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Fantasy Baseball: Five Coldest Hitters in AL Central
May 26, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (13) reacts to striking out to end the top half of the fifth inning against the New York Yankees in a baseball game at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
The weather is really starting to heat up now that the calendar has switched to June, yet there are several key fantasy baseball contributors in the AL Central very cold at the moment.
In fantasy baseball, especially rotisserie leagues, it is difficult to drop a star. Eventually, the star will heat up, and the stats balance themselves out because rotisserie leagues take into account full season stats.
But while that star is cold and still in the fantasy baseball lineup, it can be very frustrating for the owner, who has no other choice, but to take the hitting lumps right with the star’s real life team.
For our list, we tried to stick with fantasy baseball relevant players. So a guy like Omar Infante, who is batting .111 in the last seven games, was omitted because he isn’t owned in many fantasy leagues.
Without further ado, here are the five coldest hitters in the AL Central:
May 20, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler (3) hits a double in the fifth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
2B Ian Kinsler, Detroit Tigers
There are icebergs warmer than Kinsler is right now.
On May 18, he was hitting .318 for the season, but since then, the second baseman has seen his season average plummet to .267. That will happen if you hit .094 for a 14-day stretch. In 14 games during that span, he was 5-for-53 with two doubles and a home run, which was his first of the season.
Kinsler did get two hits on Thursday, so perhaps he is coming out of the slump. Detroit really could use his production while Victor Martinez is out with his knee injury.
May 31, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Twins first baseman Joe Mauer (7) at bat in the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
1B Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
It’s truly amazing that the Twins have been able to climb the standings without much production from their All-Star first baseman.
Mauer’s season batting average is down to .263, which is the lowest its been since the second day of the season. He slashed just .240/.278/.340 in May, and in the last 11 games, Mauer is hitting .179.
The first baseman also has shown very little power this season as he has one home run and 30 RBI.
May 31, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Chicago White Sox right fielder Avisail Garcia (26) hits a RBI against the Houston Astros in the third inning at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
RF Avisail Garcia, Chicago White Sox
Two weeks ago, Garcia was a guy MCB recommended fantasy baseball owners to pick up. Unfortunately, he has gone ice cold since then. Guess we jinxed him.
It is more likely, though, that the drop in production was due to right knee discomfort that kept Garcia out for seven games the second half of May. Since the injury, he is slashing .139/.244/.139 with zero extra-base hits.
His season totals, however, are still very respectable. Garcia is hitting .301 with four home runs and 18 RBI in 166 at-bats this season and is still just 23.
May 16, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Cleveland Indians left fielder Michael Brantley (23) hits a sacrifice fly and drives in a run during the fourth inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
LF Michael Brantley
Brantley dealt with his own injury issues back in April, but when he regained his health in late April, Brantley started really mashing. He was batting around .350 until the middle of May when he suddenly hit a cold streak on May 18.
Since then, Brantley is slashing .217/.300/.283 with zero home runs. Over that span, the Indians left fielder has seen his season slugging percentage drop almost 80 points.
But like Garcia, Brantley is still having a good season overall. He is hitting .303 with 21 extra-base hits and 32 RBI in 175 at-bats.
May 26, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (13) reacts as he watches a foul ball go into the stands against the New York Yankees during the fifth inning of a baseball game at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
C Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals
After hitting .326 in April, owners should have expected a bit of a drop off for the 25-year-old catcher. Perez only hit .240 in May and has seen his season average fall to .276.
Since May 10, Perez is batting .227 with just two home runs and a .618 OPS. He also has just seven RBI over that span, which is half as many as Perez had in April.
Still, as long as Perez has been in owners’ rotisserie lineups all season, his season totals of .276, six home runs, 25 RBI and .717 OPS are very respectable for a middle tier catcher.