
[This article
contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.] SPOTLIGHT In the fantasy projections for 2006, you won't find Rivera within an Albert Pujols blast of the top sluggers in the game. Yet the 27-year-old Angel had the type of finish last year that could portend big things this season. Over the last 17 regular-season games he hit .333 with four home runs and 14 RBIs, and in 350 at bats for the season he finished with 15 homers and 59 RBIs, both career highs. Against the Yankees in the Division Series, Rivera batted .353 to help L.A. advance to the League Championship Series. He's still not an every-day player because the Angels have a crowd of standouts in the outfield, including Vladimir Guerrero, Garret Anderson and Darin Erstad. But with a .454 slugging percentage in '05, Rivera provides pop to a power-challenged lineup, so L.A. will find a way to get him at bats.
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