By the end of today, it will mark the end of a tumultuous season that has already seen three of our top 10 fantasy players suffer season-ending injuries and several other top picks struggle.
Rookie flamethrower Paul Skenes has confounded opponents, some veterans have been able to turn back the clock, and unknown names have appeared from nowhere to, in some sense, lead fantasy teams in the first half of the season.
Below is a group of players who provided big returns at their average draft position to be selected for Roto Rage’s 3rd Annual Bargain Bin All-Star Team.
First base
AL: Josh Naylor, The Guardians
While his batting average is mediocre, he already owns career highs in home runs, runs scored and slugging percentage. He’s fourth in RBIs and seventh in home runs, and his xBA suggests he could be even better in the second half of the season.
NL: Bryce Harper, Phillies
The player selected in the mid-to-late second round put up MVP-caliber numbers (.298 batting average, 20 home runs, 58 RBIs, 52 runs scored, .964 OPS).
Second base
AL: Jordan Westberg, Orioles
The first-time All-Star went from a .27833 batting average to start the season with a .280 batting average, 15 home runs, 50 RBI, 46 runs scored, six stolen bases and an .838 OPS in his first 86 games.
NL: Luis Garcia Jr., Nationals
A player with a 411 ADP hit double-digit home runs and stolen bases.
shortstop
AL: Carlos Correa, Twins
In his first 74 games, he batted .310 (his best since 2017) with 13 home runs, 47 RBI, 50 runs scored and a .905 OPS, earning him his first All-Star team selection since 2021.
NL: Jackson Merrill, Padres
The rookie, a late-round pick (ADP 292.53), entered the weekend batting .285 with 12 home runs, 46 RBI, 40 runs scored and 10 stolen bases.
Third base
AL: Jose Ramirez, The Guardians
Batting average .272, second in RBIs, fifth in home runs, 20th in OPS, and 18 stolen bases. Solid performance for a second-round pick.
NL: Alec Bohm, Phillies
He recorded the same number of doubles as he did in 2023 and also ranked fourth in RBIs.
catcher
AL: Logan O’Hoppe, Angels
Among qualified catchers, he ranks fourth in runs scored, fifth in batting average and on-base percentage, sixth in hits and home runs, and ninth in RBIs. He is also second in OPS and slugging percentage.
NL: Patrick Bailey, Giants
Despite his ADP of 324.75, he’s been solid and consistent – not spectacular, but consistent.
outfield
AL: Aaron Judge, Yankees
The first half MVP of Roth Rage wasn’t a top 3 pick, so it’s a bargain.
AL: Brent Rooker, A’s
Despite the second-worst strikeout rate in the league, he batted .279 with 18 home runs, 55 RBIs, a top-10 slugging average and a 13th-best OPS. He had some down periods (like a .226 batting average in June) but still posted a better ADP than 258.1.
AL: Jarren Duran, Red Sox
With an ADP of 170.55, he entered the weekend ranked fifth in the majors in stolen bases and hits and 12th in runs scored.
NL: Jurickson Profar, Padres
To say he hasn’t been on anyone’s radar would be an understatement this year (439.4 ADP), but he’s batting .311 with 14 home runs, 59 RBI, 52 runs scored, five stolen bases and an .891 OPS, 15th best in the majors.
NL: Helio Ramos, Giants
Look at Profar: His ADP was 1,093.6, and he batted .300 with 14 home runs, 45 RBI and a .909 OPS in his first 57 games on his way to being selected to the All-Star team.
NL: Brenton Doyle, Rockies
The late-round pick has cheap power and speed that allows him to attribute most of his .277 batting average to his .346 batting average and .995 OPS at Coors Field.
utility
AL: Gunnar Henderson, Orioles
The MVP candidate, a second- or third-round pick, entered Friday ranked first in runs scored, third in home runs, fourth in OPS, seventh in hits and 12th in RBIs. He also batted .288 with 14 stolen bases.
NL: Marcell Ozuna, Braves
A midseason pick who led the National League in RBIs, second in home runs, third in slugging percentage and OPS, sixth in hits, seventh in batting average and 12th in runs scored.
Starting pitcher
AL: Garrett Crochet, White Sox
He boasts the best strikeout and swinging strikeout rates in the major leagues, ranks in the top 10 in opponents’ average, and is in the top 20 in ERA, walk rate and WHIP. His xERA, FIP and xFIP are almost half a point lower than his actual ERA, showing he’s been unlucky. Not bad for a player with a .323 batting average.
AL: Jack Flaherty, Tigers
They may not have the most wins, but they have the seventh-lowest walk rate, fourth-highest strikeout rate, seventh-highest swinging strikeout rate and a top 20 ERA. After struggling from 2020-2023, they’ve bounced back to their 2019 form.
AL: Seth Lugo, Royals
A former Mets player having success with another team? How strange! He’s likely to regress in the second half of the season, but his second-most wins and second-lowest ERA in the major leagues are impressive. Three times in 19 starts he allowed two or more runs while scoring.
