Although not actually the half way point of the season, the All-Star break is usually a time where teams begin to look at the playoff race. For teams in the playoff hunt it becomes a time to access needs and possibly make trades. However, for some teams that are out of the race it becomes a time to evaluate the young talent they have. Looking at the the leaderboard for position player WAR post All-Star break there are a few young players who really stood out.
Incarciarte, Santana and Ramirez are Young Second Half Stars
The Diamondbacks had a miserable 2014 season. Coming into the year they were dark hose playoff candidates but the team really struggled over the course of the season. However, post All-Star break they may have found a future impact player for their outfield in Ender Inciarte. The speedy left-hander was the eighth best player in the league post All-Star break according to WAR posting a 2.7 WAR, which was better than several players including Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trou. A lot of Inciate’s WAR number was derived from his defense and speed as he was above average in both. Inciarte stole 13 bases post All-Star break which ranked tied for eleventh in the league during that span. While he is not a power threat he is a decent hitter posting a wRC+ of 113 in the second half, which places his slightly above average over that time. Although he struggled early in his rookie season Inciarte incased his LD% by almost six percentage points in the second half. If he can continue that trend into 2015 his stolen base potential could make him an impact player for the Diamondbacks next season.
Another player who stood out for a team out of contention in 2014 was Danny Santana, the young Twin. His second half WAR of 2.2 was tied for twentieth with four players including Jonathan Lucroy and Jason Heyward. Santana split time between SS and CF playing most of his innings in center. In his short stint Santana profiles as solid offensive contributor with his second half wRC+ of 133. Additionally he stole 14 bases, good for a tie for ninth in MLB post All-Star break. He hit .319 over the course of the second half but his high line drive percentage of 26% seems to coincide with his high BABIP which was above .400 on the season. While that is due for some regression the young outfielder’s high line drive numbers seem to suggest that could still remain high over the course of his career which could support a near .300 batting average. He does not walk a lot, only 4% in 2014, and he strikes out often (22.8%) but when he put the ball in play he tends to get on base. The Twins may have found themselves a speedy center fielder of the future who could hit for a high average and steal over 20 bases every season.
The Indians were in an interesting position come trade deadline as the were on the fringe of the playoff hunt and decided to be sellers trading shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera to the Nationals. That opened up playing time for youngster Jose Ramirez who did not disappoint upon taking over up the middle. He also tied for twentieth post All-Star break with a WAR of 2.2. He did not hit for very much power with only two home runs in the second half but he stole a few bases with 10 after the break. He hit .283 but did not have many extra base hits with an ISO below one. However, Ramirez’s role for 2015 is entirely dependent on the plans for top prospect Francisco Lindor who could potentially make the team in 2015. If Ramirez can play well enough to hold off the potential superstar he could be a solid bottom of the order contributor hitting for a decent average and stealing possibly around 20 bases for a team that has chance to be a real contender in 2015.
All three of these youngsters showed well in the second half and have made cases to be starters for their clubs in 2015 with their ability to steal bases and can use their speed as a weapon in an era where base stealers are not as common as they had been in the past.
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