Rebound on deck for these fantasy duds
ITH THE second half of the season underway, fantasy owners are looking for ways to give their team a much-needed boost.
Sometimes looking on the waiver wires and keeping your fingers crossed is the way to go, but sometimes it is the disappointments you drafted or picked up early then held onto who wind up being your saviors over the final months.
Maikel Franco was expected to take a huge step this season. Unfortunately, he ended the f i rst half with the seventh-lowest o n- ba s e percentage (.274) and batting average (.217), and the 22ndworst slugging percentage (.384). Though those numbers are ugly, other numbers suggest he is primed for a second half more in line with preseason expectations.
Franco has displayed solid power (13 homers) and the ability to drive in runs (45 RBIs) for a team ranked second-tolast in runs scored and 27th in home runs. Even more good news: There is one qualif ied player with a lower BABIP (.215) than Franco — the Cubs’ Kyle Schwarber.
That indicates the eyesore he calls a batting average should rise. The fact he has the 25th-lowest strikeout rate in the majors (13.5 percent) shows strikeouts are not killing his average — bad luck, a high groundball rate (49.6 percent) and being awful when falling behind in the count (he is hitting .206 when the count is 0-1, .200 when the count is 0-2 and .135 when the count is at 1-2) are the true culprits.
This is a 22-year-old player with a ton of potential — and who has been on display the past two seasons. If he is available in your league, take advantage of the owners who abandoned ship and reap the benefits when he takes off.
Here is a look at other players prepped for a second-half surge:
Jeff Samardzija may be 4-10 with a 4.58 ERA, but there are positives. He is striking out a career-high 9.7 per nine innings, walking a career low 1.07 per nine and has a 3.44 FIP and 3.09 xFIP, indicating he has run into some bad luck. The righty has allowed three runs or fewer in nine of his past 11 starts and has an 18:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio over those 11 starts.
Moving from Oakland to Milwaukee already has begun to work wonders for Stephen
Vogt — he is hitting .273 with four homers (the same total he hit in 54 games with the A’s this season) and eight RBIs. He is batting .364 with three homers and six RBIs in four games at hi tter- f r i endly Miller Park after hitting .191 with just one homer in 26 games at hitter-hell Oak land Alameda Coliseum. With the Brewers in contention for the NL Central, he should continue to be a fantasy asset.
This has not been your typical Manny Machado season, but there still is time for it to turn around. Before the break, he raised his average from .217 to .230 after hitting .333 with three homers and nine RBIs over his first nine games this month. His .239 BABIP supports a secondhalf rebound, too. Patrick Corbin is just 2-3 over his past six starts, but he hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs in any of those starts en route to a 3.34 ERA. He also has a 41:10 strikeout-to-walk ratio in that span. He is on a team in contention, has a career-high 8.4 strikeouts per nine and his 4.24 FIP and 3. 86 xFIP indicate he has been unlucky.