Fantasy Baseball: All-Star Break Cold Streaks

Welcome to the All-Star Break.

For most of us, it’s the three worst days of the baseball season. Maybe not the baseball season. I guess I should revise to be the three worst days of the fantasy baseball season. There is baseball, it just doesn’t count—and only Bud Selig enjoys it…

Enough about the All-Star Break. We’re here to check out those players that had a horrible finish to their first "halves" and see whether it will indicate cold post-break play as well.

Mike Pelfrey, SP

About a month ago I said I would rather have Mike Pelfrey than Ricky Nolasco. I think I still feel the same way, but it’s a lot closer, though mostly because of Nolasco, not Pelfrey. Honestly my opinion of Pelfrey hasn’t been changed much by his last three starts—all of which have been rough. We knew Pelfrey wasn’t going to be that good all the way through the year, I guess it’s just his way of coming back to Earth. The break comes at a good time for him. I still believe him to be a 3.8-3.9 ERA guy, he’ll just have some good starts and some bad ones.

Justin Smoak, 1B

Hopefully for him a change of scenery is what he needed. I wrote in the comments on Friday that I thought the trade was a bad thing for his fantasy career, Safeco is not homer friendly and that’s his greatest asset. In the short term, Smoak has been a huge disappointment so far this season. Obviously there’s a chance he could catch fire at any moment, but he should not be owned in anything smaller than 14-team league.

Ricky Romero, SP

I’ve liked Romero all season and I still do. The reality is that he plays in the AL East, and in this case his last two starts were against the Red Sox and Yankees. Don’t be deterred, he’s good.

Yadier Molina, C

I’m a little worried about Molina. He’s striking out more and swinging at far more pitches outside the zone. He’s gotten a little unlucky in terms of  BABIP, though he’s been low in that department throughout his career. If he is your full time catcher I would start looking for other options.

Chris Carpenter, SP

Wow, he’s really gotten rocked around lately. He is 35, and his velocity is down a bit from last year, but I wouldn’t be too concerned. Carpenter is a great pitcher and he’ll continue to be just that as long as he stays healthy.

Nick Punto, IF

What were you expecting? Just so everyone knows, Chone Figgins has almost 2 ½ times as many home runs as Punto since 2002.

Anibal Sanchez, SP

Time for me to put my money where my mouth is. Or just continue to run my mouth. I’ve been all about Sanchez for a little while now, and I’m sticking with him. I’d chalk up his last two starts to a good offense (Atlanta) and a tough park (Arizona). Hang on.