Fantasy Baseball 2012: 8 Struggling Players Who Will Surely Rebound This Season

The following slideshow touts eight struggling players (four hitters, four pitchers) who should not be abandoned by their fantasy owners anytime soon.

To clarify, this countdown isn't recommending owners pass on attractive sell-high trades involving these assets; it's merely a plea for fantasy GMs to exercise extreme patience before dumping one of the eight...or worse, selling them for below market value in trade circles.

Why is that worse?

Because if you waive a slumping product in early June, chances are he'll still be available over the next 5-to-7 days. But when you trade that sleeper to another club, only the new owner shall benefit from a June-to-September run of statistical success.

Enjoy the show!

2nd Base: Jemile Weeks, Oakland A's

2012 Stats: 2 HR, 7 RBI, 22 Runs, 10 Steals, .228 BA

Skinny: This has not been a banner month for the Weeks brothers—but for the purposes of this countdown, I'm more optimistic about the rebound capacity of Jemile than Milwaukee's Rickie Weeks (batting .148 since May 7).

For starters, Jemile Weeks is batting at a .326 clip since May 22. He also has at least one base hit in 11 of his last 12 games—a stretch that curiously doesn't include one steal.

Bottom line: If Weeks (22 steals in 97 games with Oakland last year) was destined to endure another two-week stretch of zero thefts on a light-hitting club that needs to be aggressive on the base paths, I'd probably recommend cutting bait right now.

But the kid has too much athleticism, talent and flair for the dramatic to be a decent hitter who offers little else in the other four major categories. I promise, more steals will come.

After all, it's not like Weeks will ever sniff 20 homers in a season. His fantasy game is all about speed.

Shortstop: Alexei Ramirez, Chicago White Sox

2012 Stats: 1 HR, 25 RBI, 16 Runs, 6 Steals, .220 BA

Skinny: Of the White Sox's 14 regular hitters, Ramirez inexplicably ranks 13th in on-base percentage (ahead of only Brent Morel); and let's be honest, no up-the-middle starter on a first-place club should ever boast an OBP of .240.

From my vantage point, we've reached a crossroads in Ramirez's season—either he catches up to surging talents like Paul Konerko, Adam Dunn, Dayan Viciedo or Alejandro De Aza in the not-too-distant future or maybe Chicago execs start exploring other avenues to fill that gaping hole in the lineup. (The same holds true for fantasy owners.)

Verdict: As an annual lock for 17 homers, 70 RBI, 81 runs, 10 steals and a .273 batting average, like in seasons past, this is not the time to assume the 30-year-old Ramirez is on a sustainable decline. He'll right the ship, hopefully sooner than later.

Outfield: Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals

2012 Stats: 4 HR, 20 RBI, 26 Runs, 1 Steal, .241 BA

Skinny: Here are two solid reasons why Gordon is far from a lost cause at this point: He ranks third on the Royals in on-base percentage (.337) and boasts the best walk-to-strikeout ratio (29/49) of anyone on the club.

Sure, these stats don't count in standard 5-by-5 fantasy leagues, but it also indicates that a Gordon turnaround from June to September is expected—not merely the dreams of others.

In fact, the seeds of that prophecy are slowly being sown: Since May 29, Gordon is hitting at a .333 clip (9-for-27) with four runs and two RBI.

Gordon's viability goes deeper than just a few weeks of sound hitting. It also rests on the belief that his amazing 2011 campaign (23 homers, 87 RBI, 101 runs, 17 steals, .303 BA) was no fluke.

It also goes on the notion the Royals will be significantly improved after the All-Star break.

Outfield: Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves

2012 Stats: 6 HR, 26 RBI, 26 Runs, 9 Steals, .246 BA

Skinny: OK, so Heyward probably won't capture any individual trophies by season's end. But that's no reason to quantify his two-month progress as an abject failure, either.

If I had executed a countdown of May's worst fantasy performers, Heyward likely would have made the list. But even with the prolonged struggles, he's still a reasonable play for 18 homers, 74 runs, 75 RBI and 22 steals.

The .246 batting average is deflating, of course, but Heyward's .337 on-base percentage suggests that a substantial rebound is on the horizon. In his last three games, Heyward has five hits, two runs and three RBI.

One last thing: You may have noticed that Alex Gordon and Heyward have nearly identical marks in batting average and on-base percentage (as of June 6). As luck would have it, they're both excellent ground-floor assets on the trade front.

Starting Pitcher: Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants

2012 Stats: 2-6, 5.83 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 72/35 K-BB ratio

Skinny: As stated many times, I will continue to support a healthy Lincecum anytime, anywhere. (His currency: four consecutive seasons of at least 220 strikeouts.)

But that doesn't mean I haven't been tested (or tempted) to sell high on Lincecum in trade talks or blog entries this season. Under a different surname, I would have easily cut bait on a pitcher with an ERA approaching 6.00 and an absurdly high walk count.

That said, Lincecum's turnaround has to occur at some point, and his somewhat productive effort on June 5 against the Padres (six innings, four runs, eight strikeouts, one walk) may spark a season-long revival. After all, this was Lincecum's first eight-strikeout/one-walk outing of 2012.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen—but Lincecum still has plenty of time to recapture his fantasy mojo.

Starting Pitcher: Anthony Bass, San Diego Padres

2012 Stats: 2-5, 4.21 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 61/26 K-BB ratio

Skinny: Bass' journey from reliever to starter worked like a charm early on, as he tallied 29 strikeouts from April 17 to May 4. He also allowed just three runs or less three times in that four-game stretch.

But things have taken a turn for the worse since then. Strikeouts are down. Runs and walks noticeably up. Put it all together, and things could get ugly before the All-Star break.

Patience is the key here: There's a reason why the Padres made this move in the first place. The 24-year-old Bass had a 3.01 career ERA in the minors (68 starts) and a 307/97 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He also has that unhittable edge which few pitchers possess when they're truly rolling.

Club officials just need to tap into that potential dominance more often.

Starting Pitcher: Mat Latos, Cincinnati Reds

2012 Stats: 4-2, 4.91 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 56/23 K-BB ratio

Skinny: Don't let the shiny 4-2 record fool you. Latos has resembled nothing of a real-world or fantasy ace in his brief stint with the Reds.

Too many periods of hot-and-cold pitching and not enough outings of 6.2 innings or more.

That aside, he's only 24 years old, and it's easy to give a power pitcher with five starts of two-or-less runs (since April 12) the long-term benefit of the doubt.

(The 2.5/1 strikeout-to-walk ratio helps, as well.)

Latos just needs more time to adjust to his surroundings, particularly that short right-field porch at Great American Ballpark.

Relief Pitcher: Brandon League, Seattle Mariners

2012 Stats: 0-4, 3.91 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 9 Saves, 4 Blown Saves

Skinny: League's fantasy owners were dealt a blow in late May when he was taken off the Mariners' closing beat.

But unless Seattle has immediate plans for Stephen Pryor making the seismic jump from prospect to full-time closer, it's reasonable to conclude League will reclaim his role of back-end ace.

In his four appearances since the demotion, League has allowed four hits and one run. On the plus side, he has five strikeouts in his last two outings—with just one walk.

This would be a good time to trade for League. At the very least, find a way to secure the Pryor handcuff.