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Sometimes a fantasy owner is just looking for something. Some reason to keep a struggling player, whether it's the upcoming schedule or matchups, a recent hitting trend, a lineup change to come ... any hint that a turnaround is in store.

For instance, I had Scott Rolen in a deep mixed league with no bench, and I went looking for any reason not to cut him back on June 22. Hmm, turns out the Jays had a homestand against NL teams for the upcoming week, and I liked the matchup. Since I also didn't see an obviously better guy available, I stuck with Rolen. One week later I was right back to the same decision: keep him or cut him? Nothing stopped me that time. As Hawk Harrelson would say, "He gone."

We at ESPN have been preparing you for the second half, well, since the official second half began a few weeks ago. Now it's time to put some numbers with that by looking at those guys who have a three-year trend of hitting better or worse before and after the All-Star break.

Why are these necessary, you might wonder? For several reasons, really, one of them being that fantasy owners just love splits. But I've always felt the biggest two reasons were to: 1) Keep you from trading underperforming hitters. I mean, trade away, but don't do so based on that players' current numbers. Trade with the mind-set (and use this column as ammo!) that the player is a different hitter after the All-Star break. And 2) Because there are a handful of "fringe" mixed-league options on this list who can give you a boost if they do what they've done the past three years. On the flip side, the fringe guys on the cold list might need a short leash.

And how dependable can these lists be? Well, there were 16 guys on the hot June hitters list in my May 27 Hit Parade, and 11 of 'em had comparatively better months. In fact, check out some of these names: Mark DeRosa, Corey Hart, Jason Bartlett, J.D. Drew, Jason Kubel, Orlando Cabrera, Grady Sizemore, Aubrey Huff, Michael Young, Jamey Carroll and Yadier Molina. Lot of spectacular hitting there, and from a varying level of talent (fringe or studs).

So a higher percentage of 'em do play out that way than you'd think. And so it's time to look at the post-break hot and cold hitters. Some notes, though. First of all, always remember that talent, opportunity, hot/cold streaks and even matchups still hold a higher level of importance than the numbers below. Secondly, I'm keeping this to a minimum of 500 plate appearances before and after All-Star breaks over the three-year span so that I have a sound sample size. Thirdly, the player must have hit well to make the hot list (and vice versa for the cold); I don't care if a guy is normally a .220 hitter but is batting .270. No thanks. And finally, I won't include badly injured players (such as Rafael Furcal, who would have made the hot list) or guys who don't have key roles on their teams (such as Brad Wilkerson, who would have been on the cold list).

Hot post-All-Star-break hitters, 2005-07
Player	Team	Pos	Pre-break average	Post-break average	Diff.
Jack Wilson	PIT	SS	.248	.309	.061
Rich Aurilia	SF	1B/3B	.256	.308	.052
Frank Thomas	OAK	DH	.245	.294	.049
Richie Sexson	SEA	1B	.227	.275	.048
Mark Ellis	OAK	2B	.256	.301	.045
Nick Markakis	BAL	OF	.274	.318	.044
Ryan Howard	PHI	1B	.267	.311	.044
Randy Winn	SF	OF	.272	.313	.041
Adam LaRoche	PIT	1B	.254	.294	.040
Robinson Cano	NYY	2B	.295	.334	.039
Adrian Gonzalez	SD	1B	.265	.304	.039
David Wright	NYM	3B	.297	.335	.038
Garrett Atkins	COL	3B	.288	.325	.037
Carlos Delgado	NYM	1B	.260	.297	.037
Manny Ramirez	BOS	OF	.288	.324	.036
Mark Grudzielanek	KC	2B	.283	.316	.033
Jimmy Rollins	PHI	SS	.273	.304	.031

Notes: Jack Wilson's and Mark Grudzielanek's numbers look good, but they're deceiving. Both guys are on the cold June hitters list, and neither of them had a cold June. ... Neither Richie Sexson nor Frank Thomas has done much yet, but these numbers are signs that there's still mixed-league hope (even though Thomas is not due back from his quad injury for at least a couple weeks). ... Robinson Cano, Ryan Howard, Garrett Atkins and David Wright have had outright legendary post-ASB surges, so much so that the rest of your league knows it. If you can pry away any of these four guys from their owners for a good deal, it's a "Grand Theft Roto" if there ever was one. ... Two questions I saw in my Monday chat: When is Manny Ramirez going to start hitting? When will Jimmy Rollins heat up? The chart above is my answer, although it is bothersome that Manny has 314 fewer at-bats after the All-Star break than before it over the past three seasons. ... Carlos Delgado, by the way, has had some second-half health problems. ... I was slow to warm to Gonzalez; must be that awful Padres offense. But after seeing this, I believe now more than ever before. ... Mark Ellis currently is hitting .249, semi-close to that .256 mark. ... Remember when Nick Markakis wasn't Nick Markakis (in April)?

