Back in 1996, one of the biggest fantasy surprises was Montreal Expos outfielder Henry Rodriguez. He was a part-timer for his first four seasons in the majors, never hitting more than eight home runs or posting an OPS higher than .681. But in '96, he exploded for 36 home runs, 103 RBIs and an .887 OPS. He earned his fantasy owners more than $30 of profit on their $1 investments.
For many of those investors, he was less of a surprise than an educated speculation. They knew that Rodriguez had a history of solid power skills before he hit the majors in 1992. In 1990, at Double-A San Antonio, Rodriguez had posted a 28-109-.291 line in only 129 games.
Further research into performance histories revealed a wealth of players whose careers evolved similarly. That research led to the mantra, "Once a player displays a skill, he owns it."
That adage gets tossed around a lot these days, but the deeper meaning is that we should not ignore skills that have seemingly gone dormant. Variables such as injuries, congested depth charts and managerial whim are often obstacles to a player realizing his potential. But the skill doesn't just disappear. Not usually, anyway.