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| Many of the league's teams would happily to subscribe to the "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain" rotation model. |
It's the All-Star Break, so it's a good time to look ahead to what teams need in the second half. I'm sure we'll all be stunned to see how many times "better starting pitching" will be written.
1. Already Zaun (12-2, 2,585 points, last week 1): A monster week helped the league leaders extend their cushion atop the standings, meaning the Zaunies take a nearly 100-point lead into the midseason break. Jake Arrieta, Tyson Ross and Carlos Martinez anchored a huge pitching week and five saves from Jeurys Familia were the icing on the cake.
Second-half need: Already Zaun is getting production from nearly every position, but catcher remains a black hole. Perhaps one of AZ's two mediocre catchers will start producing.
2. Pitch You Blockhead (10-4, 2,489 points, last week 2): PYB lost to Retire 21 to fall into a tie for second place in the head-to-head standings. Zach Greinke and A.J. Burnett pitched well, but James Shields had a couple of mediocre starts, Lance Lynn struggled, and new outfield pickup Chris Coghlan managed just one point. Second-half need: Scott's pitching has been dominant, but his offense needs production outside Carlos Gomez and Nolan Arenado. First base and shortstop have been particularly barren.
3. Retire 21 (10-4, 2,484 points, last week 3): Ray's terrifying pitching rotation flexed its muscles, as Clayton Kershaw, Jose Fernandez and Jacob deGrom had 20+ point outings to lead R21 to a win against PYB. The offense got big production from Nick Hundley and Gregory Polanco and closer Santiago Casilla bounced back from some recent struggles. But Dee Gordon got hurt, which doesn't bode well. Second-half need: Joey Votto, Jean Segura and Justin Upton got off to hot starts but cooled recently. Ray needs his big hitters to match his triple aces. And Gordon needs to be healthy.
4. Arbitration Losers (8-6, 2,385 points, last week 4): Tim's bunch put up a big week to solidify his hold on fourth place in the points race. Noah Syndergaard and Madison Bumgarner had huge starts, and Charlie Blackmon and Jhonny Peralta led a big offensive week. Michael Taylor and Jake Peavy were the only players not to put up double digits. Second-half need: Some healthy Nationals would be nice, as Jayson Werth, Ryan Zimmerman and Anthony Rendon are all disabled. And a solid fourth starter behind Syndergaard, Bumgarner and Jon Lester would help.
5. Chateau Marmol (8-5-1, 2,338 points, last week 5): A big Sunday helped Matt rebound from a big deficit and tie the Rookies. Max Scherzer and Jon Niese posted wins to lead the comeback, and Yasmani Grandal led a balanced offensive attack. If Kris Bryant had had a normal week, the Marmolians would have had a solid win. Second-half need: Some outfield offensive production outside of A.J. Pollock and some pitching health. Mat Latos, Brandon Morrow and Jaime Garcia have all spent time unhealthy and Matt needs some of them to produce.
6. Soler Eclipse (5-9, 2,329 points, last week 6): Adam's guys put up a more-than-respectable 188 but ran into the Zaun steamroller at the wrong time. John Lackey, Francisco Liriano and Matt Harvey did the damage on the mound, but Gerardo Parra led the offense for the second consecutive week which is, still, a bad sign. Especially since he only posted a 17. Derek Norris has cooled off after a torrid start. Second-half need: Paul Goldschmidt and the rotation are very good, but the rest of the offense is inconsistent. Hitters like Starlin Castro, Jace Peterson, Jordy Mercer and Jorge Soler need to pick it up.
7. Rookies (6-7-1, 2,276 points, last week 8): Henry's offense was strong all week in the tie against Chateau Marmol, but the pitching outside of rookie Matt Wisler was pedestrian. Andrew McCutchen and Jay Bruce each put up 19 points to lead the offense, Cameron Maybin was right there with 18, and new acquisition Freddy Galvis posted a 15. A start by Shelby Miller in any stadium but Coors Field would have likely been enough for the win. Second-half need: Jordan Zimmermann and Gio Gonzalez need to pitch like they can. Both have shown signs, but have been overall disappointments. And a relief pitcher who was actually a closer would help too.
8. The Bryce is Right (4-10, 2,262 points, last week 7): Bill's guys put up a stinker in the blowout loss to the Fresh Fish. Yasiel Puig posted five days of 0 or 1... and still led the team with 16 points on the week. Ouch. Boom-or-bust Matt Duffy boomed twice and only busted once to end up with 15. Todd Frazier and Bryce Harper had down weeks, and the rest of the offense was mostly bad. And the pitching was OK, but no one put up a big total. Second-half need: Pitching behind Gerrit Cole, Julio Teheran and Mark Melancon. Another starter (or two, or three) need to show up, because the offense will usually be solid.
9. Misfits (4-10, 2,217 points, last week 9): Cole Hamels got roughed up Friday to symbolize the week for Reid's guys in the loss to the Arbitration Losers. Matt Kemp, A.J. Pierzynski and Ryan Howard posted strong offensive weeks but Daniel Murphy, Justin Turner and newcomer Tommy Pham posted sub-10s. Chris Heston and Kenley Jansen did some damage on the mound, but Hamels, Kyle Hendricks and Mike Fiers combined for 11 in three starts. Second-half need: Given that this team once had Adam Wainwright and Giancarlo Stanton, improved health would be a good start. Josh Harrison and Devin Mesoraco are also disabled, meaning four guys Reid was counting on for big contributions are in street clothes.
10. Fresh Fish (2-12, 2,101 points, last week 10): You just can't keep the defending champions down for good, as Rick's guys approached 200 points in a big win. Jimmy Rollins enjoyed feasting on Phillies pitching and Carlos Gonzalez looked like his old self to lead the offense, which also got big production from rookie Marlin Justin Bour. When Marlins are hitting well for Rick's team, you know things are right in the universe. Second-half need: You thought Reid's team had injury issues? Check out the DL for Rick right now: Stephen Strasburg, Carl Crawford, Stephen Matz, David Wright, Henderson Alvarez, Freddie Freeman... it's almost impossible. If Rick gets even half of those guys back, he'll have a team no one wants to face down the stretch. He may not get the Panda Express this year, but he can keep someone else from getting it.
