HAKANIN.Sports

I meant to write about my 5 guys to rebound a little sooner, but just have been busy. I am currently sitting in a nice cafe in Phoenixville, PA that has wireless, not a bad way to blog =)

Without wasting time, here are my 5 players who did not perform up to their potential and an outlook for their 2nd half.

• Paul Konerko (CWS - 1B): After a miserable April with .198AVG and OPS of .657, Konerko has already shown signs of rebounding, raising his AVG to .258 in May, .290 in June, and currently on fire in the month of July, batting .391 in 7 games. Many blamed the slump to his experiment with new swings during spring training and the beginning of the season, but it looks like he is getting the strokes back. Whether the White Sox can do the same is a totally different story. After giving up 32 runs to the Twins during the double headers yesterday, things cannot look worse in the south side of Chicago. Hopefully with the improved performance of Konerko, the team will start playing like contenders again. 2nd half prediction: Konerko’s June stats are a reasonable guideline to see how he should do rest of the season, batting .290 with 7HR and OPS of .957. His RBI was only 15 but that is simply because of teammates not getting on base. Konerko batted a respectable .280 and knocked in 29 when there were runners in scoring position during the first half, so he is doing his part. If the Whitesox continue to play poorly and become a seller before the trade deadline, then we are expecting something along the line of 30HR and barely 100RBIs. However, if the 2006 World Champion decides to play some baseball, Konerko should be able to catch fire on the 2nd half, and approach 40HR with plenty RBIs to make you forget his poor first half.
• Felix Hernandez (SEA - SP): King Felix came out the gate in April, proofing everyone that he deserves the royal treatment, but a DL stint at the end of April turned Hernandez’s season around 180 degree. After his return, Hernandez clearly did not have the same command and focus as in April, only relying on his plus fastball to get him out of jams at time. But he cannot fool anyone if that is all he has. In May and June, he was only good against teams at the bottom of their division, and showed no signs of dominance. If Seattle wants to continue their good play and remain contending, they MUST have Hernandez get his head straight. 2nd half prediction: It is hard to figure out which pitcher will show up after the All Star break, King Felix or the overhyped franchise pitcher who only teases you with brilliant outings from time to time. Perhaps new manager John McLaren will challenge Hernandez to return to his Ace form. So we are looking at a disappointing 13, 14 win season, or “that’s-what-I’m-talking-about!” 2nd half that will define his career, finishing with a shot at 20W and a reasonable ERA a little bit above 3.00.
• Carlos Beltran (NYM - OF): Beltran finally played like he should last year, with 41-116, plus 18SB, making him a top player for both MLB and Fantasy. While he is not known for having high AVG, fans in New York expect better stats from the best OF in the best team in New York (sorry Yankee fans, you guys need to be a .500 team before you can brag about the 26 World Champion rings and whatnot). 2nd half prediction: The Mets need help to continue to play well. They struggle to put together a healthy, productive OF and the rotation needs help while Oliver Perez and Pedro remain on the DL, and Tom Glavine finally remembers his age. Beltran, however, IS showing signs of heating up, belting back-to-back multi HR games in Philly at the end of June. With Delgado finding his stroke as well, the heart of the Mets line up is ready for big 2nd half. While it is not as likely that Beltran will have another 40HR season, but 30-20 with tons of RBI is not a far reach.
• Scott Kazmir (TB - SP): Another young franchise pitcher not performing up to his potential. I have no idea why the Devil Rays haven’t tried to trade one of their talented young OF for an established, experienced SP. Right now their rotation is too young and too raw. The inconsistency hurts the team tremendously. With Al Reyes on the DL, the Rays can’t even turn to their bullpen to bail out their SPs. Kazmir’s stuff is there, posting a tolerable K-BB ratio of nearly 2-1. But we know he is capable of much more. Without someone else in the rotation to settle down the young pitchers, Kazmir and James Shields are unlikely to take the leap to true stardom. 2nd half prediction: Kazmir probably will hurt himself during the 2nd half, due to him trying to shoulder the pressure and over-pitch himself into more trouble. The Rays is out of contention anyway, so they might finally look into trading for a SP, but with Rocco Baldelli struggling to get healthy, and Elijah Duke having off the field issues, not many teams are likely to take gambles on them. Meaning Kazmir is probably on his own again, and the team shelfing him or limit his outings because hoping for the future is pretty much all they can do.
• Huston Street (OAK - CL): Street actually did alright during the first half - while he was healthy. 9SV, ERA of 2.50. However, I predicted him before the season that he will at least hit the DL once with several setbacks, and while people in my Yahoo league thought it was unlikely because Street showed promise during Spring Training and many believe he can repeat his 37SV season last year, if not top that. Well, he got hurt, and only pitched 18 innings. 2nd half prediction: Street is walking a fine line to be labeled “fragile” and the only person that is preventing himself from cementing his status as an elite closer is himself. Alan Embree is doing well as the closer at the moment, but Oakland certainly miss their strong bullpen with both Street and Justin Duchscherer out (especially since Duchscherer is out for season with a hip surgery). As long Street is healthy, you can expect almost 20 SVs from him, or even more if it is your birthday. But there is certainly risks involve since Street is experiencing set backs and whatnot. He is not bad buy low option if you already have a solid lead for SVs and have flexibility in other positions, but don’t assume he is going to come in and rescue your season.

Just like my last Fantasy baseball post, there are many more players that I failed to mention, Carlos Delgado is another big name player that struggled through the first half, though I did briefly mentioned him when I talked about Carlos Beltran. Dave Bush is also showing sign of the type of quality pitcher he is, with the Brewers swinging the bats well, Bush is expected to win a couple more games, but whether his ERA and WHIP will drop down enough to help you is uncertain.

- Paul

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