Here are some potentially undervalued hitters to target:
Carlos Santana, C/3B/1B, Indians. Santana owners are probably laughing at this. He’s hitting just .191 and either walks or makes an out all the time…in their minds. Oh, he does those things quite a bit, but he’s also hit nine homers, which is tied for third among catcher-eligible players, and has a .203 BABIP, which is sure to rise. Santana’s batted-ball stats aren’t great – line drives are way down, ground balls are up – but there’ no indication that he’s playing through an injury, so it’s not a stretch to expect him to get better.
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Buster Posey, C, Giants. Like Santana, Posey has nine homers, and he has a much better average (.271). For a catcher, that’s solid. For a former NL MVP, that’s pretty mediocre. And considering this is the second year in a row Posey has put up these kinds of stats, his owners might be ready to bail. But Posey has a little more going for him this season, namely a similar ISO and noticeably lower BABIP that should rise. He’s hitting more line drives, and the Giants are playing better as a team. His drop in walks is concerning, but things are in place for a big second half.
Alejandro De Aza, OF, White Sox. De Aza’s .238 BABIP doesn’t make sense, even with his slight decline in line drives this season. That number will rise soon, and with it his .200 average. When that happens, he’ll be a much bigger run producer in Chicago’s solid offense. He likely won’t match the 17 homers he hit last season, but De Aza can still hit around 7-10 more dingers with 15-plus additional steals this year.
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, Dodgers. Gonzalez got off to a hot start but has slowed down considerably in May and June. That’s fine – it just means everything is evening out and Gonzalez can be his usual self the rest of the way. That means relatively mediocre power, but he’ll still produce RBIs and hit north of .280 going forward. His owners are likely frustrated by Gonzalez’s past month, so now’s the time to take advantage.
Curtis Granderson, OF, Mets. Granderson is trending the opposite direction as Gonzalez. Since the start of May, he’s hit .284/.399/.511 with eight homers and three steals. And because of that high OBP, he’s now hitting leadoff. His owners might have overlooked his resurgence because of his awful start (and recent time on the bench due to a calf injury), or they might be upset he’s now hitting atop the order. Either way, Granderson is probably available, and his high BB-rate and low-BABIP are good signs for his average going forward.
