July is already halfway over is it's time to start looking for those notorious "second-half-studs." Scanning over the last two seasons, using OPS as my guide, I found two constants that could be had a potentially moderate price. Aubrey Huff should be owned in all fantasy leagues. He's not a guy who you're going to just 'pick up' from waivers without giving up anything substantive. To date, Huff started out like a bat from hell in 2009. Recently, though, his numbers have been dipping. His once-.300 batting average has dipped to Elvis Andrus territory at .250, and he's seemingly been stuck on 11 home runs forever!
Rewind to 2007, Huff slugged 8 home runs in August. On top of that, he scored 19 runs and drove in 19 RBIs of his own. His OPS was an astronomical 1.135, placing him in vintage David Ortiz, Alex Rodriguez, and David Wright territory.
In hopes that 2007 was not an aberration, we look to August 2008, when, you guess it, Huff clubbed 8 home runs (...again...), scored 20 runs, and drove in 26 RBIs. His 1.056 OPS, again, placed him fractions of a point away from the 2008 AL MVP, Dustin Pedroia (1.060).
Officially, I suggest you chase Aubrey Huff. He shouldn't take much to land in a deal because he's stumbled into the All-Star Break. The one caveat surrounding Huff is that he's in a contract year and is highly likely to be traded within the next several weeks. If he goes to a team like the Mets or the Mariners, he'll be hard pressed to club 8 home runs in such a huge home ballpark. That all said... I still think he's a worthwhile investment for your team down the stretch... especially in August.
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