There are all kinds of fun things you could do with a time machine. Imagine setting your timer for, let's say, March or April of this year, and shocking all the baseball fans you know with this bit of knowledge from the future. By late July, the Tigers will have two outfielders with an OPS above .900, and neither of them is Magglio Ordonez or Curtis Granderson. Confronted with quizzical looks, you inform your befuddled friends that the sluggers are Marcus Thames and Matt Joyce.

Matt Who?

In Week 17, Fantasy owners are still asking the same question. Joyce is owned in only six percent of CBSSports.com Fantasy leagues, even though he was named American League Player of the Week just before the All-Star Break. His solid Fantasy stats -- .272-9-19-19-0 in 103 AB -- are backed up by a .359 Isolated Power average and respectable walk and whiff rates. As a result, he has earned another esteemed honor: a place on this week's "Good Stats, Good Skills" list. Those willing to take a flier on Joyce are probably aware that he has overachieved so far, but the stretch isn't as great as they might think. The 23 year-old did manage a potent .280 Isolated Power at Triple-A Toledo before his callup, even while playing his home games at a pitcher's park. He deserves a shot in all formats, at least while he's on a roll.

Marlins middle reliever Doug Waechter has also earned the "Good Stats, Good Skills" label. As nice as his 2.5 K-to-BB ratio is, that alone did not get Waechter onto this list. Andrew Miller's knee tendinitis has opened up a spot in the Florida rotation, and Waechter is a leading candidate to fill it. So are several others, including the rehabbing Anibal Sanchez, Mark Hendrickson and Rick VandenHurk. However, if it's Waechter who gets the call, his 3.42 ERA and 1.16 WHIP -- built on a normal-for-a-flyball-pitcher 26 percent H/BIP -- would look good in a Fantasy rotation.

Dallas Braden is reportedly making the move from the bullpen to fill Joe Blanton's spot in Oakland. H/BIP has not been a friend to Braden, as 35 percent of balls in play against him have become base hits during his brief major league career. Braden has given up a few too many homers over the last couple of seasons, shuttling between Oakland and Triple-A Sacramento. However, his big league career 6.41 ERA and 1.62 WHIP are not a true indication of what he can do, and Braden is worth a roster spot in AL-only leagues.

Sometimes a player can have poor stats and an apparently unfavorable H/BIP rate, and he can still make the "Poor Stats, Poor Skills" list. Mike Jacobs is the owner of a .241 batting average, but don't blame his 26 percent H/BIP. This is just what happens when you strike out every fourth at-bat, hit buckets of fly balls and aren't blessed with the greatest of speed. Jake knows that Fantasy leaguers love the long ball, but his 19 dingers notwithstanding, he is still a far-below-average Fantasy first baseman, whether you measure value with Fantasy Rating (55.11) or RC/27 (4.6).

All statistics below are for season-to-date performances through Saturday, July 19.

