MLB

BUDDY SYSTEM

What's better than a breakout player? Two on the same team.

Every season, unlikely candidates emerge to become key contributors. This year, the surprises have come in pairs.

ERVIN SANTANA (RHP) AND JOE SAUNDERS (LHP), ANGELS
After a shaky 2007, these two competed for one rotation spot in spring training, but injuries to other starters thrust them both into the rotation. Their 17 wins ranks second among any two teammates, and they've combined for a 3.36 ERA. "They needed to rediscover their mechanics, and they have," says manager Mike Scioscia.

MILTON BRADLEY (DH) AND DAVID MURPHY (RF), RANGERS
Because of incidents with teammates, umpires, fans and media members, Bradley is on his sixth team in eight years. But he's also leading the AL in average, OBP and slugging. Murphy, a 2003 first-round pick for the Red Sox, came over in last summer's Eric Gagné deal and is starting to rake after shortening his swing. He's sixth in the league in RBIs, and he and Bradley have teamed up with ultimate comebacker Josh Hamilton to give Texas the AL's most productive outfield.

JESSE LITSCH AND SHAUN MARCUM (RHPs), BLUE JAYS
Unlike the other Toronto starters, these two rely on guile over gas. "When you're throwing 86 to 90, it's going out of the park if you miss your spot," says Marcum, who leads the AL in ERA and WHIP. Litsch,
a Florida native who was a Rays batboy as a teen, ranks among the league leaders in
ERA and fewest walks.

CHRIS COSTE (C) AND JAYSON WERTH (OF), PHILLIES
Contenders need strong benches, and these two are giving the Phils plenty in reserve. Werth, who filled in admirably when centerfielder Shane Victorino was on the DL, and Coste, who spent 11 years beating the bushes before making his major league debut in 2006, have combined for 15 homers and a .513 slugging percentage. "I'm a part-time guy, so pitchers don't attack me the same way they do with Chase Utley and Ryan Howard," Coste says. "I have to take advantage of that."

JIM JOHNSON AND MATT ALBERS (RHPs), ORIOLES
A former volunteer firefighter, Johnson is now putting out fires on the field. Both he and Albers, who came from Houston last winter in the Miguel Tejada deal, work off fastballs in the mid-90s, and the two have teamed up for a 2.09 ERA in 812/3 innings while allowing just three homers and 57 hits.

Q RATING

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On June 1, Ozzie Guillén basically called his White Sox the latter-day version of the Hitless Wonders. And yet, just like that 1906 South Side squad, the 2008 Chisox are in first placethanks largely to a 25-year-old kid who's coming off shoulder surgery and nearly got cut this spring.

Five days after Guillén's rant, leftfielder Carlos Quentin, who made the team only because Jerry Owens got hurt in camp, hit his 16th homer, a three-run shot to help beat the Twins. Through mid-June, Quentin ranked second in the AL in home runs and RBIs and eighth in OPS. That's quite a turnaround from last season, when, after a disappointing first half with the D-backs (.210/5/28), the former can't-miss prospect was demoted to Triple-A Tucson.

Last October, Quentin had surgery to fix a left labrum tear, which had virtually made him a one-armed hitter. Two months later, Arizonawhich had picked him in the first round of the 2003 draftsent him to Chicago for a Class-A player. "When I first got traded, I was like, 'Wow, I'm not sure how I feel about this,'" says Quentin. "But after you realize you're no longer part of the plan, it feels like a great opportunity to go somewhere else and earn whatever time you can."

White Sox GM Kenny Williams, like Quentin a Stanford man, had long kept an eye on him. Before the shoulder injury, Quentin was a career .313 hitter in the minors, with a .428 OBP because of his penchant for walks and getting plunked (a record 43 HBPs in 2004). "He's an extremely focused, outstanding fastball hitter," says Sox hitting coach Greg Walker. "Now that he's healthy, he's able to show why he was on everybody's prospect list."

Another list Q may soon grace: the AL All-Stars.

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