The 92nd All-Star game takes place this coming week on Tuesday the 13th, or is that the 91st All-Star game with last year’s rendition being canceled? This should be Mike Trout’s 10th trip to the midsummer show which is impressive on so many fronts, instead he settles for his 9th trip. Thanks 2020, for reminding us of what all you took from us! On the flip side, there will be 34 first time attendees which tells us something about the parity in the league or the impact of the one player per team rule. Regardless, we are going to spend some time doing a rapid fire buy or sell session with our hitter profiles focusing on the second half of the 2021 season for our first time All-Stars.
Buy
- Matt Olson – Olson is in the middle of a career year delivering his traditionally impressive power, but also a very respectable batting average rebounding from an unlucky 2020 season. The key driver? Making contact and driving down the strikeouts. I will admit I did not see this shift coming, but dropping from a 30%+ strikeout rate to below 17% in a single season is no easy feat. These changes look to be real ensuring his power will continue to play. I expect more the rest of the season as Olson looks to be more of a .275/40 bat than .240/30.
- Trea Turner – This one feels like cheating, right? I could have just listed Vladdy Jr., Ohtani and more. However, there is a key reason that Mr. Turner is on this list. He is having a breakout year from a health perspective playing in all but four of the Nationals’ games. For a player with Turner’s skillset, that is critical to his success on the base path. Moreover, he is on pace to deliver a 30+ homer season that is powered by slight increases in his launch angle and aggressiveness at the plate rather than pure luck. Turner is my dark horse for top fantasy player during the second half. I do not know who will be selling, but if there is an opportunity it would be wise to capitalize.
Sell
- Adolis Garcia – Since the June 1st, Adolis has a .256 average and 5 home runs while striking out in nearly one third of at bats. During the month of May, Adolis was sending one of every three flyballs over the fence. Unfortunately, during June that number has begun to stabilize towards a more normal 20% figure. That alone is not much reason for concern, but Garcia was also putting the ball in the air more than he ever has during that early season breakout. A regression to his career tendencies will drive down the power numbers through the rest of the season. Garcia will still be a valuable hitter and potentially aid a championship team. However, if you have a buyer for the May version I would be looking to cash in.
Time to sit back and enjoy the spectacle that is the All-Star festivities, I have my money on Mr. Ohtani in the Derby and the AL in the game. Drop your predictions below!
