Will These Slumping Baseball Stars Recover This Season?

(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Every year, there are many players who go into slumps to start the season.

Some continue the slump all season long.

Jeff Francouer's 2008 season is a good example. There are others who slump early on, but get hot the rest of the season.

Ryan Howard's 2008 season is another good example.

This article will give you a list of players who are slumping badly and who has the best chance of breaking out of it.

Hitters

Carlos Guillen/Detroit Tigers  .207  0  HRs  Six RBI

Guillen is off to a rough start.

He has had a pretty good run with the Tigers, but he doesn't seem as good as he was a couple of years ago.

He might break out of it, but I think he is on a downhill slide.

B.J. Upton/Tampa Bay Rays  .174  0  HRs  Two RBI   Six SBs

Upton's struggles can be attributed to him coming back from an injury. I think it will take him a couple more months to get back to his old self.

If he continues to struggle the rest of 2009, look for him to have a huge 2010.

Dan Uggla/Florida Marlins   .220  4 HRs   17 RBI

I think Uggla will be decent by the end of the year. The frustrating thing about Uggla is that he might hit 30+ home runs, but still hit well below .250.

There seems to be a pattern with him lately.

Lance Berkman/Houston Astros  .167 6 HRs 12 RBI

Every year, Berkman seems to get off to a horrible start, but then recover to have an amazing season after all.

That trend will end sometime.

I just think 2009 is not that year. Berkman will end the year with great numbers as usual.

Mark Texeira/New York Yankees    .182  Three HRs  10 RBI

Texeira is known for being a slow starter.

However, this is really slow even for Texeira's standards. I think he will pick it up some, but his production will not be enough to escape the wrath of the Yankee faithful.

If you are going to get paid the big bucks, you'd better perform right away.

David Ortiz/Boston Red Sox   .215  0 HRs  12 RBI

Ortiz has had an incredible run with Boston.

However, his time looks like it's about up.

This is not the same "Big Papi." He might contribute some, but not like the Red Sox fans are used to.

Pitchers

Josh Beckett/Boston Red Sox  2-2  7.22 ERA

Beckett is not the same pitcher he was in 2007.

Past injuries have caught up with him. He had a subpar 2008 season.

This season, he is even worse. I don't see him doing much better the rest of the season. I don't think he is done for his career, but 2010 might be a better season for him.

Hopefully that is the case.

Fransisco Liriano/Minnesota Twins  0-4  6.04 ERA

After a solid 2008 season, Liriano has struggled mightily this season. Like Beckett, past injuries have caught up to Liriano as well.

I think he will struggle the rest of the 2009 season or end up on the DL.

Fausto Carmona/Cleveland Indians  1-3   6.28   ERA

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