July's Hot are Your Players?

Tabloid Paige
Fantasy Baseball News-July 03 2008

July's Hot are Your Players?

Hot weather and hot bats don't always go together. Some players swelter away while others thrive in the heat. We'll look at a few players and their July performances from other seasons.
Lets look at few good hitters for the month July. Most baseball enthusiast know these players hit well any month of the year, Albert Pujols, Chase Utley and Hanley Ramirez. But you may have some players, that you are about to drop or sell, because of their performance so far. Before you do check out these numbers for July. Milton Bradley, has hit a combined .385-8-29 in only 130 July at-bats with an OPS of 1.098. And these three Miguel Cabrera (.319-12-33 the past two July's), Justin Morneau (.378-16-51 the past two July's) and Robinson Cano (.385-6-24 last July).

Head'in up:
Pat Burrell has been unimpressive the past two months, but he has a .360-9-36 stat line and a 1.103 OPS in 136 July at-bats the past two seasons.
It also will be hard to bench Jim Thome (.289-15-42 the past two Julys), Jeff Kent (.396-5-23 in just 101 at-bats the past two July's) and Jeff Francoeur (.332-15-50 past three July's) considering the numbers they've posted in recent July's.

Awaking:
You might to find this guyon the waiver wire to occasionally use this month. Adam LaRoche's .235 average might not be very attractive, but his .331-11-31 line from the past two July's looks pretty enticing.
Consider snatching up Andre Ethier (.370-7-32 the past two Julys), Ray Durham (.296-11-40 the past two July's) and maybe even Chris Duncan (.336-9-29 the past two July's) if he continues to see playing time in the Cardinals' outfield.

Stock rising:
Dustin Pedroia, with a nine-game hitting streak, during which he has gone 21-for-39 (.538), raising his average from .274 to .303. His outstanding .356 average in June should help owners forget about his mediocre .260 May. In the second half I expect .300 OBP around .360. Evan Longoria, he's hitting up to his potental as the hype goes with, AL Player of the Week after hitting .433 with three homers and 10 RBIs in six games last week. Longoria hit .300-8-19 in June, so it's safe to say he's beginning to adjust to life in the major leagues. Curtis Granderson, Granderson has recorded a hit in 18 of his past 22 games, raising his average from .238 all the way to .295. Aiding in the resurgence has been Granderson's decrease in strikeouts; he whiffed once every 7.6 at-bats in June after striking out once every 4.2 at-bats in May. More contact means a higher OBP for Granderson, which means more runs and stolen bases for fantasy owners.

K's are a Killer:
Adam Dunn (39), Ryan Howard (36), Mark Reynolds (36), Jack Cust (33), Jay Bruce (32), Jeremy Hermida (32), Dan Uggla (31), Elijah Dukes (30), Matt Kemp (30), Carlos Gomez (28), Kelly Shoppach (28), Josh Hamilton (26), Mike Jacobs (26).
If these players can cut their Ks down and contribute significantly in at least one offensive category that player might deserve a spot on your team.



Editor Dennis Paige fantasy baseball expert for Tabloid Paige.