Practice excruciating patience. If you weathered the storm of Max Scherzer’s (RHP, DET) horrid April (7.77 ERA in five starts), you’ve been repaid for your virtue; he’s been lights-out since mid-June.

While Washington's surprising season has been filled with headlines of Strasburg, Harper and a deep and talented pitching staff, one player has had a big contribution without much fanfare. But does anyone other than his owners know that the team leader in HR and RBI—by far—is one Adam LaRoche (1B, WAS)?

When Brett Anderson (LHP, OAK) went under the knife for Tommy John surgery last summer, he had already established himself as a skilled pitcher with legitimate upside. The hope was that proper rehabilitation would allow him to pick up where he had left off. Anderson moved through the rehab process without issue and worked his way back to the big leagues in August. So far the results have been terrific.

The path to playing time for Norichika Aoki (OF, MIL) was uncertain at best this spring amid a crowded Milwaukee outfield. But injuries and inconsistent results from teammates have led to opportunity and Aoki has taken advantage. In fact, he's tied for second on the club in SBs and boasts one of the better batting averages among Brewers regulars.

After two 30/30 seasons in three years, Ian Kinsler (2B, TEX) was a popular choice early in many 2012 drafts. While he’s put up some decent stats, he’s not met the expectations of owners who took him as early as the second round.

In early May, we raved about how although he had a high ERA, Adam Wainwright's (RHP, STL) skills show no effect from his 2011 Tommy John surgery. Now in mid-September, Wainwright's season is even more impressive.

Of the many interesting baseball stories coming out of Baltimore these days, the quiet breakout performance of Wei-Yin Chen (LHP, BAL) continues to fly under the radar...

The Miami Marlins had high hopes for 2012 with a new ballpark and fat payroll, only to quickly see their season go up in smoke. If there's a silver lining to the year that wasn't, it's the emergence of younger players like Steve Cishek (RHP, MIA) who has jumped Heath Bell (RHP, MIA) to become the club's closer in August.

It looks like the Fountain of Youth is actually located in the Bronx. After Derek Jeter (SS, NYY) hit .260 in the first half of 2011, it looked like he was on the downside of his career. But after he got his 3,000th hit, he went on a tear—and he hasn’t slowed down since.

When we last looked at Yovani Gallardo (RHP, MIL) in early May, he had an unsightly 6.08 ERA and 1.65 WHIP. Don't jump, we advised—and it turned out to be good advice.

After three straight injury-shortened campaigns where he continued to flash strong skills, it was hard to know if Jake Peavy (RHP, CHW) could find a way to improve his results while staying healthy over a full season. Peavy has succeeded on both counts so far in 2012 by avoiding the DL while translating strong skills into strong results...