First-half Fantasy All-Stars

Since we've got a few days without a meaningful baseball game (unless you buy that "this time it counts!" nonsense from the MLB All-Star Game), it's a great time to take a step back and evaluate the first half of the fantasy season.

As always, there's no fan voting, no managerial or player choices, no stuffing the ballots and no popularity contests here. Just the cold, hard stats to tell us who are the 2010 Fantasy All-Stars so far.

CATCHER

Joe Mauer and Brian McCann are bigger names, but it's journeyman Miguel Olivo who leads all catchers in RBIs and is in the top three in runs, homers, steals and average. Sure, a lot of that is due to the Coors Field factor - Olivo's hitting .400 at home, .215 on the road - but he's still been the best backstop this year.

FIRST BASE

What a turnaround for Miguel Cabrera. He entered the season as a big question mark because of last year's drinking incident and now stands as a legit Triple Crown contender thanks to a .346 average, 22 homers and 77 RBIs, all of which lead the majors.

SHORTSTOP

For all the discussion about Hanley Ramirez loafing it in the outfield, he hasn't been a slouch at the plate, where he's in the top five in each of the big five categories among shortstops.

SECOND BASE

Robinson Cano might not steal bases (2), but he does everything else exceptionally well - .336 average, 16 HR, 58 RBIs, 61 R. Sure, it helps that fantasy stalwarts Chase Utley and Dustin Pedroia are hurt, but Robbie was already outpacing them before their injuries.

THIRD BASE

Remember when everybody was upset about David Wright's power outage (10 HRs) last year? He's got 14 so far this year, along with the most RBIs (65) in the NL. He's also got the most steals (14) among third-sackers and is hitting .314.

OUTFIELD

The underappreciated Carl Crawford is putting together a career year with .321 average, 31 steals, 70 runs scored (tops in the big leagues). Good timing for the soon-to-be free agent.

Josh Hamilton has put a down 2009 in his rearview mirror. The fully healthy Texas slugger has 22 homers, 64 RBIs, 59 runs scored and is hitting a robust .346 with 1.015 OPS.

Corey Hart is a surprising third choice in the outfield, but the guy does have 21 homers and 65 RBIs after all. Not bad for somebody who started the year as a platoon player for the Brewers.

UTILITY

Rangers DH Vladimir Guerrero has enjoyed quite a resurgence in the Lone Star State - 20 HRs, 75 RBIs, .319 average, which place him among the league leaders. So much for being washed up ...

STARTING PITCHER

Anybody predict Ubaldo Jimenez to be the league's best pitcher in 2010? Not only does the Rockies ace have a league-high 15 wins, but his miniscule 2.20 ERA and 1.05 WHIP have been helping fantasy squads all year, and his 113 Ks, while fewer than some other aces, are certainly enough to help you stay competitive.

RELIEF PITCHER
There's no clear-cut answer at closer. Carlos Marmol leads in strikeouts (78). Joakim Soria leads in saves (25). Jose Valverde is tops in ERA (0.92). Mariano Rivera has the best WHIP (0.62). But I'm going with a guy who's competitive in all those categories, Heath Bell of the Padres (24 saves, 1.88 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 50 Ks, 4 wins) by a hair over Billy Wagner, Rafael Soriano, Neftali Feliz and a few other worthy candidates.

Bad news for Josh Hamilton

I had Josh Hamilton ranked in my top 10 entering this season, but he hasn't belonged there. He was hitting only .240 with six home runs before the news that he'll be out 4-6 weeks following surgery for a torn abdominal muscle.

It's a shame, not just that he suffered an ufortunate injury when crashing into a wall a few weeks ago, but that he wasn't lighting the world on fire at the plate the way he did last year. It's surprising really, given that the Texas Rangers are in first place and their lineup is chock full of developing young hitters like Nelson Cruz, Ian Kinsler and Chris Davis. Imagine how scary the Rangers would be if Hamilton had been hitting at last year's level (.304, 32 HRs, 130 RBIs).

At this point, the best we can hope for as Hamilton owners - or owners of any Rangers hitter - is that he returns from surgery right on schedule (mid-July) and can revert to his 2008 form. Otherwise, we'll have to label him one of '09's biggest busts.

Josh Hamilton and other pleasant surprises

CWhat's the secret to fantasy success? It's not drafting the big-name, big-money superstars. Anybody with half a brain and a cable modem can do that. It's collecting those unknown and unwanted diamonds in the rough, giving them a chance and watching them evolve into All-Stars. Mix in enough of them along with all the familiar names, toss in a little luck, and you've got yourself a championship.

