Here is a list of guys who typically get off to slow starts. If you draft them, be patient. If you didn’t take them, they may good buy low candidates.
Ryan Howard - Howard is a beast so he probably isn’t going to come available, but don’t be discouraged by a slow start. Last year year he hit .234 with 28 HRs and 84 RBI in 96 games before the All-Star break and .276 with 20 & 62 in the last 66 games. For his career he hits 47 points higher after the break.
Ichiro Suzuki - Ichiro hit .252 in March & April last year and .323 the rest of the way. His April swoon may seem uncharacteristic for Ichiro, but he is a .294 hitter in April and a .337 hitter thereafter.
If he struggles early, maybe you can surgically remove him from somebody’s team.
Bobby Abreu - You may assume a slow start is due to relocation, but remember he hit .269 with just 3 HRs in 28 April games last year. Historically, April is his worst month. He has a .282 average and 31 HRs and 154.
He has at least 40 HRs & 170 RBI in every other Month but September (35 & 163). Plus, he hits .303 in the other months. He could be primed to take off someone’s hands if he starts slow.
Robinson Canó - Canó hit .246 before the break with 36 Runs and 38 RBI in 93 games and .307 with 34 R & RBI in 66 games after the break. He was especially bad in April hitting .151. He always starts slow. For his career he hits .257 in April and May and .322 the rest of the month.
This trend is probably too well known to exploit, but it’s worth a shot.
Ryan Zimmerman - Zimmerman started off March/April hitting .233. He hit .301 the rest of the way. Last year wasn’t atypical for Zimmerman. For his career he has hit .237 in March/April and .292 in the other months. Zimmerman is another one that you may actually be able to get if he starts slow again.
Freddy Sánchez - Freddy hit .226 with 37 Runs before the break in 87 games. In the last 58 games he hit .346 with 38 Runs. Historically April is his worst month with a .250 average, compared to .306 from May to September.
He has 20 Runs and 23 RBI in his career compared to and average of 56 Runs and 39 RBI in the other months. He may be available on your waiver wire come May to give you a little shot in the arm in the Average and Runs department.
Jhonny Peralta - Before June Peralta his .233 with 19 RBI in 48 games (0.40 RBI per game). After June he hit .294 with 70 RBI in 106 games (0.66 RBI per game). In 85 career April games he’s hit .226 compared to .274 in other months.
Carlos Peña - Before June Peña hit .220 in 55 games. He hit .266 the rest of the way. Historically he has hit .229 before June and .262 in the other months.
Now let’s take a look at some Pitchers that typically start off slow. Some of these guys could be good Buy Low candidates.
Johan Santana - It’s pretty much common knowledge that Johan takes a little while to heat up. I can’t post about slow starting Pitcher though and not mention him, even if it’s highly unlikely he’ll come available.
Before the All-Star break Johan was 8-7 with a 2.84 ERA and after the break he was 8-0 with a 2.17 ERA. He posted ERAs of 3.24 & 3.74 in April and May. For his career he is 26-19 with a 4.01 ERA before June and 83-32 with a 2.75 ERA after it.
Roy Oswalt - Roy started off really slow going 4-5 with a 5.45 ERA before June. He was a sizzling 9-2 with a 1.96 in August and September. For his career he is 62-44 with a 3.32 ERA before the break and 67-20 with a 2.89 ERA after it.
He’s not as high profile as Johan so if he starts slow, maybe you can wrestle him away from the competition.
Derek Lowe - Lowe had a great season last year, but he did register a 0-4, 6.11 ERA May. He was 7-8 with a 3.85 ERA before the break and 7-3 with a 2.38 ERA after it.
That has been the trend for his career as he is 64-66 with a 3.91 ERA before the break and 62-41 with a 3.54 ERA in the second half. Lowe is great buy low candidate if he struggles early.
Ted Lilly - Lilly is in the same category is Lowe. He’s a prime candidate to pluck if he struggles early. Last year he was 5-4 with a 5.54 ERA in April and May and 12-5 with a 3.42 ERA the rest of the way.
Historically Lilly is 50-46 with a 4.42 ERA before the break and 41-29 with a 4.37 ERA after the break.
Jesse Litsch - Litsch is another one that could be had if he struggles early. Last year he was 8-6 with a 4.16 ERA before the break and 5-3 with a 2.60 ERA after the break. He displayed a similar trend in 2007 as he went 1-3 with a 4.74 ERA before the break and 6-6 with a 3.54 ERA after it.
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