Second Half Studs

As we near the All-Star Break and the final players are voted in, managers gear themselves for the second half of the fantasy baseball season. A couple simple changes can be an extreme makeover and make contenders out of the teams that are in the basements of their leagues. Stay current and be aggressive with the waiver wire. Don’t keep players because of their names and not their stats. (Meaning: just because Todd Helton hit 30 homers three years ago and was a star does not mean that you can not drop him) Here are a couple of players that I believe could be all star fantasy players for the second half of the fantasy season.

Miguel Olivo: Here is a player that may not be someone that comes to mind for everyone. He is been playing some great ball for the Marlins recently and happens to be Yahoo’s 3^rd best ranked catcher over the past month. He does not have a great average, but it is quickly on the rise and he is starting to put up some power numbers. Olivo has a tendency to be slightly better in the first half, but I look for him to still be a pretty good sleeper for a tough spot to fill.

Mark Teixeira: Tex is coming back next week and look for him to put up big numbers. He is a huge second half player and look for another one this year. He might not be as good as he is coming off an injury, but you could most likely get him at a decent price and will be a solid option.

Paul Konerko: Like Tex, you might not need Konerko, as first base is a fairly easy fantasy position to fill, however he is still a guy I would like to have around on my team maybe even for a utility spot. His stats have been slowly increasing by month and I’d believe that he (and Chicago) is bound to break out and have a great month. Paul does have 15 homers, which isn’t bad so I look for him as a good guy to grap.

Brad Hawpe: I am becoming more and more of a fan of Hawpe. That Colorado lineup is really heating up and Hawpe has players around him like All-Star outfielder Matt Holliday and the hot Garrett Atkins to drive in, with a player like Tulowitzki to drive him in. He already has 14 homers and almost 60 RBIs so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him end up with around 35 dingers and 100+ RBIs.

Mike Mussina: I can not write a column with out mentioning at least one pitcher. Mussina is a very much established pitcher with almost 250 wins. He has been off to a slow start this year, but has look much better. In fact, over his last 6 starts, he has not given up more than 7 hits in a game, while factoring in some punchouts.