We're coming up on the All-Star Game and a day off on Wednesday before Major League Baseball gets back to business. If you squint really hard, you can see the finish line. For those without great eyesight, you've got approximately 74 games until the 2009 season is over. That's about 12 weeks of games, two-and-a-half months of baseball to make that last-ditch effort to push your fantasy baseball team towards the top of the standings.Do you have what it takes?
Maybe you do, maybe you don't. No matter the answer, everyone could use a little bit of help, right? Here are a few hitters to target in the second half that could really help you on your quest for the championship.
Ryan Ludwick, Cardinals - Those of us who drafted Ludwick (in every single league we're in) expecting a repeat of 37 home runs and 113 RBI have been sadly disappointed in 2009. Entering the All-Star break, Ludwick is batting .264 with 15 homers and 56 RBI. That doesn't sound bad until you look and see that almost half of his power numbers have come in the last month. Ludwick's July numbers feature a .409 batting average and an OPS sitting at 1.253. His contact rate is 89% and he's walking 12% of the time. All of the stats point towards a promising second half for the Cardinals outfielder. Did I mention that he hit 57% of his home runs and batted 27 points higher after the All-Star break in 2008?
Garrett Atkins, Rockies - If you buy into trade rumors, Atkins has been on the trading block all season. With all the worries that Atkins' leaving Coors Field will kill his fantasy value (read: Matt Holliday), it seems like he has forgotten how to hit. Can it be true? He's batting .230 with six home runs and 28 RBI and has even lost time at third base to Ian Stewart. But, a close look at his first-half numbers show that it's not a hitting deficiency that's causing Atkins to hit miserably; it's bad luck. His hit rate is a very low 24.6% thus far. With a three-year average hit rate sitting somewhere between 31.4% and 34%, Atkins is due for a huge hit-rate correction. He's also reduced his strikeout rate this season and upped his walk rate. All signs point towards a big second half for Atkins. Forget the trade rumors, it doesn't matter if Atkins is in Colorado or elsewhere. Safely add Atkins and thank me later.
Adam LaRoche, Pirates - Speaking of trade rumors, The Pirates would love to deal LaRoche. But the rest of the league isn't willing to pay what the Pirates want. You may want to think differently for your fantasy team. LaRoche is the poster boy for second-half prowess. Over his career he's hit 45 points higher in the second half. He's sitting now with a .250 batting average. No matter what major-league team he ends up with, if you add 45 points to his current average, LaRoche will help your fantasy team.
There you go. And if three just aren't enough, why don't I throw you a few more? Because I'm just a good guy and that's how I roll.
• Carlos Quentin is finishing up his rehab starts now and should be back soon. You should be able to buy him ridiculously cheap. Big-time ROI is the name of this game.
• Aubrey Huff is similar to LaRoche in his second-half goodness. He hits 16% more home runs in the second half over his career and bats 31 points higher.
• Jimmy Rollins has killed teams that took him in the first round. But, he's going to rebound in the second half. We promise.
