13 Matt Carpenter, 2B

You may not have noticed unless you own him yourself, but the Cardinals' Matt Carpenter has found another gear since the start of May, batting .386 (17 for 44) with four doubles and nine walks. He's the fifth highest-scoring second baseman in Head-to-Head leagues during that stretch and is now the eighth highest-scoring second baseman overall.

This is closer to what I expected from the first-year starter coming out of spring training: a high on-base percentage and enough extra-base power to distinguish him at a weak position. He's not quite as valuable in Rotisserie leagues given his limited home run ability and almost non-existent steals potential, but even in those formats, his quadruple eligibility makes him a definite asset.

If you like what Martin Prado has had to offer in recent years, you should like Carpenter as well.

Cardinals second baseman Matt Carpenter reached base three times Monday against the Mets. 

Carpenter hit two singles and walked during the game. He scored and drove in two runs. Carpenter is hitting .294/.373/.449 in 136 at-bats. Jon Jay had a brief run in the leadoff spot, but the team has gone back to Carpenter recently, so he should continue to get a lot of at-bats. 

Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter reached base four times in Wednesday's series finale against the Cubs. He went 2 for 3 with a pair of walks and two runs scored in the 5-4 win.

The 27-year-old reached on an infield single in the fifth inning before hitting a double in the seventh.

Carpenter is batting .346 (9 for 26) so far in May with one RBI and five runs scored.