Fantasy Tip Of The Week: First-Half All-Stars
Fantasy Tip Of The Week: First-Half All-Stars
By Chris Goudey
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer
Everyone thought with the harsher drug testing and banning of amphetamines this baseball season that hitters would suffer and overall offensive numbers would go down. Well, apparently either all the hitters have paid no mind to the testing (or are using other "supplements") or maybe the ball is juiced, but there has actually been a nice increase in offense this year. This uptick in runs scored and homers has led to a very interesting first half of the year fantasy-wise, so with the All-Star break approaching, let's take a look at this year's fantasy All-Stars thus far. Instead of breaking the players down by league, I'll give you one starter at each position and a couple of reserves. I'll also give you some players who could deserve second-half All-Star cons
ideration.
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Hitters
Catcher
Joe Mauer of Minnesota currently leads the majors in hitting, and if he can sustain it he would be the first catcher to lead MLB in hitting in over 115 years. He doesn't provide a ton of power, but is solid in runs/RBIs, and anyone hitting over .390 deserves to be the All-Star at his position.
Reserves: Ramon Hernandez, Baltimore; Victor Martinez, Cleveland
Second half player to watch: Michael Barrett, Chicago Cubs
Barry Bonds Chases Hank Aaron's 755 Home Run Record
First Base
Even after missing almost a month with his strained oblique muscle, Albert Pujols was still leading the majors in homers and was second in RBIs when he returned last week. If Pujols can get back on the pace he was on before the injury, he could threaten Barry Bonds' 73 HR record and have a shot at the Triple Crown in the NL.
Reserves: Ryan Howard, Philadelphia; Lance Berkman, Houston; Paul Konerko, White Sox
Second half player to watch: Justin Morneau, Minnesota
Second Base
Although he doesn't play second for the Nationals, Alfonso Soriano qualifies there in almost every league, so with the lack of quality players at the position, he is your All-Star. Soriano has put up 24 HRs and 18 SBs in half a season, so he has a real good shot at going 40-40, even playing in cavernous RFK Stadium. He will probably be traded soon, so hopefully he will still be allowed to run wherever he goes.
Reserves: Chase Utley, Philadelphia; Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati
Second half player to watch: Rickie Weeks, Milwaukee
Shortstop
Jose Reyes has electrified Shea Stadium with his reckless abandon on the basepaths and is having a career year at the plate. He's on pace for well over 200 hits and could hit .300 with 20 HRs, 80 RBIs, and 70 SBs. Those are numbers worthy of a first-round fantasy pick, and if he keeps it up that's exactly what he'll be next year.
Reserves: Miguel Tejada, Baltimore; Derek Jeter, NY Yankees
Second half player to watch: Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia
Third Base
The play of Reyes and David Wright is the primary reason the Mets are running away with the NL East. Wright has stepped his game up to the elite level this season and should compete with Alex Rodriguez for years for the title of best third baseman in the majors, not just New York. Wright gives you production in every category, as he'll likely finish at .320, with 110 runs, 35-40 HRs, 120 RBIs and 20 SBs.
Reserves: A-Rod, Yankees; Miguel Cabrera, Florida;
Second half player to watch: Scott Rolen, St. Louis
Outfield
We don't use position designation in fantasy when it comes to outfield, so I'll just pick the three best here. The other huge star for the Mets this season has been Carlos Beltran. Beltran was a bust in his first year in New York last season but has really turned it around this year and become the player everyone thought the Mets were getting a year ago. Beltran is currently on pace for 48 HRs, 120+ runs and RBIs, and 25 steals, with a .290 average to boot. Those are MVP-caliber numbers, but he probably won't win it due to Mr. Pujols. Ichiro Suzuki just keeps on doing what Ichiro does: .350+ average, 125+ runs, and 40-50 steals, with a few HRs and RBIs mixed in. He will probably challenge Joe Mauer for the MLB batting title and if Seattle stays in the race, could merit MVP consideration. Carlos Lee is just now getting the acclaim he deserves. Lee is putting together a monster season, on pace for
50 HRs, 105 runs, 130+ RBIs and even over 20 steals. His average is about where it will probably end up, in the .280 range, but you'll take those power numbers any day.
