Quentin defies logic, may win MVP

"What it means to be a top prospect is simply a statement. A label. Personally, i don't think it's any different than being a non-prospect."

The philosophical quote was made last year by someone who for years had been just that - a top prospect. (Click on the video below to hear them yourself).

But now?

Prospect no longer.

How fast can you rise from "top prospect" status to MVP candidate?

For that answer, we'd have to ask White Sox OF Carlos Quentin.

Quentin just smacked his 34th HR this afternoon in Oakland, and now has 95 RBIs.

In most leagues, Quentin went undrafted this spring. He didn't even have a starting job at the beginning of the season.

And now, he's getting legitimate buzz for American League MVP.

How can this happen, you say? It sometimes goes beyond logic. 

Occasionally, it just all clicks for a player. In Quentin's defense, he battled shoulder injuries all last year and the Arizona Diamondbacks, who thought they had a glut in their outfield, dealt him away for yet another top prospect Christopher Carter.

On the surface you would think the D'Backs must be kicking themselves and you may be right. Eric Byrnes ripped up both hammies and has been useless since May. Justin Upton, who everyone compares to Ken Griffey Jr. and he may be someday, has been on the DL with a left oblique strain since July 18.

Arizona, trying to recover, shuffled 1B Connor Jackson to LF and recently traded for Adam Dunn.

Think they'd like to have Quentin back?

To the D'backs defense, Carter has smacked 35 HR himself in AA Stockton this year, so you may see him make an impact in the desert soon.

But Quentin has been a remarkable story and the guy simply doesn't quit producing. Rarely can you scoop up a 40 HR, 115 RBI guy off the waiver wire. 

That, however, is why fantasy baseball is great. 

Its unpredictable nature makes those lucky few who took a shot at Quentin look like and feel like geniuses, even though we know it's not really true. Some traded him away early, thinking they were selling high. Some traded for him, then cashed him out again, thinking, like everyone else, this pace simply can't continue.

But it has. And sometimes there's simply no explanation for it.

Don't try to figure it out. It'll make you crazy.