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The season is just a shade over halfway through and there’s been a healthy share of surprises as well as some disappoints. For every Josh Hamilton that is going above and beyond expectations there is a Jimmy Rollins who is really putting a dent on your fantasy team’s success. Let’s take a look at some of the players who have made you look like the draft-day genius and the frustrating selections that have made you pull out your hair by the clumps.
1st Base Stud – Lance Berkman. He’s second in the majors in batting, second in RBI’s, third in on-base percentage, and for a big guy he has a modest 12 steals as well. Albert Pujols is having a stellar year once again and Adrian Gonzalez of the Padres is quite a steal, but Lance is first at first.
1st Base Dud – Richie Sexson. Every season before my baseball draft I tell myself not to be too optimistic with Sexson and think he’ll hit 50 homers and have 150 RBI’s and every season I still fall in love with those high expectations. Well, I finally have had my falling-out with you Richie, you and your 51 hits compared to 74 strikeouts and your .226 batting average are dead to me.
2nd Base Stud – Chase Utley. This is kind of a no-brainer. Dan Uggla makes a good argument for the top spot since they both have the same amount of homers (23, which lead the league) and are close in RBI’s (65 for Chase and 58 for Uggla), but Chase has a better average while striking out 40 less times. Ian Kinsler deserves an honorable mention here as well.
2nd Base Dud – Robinson Cano. I thought he was going to put-up great numbers this year since he is surrounded with offensive juggernauts, but this hasn’t been the case. His dismal six homeruns, .242 batting average, and lone steal earn him the bottom spot.
3rd Base Stud – Chipper Jones. Going into the season A-Rod was the number overall pick in almost every league yet at mid-season he isn’t even the top player at his position. Chipper has been nothing but spectacular thus far. He’s flirted with .400 for almost the entire season, has 100 hits already, has a modest 46 RBI’s (A-Rod has 44), and has an on-base percentage of .485! If it weren’t for a batting practice hit in the face, he would be adding to those totals as well. David Wright merits consideration here as well.
3rd Base Dud – Miguel Cabrera. This was supposed to be the guy to explode for the Tigers and lead them to the Promised Land. He hasn’t had a bad season per se, but I think it’s safe to assume that the Tiger faithful were looking for a little bit more from him. Luckily for him if the Tigers continue to turn their season around then I think it will be safe to assume he’ll be removed from this spot.
Shortstop Stud – Hanley Ramirez. This is the season for Hanley to shine. He leads shortstops in homeruns, has 20 steals, a modest 36 RBI’s, and a solid .296 average. Hanley is really young and his consistency demonstrates that he could solidify a position atop all shortstops for years to come. Consideration also went to Cristian Guzman for his 112 hits and .314 batting average.
Shortstop Dud – Jimmy Rollins. Last season’s MVP has fallen on some hard times. Sure, he has 17 steals and 28 RBI’s, but that isn’t MVP-worthy, and neither are his just two triples and .326 on-base percentage. For a lead-off hitter you need to be getting on base more than that.
Catcher Stud – Geovany Soto. There are a couple of catchers that have put-up better numbers in some respects but none are a better draft-day steal than Soto. This rookie catcher has provided power with his 13 homers, 22 doubles, a slugging percentage of .517, and 47 RBI’s, while handling the catching duties for one of the best staffs in the N.L. Bengie Molina of the Giants (49 RBI’s and .310 average) and Joe Mauer of the Twins (.323 average) are close too.
Catcher Dud – Jorge Posada. It’s hard to bash a guy who’s been hurt for a significant amount of the season, but let’s face it, if you drafted him high then he has been a big disappoint to your team (I being one of his owners).
Outfield Studs – Josh Hamilton, Carlos Quentin, and Ryan Braun. It’s hard to argue against any of these guys. Hamilton leads majors in RBI’s (80), leads the A.L. in homeruns (19), and is batting .312. Quentin might be one of the biggest surprises in baseball, let alone the best for the White Sox. He is also leading the A.L. in homers with 19, has 61 RBI’s, and has been a clutch hitter for the A.L. Central leading White Sox all season long. Braun is showing that last season was no fluke. He has smacked-out 20 homeruns, 58 RBI’s, and eight steals. Honorable mentions go to Grady Sizemore (19 homers and 19 steals), Carlos Lee (18 homers and 62 RBI’s), and Jermaine Dye (18 homeruns, 50 RBI’s, and a .305 average).