Reserves: Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay; Vernon Wells, Toronto; Matt Holliday, Colorado; Grady Sizemore, Cleveland; Alex Rios, Toronto; Jason Bay, Pittsburgh; Nick Swisher, Oakland
Second half players to watch: Manny Ramirez, Boston; Raul Ibanez, Seattle; Corey Patterson, Baltimore
Utility/Designated Hitter
Most leagues use at least one and sometimes two utility spots, and we have four players whom you really can't choose from who play DH as their primary position. All four of these guys are having monster seasons and all have similar numbers, so they all make my All-Star team. All of these guys will approach 50 HRs this year assuming they stay healthy: Jim Thome, White Sox; David Ortiz, Boston; Travis Hafner, Cleveland; Jason Giambi, NY Yankees.
Reserves: Magglio Ordonez, Detroit
Second half player to watch: Richie Sexson, Seattle
Starting Pitcher
Minnesota has been the hottest team in baseball for a month now and could threaten the dominance the Tigers and the White Sox have shown in the first half. The reason for this is the Twins have what could be the two best starting pitchers in the game. Johan Santana has been the top-rated starter for two seasons now, and he has done nothing to take that rating away so far this year. Add that to the fact that he's usually stronger in the second half of the season, and you have your probably Cy Young winner in the AL. Santana gives you tons of strikeouts and outstanding ERA/WHIP, and with the Twins now hitting the ball, should be close to 20 wins by the end of the year. Facing Santana is bad enough, but now the Twins' opponents have to deal with a virtual clone of Santana in Francisco Liriano. Liriano is putting together just a monster rookie season, and it makes one wonder why the Twins took so long in putting him into
the rotation. If he'd been in there from the beginning the Twins could be close to the lead in the AL Central. Almost all of the great pitching performances in the first half of the season come from the AL. Mike Mussina of the Yankees, Curt Schilling of the Red Sox, and Roy Halladay of Toronto are all enjoying stellar seasons as their teams jockey for position in the AL East. Santana and Liriano aren't the only pitching stars in the AL Central, as Detroit rookie star Justin Verlander and other young stud Jeremy Bonderman, and Chicago veteran Jose Contreras have been great as well. The NL pitching just doesn't matchup, but Brandon Webb of Arizona, Bronson Arroyo of Cincinnati, Jason Schmidt of San Francisco, and Pedro Martinez of the Mets are the best performers so far.
Reserves: Chris Capuano, Milwaukee; Aaron Harang, Cincinnati; Chris Young, San Diego; Carlos Zambrano, Cubs; John Lackey, LA Angels; Brad Penny, LA Dodgers; Chris Carpenter, St. Louis; Dan Haren, Oakland.
Second half players to watch: Felix Hernandez, Seattle; Anthony Reyes, St. Louis, Jake Peavy, San Diego; Scott Kazmir, Tampa Bay; Erik Bedard, Baltimore.
Relief Pitchers
If it weren't for the brilliance of Liriano, Boston rookie closer Jon Papelbon would be running away with the AL Rookie of the Year race. As it is, he might end up with that AND the Cy Young award if he keeps up his current pace. His ERA is a miniscule 0.43, and he's on pace for 50+ saves. Papelbon has electrified Beantown and is the primary reason the Red Sox are leading the AL East. There is actually another closer with almost identical numbers to Papelbon, but he's not getting nearly enough acclaim: B.J. Ryan of Toronto. Ryan's current ERA is a whopping 0.45 and he's got 22 saves. Ryan, Roy Halladay, and a resurgent Blue Jay offense are the reason I believe Toronto, not the Yankees, is the team that Boston has to look out for. The AL is once again home to most of the great pitching performances, with classic years by Mariano Rivera of the Yanks, Francisco Rodriguez of the Angels and Joe Nath
an of Minnesota, and great years by first-year closers Bobby Jenks of Chicago and Chris Ray of Baltimore. All of these guys are giving you plenty of saves and great peripheral numbers as well. The only two elite closers in the NL thus far have been Tom Gordon of Philadelphia and, as always, Trevor Hoffman of San Diego.
Reserves: Jason Isringhausen, St. Louis; Derrick Turnbow, Milwaukee; Huston Street, Oakland; Akinori Otsuka, Texas; J.J. Putz, Seattle; Billy Wagner, NY Mets; Brian Fuentes, Colorado.
Second half players to watch: Brad Lidge, Houston; Jorge Julio, Arizona; Todd Coffey, Cincinnati; Takashi Saito, LA Dodgers; Chad Cordero, Washington.
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by Chris Goudey at
WagerWeb.com on July 05, 2006
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