5 Fantasy Players Poised to Break Out in Second Half of MLB Season

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Unlike what many expected at the onset of the 2019 MLB season, several projected fantasy studs are expected to limp into the All-Star break on the verge of bust status. However, there are a select few that are in an excellent position to turn their seasons around once the Midsummer Classic has wrapped up.

With that in mind, here are five players primed for huge second-half breakouts in fantasy baseball.

5. Justin Turner, 3B, Los Angeles Dodgers

Justin Turner has been one of the more consistent bats in fantasy baseball this season, and his owners could be in for a second-half power surge, if his career history is any indication. The 34-year-old third baseman absolutely mashes after the All-Star break, owning a career .854 OPS across 1,579 career second-half plate appearances. Additionally, he's crushed 49 of his 99 career homers after the All-Star break.

4. Jose Ramirez, 2B/3B, Cleveland Indians

It's hard to explain why Jose Ramirez is having such a terrible year (.198/.294/.292), especially since he finished in third in the AL MVP voting in each of the past two seasons. However, there's hope that the Cleveland Indians' star can rebound after the All-Star break. Ramirez has been great after the All-Star break throughout his career, owning an excellent .825 OPS across 1,302 second-half plate appearances.

3. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, St. Louis Cardinals

Paul Goldschmidt is in the midst of a pretty solid first season with the St. Louis Cardinals, but his power numbers have been lacking (.438 slugging percentage). Yet, there's a chance that Goldschmidt's fantasy owners witness a second-half power surge out of him. The seven-time All-Star owns a .901 OPS in the months of July and August combined over his career.

2. James Paxton, SP, New York Yankees

The strikeout numbers have been excellent for James Paxton in 2019 (11.8 strikeouts per nine innings), but he's still had a bit of trouble limiting the damage in his first year in pinstripes (4.04 ERA). However, it's pretty likely that changes after the All-Star break. The 30-year-old southpaw owns a 3.25 ERA in 263 career second-half innings pitched. Additionally, he owns a respectable 19-13 career record in after the All-Star break.

1. Craig Kimbrel, RP, Chicago Cubs

It's pretty hard to argue with putting Craig Kimbrel at the top of the list now that he's signed with the Chicago Cubs. The seven-time All-Star is arguably the best closer in baseball, and he has yet to finish a season with less than 30 saves since his rookie year in 2010. That streak may come to an end, barring an unprecedented run of incredible appearances in the second half of the season. However, accruing between 15 and 20 saves by the end of the season seems more than possible now that he's closing out games for the Cubs.

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Mike Esposito is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Mike Esposito also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username espo6891. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.