'Lucky' Hitters H/BIP RC/27 'Lucky' Pitchers H/BIP ERC
Denard Span, OF, Minnesota 39% 6.4 Brandon Morrow, RP, Seattle 17% 1.70
Edgar V. Gonzalez, 2B, San Diego 38% 5.3 Dan Wheeler, RP, Tampa Bay 17% 1.98
Howie Kendrick, 2B, L.A. Angels 38% 5.4 Joakim Soria, RP, Kansas City 18% 1.31
Ramon Vazquez, 3B, Texas 37% 6.7 Justin Duchscherer, SP, Oakland 21% 1.63
Nick Punto, 3B, Minnesota 37% 6.1 Gavin Floyd, SP, Chicago White Sox 22% 3.43
Brian Buscher, 3B, Minnesota 36% 5.8 Mitch Stetter, RP, Milwaukee 23% 3.27
Fred Lewis, OF, San Francisco 36% 5.8 Shaun Marcum, SP, Toronto 23% 2.40
Xavier Nady, OF, Pittsburgh 36% 7.3 Scott Olsen, SP, Florida 25% 3.82
Adam Jones, OF, Baltimore 36% 4.6 Ryan Dempster, SP, Chicago Cubs 25% 2.98
Ryan Sweeney, OF, Oakland 35% 5.1 Kevin Gregg, RP, Florida 25% 2.92
Unlucky' Hitters H/BIP RC/27 'Unlucky' Pitchers H/BIP ERC
Kenji Johjima, C, Seattle 22% 2.5 Jorge De La Rosa, SP, Colorado 38% 5.82
Craig Monroe, OF, Minnesota 23% 3.8 Brian Wilson, RP, San Francisco 35% 4.49
Jose Vidro, DH, Seattle 23% 2.7 Bronson Arroyo, SP, Cincinnati 35% 5.87
Kory Casto, OF, Washington 23% 3.3 Dallas Braden, RP, Oakland 35% 4.89
Paul Konerko, 1B, Chicago White Sox 24% 3.8 Rafael Betancourt, RP, Cleveland 35% 5.14
Austin Kearns, OF, Washington 24% 3.0 Nate Robertson, SP, Detroit 34% 5.47
Ronnie Belliard, 2B, Washington 24% 5.0 Darrell Rasner, SP, N.Y. Yankees 34% 5.06
Ben Zobrist, SS, Tampa Bay 25% 5.8 Randy Johnson, SP, Arizona 34% 4.76
Mark Ellis, 2B, Oakland 25% 4.5 Bob Howry, RP, Chicago Cubs 34% 4.59
Ramon Hernandez, C, Baltimore 25% 3.9 Carlos Silva, SP, Seattle 34% 5.03
Good stats, good skills - hitters H/BIP RC/27 Good stats, good skills - pitchers H/BIP ERC
Matt Joyce, OF, Detroit 26% 7.8 Brian Fuentes, RP, Colorado 31% 2.34
Rick Ankiel, OF, St. Louis 30% 6.9 Heath Bell, RP, San Diego 28% 2.39
Aubrey Huff, 1B, Baltimore 29% 6.8 Doug Waechter, SP, Florida 26% 2.98
Mike Fontenot, 2B, Chicago Cubs 29% 6.8 Octavio Dotel, RP, Chicago White Sox 30% 3.11
Hank Blalock, 3B, Texas 30% 5.8 James Shields, SP, Tampa Bay 29% 3.25
Poor stats, poor skills - hitters H/BIP RC/27 Poor stats, poor skills - pitchers H/BIP ERC
Matt Murton, OF, Oakland 28% 2.3 Jeff Suppan, SP, Milwaukee 32% 5.47
Franklin Gutierrez, OF, Cleveland 27% 2.7 Kyle Kendrick, SP, Philadelphia 31% 5.37
Felipe Lopez, SS, Washington 28% 2.9 Paul Byrd, SP, Cleveland 29% 5.35
Brad Wilkerson, OF, Toronto 30% 3.3 Glendon Rusch, SP, Colorado 32% 5.35
Mike Jacobs, 1B, Florida 26% 4.6 Vicente Padilla, SP, Texas 29% 5.22
Glossary
Runs Created per 27 Outs (RC/27) -- An estimate of how many runs a lineup would produce per 27 outs if a particular player occupied each spot in the order; ex. the RC/27 for Miguel Cabrera would predict the productivity of a lineup where Cabrera (or his statistical equal) batted in all nine spots; created by Bill James
Component ERA (ERC) -- An estimate of a what a pitcher's ERA would be if it were based solely on actual pitching performance; created by Bill James
Base Hits per Balls in Play (H/BIP) -- The percentage of balls in play (at bats minus strikeouts and home runs) that are base hits; research by Voros McCracken and others has established that this rate is largely random and has a norm of approximately 30%
Isolated Power -- The difference between slugging percentage and batting average; created by Branch Rickey and Allan Roth
Walk Rate -- Walks / (at bats + walks)
Whiff Rate -- Strikeouts / at bats

Al Melchior was recently a Fantasy columnist and data analyst for Baseball HQ and will be providing advice columns for CBSSports.com. Click here to send him a question. Please put "Melchior" in the subject field.