Fantasy Baseball: The Halfway Mark

Well with All-Star Weekend almost upon us, Major League Baseball has already reached it’s halfway mark and we take a breather to watch some Home Run derby and an All-Star Game (remember this one counts!)

So while we take that break allow me to check in on my teams and see where I am in my Fantasy Baseball leagues:

Beltway Bandits (153-113-85)

After starting the season in the basement I’ve vaulted straight to the top where I maintain a 6.5 game lead in first. Of course anything can happen in this league so I’m not resting on my laurels one bit! My team looks a tad different that when I drafted it, Chris Davis? I hate you. You’re fired. Scotty Baker? You give up too many home runs and I dropped you for Erik Bedard (the second smartest pickup I’ve made) however Erik Bedard then remembered he’s Erik Bedard and hit the D/L. So Baker’s back in until I find another arm to replace you with. While my team is great at stealing bases and mashing homers, the RBI count hasn’t been as dominating. I think I have the weirdest group of top of the order hitters that don’t normally produce a whole lot of RBIs.

Stats accurate to when I first wrote this on Monday July 6th.

• Brian McCann – C: He’s back and sporting a pair of glasses, he’s hitting .304 and I can’t ask for anything more.
• Adrian Gonzales – 1B: I lucked out with one of the league leaders in home runs, it’s only the halfway point and he has 24! However he bats in a terrible lineup with no protection at all.
• Chone Figgins – 2B: I said he was going to steal 35 bases and he’s already up to 24 and batting .312- not too shabby.
• Michael Young- SS : He’s been slumping as of late but he’s hitting again and his average is back up to .314.
• Mark Reynolds – 3B: Desperate for RBI numbers I brought Mark Reynolds on with his 111 strikeouts. However he’s also got 24 homers and 61 RBIs.
• Ryan Braun, B.J. Upton, Johnny Damon – OF:  My starting three looks a bit different than how it started. Upton has been streaky but already has 30 SB, Johnny Damon is coming out of nowhere with 16 homers (average is down however), and Braun is doing great despite the fact he was my mistake first pick.
• Andre Ethier, Corey Hart, Alfonso Soriano, Ryan Theriot - UTIL/BN: Ethier was great coming into the season but quickly languished without his friend Manny. Let’s hope that he can get back into things now that Manny’s back. Corey Hart is doing ok- I expect a better average from him but his power numbers are what I expected. Soriano has been a disappointment for me, sure he has 14 HRs but I don’t want your stupid .221 average.
• CC Sabathia, Josh Beckett, Chris Carpenter, Derek Lowe, Scott Baker, Erik Bedard – SP: My rotation is still top notch, Chris Young wasn’t working out for me so I let him go. Derek Lowe had an amazing run to start the season but now it looks like he’ll need the All-Star break to recoup more than anyone.
• Heath Bell, Bobby Jenks, Brian Fuentes – RP: Heath Bell is one of the best closers in the majors now to my surprise. Jenks is getting the job done as well. Fuentes is also getting it done but he’s the messiest of the three.

A-Roid’s Cousin (80-62-14)

I’m 4th in my keeper league with this team and I’m a lot less enthused about the performance so far. Just as I expected my rotation is all sorts of messed up and it’s dragging down the victories I get with my hitting categories. I laughed when I found myself picking up B.J. Upton in this league, when I swore I’d never even draft him again. I think I found some sort of calm with my middle infielders but I’m still shuffling people around as needed.

• Chris Iannetta – C: He’s back from the D/L and so far he’s earned me 10 HRs- which is great. However I don’t like his .231 average.
• Albert Pujols – 1B:  He’s good. He’s very very good.
• Alexei Ramirez – 2B: He started off the season terrible but is in the middle of a bounce back, I’m riding it out for now.
• Cristian Guzman – SS: You know what I like about Guzman? I can count on him hitting .300. You know what I hate? That’s all he does.
• Chipper Jones – 3B: So he’s been healthy but he’s not hitting the insane numbers I was hoping for.
• Carlos Lee, Manny Ramirez, Torii Hunter – OF: Lee & Ramirez will both give me 30 HRs and .300 BA, Werth will do a little less than that but will contribute in steals. A solid outfield in my mind.
• Jayson Werth, Joey Votto, B.J. Upton, Ian Stewart – Util/BN: Votto has been dealing with some health problems but he’s back and hitting as expected. Werth is mashing but he’s not getting contact the way I expected. Stewart is platooning my infield as I try and figure out who to play on a daily basis.
• Cole Hamels, John Lackey, Gil Meche, Wandy Rodriguez, Hiroki Kuroda, John Smoltz – SP: I hate my rotation.
• Matt Capps, Brian Wilson, Fernado Rodney, Jeremy Affeldt – RP: Capps is not having that excellent year I thought he was going to have. My motely crew here is getting the saves but they are causing heart attacks while doing it.

Related posts:

1. Fantasy Baseball: It’s All Over
2. Fantasy Baseball: The Keeper League Team
3. Fantasy Baseball: The H2H Team
4. Fantasy Baseball: Oh Manny.
5. Fantasy Baseball: The Deadline Deal