Roto Assist

I’m sure that if you take a look at your current fantasy baseball roster, you’ll see a guy or two on it that hasn’t quite lived up to expectations. That is if you haven’t dropped them already for someone having a great week only to see your new acquisition fizzle out while your original player is scooped up and placed on a more patient manager’s bench. Here is a list of players that are bound to bounce back in the second half of the season.

Russell Martin, C Dodgers- There is no way that this guy doesn’t turn things around in the second half. He has had a dismal first half to the tune of .258 Avg., 2 HR, 37 Runs, 27 RBI, 8 SB and a .688 OPS. Heading into the All-Star break, Martin showed some signs of coming back to life which was just after a few impatient owners gave up on him in a few of my leagues. I believe that he will bounce back closer to his averages and should be able to give you a BA around .275 with a chance of double digit HR and SB.

Grady Sizemore, CF Indians- Most of Sizemore’s woes were caused by an elbow injury earlier on in the season. He has picked up the slack as of late in 10 July games batting .308 with 3 HR in 39 AB. Sizemore is one of those players that play evenly throughout the entire season so he should be right around his career averages for the second half.

Jimmy Rollins, SS Phillies- I don’t care what anyone thinks, Rollins will play like a stud in the second half. In 12 July games he has been tearing it up hitting .378, with 10 rRuns and 6 Sb (4 less than he had up to this point all year). I’m just mad I didn’t try harder to trade for him before he blew up. I fully expect Rollins to return to his usual form and finish the season with numbers closer to or even better than his career averages. If you can steal him away from a tired owner, you definitely won’t be disappointed. In fact, I’m going to take a short break from writing this just to try to swindle him away from one of my friends.

Alfonso Soriano, LF Cubs- He won’t bat .300 for the rest of the season but he’ll probably get you double digit steals, score a ton of runs, smack in a decent amount of RBI and probably bat around .280 the rest of the way. He is too good of a player to be sitting at a .233 Avg.

Matt Holliday, LF Cardinals- Holliday is a pure hitter but some people feel that Coors Field had a lot to do with that. I believe that it had something to do with it just not as much as everyone else thinks. I’m glad the A’s traded him to St. Louis for Ryan Brett Wallace and a two other prospects. Being that I am an A’s fan first and a Cardinals fan second, it will be nice to see what Holliday can do in the Cardinals’ lineup. Getting back to the NL will be a huge boost for Holliday and his owners.

Stephen Drew, SS Diamondbacks- It seems as though Drew does this every year. He is supposed to have a breakout season, then he has a mediocre at best first half of the season only to make the owners who held onto him or picked him up after he was dropped look like absolute geniuses. Don’t look for anything different this year. His career numbers are drastically better in the second half. His BA is 36 points higher (.256 pre/.292 post), he has the same amount of HR (22) before and after but in 46 less games, OB%, SLG% and OPS are all higher, and he even has more steals in his second half totals. If you can still get him, be it through trade or waiver acquisition, do it now.

Howie Kendrick, 2B Angels- After being demoted to the minor leagues, Kendrick has had some time to re adjust himself. He was recently recalled from Triple-A and will be sharing playing time until he can prove that he can still swing the stick. Look, Kendrick will bat over .300 in the second half. He is one of the purest hitters in baseball. Expect him to get 10-12 SB as well.

Chris Davis, 1B/3B Rangers- Davis disappointed a lot of people this year, reality and fantasy alike. He has however been hitting very well in the minors since his demotion. Don’t be surprised if he gets recalled and tears it up. We all know from last year that he can help fantasy owners in bunches in a hurry. Keep an eye on him and look to add him if he is recalled. He could supply some serious power for an aware fantasy manager.