Splitting Hairs on 2009’s Performances
Everyone has players that they think are strong performers in either the first or second half. Hank Blalock is a notorious first-half performer while Adam LaRoche has made a career out of heating up after the All-Star break. In 2009, Blalock had a .854 OPS in the first half compared to a .585 OPS in the second. LaRoche posted a .784 OPS before the All-Star break and .915 mark afterwards.
But neither of those players made the list of top-five extreme fantasy splits for 2009.
To figure out who the hot and cold fantasy performers were by half, I took the dollar values from the RotoTimes Player Rater at the All-Star break and compared them to the numbers that the players posted for the entire season. Hitters needed to have 150 at-bats in each half in order to qualify, while pitchers needed 50 innings (or be a closer) on both sides of the break to merit inclusion.
Here are the extreme first half hitters:
1. Jermaine Dye – First half: $20.73; Final: $6:36; Difference: $14:37
1st Half – .302-20-55-55-0
2nd Half – .179-7-26-23-0
2. Justin Morneau – First half: $26.68; Final: $13.87; Difference: $12.81
1st Half – .311-21-70-59-0
2nd Half – .201-9-30-26-0
3. Brandon Inge – First half: $14.80; Final: $2.58; Difference: $12.22
1st Half – .261-28-58-51-2
2nd Half – .186-6-26-20-0
4. Luke Scott – First half: $16.31; Final: $4.69; Difference: $11.62
1st Half – .305-18-51-39-0
2nd Half – .208-7-26-22-0
5. Brad Hawpe – First half: $21.02; Final: $11.40; Difference: $9.62
1st Half – .320-14-59-50-0
2nd Half – .240-9-27-32-1
Here are the extreme second half hitters:
1. Troy Tulowitzki – First half: $10.78; Final: $26.84; Difference: $16.06
1st Half – .254-16-37-49-11
2nd Half – .342-16-55-52-9
2. Ryan Howard – First half: $15.02; Final: $30.33; Difference: $15.31
1st Half – .257-22-67-53-4
2nd Half – .304-23-74-52-4
3. Chris Coghlan – First half: -$5.35; Final: $9.89; Difference: $15.24
1st Half – .245-2-15-30-4
2nd Half – .372-7-32-54-4
4. Matt Holliday – First half: $10.32; Final: $25.52; Difference: $15.20
1st Half – .276-8-43-42-10
2nd Half – .356-16-66-52-4
5. Jimmy Rollins – First half: $1.14; Final: $16.31; Difference: $15.17
1st Half – .229-7-34-51-16
2nd Half – .272-14-43-49-15
Here are the extreme first half pitchers:
1. Edwin Jackson – First half: $18.77; Final: $8.90; Difference: $9.87
1st Half – 7 W, 2.52 ERA, 97 Ks, 1.060 WHIP
2nd Half – 6 W, 5.07 ERA, 64 Ks, 1.527 WHIP
2. Jarrod Washburn – First half: $11.19; Final: $3.25; Difference: $7.94
1st Half – 6 W, 2.96 ERA, 72 Ks, 1.086 WHIP
2nd Half – 3 W, 5.23 ERA, 28 Ks, 1.366 WHIP
3. Ryan Franklin – First half: $21.51; Final: $14.25; Difference: $7.26
1st Half – 2 W, 21 SV, 0.79 ERA, 27 Ks, 0.794 WHIP
2nd Half – 2 W, 17 SV, 3.33 ERA, 17 Ks, 1.704 WHIP
4. Frank Francisco – First half: $13.12; Final: $6.26; Difference: $6.86
1st Half – 2 W, 15 SV, 2.28 ERA, 32 Ks, 0.940 WHIP
2nd Half – 0 W, 10 SV, 5.82 ERA, 25 Ks, 1.338 WHIP
5. Francisco Rodriguez – First half: $17.41; Final: $11.09; Difference: $6.32
1st Half – 2 W, 23 SV, 1.90 ERA, 42 Ks, 1.242 WHIP
2nd Half – 1 W, 12 SV, 6.75 ERA, 31 Ks, 1.421 WHIP
Here are the extreme second half pitchers:
1. Bronson Arroyo – First half: -$16.02; Final: $7.46; Difference: $23.48
1st Half – 9 W, 5.38 ERA, 59 Ks, 1.482 WHIP
2nd Half – 6 W, 2.24 ERA, 68 Ks, 1.043 WHIP
2. Jorge de la Rosa – First half: -$10.38; Final: $8.48; Difference: $18.86
1st Half – 6 W, 5.21 ERA, 99 Ks, 1.448 WHIP
2nd Half – 10 W, 3.46 ERA, 94 Ks, 1.302 WHIP
3. Cliff Lee – First half: -$4.51; Final: $12.84; Difference: $17.35
1st Half – 4 W, 3.47 ERA, 93 Ks, 1.386 WHIP
2nd Half – 10 W, 2.92 ERA, 88 Ks, 1.070 WHIP
4. Ricky Nolasco – First half: -$11,05; Final: $6.17; Difference: $17.22
1st Half – 6 W, 5.76 ERA, 90 Ks, 1.390 WHIP
2nd Half – 7 W, 4.39 ERA, 105 Ks, 1.124 WHIP
5. Jon Garland – First half: -$16.27; Final: $0.13; Difference: $16.40
1st Half – 5 W, 4.53 ERA, 44 Ks, 1.500 WHIP
2nd Half – 6 W, 3.42 ERA, 65 Ks, 1.289 WHIP
Here were the top five fantasy hitters at the All-Star break:
Albert Pujols – .332-32-87-73-10
Carl Crawford – .309-8-39-58-44
Hanley Ramirez – .349-14-61-53-13
Ichiro Suzuki – .362-6-24-45-19
Chase Utley – .313-20-61-62-9
Here were the top five fantasy pitchers at the All-Star break:
Dan Haren – 9 W, 2.01 ERA, 129 Ks, 0.808 WHIP
Tim Lincecum – 10 W, 2.33 ERA, 149 Ks, 1.050 WHIP
Zack Greinke – 10 W, 2.12 ERA, 129 Ks, 1.076 WHIP
Jonathan Broxton – 6 W, 20 SV, 3.10 ERA, 65 Ks, 0.934 WHIP
Joe Nathan – 1 W, 23 SV, 1.31 ERA, 43 Ks, 0.728 WHIP
Finally, here are some second half lines that stood out and were not mentioned above:
Rajai Davis – .325-1-42-46-30
Paul Janish – .202-1-13-26-2
C.C, Sabathia – 11 W, 2.74 ERA, 102 Ks, 1.141 WHIP
Luke Hochevar – 2 W, 7.35 ERA, 80 Ks, 1.599 WHIP