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Fantasy Baseball: Five Hottest Second-Half AL Central Hitters
Aug 5, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago White Sox left fielder Melky Cabrera (53) breaks his bat against the Tampa Bay Rays during the eight inning of the baseball game at U.S Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
It’s hard to believe, but the All-Star break started exactly a month ago as of Thursday, Aug. 13. Where has this season gone?
Quite a bit has changed since that All-Star break for several teams and some players. The trade deadline passed with a few teams, like the Detroit Tigers, waving the white flag, and as a result, a few fantasy baseball studs changed addresses.
But whether with a new team or a non-contender, fantasy baseball owners are loving the late July and early August production from several AL Central hitters. Here are the top five hottest batters in the American League Central over the last month:
Aug 11, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer (35) hits a 2 run home run against the Detroit Tigers in the first inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
Eric Hosmer, Kansas City
Hosmer has been proving over the last month that maybe he should have been Miguel Cabrera’s replacement at first base for the All-Star Game. The 25-year-old leads the AL in hitting among batters with at least 50 at-bats since the break. He is slashing .402/.453/.629.
In his last 97 at-bats, Hosmer has 12 extra-base hits, including four home runs, 19 RBI and 22 runs scored.
This is the breakout season fantasy baseball owners were hoping for from Hosmer. The Royals first baseman is hitting .317 with 12 bombs, 65 RBI and 68 runs in 417 at-bats this year.
Aug 10, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago White Sox left fielder Melky Cabrera (53) hits a double against the Los Angeles Angels in the sixth inning at U.S Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Melky Cabrera, Chicago White Sox
Cabrera has been a doubles machine since the break, hitting 15 of them in his last 99 at-bats. He also has a triple and three home runs. His 24 RBI in the second half of the season is ranked second to only Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis in the American League.
The left fielder is hitting .364 with 17 runs scored since the break too.
His recent hot streak has Cabrera’s batting average up to .281. He also has seven home runs, 58 RBI and 51 runs scored.
Aug 12, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Detroit Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler (3) is congratulated entering the dugout after scoring in the ninth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Detroit won 7-4. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Ian Kinsler, Detroit Tigers
Nobody is hotter than Kinsler these days.
He has a .386 batting average with a 1.015 OPS since the start of the second half of the season, but he has slashed an incredible .402/.431/.629 in the last 23 games. During that stretch, Kinsler has 14 extra-base hits, 13 RBI and 20 runs scored.
Although he went 0-for-7 in the first two games against the Royals this week, Kinsler responded with two hits and two key RBI on Wednesday to get his average back at .300 this season. He is slashing .300/.357/.426 with 40 extra-base hits, 52 RBI and 72 runs in 2015.
Aug 10, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu (79) hits a single against the Los Angeles Angels in the sixth inning at U.S Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Jose Abreu, Chicago White Sox
The White Sox first baseman has been somewhat disappointing for fantasy baseball owners as he went late in the first round of many drafts this past spring and has failed to live up to that hype.
Abreu has been making it up to owners a bit lately, though, with a .287 batting average since the break. He also has seven home runs, 21 RBI and 17 runs in his last 94 at-bats.
The first baseman has three home runs in August and 21 on the season. Abreu is also hitting .292 with 67 RBI and 68 runs in 421 at-bats.
Aug 9, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals batter Kendrys Morales (25) hits a two-run home run against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
Kendrys Morales, Kansas City Royals
Morales is probably the biggest surprise on our list. We could have gone with Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis, who is hitting .345 since the Mid-Summer Classic, but he doesn’t have a home run and only has two RBI in his last 58 at-bats.
The Royals designated hitter has 20 RBI since the break, which is sixth most in the American League and third most on our list. In the American League, Cabrera, Abreu, Morales, and Hosmer are all in the top 10 in RBI during the second half.
Morales is slashing .320/.374/.485 with 11 extra-base hits and nine runs in addition to those 20 RBI since the All-Star Game. Fantasy owners love that production.