Brandon Phillips   CIN   2B

In his time with Montreal and Cleveland, Phillips was hardly given any time to improve his baseball skills.  He averaged only 108 at-bats per season in his time with the Indians from 2002-2005, including 370 of them in 2003.  Phillips never consistently produced until he was locked in as the starting second baseman for the Reds in 2006, and since then, his numbers have gone skyward.  78 home runs, 290 RBI and a .276 average since then indicates that possibly just knowing that you will play everyday helps mentally improve the way someone plays.  I think being somebody who was never given a chance to play makes Phillips an underrated player.  Plus playing for Cleveland and Cincinatti, who have never really been in contention during his time there, also adds to the underrated part.  But looking at where the Reds are this year, Phillips may help lead his team very far down the stretch, maybe even to the postseason.