AL: Tanner Hack, Red Sox
He posted a 2.68 ERA and a .219 batting average, allowing three or more earned runs twice in his first 18 starts.
AL: Luis Gil, Yankees
Despite struggling through three games from June 20-July 3 and posting the worst walk rate in the majors, he already has a .361.3 ADP, is 11th in strikeouts, 22nd in ERA and the worst opponent strikeout rate in the majors.
NL: Paul Skenes, Pirates
Since his promotion, he has posted a 1.90 ERA in 11 starts, allowing two runs or less in nine of those starts. Though he has missed out on two no-hitters, he has recorded seven or more strikeouts in 10 of his 11 starts (with 11 strikeouts recorded twice), making for a dominant performance.
NL: Chris Sale, Braves
He leads the league in wins, ranks in the top five in strikeout rate, strikeout-by-swinging rate and WHIP, and is in the top ten in ERA and opponents’ batting average. He also has the lowest walk rate in the majors, walking just 1.89 batters per nine innings.
NL: Reinaldo Lopez, Braves
He has one of the highest walk rates in the major leagues, but has only started once in the past two seasons, but he performed well in the later rounds and posted the best ERA in the league in the first half of the season.
NL: Rangers-Suarez, Phillies
He’s had a dismal two starts, but has allowed three or more runs just once in his first 16 starts. He ranks third in wins, sixth in ERA, 11th in WHIP, 14th in walk rate, and 20th in opposing pitcher average walk rate.
Do you bet on baseball?
NL: Gavin Stone, Dodgers
He was blessed with some good fortune (3.77 xERA, 3.58 FIP, 4.08 xFIP), but whoever drafted him (305.45 ADP) and whoever acquired him probably didn’t expect him to go 9-3 with a 3.26 ERA in the first half of his season.
Closer
AL: Mason Miller, A’s
Not only is his fastball averaging 100.9 mph, the 6’5″ rookie ranks in the top 1% in xBA, xSLG, WOBA, xWOBA, strikeout rate and xERA. He hasn’t had many save opportunities in Oakland, but he still had 15 save opportunities through Friday and opponents were batting .146 against him.
NL: Ryan Helsley, Cardinals
From April 1 to July 5, he was 2-3 with 31 saves in 32 chances, a 2.03 ERA, a .192 batting average and a 16 percent strikeout rate.
big hit
Reese Olson SP, Tigers
In his past five starts, he has a 2.40 ERA and a 31-6 strikeout/walk ratio, including a 3-0 record with a .202 batting average and a 14 percent strikeout rate during that span.
Brenton Doyle, outfielder, Rockies
After hitting .253 this month, he hit .485 with six home runs, 12 RBIs, one stolen base and an OPS of 1.767, raising his batting average to .277.
Michael Wacha SP, Royals
He has allowed two or more runs in just one of his past nine starts and has a 5-2 record with a 2.61 ERA, a .204 batting average and 47 strikeouts.
Rowdy Telles, 1B, Pirates
He has at least one hit in 21 of his last 30 games and is batting .351 with seven home runs, 22 RBIs, 16 runs scored and one stolen base for a 1.023 OPS.
A big miss
Carlos Rodon SP, Yankees
Since his last win on June 10, he is 0-5 with a 10.57 ERA, a .350 batting average and 10 walks. He has allowed eight home runs, 36 hits and 27 earned runs in his last 23 innings.
David Fry C/1B/OF, Guardians
He was batting .352 when he last hit a home run on May 31, but in the 30 games since then he has 20 hits in 93 at-bats (.215) with 23 strikeouts and was batting .288 as of Friday.
Taylor Ward, outfielder, Angels
In 14 games last weekend, he batted .173 with no home runs, 17 strikeouts and a .483 OPS.
Ezekiel Tovar, SS, Rockies
He had four hits in his first 40 at-bats this month (.100 batting average), struck out 17 times, had no home runs, one RBI, one run scored, and a .244 OPS.
Check your swing
– Now, on to the awards for the first half of the season. Tarik Skubal, who already has a career-high 10 wins, won the Cy Young Award. He ranks in the top 10 in strikeout and walk rates, has the second-best ERA and strikeout rate among qualified starting pitchers, has the fifth-lowest opponents batting average, and has the best WHIP in the major leagues.
The least valuable player is Arizona’s Corbin Carroll. Despite ranking in the top 20 in runs scored and leading the NL in triples, he was batting .209 with three homers, 25 RBI and a .296 on-base percentage as of Friday, good for 24th-worst in the league. In the first half of 2023, he was batting .289 with 18 homers, 48 RBI, 26 stolen bases and a .366 on-base percentage, which is unexpected for a top-five pick.
– Rookie of the Year: Paul Skenes. That’s it. The end.
– The anti-Cy Young Award goes to Kevin Gausman. The fifth-best starting pitcher drafted has allowed three or more earned runs in six of his first 19 starts and enters the day with a 4.50 ERA. His strikeout and whiff rates are his lowest since 2018.
This week’s team name
Lece’s Works
Posted by Joe Carolla