Outfield Duds – Vladimir Guerrero, Gary Sheffield, and Adam Dunn.
Forever and a day Vlad has made baseball look utterly simple at the plate. This year things aren’t going as planned for him or his fantasy owners. Again, it’s not as if he’s having a horrible year it’s just we expected more since he’s raised the bar so high. The same can’t be said for Sheffield. True, he’s been on the injured list a little this year, but just five homeruns and 16 RBI’s? Even teammate Matt Joyce has five homers and he only has 12 hits total this year! Adam Dunn is a Richie Sexson clone: lots of power and lots of expectations. Sure he has 20 homeruns and a solid 48 RBI’s, but his 88 strikeouts and vomit-inducing .221 batting average make him a liability. Torii Hunter could find himself on this list by season’s end if he doesn’t pick things up as well.
Starter Studs – Cliff Lee, Edinson Volquez, and Tim Lincecum.
Raise your hands if you thought these three pitchers would make this list at the beginning of the season and you are not relatives of any of the three. That’s what I thought, no one.
Cliff Lee, who was close to being set free by the Indians in the off-season, is 11-1, has 90 K’s, and a 2.34 ERA. He also has only allowed 16 walks this year. Edinson Volquez is the lone bright spot for the Reds this year. He was part of the trade that sent Josh Hamilton to the Rangers (rare that both sides benefit in a trade) and now finds himself leading the N.L. in ERA (2.08), second in the N.L. in strikeouts (110), and has 10 wins. Just like Volquez, Lincecum is the lone bright spot for his team. The Giants have just 36 team wins and Lincecum has a quarter of them (9). He also is leading the N.L. in strikeouts with 114 and is second in the N.L. in ERA at 2.38. Besides those three listed, Justin Duchscherer is having a stand-out year (league low 1.91 ERA), as well as John Danks (2.62 ERA and has flirted with a no-hitter a few times this year), and Ryan Dempster for the Cubs (late-round steal who has nine wins and 86 K’s).
Starter Duds – Barry Zito, Brad Penny, and Brett Myers.
Poor, poor Giants. They spend all this money on a former Cy Young winner in Zito and all he can muster is an ERA of 5.99 and 12 losses. Zito has given-up more earned runs (57) and walks (53) than strikeouts (50). Penny, who had a very nice season last year, now has nine losses already, allowed 56 earned runs compared to only 47 strikeouts, and has a 5.26 ERA. Since Brad Lidge came-in and took the closing duties that the Phillies and Myers experimented with last season, going back to the starter role hasn’t been kind. Myers has allowed 66 earned runs, 44 walks, and has an ERA of 5.84!
Closer Studs – Mariano Rivera, Kerry Wood, and Brad Lidge.
The older Rivera gets the better he gets. He’s a freak of nature and needs to be studied by the world’s finest scientists to see how he does it. I’m sure Steinbrenner would pay for the experiments if he could use some of his DNA for cloning as well. Regardless of age, Rivera has been lights out. He has 22 saves, allowed only three earned runs all year and just three walks, and has a very svelte .74 ERA! Kerry Wood is demonstrating that there is life after being a starter. Wood has 51 strikeouts, 20 saves, four wins, and a 2.43 ERA. Brad Lidge who was all but run-out of Houston, has only allowed three earned runs for the Phillies, has 19 saves, and .84 ERA.
Closer Duds – Trevor Hoffman, Jason Isringhausen, and Eric Gagne.
Hoffman is finally showing his years of service this season. He has an ERA of 5.00 and has four losses this season. Isringhausen only has 11 saves (had time on the DL), five losses, and an ERA of 5.72! Gagne might have fallen from the graces the hardest, however. Yes, Gagne has ten saves in just 19 innings, but he also has two losses and a huge ERA of 6.98 and a WHIP of 2.02 (meaning he gives up two base-runners per inning).
If you have a few of the studs on the list then I congratulate you for drafting smart and being very lucky, however, if you have any of these “duds” then just remember that the season still has 81 more games and there’s still plenty of baseball left to be played.
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