By Darryl Reina We have a NEW #1 and some new names in our top 25 this week, including the emergence of a number of quality Cy Young candidate pitchers. Which of these players will truly make a difference during the month of September in their teams drive to the play-offs and World Series? 1. Alex Rodriquez: The consistency of his performance elevates A-Rod to the top. He is now leading the AL in homers with 40, and is hitting at a .318 clip, while producing 106 RBI's for the Yankees. I'm expecting him to have huge September numbers in key upcoming games against the A's and Red Sox. 2. Albert Pujols: Pujols is hitting .332, and now has 35 HR's and 100 RBI's for the first place Cardinals. Question: Who is going to protect him in the batting order come October? 3. Derek Lee: Continues to lead MLB with a batting average of .344, and the NL in hits with 169. Unfortunately, Lee is now a "longshot" for the Triple Crown. There is now a man named "Jones" that he needs to catch. 4. Chris Carpenter: The 19-4 Carpenter (2.29 ERA) goes for win number 20 vs. Roger Clemens (11-6, 1.51 ERA) on Saturday, as the NL Cy Young candidates duel in Houston. Can Houston score a run for Roger this time out? 5. Mariano Rivera: The Yankee closer now has 35 saves and continues to be the best in the game. 6. Andruw Jones: Can you believe the numbers this Atlanta OF is producing? Jones leads MLB with 43 HR's and leads the NL in RBI's with 108. Will he reach 50 HR's? I think so! 7. David Ortiz: His Boston teammates are calling him the AL MVP. With his MLB leading 118 RBI's, they have an excellent MVP argument for the Red Sox slugger. 8. Vladimir Guerrero: Guerrero is still hitting .315 for the Angels. He's not going to get too many pitches to hit this month. Will another Angel pick up the slack? 9. Manny Ramirez: Manny has 33 HR's and 115 RBI's for the first place Red Sox. Boston needs Manny, and better late season pitching, to hold off the Yankees, Angels, A's, and Indians. 10. Miquel Cabrera: The Marlins continue to compete for the NL Wildcard primarily due to his consistent play, and .331 average. 11. Chad Cordero: The Nationals closer leads MLB with 43 saves. Will he have many games to save in September? 12. Bartolo Colon: The Angels RHP and AL Cy Young candidate jumps all the way to #12. Colon is 17-6, with an ERA of 3.23. He'll be counted on to win some big games for Los Angeles in September. 13. Dontrelle Willis: The Marlin LHP won his 18th game (18-8, 2.61 ERA) and is one of the leading NL Cy Young candidates. Will he continue to be effective in September? 14. Derek Jeter: The Yankee Captain has upped his batting average to .312, and has scored 100 runs. 15. Gary Sheffield: Continues to come up with big hits for the Yankees. Gary is now batting .297, with 100 RBI's. 16. Johnny Damon: His average has dropped to .322, but continues to score runs for Boston (100). 17. Ken Griffey Jr: The Cincy Kid wants to stay home, and is now hitting .300, with 33 HR's. 18. Johan Santana: The Twins LHP now has 195 strikeouts to lead the AL. 19. Roger Clemens: The NL Cy Young candidate is 11-6, with a 1.51 ERA, and 167 K's. Roger duels Chris Carpenter (19-4) of the Cardinals on Saturday. 20. Pedro Martinez: The Mets RHP ace is 12-6, and trying to keeps NY in the Wild Card race. I still like their chances to play in October. They need another starter to rise to the occasion. 21. Randy Johnson: The "Big Unit" (13-8) has won his second straight start. Johnson is still one of the best competitors in baseball, but I wish he would have more FUN getting people out. He's the key to New York's play-off chances. 22. Jake Peavy: San Diego's young stopper continues to have quality starts (12-6, 3.01, 197 K's). Will the Padres hang on to win the NL West, and will they be able to compete in October? 23. Michael Young: He's quietly leading the AL in batting with an average of .325. According to Buehrle, all of the Rangers know what's coming. Please....get over it! 24. Travis Hafner: His .313 average is keeping the Indians in the play-off race. 25. Chipper Jones: Remember him? He's back, hitting .301 for the first place Braves. He can protect Jones, or vice versa. Honorable mention: Marcus Giles, Mark Mulder, Richie Sexson, John Garland, David Wright, and Miquel Tejada.