Part of having success in fantasy baseball is having the right guys on your team at the right time. Some guys like Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera hit anytime, so there is no peak point for them. Then there are guys who are just better for one reason or another at a certain point of the season. Here are six guys who have proven throughout their careers to be better hitters once the second half rolls around. Some of them are guys you can get off waivers and some are guys you may have to trade for, but if they can produce the same second half’s as they have in the past, they could be the kind of guys to help carry you to the top of your league in the second half.
Adam LaRoche: He is one of the most dramatic first to second half split guys you’ll find out there. From 2007 – 2009 LaRoche’s first half batting average is .246, his second half average is .309. LaRoche’s power also takes a jump with a HR per every 25.6 ABs in the first half and 19.5 in the second half of the last three seasons. Add to it that he is still available in 20% of ESPN leagues and could be traded to a better lineup and he’s a welcome addition who should come quite cheaply.
Nick Markakis: The splits for Markakis between first and second half aren’t as dramatic as some, but what the trends show is that he does find a bit more power as the season goes on. Last year he went from a homer every 43.9 ABs to one every 29.1 ABs. Not a tremendous number, but it’s an increase. We’re already seeing Markakis getting hot with 3 HRs in just half this month so far. He’s never going to be an elite power guy, but he does tend to find the fences a bit more as the weather warms up.
Magglio Ordonez: His second half batting averages the last three years are as follows: .358 in ‘07, .330 in ‘08 and .375 in ‘09. In those three years he has just as many homeruns and almost as many RBI in the second half despite 135 less ABs than the first. He’s aging and at some point in his career you’d think this trend would start going the other way as his body can’t handle the stress of the season, but until you see that happening he’s a good guy to own. He should push once again for 20 HRs and 100 runs and RBI. I think you can get him for less than he’s worth in a trade in many leagues.
Billy Butler: The guy with all the promise in the world has had two big second halves the last two years and if he does it again this year he could compete for the batting title by the end of the year. Last year Butler hit .314 with 13 HRs and 55 RBI. That is a homerun every 22 ABs, a considerable amount better than his 36.6 he has so far this year which is close to the 40.1 he had in the first half last year. Expect the batting average to stay up there, but hopefully we’ll once again see some of the power we’ve all been longing for from Butler.
Mark Ellis: This one is a bit of a stretch perhaps since he’s owned in less than 2% of ESPN leagues, but Mark Ellis is a second half sleeper. I touted him as a preseason sleeper as well and so far it hasn’t worked out that great. He has a tendency to get it done in the second half. Last year he hit .279 with 7 HRs, 43 RBI, 38 Rs and 7 SBs. Those kind of numbers over two months are bordering on top ten 2B territory. He battled a lot of injuries in 2008s second half, but if you go back to 2007 he had even better numbers then 2009 hitting .286 with 11 HRs, 35 RBI and 48 Rs. There are a lot of middle infielders on the shelf right now and if Ellis puts up the kind of second half numbers he has put up throughout his career he could be usable in many leagues.
Nyjer Morgan: He’s still pretty young into his career to peg him as a second half hitter, but early signs point to him making the most noise in the later stages of the season. In 2008 Morgan batted .347 in the second half and scored 20 runs despite not getting regular playing time until September. Than in 2009, before losing the whole month of September to injury, Morgan hit .365 with 29 runs scored and 18 stolen bases. He hasn’t gotten on base as much as you’d like this year, but hopefully that can change in the second half and with it will undoubtedly come with load of steals as well.
So here are the hitters I have found to be potential second half breakouts. Obviously this isn’t everyone, so who are you banking on for a big second half for your teams? Someone on this list or someone else, let’s hear your thoughts for the second half of fantasy baseball.
Make sure to check out our recent Scouting Reports:
- Brett Cecil
- Wade Davis
- David DeJesus
- Jason Donald
- John Ely
- Brett Gardner
- Tom Gorzelanny
- John Jaso
- Mat Latos
- Brad Lincoln
- Jonathan Lucroy
- Kris Medlen
- Jonathan Niese
- Andrew Oliver
- Manny Parra
- Jake Peavy
- Sean Rodriguez
- Mike Stanton
- Andres Torres
And look out tomorrow for the 6 pitchers to grab as well.
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