Target 2nd-half surges
THE DOG days of summer are in full-swing, and fantasy baseball owners looking to make that championship run need to start wheeling and dealing to fortify their rosters. More often, teams near the bottom of your standings are the ones that don’t have the gumption to continue waiting for disappoionting player.
It might only be a half-dozen games, but we are already starting to get a good feel as to which first-half busts are starting to turn their seasons around, so put your GM hats on and start picking up the phone.
Has there been a more disappointing player this season than Gleyber Torres? He finished the first half batting .240 with just three home runs, 29 RBIs and a .326 on-base percentage, well below his career averages. If someone in your league is unlikely to contend for the title and has Torres on their roster still, make that move. Through the first six games of the second half, the Yankees shortstop has a slash line of .263/.348/.789 with three home runs and six RBIs. His overall totals at season’s end might not be what his original drafters hoped for, but that second-half surge should be extremely helpful to your run.
Looking for help behind the dish? It looks like the Dodgers have finally realized that platooning Will Smith was much more of a hindrance than anything else. While sharing the starts each week in the first half, Smith batted just .251, and though he somehow managed to knock 10 home runs, his RBI total of 32 ranked him well below many full-time guys. He now has started all but one game in the second half and is batting .368 with three home runs and 12 RBIs since the break.
The teams in the bottom half of your standings are there for a reason, but that doesn’t mean many of their players are incapable of turning around their seasons. It tends to go largely unnoticed, so take your time and sift through their rosters.
Howard Bender is the VP of operations and head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on Twitter @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 6-8 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy baseball advice.