Top 25 Adds of the First Half

1. Andrew:  3B Josh Donaldson, April 25 (36^th overall) – To say this guy has been a surprise would be a massive understatement. He’s on pace for 84/27/102/3/.377 – you bet your ass that’s a keeper. I was very skeptical, but Andrew identified him early and has realized almost all of his value this year.
2. Chris: OF Yasiel Puig, June 4 (217^th) – You never really know when that waiver position will be helpful. This might help Chris for years to come.
3. Adam: SP Jose Fernandez, March 30 (80^th) – One of the first pickups of the year, this was my Easter morning present. No one expected the Marlins to start him with the big club this year. No one expected this level of dominance from a 20 year-old.
4. Dave: SP Travis Wood, April 5 (71^st) – After years of volatility, Wood has been one of the league’s most consistent pitchers, leading the league in QS – over guys like Kershaw, Wainright, Harvey Lee, Felix, etc. Dave sold high, but could live to regret it.
5. Kyle: SP John Lackey, April 6 (85^th) – Its easy to forget how good he was in the years before he came to Boston. He’s back and then some, though twice removed from Kyle at this point.
6. Dagan: SP Bartolo Colon, April 16 (47^th) – Speaking of the unexpected, how about this fat mother fucker coming back and blowing it by guys again. He has essentially pitched like an ace all season. Second in the league in QS, lack of Ks is the only thing holding him back.
7. Dagan: SP Mike Leake, April 23 (82^nd) – Really had no clue he was doing this well before I started writing this – 76/2.79/1.13/11. Another great find by Dagan.
8. Dan: SP Jeff Locke, May 12 (49^th) – Numbers are essentially the same as Leake, he’s been an incredible surprise in what has been a surprising Pirates rotation.
9. Russ: SP Ricky Nolasco, April 2 (240^th) – The 3.75 era isn’t great, but that’s the only reason he’s this low – 101 Ks and 11 QS from a habitual underperformer is quite excellent.
10. Russ: SS Jhonny Peralta, April 14 (119^th) – Nothing jumps out at you from his stats, but 40/8/46/3/.361 from the SS position is quite good. He’s fifth best overall SS in the first half.
11. Brian: C Jason Castro, May 29 (215^th) – Brian got stung hard by the Miguel Montero pick in the 4^th round, but Castro has made it hurt less, finishing the first half as the eighth ranked catcher and on pace for 20 hrs.
12. Andrew: 2B Howie Kendrick, April 16^th (88^th) – Somehow went undrafted, but Andrew picked him up early and found himself with a very productive 2B capable of filling up the statsheet. His 41/11/40/6/.352 is eight among 2B eligibles.
13. Adam: OF Colby Rasmus, June 1 (130^th) – A bad start, excellent end to the second half, the question is which way he’ll go from here. He’s on pace for 27 homers and 81 rbis, with a .331 obp that is at least not overly burdensome.
14. Jason: RP Edward Mujica, April 17 (49^th) – There’s just something about St. Louis and old castoff pitchers. He’s been one of the best closers in the year so far, which Jason used to acquire AGon and Lackey.
15. Adam: 2B Jedd Gyorko, May 19 (344^th) – Hard to peg how good this guy is at this point. Overall the stats aren’t tremendous, but he started slow and hurt his groin. How he ends the year will really determine how good this pickup was.
16. Brandon SP Tony Cingrani, April 15 (200^th) – Like Gyorko, it’s hard to judge this rookie definitively because he’s been up and down from the minors and in and out of the rotation. But he’s shown off his tremendous fastball and might be the best of all the midseason rookie starter callups.
17. Brian: RP Kevin Gregg, April 23 (157^th) – Amazing how guys like Gregg and Rodriguez can be complete castoffs to start the year, then be among the top closers. 18 saves and a 2.88/1.19 is pretty sweet.
18. Andrew: OF Nate McLouth, April 28^th (89^th) – He’s hit a wall over the past month, but Andrew grabbed this reclamation project early and realized much of his production – 53/6/17/24/.348.
19. Mike: SP Eric Stults, April 5 (135^th) – In some parks its just worth grabbing anyone with a regular job, which Mike did. He’s not good on the road (4.31/1.39), but his 2.45/0.88 at home is well worth rostering.
20. Pierce: 1B Adam Lind, March 31 (146^th) – Like McLouth, Lind went understandably undrafted, got red hot, and has since cooled, but his 38/11/37/1/.359 line has been plenty useful for one of Pierce’s rare pickups.
21. Brian: RP Joaquin Benoit, June 14 (128^th) – For all the talk about the DET closer position, it seems pretty silly for them to have not identified Benoit as the closer well before July. He’s been great, but you wonder if they’ll end up grabbing someone else.
22. Andrew: OF Raul Ibanez, June 24 (74^th) – It took quite a while for this old man to make a believer out of anybody, but Andrew eventually took the plunge and was rewarded with 11/7/14/.390 over the past three weeks.
23. Mike: SP Kyle Kendrick, April 21 (276^th) – Kendrick has fallen back to Earth lately, but he was tremendously valuable to start the season, maintaining a 3.22 era until hitting a rough patch a month ago.
24. Andrew: SP Gerrit Cole, June 7 (400^th) – The list of hyped rookie pitchers that ultimately were mediocre-to-awful is quite long (Wheeler, Gausman, Wacha, Bauer, Odiorzzi, Gibson, etc.). Cole has been decent and shown enough ability that he could blossom in the second half.
25. Russ: RP Francisco Rodriguez, May 24 (205^th) – His role has moved a bit, but it seems like he’s settled into closer at this point, and a pretty good one at that. The game of closer roulette is a game in and of itself.