 SB	3	The National League batting leader is the only player in the game with at least 100 runs, 100 RBIs and 25 swipes.
4		Prince Fielder .297-43-137, .596 SLG	4	Having already shattered his previous career high of 119 RBIs, Fielder is looking to top .300 for the first time in his career.
5		Ryan Howard .275-43-137, .566 SLG	5	With 11 RBIs in a five-game stretch from Sept. 23-27, Howard moved into a tie with Fielder for the ML lead in that category.
6		Mark Teixeira .294-38-120, .568 SLG	6	Big Tex has lived up to expectations, as he ranks in the Top 2 in the American League in homers, RBIs and slugging percentage.
7		Tim Lincecum 14-7, 2.47 ERA, 254 Ks	8	Lincecum enters his final outing of '09 in a bit of a rut, as he's dropped two straight starts and three of his last four.
8		Chase Utley .289-31-92, 23 SB	7	Utley batted only .222 through his first 26 contests this month, but he swiped seven bases in that span to notch his first 20-steal campaign.
9		Ryan Braun .316-30-107, 17 SB	9	Braun has been swinging a fiery stick, racking up eight multi-hit efforts in a 12-game span from Sept. 16-27.
10		Miguel Cabrera .329-32-100, .552 SLG	10	Miggy has plated nearly a run per game over the last two months, helping him reach the 100-RBI plateau for the sixth consecutive season.
11		Alex Rodriguez .285-28-93, 14 SB	13	A-Rod has saved his best for last, batting .349 with five jacks and 23 RBIs through his first 23 tilts in September.
12		Matt Kemp .301-26-100, 34 SB	11	By crossing the plate four more times, the multi-talented Kemp will notch his first career 100-run campaign.
13		Matt Holliday .312-24-105, 14 SB	12	Holliday has been one of the game's most prolific hitters this half, posting a .358 average with 62 RBIs in 65 contests since the break.
14		Zack Greinke 16-8, 2.06 ERA, 237 Ks	15	If Greinke tosses seven scoreless innings in his final start of '09, he will become the first starter to finish with a sub-2.00 ERA since Pedro Martinez did it in 2000.
15		Aaron Hill .285-35-104, .499 SLG	17	Underscoring his consistency, Hill's 10-game hitting streak from Sept. 16-26 was his fifth double-digit streak this season.
16		Mark Reynolds .264-44-101, 24 SB	15	Reynolds has sent only four out of the yard through 23 games in September, but his 44 big flies are still good for second in the bigs.
17		Adam Wainwright 19-8, 2.58 ERA, 204 Ks	18	Wainwright will look to finish as the NL's only 20-game winner in his final outing of the season, Oct. 2 vs. the Brewers.
18		Derek Jeter .333-17-65, 30 SB	20	Among the AL's Top 5 in hits, runs, average and on-base percentage, Jeter is making a strong case for league MVP honors.
19		Carl Crawford .308-14-67, 59 SB	14	Captain Carl's stolen base numbers have dipped each month since May, but he's still just one theft away from establishing a new career high on the basepaths.
20		Evan Longoria .284-32-110, 9 SB	19	Longoria has raked over the first 26 games of September, racking up 15 extra-base hits and 19 RBIs to complement a .351 average.
21		Felix Hernandez 17-5, 2.49 ERA, 207 Ks	22	King Felix has been practically unhittable in September, going 4-0 with a 1.15 ERA and a .191 average against over five starts.
22		CC Sabathia 19-7, 3.21 ERA, 194 Ks	23	With seven shutout frames of one-hit ball vs. Boston on Sept. 26, the red-hot Sabathia ran his unbeaten streak to 11 starts.
23		Ichiro Suzuki .351-11-46, 26 SB	21	Ichiro averaged 225 hits over his first eight seasons in the Majors, and he's squarely on pace to reach that mark in '09.
24		Troy Tulowitzki .290-30-87, 19 SB	24	Tulo has been dialing up the power at a furious rate lately, cranking six long balls in an 11-game span from Sept. 12-24.
25		Victor Martinez .301-22-102, .476 SLG	NR	V-Mart cracks the penultimate edition of the A-list on the strength of a recent 25-game hitting streak.

Rankings are based on lifetime and 2009 statistics. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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