Brian Dozier and Anthony Rendon are sneaky contributors in roto leagues

The All Star Break provides time for reflection, and a chance to look at just where your team has gone wrong. Or right, if the case may be.

As all of you fantasy veterans well know, you can never be too comfortable in first place, or too far out in last. Not with more than two months left of the season. That said, now is the time to start looking for those players that can help you gain elusive points in category leagues.

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That is where I come in. I will provide players that can help in each 5×5 category at each position. Some of these guys may be one-category wonders, but if you need that category, is it really such a bad thing?

Most of these guys you will have to trade for. Trades are not a bad thing. They are often the only way you can get your team back into contention.

Would you trade him for

Billy Hamilton

? Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

In one of my leagues for example, someone just traded Carlos Gonzalez for Billy Hamilton. Straight up. He was miles ahead in runs and homers, but near the bottom in steals. So he went out and got the one guy who can net him upwards of five points in that category for the rest of the season. Some in the league complained, but I thought it was brilliant. There is no one else that can give him what he needs like Hamilton.

This piece will focus on second basemen. The catchers are here. The first basemen are here.

For once, I will not be offering my opinions here. You can tell by the standings what your team needs to stay in contention. This will provide you with the top five in every roto stat at each position.

The numbers should speak for themselves.

Detroit Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler (3) takes the field before the game. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Runs:

Brian Dozier, 69

Anthony Rendon, 67

Ian Kinsler, 64

Matt Carpenter, 60

Daniel Murphy, 56

Sleeper: Howie Kendrick. He has pulled out of his June swoon, hitting .368 with nine runs in July.

Walker has some power in that bat. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Home Runs:

Brian Dozier, 18

Neil Walker, 13

Anthony Rendon, 13

Brett Lawrie, 12

Ian Kinsler, 11

Sleeper: Kolten Wong. He is on fire since returning from the DL. He had five homers in seven days earlier this month.

Cano still contributes even without high HR totals. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

RBI:

Robinson Cano, 57

Anthony Rendon, 53

Ian Kinsler, 51

Omar Infante, 46

Chase Utley, 46

Sleeper: Dustin Pedroia. As the Red Sox have come alive, so has Pedroia. He already has nine RBI this month.

We have seen a lot of this from Dee Gordon so far. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

Stolen Bases:

Dee Gordon, 43

Jose Altuve, 41

Brian Dozier, 16

Emilio Bonifacio, 13

Jason Kipnis, 13

Sleeper: Kolten Wong. Wong has 12 steals in about half the at bats of everyone else on the list.

Altuve is small in stature, very large in fantasy. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Richardson-USA TODAY Sports

Batting average: (minimum 100 AB)

Jose Altuve, .335

Robinson Cano, .334

Scooter Gennett, .309

Ian Kinsler, .303

Josh Harrison, .297

Sleeper: Omar Infante. Infante has heated up with the weather. He is hitting .438 in July.

Here we learned that Brian Dozier, despite the low average, is quite a find. Guys like Altuve, Kinsler, and Rendon are also having great seasons. As far as value goes, there is still plenty to go around. Wong, Infante, and Kendrick are all on fire so far in July. It’s worth taking a chance to see if they can keep it up!

The next piece will focus on shortstops!

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