White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham has been impressive with his limited opportunities, but there's still some reason for concern.
Beckham is showing minor improvements, but there's nothing in his stat profile that suggests he's figured things out. His strong .335/.357/.443 slash line has been propped up by an unsustainable .383 BABIP. His less-than-ideal walk rate has also taken a step backward, and now sits at 3.6 percent.
There are some reasons to believe he's improved, but they are minor. Beckham has utilized a different stance at the plate, and it seems to have helped in some areas. Beckham has made slightly more contact than usual, and has cut down on his swinging strikes, but neither area has improved much. The biggest benefit he's seen so far is a reduced infield flyball rate. Over his career, Beckham has popped the ball up 14.2 percent of the time. That's dropped to just 4 percent in 2013.
Even with the small improvements, Beckham is likely to see some significant regression once his BABIP drops. And since his new approach hasn't led to a power increase, his average is really the only thing keeping him Fantasy-relevant. He would be a sell-high if another owner would actually take him.