At the beginning of the year, almost every website predicts who they feel will be the best late-round picks in each year, in other words sleepers. It's time to look and see how some of the most popular sleepers have panned out:

George Sherrill, BAL- Sherrill has 30 saves on the year in 36 attempts, which is 2nd in baseball. Some expected him to move at the deadline, but he is staying put for now. He was definietly a solid sleeper.
Dan Wheeler, TB- Some expected him to take over for Troy Percival, but Percy has dominated the competition. Wheeler does have the second most holds in baseball with 23. He has been good for the Rays, but only has limited value in a fantasy league.
Brian Fuentes, COL- He did end up taking over the closing duties and has successfully closed 18 of 22 games this year. It was well worth it for those who grabbed him in the last few rounds.
Johnny Cueto, CIN- Cueto started off really strong, but is now 7-10 with a 5.02 ERA. He does have 116 strikeouts, but his ERA certainly doesn't help. Cueto didn't really pan out as expected, but is still only 22 years old.
Edinson Volquez, CIN- Volquez has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this year, and had a league leading ERA for most of the season, but has come down to earth lately. One of the few guys on this list in the All-Star Game, Volquez was the top pitching sleeper of the year.
Carlos Silva, SEA- 4-12 with a 5.95 ERA. Do I need to say any more?
Dave Bush, MIL- Bush has a 5-8 record overall, but lately has pitched some great games for the Brewers. He did spend time in Triple-A this year, and was likely dropped by all of his owners. He is a decent value for where he was picked as a spot-starter, but doesn't have much value.
Carlos Gomez, MIN- Although he is battling a month long slump, Gomez has been a huge asset to the Twins this year. For fantasy owners, it is a little bit of a different story. He is a better baseball player rather than fantasy guy, but has been a solid base stealer all year.
Nate McLouth, PIT- McLouth has been hands down the best offensive sleeper of the year. His average was around .300 for a couple of months, but is still at a very tollerable .280 with 22 home runs and 72 RBIs.
Jerry Owens, CHW- Owens has spent most of his season in Triple-A when not injured. He has had no value for owners this year, especially with newly acquired outfielder Ken Griffey Jr.
Chase Headley, SD- Although he hasn't been on the big league club all year, Headley started to pay off for a couple of weeks for the owners that held onto him. Next year I would revisit him, but his .245 average is hard to swallow.
Kevin Kouzmanoff, SD- He certianly hasn't broken out this year, but he has been a solid third baseman to hold down a fantasy team. He is basically replicating last years numbers, but will rack up a few more at bats.
Scott Rolen, TOR- Rolen spent the beginning of the season on the DL, and probably should have stayed there. He is only hitting .254 with a limited ammount of home runs (6). His fantasy value is at an all-time low.
Ty Wigginton, HOU- Wiggy has always been one of those guys thats good in the late round, but like Kouzmanoff, certainly hasn't had a breakout year. He's not much of a sleeper anymore, just a late round utility guy.
Mark Reynolds, ARI- Reynolds power numbers have gone up this year (22 home runs), but his average is a low .249. He has been a suprise to his owners with 7 stolen bases, and can be considered a sleeper success. If he can increase his batting average, he can be a fantasy stud.
Julio Lugo, BOS- Lugo was nothing special this year, was being the fact that his is now on the DL. He did not come through as many hoped.
Khalil Greene, SD- Everything is going wrong for Khalil this year, especially now that he may be headed to the DL.
Ryan Theriot, CHI-The Riot is a good average hitter, but possess Juan Pierre like power and a dose of speed. He has been a help to his owners, especially as a guy to balance out Adam Dunn.
Jeff Kent, LAD- Kent certainly hasn't been anything special this year hitting only .255 and has only given himself more reasons to consider retirement.
Adam LaRoche, PIT- The average is down but the power numbers are on the rise again. He is on the DL and was likely dropped by most of his owners.
Richie Sexson, SEA/NYY- Sexson was dropped by the Mariners because he can't hit a barn this year. No luck here.
Ryan Garko, CLE- Garko hasn't been able to live up to the possible upside that he displayed last year. He is having an off year, only time will tell if he can recover.
Nick Johnson, WAS- Johnson has been on the DL since mid-May and has proven to be one of the most injured players in baseball. Things weren't so hot when he was playing anyways.
Ramon Hernandez, BAL- A .253 batting average is hard to justify, but in two catcher leagues 12 home runs never hurt. He certainly what was expected though as a sleeper.
JR Towles, HOU- Towles was sent down to Triple-A in the beginning of the season due to lack of performance and has since then been called up due to a catcher void in Houston. He has been one of the most disappointing guys thus far on the list.
Chris Snyder, ARI- Striking out in over 1/4 of his at bats doesn't help his stock, but he somehow manages to walk a decent ammont of the time. His .247 average doesn't cut it though.
Geovany Soto, CHI- 'Save the best for last,' has always been a popular slogan and Soto is easily one of the best sleepers. Although he was being picked as high as the 13th round in some drafts pre-season, as a rookie it is still jusifiable to consider him a sleeper. His 17 home runs and .278 average all qualify him for the Rookie of the Year Award.

You can find more of Kevin's work at www.majorleaguereport.com as well as www.fantasybaseballgenerals.com. Contact him at kevinorris@mlbfrontoffice.com