Here area few of the pleasant surprises we've enjoyed so far this season:

Josh Hamilton's the feel-good story of the year, in fantasy and real life. He was on his way to a good year last year as a rookie with the Reds before injuries wiped him out after 90 games. He's on his way to Triple Crown contention (.312/19/80) this year with the Rangers.

Edinson Volquez, swapped from Texas to Cincinnati for Hamilton, has worked out just as well and might win the pitching version of the Triple Crown (10 wins, 2.08 ERA, 100 strikeouts). Wouldn't that be something?

Mike Mussina was supposed to ride off into the sunset, or maybe to the bullpen, for the Yankees this year. Instead, the 39-year-old with the 5.15 ERA last year is 10-6 with a 3.87 ERA, plus 58 strikeouts to just 15 walks.

Jason Giambi was supposed to be another Yankee playing out his monster contract. Maybe it's the magical mustache, but his 17 homers, third-best in the AL, say he's got some life left in his bat.

You may have gambled on George Sherrill for some saves. Hey, the O's closer's gig was his to lose, right? You probably weren't expecting 26 saves, second-most in MLB.

You draft Chipper Jones, you expect a high average. But .394? I think not. It won't last - he's got a .404 batting average on balls in play, which is ridiculously lucky - but it's been a big help for his owners so far.

Cliff Lee (11-1, 2.34, 90 Ks) is having the Cy Young-caliber year CC Sabathia was supposed to. And nobody drafted him. I'm still waiting for him to come down to Earth ...

Carlos Quentin hit five home runs in 81 games last year. He's got 19 this year through 79 games.

Justin Duchscherer leads the majors with a 1.91 ERA. Wasn't this dude a middle reliever? Yes, but the wise Billy Beane thought otherwise.

Milton Bradley is on pace for a career year - three more homers and 18 RBIs, he'll top his single-season highs from 2004. Perhaps he's finally found a home ... seven franchises later. I'm not betting on it though.

Offseason moves: Outfielders

If you've spent the past few months immersed in football like I have, you may have missed a baseball transaction or two. Now, as your baseball radar just begins to heat up after a long period of dormancy, you start prepping for your draft and start coming to little realizations like "hey, the White Sox got Scott Linebrink!" or "When did Mark Prior become a Padre?"

That's why it's always a good idea to start familiarizing yourself now with all of this offseason's major moves and their fantasy impacts. I've even done you a favor and put together this handy little guide. Today, we'll start with outfielders:

OF Andruw Jones to Dodgers: He went through a painful 2007, batting a paltry .222 and hitting his fewest homers (26) since 1999 while playing with a sore elbow. The pressure of a contract year is off him, however, after he signed a two-year, $36 million deal. Plus, he's still in his prime (30 years old), and I expect him a big bounce back in '08.

OF Aaron Rowand to Giants: The 30-year-old gamer reached career highs in homers, RBIs and runs last year in the Phillies' bandbox in a very good lineup. Now he's in a pitchers' park in a not-so-good lineup. You do the math.

OF Torii Hunter to Angels: He's on the wrong side of 30 now (32 to be exact), but his running and batting skills haven't diminished yet (.287, 28 HRs, 107 RBIs, 18 steals last year). Hunter's still worth a starting OF spot.

OF Mike Cameron to Brewers: Cameron's days as a major fantasy contributor are well behind him, right? Maybe not. He'll never win a batting title (career .252 hitter), but he was a 20-20 guy two years ago in pitcher-friendly PETCO Park and came two steals shy of repeating that feat last year with the Padres. His 25-game suspension for performance-enhacement will be a tough pill to swallow to start the season, but if you can survive that, he could end up paying dividends.

OF Josh Hamilton to Rangers: The former first-round draft pick's comeback from drugs and alcohol was impressive - and even moreso when you consider he's a recovering Devil Ray. Various ailments limited him to just 298 at-bats in his rookie season with the Reds, but it was still an impressive one: .292, 19 HRs, 47 RBIs. The 26-year-old now moves to a home ballpark that once made Kevin Mench a viable fantasy player. I have high hopes for Hamilton if he can stay healthy this year.

OF Nick Swisher to White Sox: This move puts the blossoming slugger in the middle of a potent lineup and in a much better hitter's park. Expect a spike in Swisher's HR and RBI totals.