Halpin' hand: The Lower Half
by John Halpin, FOXSports.com
(Note: All stats are through Sunday's games.)
Ryan Church, OF, Mets (48.2 percent owned)
Church went 2-for-4 on Sunday in his first game back after missing nearly a month with the after effects of a concussion. Church is no superstar, but he was batting .300 with 10 home runs and 35 RBI in just 180 at-bats before the injury. Plus, he still hits in one of the National League's most talented lineups, and odds are they'll improve at least a little as the season progresses. You could get another 10-12 dingers out of Church the rest of the way, and that's OK for a free agent.
Justin Duchscherer, SP, A's (43.7 percent owned)
This is better than OK for a free agent. The A's finally moved Duchscherer into the rotation after four years of loyal service in their bullpen, and he's been treeeeeee-mendous, with an 8-5 record, a 1.91 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. Sure, he's been as lucky as they come with a .229 BABIP, which is bound to get worse in the second half. But he's a free agent in more than half our leagues? Come on, folks.
John Danks, SP, White Sox (32.2 percent owned)
I included Danks in this space in early May. Since then, he's solidified his place as a fantasy stud, with a 2.62 ERA, a 1.23 WHIP and a solid strikeout rate, while allowing just six home runs in 92 2/3 innings. For the next two months, Danks should continue to be a strong member of your fantasy rotation. After that — having never pitched more than 140 innings as a pro — he's probably going to run out of gas faster than you would if you pumped $5 of unleaded into your SUV.
Salomon Torres, RP, Brewers (28.3 percent owned)
Eric Gagne's back, and manager Ned Yost says he's going to be a setup man since Torres has closed 12 consecutive opportunities since assuming the role in late May. Torres is in a typical closer situation; he's done very well since getting the job and, at this point, he's the guy until the manager says he isn't the guy. Grab Torres and ride him as far as he takes you.
Ricky Nolasco, SP, Marlins (10.0 percent owned)
With a 4.05 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP, Nolasco seems like an adequate starter in an NL-only league. However, in his last four starts, he's allowed six runs in 29 2/3 innings (1.82 ERA) while striking out 26 batters and giving up just one free pass in each of those outings. Nolasco's always been talented, but after missing most of 2007 with an elbow injury nobody expected much from him this season. He might be finding his groove, and it might be worth it to you to see if that continues on your roster.
Billy Butler, 1B/DH, Royals (8.8 percent owned)
The 22-year-old Butler was sent to the minors at the end of May after a putrid first two months that included two home runs, 12 runs and 18 RBI. If voting were held today, he'd finish among the top 10 in this year's BHFP (Bad Halpin Fantasy Predictions) Awards, far behind runner-up Gagne and unanimous winner Wily 'Less' Peña.
I think Butler will play better in the second half than he did in the first. He batted .337 with five homers during his minor league timeout, and he's always been regarded as a freakishly talented hitter. If you need a decent power bat with a 290-plus average for the rest of the summer, Butler could be your guy.
Ben Francisco, OF, Indians (3.2 percent owned)
There are a lot of average fantasy outfielders on the free agent wire. You obviously don't want to build your team around them, but when you lose a player like Magglio Ordoñez, Michael Cuddyer or Juan Pierre, you need them. Francisco's one of the fill-in candidates who's flying under the radar. In two months as the Tribe's right fielder, he's batting .286 with six home runs, 28 RBI, 28 runs and an .807 OPS. Francisco's probably as good as Cuddyer already — just not as famous.
Elijah Dukes, OF, Nationals (1.6 percent owned)
Dukes has played well in Austin Kearns' absence. When Kearns makes his expected return to the lineup next week, Dukes will shift over to left field. 'Less' Peña will then take a seat on the bench and, if there's a God in heaven, be sold to a Japanese League team so I never have to see him again.
Where was I? Oh, right — Dukes is batting .294 with three homers, 14 RBI and five stolen bases in June. Nobody ever doubted Dukes' ability — just his sanity. He appears to have a clear shot at playing time now, and as long as he doesn't screw it up with another, um, disagreement — like this one or this one — he'll be productive.
Sidney Ponson, SP, Yankees (1.0 percent owned)
Sir Sidney was run out of Texas a few weeks ago after reportedly consuming a few too many Shirley Temples at a hotel bar on a road trip. Of course, as in all professional sports, you can act like as big of a jerk as you like ... as long as you can play. The pitching-starved Yankees picked up Ponson and he responded with six scoreless innings against the Mets last Friday. Who says being a (fill in your own expletive here) doesn't pay?
Ponson's not great, but he pitched pretty well with the Rangers before self destructing. With the Yanks, he'll get plenty of run support, and you won't have any agonizing uncertainty — in a month, either he'll be producing or he'll be gone. If you're desperate, well, so were the Yankees, right?
Chris Davis, 1B, Rangers (0 percent owned)
That sound you just heard was my jaw hitting the floor upon checking Davis' minor league stats prior to his promotion last week. In 77 games, he had a .333 average, 23 home runs, 73 RBI, 68 runs, seven stolen bases and a 1.029 OPS. In his first four games with the Rangers, he already has two homers. One of my favorite baseball terms is "light tower power." By most accounts, Davis has it.
The previous plan was to have Hank Blalock play first base upon his return from the disabled list. Call it a hunch, but unless current Rangers third basemen Ramon Vazquez and German Duran have photos of GM Jon Daniels chugging a bottle of tequila with a couple naked Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, Blalock's going back to the hot corner and Davis is staying at first unless he completely falls on his face.
Brett Gardner, OF, Yankees (0 percent owned)
Gardner was called up by the Yankees Monday and he's slated to get a decent amount of playing time during Hideki Matsui's absence. Gardner had 34 stolen bases in the minors before his callup. He has 146 steals (and has been caught just 22 times) in 367 minor league games, and in the two hours since I started writing this column, he stole his first base for the Yankees. Let's agree that he's really, really fast, and he'd be a fine fill-in for Matsui, among others.
There's another factor at play here: The subpar performance of Melky Cabrera (.246 BA, seven HR, six SB, .666 OPS). Gardner had a whopping 61 walks in Triple-A this season, and his .412 on-base percentage certainly helped him steal all those bases. If Gardner impresses over the next couple of weeks, don't be so sure he isn't going to get some time even after Matsui comes back. Watch your back, Melky.
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