Guys like Matt Joyce and Ryan Roberts are having great years, leading their teams to playoff contention. But, those guys can only carry you so far. Eventually, you are going to need the big guns to start firing if you want a chance at playoff success.
Here are five stars who should start performing at a higher level soon.
- Albert Pujols, 1B, St. Louis Cardinals – Pujols is still doing pretty well in terms of fantasy points. But, he’s nowhere near where his owners thought he’d be. For a guy who always hits .300 with 30 home runs and 100 RBI, he’s definitely slumping. But, he has his average back up over .260 and finally broke out of his home run drought. He’ll need to get hot soon, but he should still finish the season with excellent numbers.
- Justin Morneau, 1B, Minnesota Twins – Morneau has been an MVP in the past, so he’s going to break out of his slump eventually. It will probably get easier for him when Joe Mauer finally gets off the DL. But, if Delmon Young starts producing again, Morneau could break out of his slump even sooner.
- Alex Rios, OF, Chicago White Sox – Rios is hitting right around .200 this season with four home runs, 13 RBI and four stolen bases. Last season, Rios hit .284 with 21 homers, 88 RBI and 34 stolen bases. Rios will eventually start to raise his average, and as he does, his RBI totals and stolen base totals will rise. If Adam Dunn can get out of his slump, Rios could start scoring more runs too.
- Evan Longoria, 3B, Tampa Bay Rays – Longoria has been plugged into the leadoff spot for the Rays recently. As long as his power numbers stay down, he’ll probably remain there. But, if he starts to hit the ball out of the yard more often, he’ll be moved back into an RBI position. First though, he needs to work on raising his sub-.240 batting average.
- Dan Uggla, 2B, Atlanta Braves – Uggla is hitting well below .200. Though he’s never hit for a high average, he’s usually good for at least a .250 average. His power numbers aren’t quite what they should be either. Once he finally settles into a rhythm in Atlanta, he should get back to his power-producing ways.