Fantasy Baseball 2015: 1 Breakout Player at Each Position for the 2nd Half – Bleacher Report

It’s hard to say that someone who hit 18 home runs struggled in the first half, but in comparison to other first basemen, Encarnacion did just that.

Those 18 taters rank him seventh among the position, so in roto leagues he has at least provided pop. But his .233 average and just 71 hits are killing his overall value.

The 71 hits place him 23rd among all first base-eligible players. The average is obviously ugly for your roto squad, but Encarnacion is better in points because he strikes out less often than his first-base counterparts.

He has just the 16th-most strikeouts among first basemen (64) with a strikeout percentage of 18 percent. As a comparison, Freddie Freeman, who is hitting a robust .299, strikes out 22.3 percent of the time.

Giving Encarnacion further hope is his .231 BABIP. Home run hitters typically have a lower BABIP than most players, but even .231 is pretty unlucky.

Mark Teixeira, for example, who has been largely home run or bust this year, has a BABIP of .220. Prince Fielder, who’s hitting .339 with 14 homers, has a BABIP of .350.

Combine Encarnacion’s low strikeout rate with his unlucky-to-date BABIP and immense power, and he’s a candidate to break out in a major way in the second half.