The baseball season has always been filled with highs and lows, slumps and hot streaks.  Unfortunately for fantasy owners, some high-profile players have seen their slumps extend for not only weeks, but for months.  The upcoming All-Star break will provide many struggling stars with the time to rest their bodies and, more importantly, their minds, as they hope to come back strong in the second half.  Some stars such as Ryan Braun and Ryan Howard shook off disappointing first months of the season and are now contributing as they were expected to on draft day.  However, many first-half busts look ready to continue their substandard seasons beyond the break.  The following players were counted on by many owners to be key contributors on fantasy teams but may never reach their preseason projections.

HITTERS

Derek seems sorry you took him so early in your draft. Photo Credit: kidsire

Derek Jeter, SS, NYY
Jeter has long been a valued fantasy shortstop due to his annual .300+ batting average, his double-digit home run power, and his ability to steal bases.  This year, however, Jeter’s statistics are significantly lower than normal in almost every category.  In his career, Jeter has hit .322 in the second half of the season, but at age 34, this Yankee hero may now be finally showing the effects of age. Expect the average to improve, but the power is clearly not part of Jeter’s repertoire at this stage of his career.

Alex Rios, OF, TOR
Rios stole the hearts of many a baseball fan with his impressive home-run derby performance at last year’s All-Star festivities.  With Alex now at the magical age of 27 and finally established as a middle of the order slugger, denizens of the fantasy world expected Rios to improve on his 24-85-17 stats from a year ago.  Nearly halfway into the season, he has only three homers and 28 RBI.  While the stolen bases have been an improvement, the lack of power has been frustrating for fantasy owners.  Rios has hit 40 of his 55 career homers in the first half of the season, and his career batting average is nearly 15 points lower in the second half.  With uncertainty about where he will hit in the lineup and his lack of power weighing on his mind, stay away from this Blue Jay in the second half.

Jim Thome, DH, CWS
A career .296 hitter versus right-handed pitching, the White Sox slugger is inexplicably batting .213 against righties in 2008.  Combine that with a lack of RBIs, and Thome has suddenly become a one-category (home runs) contributor.  With just 14 homers, that doesn't nearly justify owning him.  His OBP and SLG are approaching career lows, and it seems that the 18 year veteran is finally nearing the end of his run as a viable fantasy option.  If your team is desperate for home runs and you want to take the chance on Thome (he of 521 career HRs), you may be rewarded, but don’t count on the batting average to return to his career .280 mark.

Ivan Rodriguez, C, DET
I-Rod teased fantasy owners by exhibiting prodigious power in spring training and showing a renewed spark behind home plate.  Unfortunately, those qualities didn’t carry into the regular season.  I-Rod has only two homers to show for 2008, and now he is seeing Brandon Inge cut into his playing time.  Normally a .313 hitter in the first half of the season, Rodriguez is currently batting .275 with slight signs of improvement since being demoted to a platoon player.  Unfortunately for Rodriguez and his fantasy owners, the second half of the season hasn’t been very kind to him the past few years.  His career .287 second half is markedly lower than his first half numbers, and the wear and tear on his 36 year-old body isn’t going to help his statistics.  Like the Tigers, Rodriguez has yet to live up to his preseason hype.

PITCHERS
Brett Myers, SP, PHI
After the Phillies acquired Brad Lidge in the offseason, many fantasy owners pegged Myers as a candidate to be a top-notch fantasy starter.  Three wins and nine losses later, Myers is finding himself one of the most dropped players in fantasy leagues around the globe.  With an ERA of 5.51 and a WHIP over 1.50, Myers hasn’t remotely looked like the pitcher who won 14 games in 2005 and 12 in 2006.  The problem with Myers has been his tendency to routinely give up the long-ball...game-after-game.  He has already given up 23 dingers in 2008, which is the most in the majors.  In a division with talented offensive teams like the Mets, the Braves, and the surprisingly potent Marlins, Myers will continue to be a disappointment for fantasy purposes.

Roy Oswalt, SP, HOU
A perennial Cy Young contender, Oswalt has barely been serviceable for fantasy owners this year.  Ranked by most as a top-10 pitcher in all of baseball, the flame-throwing righty has given up 17 home runs in only 102 innings pitched, which is surprising considering he has never given up more than 18 in any full season of pitching.  The problem with Oswalt seems to be his inability to pitch well at home this season.  Despite its label as a hitter’s haven, Minute Maid Park has been a place where Oswalt has thrived during his career; however, in 2008 he has an ERA of nearly 5.50 at home.  With a WHIP approaching 1.50 and his strikeouts lower than his career norms, Oswalt seems primed to continue his disappointing 2008 campaign.

Huston Street, RP, OAK
Entering his fourth season as the Oakland closer, many experts predicted that Street would finally shed his reputation as being injury-prone and would finally become a dominant closer in the major leagues.  Almost four months into the season, Street has an ERA in the mid 4’s and only 13 saves for a surprisingly good Oakland squad.  Instead of getting a stabilizing force for a team’s reliever corps, fantasy owners are now left wondering whether Street will be traded to a contending team at the trade deadline, where he would likely shift from closing duties to a set-up role.  Street has continuously broken down in the second half of the year so far in his young career, and his disappointing first half may ultimately lead him out of town at the trade deadline.

Brad Rysz thinks this is the year the Cubs will win the World Series.  Think otherwise?  Let Brad know how delusional he is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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