Here comes Robinson Cano…finally.
The Seattle Mariners second baseman had a pedestrian first half of the season with six home runs, a .251 batting average and .290 on-base percentage. His 30 RBIs and 38 runs also didn’t register toward the top of second basemen in Major League Baseball.
However, since the All-Star break, Cano is starting to deliver for fantasy baseball owners. In six games, he has six runs, six RBIs and three homers. He also has a .391 batting average and .400 on-base percentage.
His ownership has stayed toward the 100 percent level, so this is a nice beginning of the second half for fantasy baseball owners. It will take awhile before Cano starts to climb the rankings of second basemen for the year, but if he continues this streak, he will be a nice piece for a playoff run.
Here are two other players who have started out strong in the second half and are still available on the waiver wire.
Jake Smolinski
Oakland Athletics outfielder Jake Smolinski doesn’t see regular player time. If he keeps up his second-half start, the A’s will find it difficult to keep him on the bench.
Smolinski has seven RBIs in five games since the All-Star break. He’s added two home runs, four runs and is batting .429. He’s done all this in only 14 at-bats, so fantasy baseball owners should be extremely leery of the early production so far by Smolinski.
However, the A’s could start playing him more, possibly giving fantasy baseball owners an option for added power. Keep an eye on Smolinski’s playing time.
Rougned Odor
Texas Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor is not available anymore on all the waiver wires, but he should still be ready to be picked up in the majority of fantasy baseball leagues.
Odor spent a bit of time in Triple A this season, but he’s been on a hitting spree in the second-half of the season.
He’s accumulated a good amount of at-bats with 28, ranking him in the top-10 since the All-Star break. That also has come in six games, which is one less than many players ahead of him on the list.
During that time, he’s batting .429 with six RBIs, seven runs, and two homers. He ranks first in Major League Baseball since the All-Star break in run production, and his hit total of 12, is second behind only Joey Votto.