Cold post-All-Star-break hitters, 2005-07
Player	Team	Pos	Pre-break average	Post-break average	Diff.
Kevin Youkilis	BOS	1B/3B	.309	.249	-.060
Brian Roberts	BAL	2B	.323	.266	-.057
Brad Hawpe	COL	OF	.306	.253	-.053
Gary Sheffield	DET	DH	.302	.251	-.051
Derrek Lee	CHC	1B	.343	.295	-.048
Mark Loretta	HOU	IF	.308	.260	-.048
Joe Mauer	MIN	C	.334	.291	-.043
Hank Blalock	TEX	3B	.286	.245	-.041
Jose Castillo	SF	3B/2B	.272	.235	-.037
Gary Matthews Jr.	LAA	OF	.292	.260	-.032
Pedro Feliz	PHI	3B	.262	.231	-.031

Notes: Sheesh, talk about the potential to play out to a tee. Look at the chart above, and then consider what Kevin Youkilis is now hitting (.308). Now check out Pedro Feliz, who came into play Monday batting, you guessed it, .262. ... That's a little discouraging to see about my boy Brian Roberts, and what bothers me most is that his steals rate drops from one ever 13.9 at-bats to one every 17.6 at-bats. So he steals less, too. Here's hoping that doesn't play out again because I still believe in him. ... That's right, Brad Hawpe, the guy who many think is in for a huge second half, not only isn't on the hot post-ASB hitters list, but he's ranked No. 3 on the cold list! But don't freak out just yet; he did have better home run and RBI rates after the All-Star break in 2007 despite hitting 42 points worse than before it. Also, he didn't have his typically hot May. In this case, I throw these numbers out the window. ... Same goes for Sheffield, who I believe can still hit until he shows me (over an extended period of time) otherwise. ... Derrek Lee falls into the "well, .295 ain't bad" crowd. You can't expect the guy to hit .343 all season, and his slugging numbers haven't dropped much. ... Joe Mauer is an interesting case. The young catcher, currently hitting .325, does have a tendency to wear down, which is understandable. In fact, his worst two months of the season typically have been August and September. ... So if Gary Matthews is not even hitting .260 now, then where will he finish?

Austin Kearns, OF, Nationals: What're you chuckling about!? I could see Kearns actually becoming a mixed-league option again in the second half. I realize the first step would be getting his average over the Mendoza line, but consider that he was awful in the first half last season and went on to hit .285 with 11 homers and 43 RBIs in just 72 second-half games. That's saying something here. He has a season to fix, and he's not going to end it hitting .189, that's for sure. He's owned in just six percent of ESPN leagues, but any sign of a warm-up, and that number will skyrocket. Be ready to pounce.

Jeff Baker, 2B/1B, Rockies: He has been playing nearly everyday the past couple weeks, and that'll continue with Todd Helton on the DL. He has pop, and he plays for the Rockies; those two features alone make him a worth-starting second baseman, at least in the right circumstances. But don't go overboard on this guy. He's still a career .261 hitter with a .313 OBP, and he's still what I like to call a "two-split-downer," a term I use for a guy who struggles against either lefties or righties and either at home or on the road. Over the past three seasons, Baker has hit .284 BA/.370 OBP/.547 SLG against lefties and .236 BA/.276 OBP/.417 SLG against righties. And on the road, he's a .209 hitter with just one of his 10 homers. Even in his "better" 2008 season, those numbers aren't terribly different. I see his ownership number is rising, but I'd leave him be in mixed leagues for now.

Miguel Tejada, SS, Astros: His monthly batting average splits go .339-.291-.227-.154, and I'll be honest that this does bother me a bit. But don't mistakenly think that the National League has figured him out. In fact, he's still hitting a respectable .289 with nine of his 10 homers against the National League this season. It was interleague play that actually killed him, as he hit .247 with one homer in 73 at-bats against his former counterparts. I say he rebounds in the second half, but not to April levels.

Ryan Church, OF, Mets: Whether you believe Church's most recent headaches are worse than the Mets are letting on or not, this doesn't sound good. Even if he plays, I just can't see Church maintaining his better-than-expected numbers.

Mixed: Brett Gardner, OF, Yankees: He'll steal enough to be worth it in 5x5 leagues. He'll playing nearly every day in a good lineup, and he's owned in less than two percent of ESPN standard leagues.

AL-only: Wes Bankston, OF, A's: He's hitting .391 after 23 at-bats, and batting average is not even what he's known for; he hit 14 homers in 269 Triple-A at-bats before being called up. He's currently in 0.0 percent of ESPN standard leagues, which is an indication he might also be available in AL-only leagues.

NL-only: Mat Gamel, 3B, Brewers: The buzz is growing for this slugging prospect who's hitting .374-15-75 in 87 Double-A games. With Matt LaPorta gone, Gamel will be the next prospect called up.

Vladimir Guerrero went 3-for-4 with a homer Monday against Texas. Ho hum, no surprise there. His .408 batting average against the Rangers is the highest of any major league player against any opposing team (minimum 200 at-bats) since Lefty O'Doul compiled a .409 mark against the Cardinals from 1928 to 1934.

Nick Markakis, OF, Orioles: Markakis, who has become more of an on-base machine as he matures (he's still only 24), seems to have found a home in the O's No. 2 spot in the lineup. He's hitting .336 in that spot in the lineup this season, 65 points better than he has hit in his customary No. 3 slot. Since he's hitting better, the RBIs haven't dropped, and he's on pace for 105 runs, which would be a career high.

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Nomar Garciaparra, SS, Dodgers: The rumors were true; Nomar has been moved back to shortstop. And though I cringe to say this since I've been burned by him perhaps as much as anyone, he does have value as a middle infielder even in mixed leagues once he qualifies there. Granted, that's if he can stay healthy that long. But he's the everyday starter, and he'll give you, oh, let's say a .287-12-70 pace there. (Not saying he's going to finish with those numbers; just saying that's an equivalent of the week-to-week production he'll provide.) That's pretty good for a shortstop. So be proactive and pick him up (he's owned in just three percent of standard leagues) before he qualifies there. Oh, and if he gets hurt, just cut him. No harm, no foul.

Speaking of position qualification, check in on our position eligibility charts now and then and mark down players who might be getting close to your league plateau at a certain position. For instance, did you realize Bill Hall has played six games at second base this season, or that Felipe Lopez has eight games in the outfield?

Brendan Roberts is a contributing writer/editor for ESPN Fantasy.