MLB Bold Predictions: 12 Players Who Will Have a Better Second Half

The first half of the MLB season was quite lack luster for this list of players. Look for these men to turn things around for their respective teams in the second half.

Some of these guys are perennial juggernauts and future Hall of Famers. A few of these guys received massive off-season contracts and look to win over new fans. Some are young with a lot of expectations.

Many of these players have battled injuries, but should be good-to-go for the second half.

Many of these men are in the thick of a playoff race. Their teams will need them to perform if they want to reach the ultimate goal.

Regardless, there are no excuses from here on out—it's time to put up or shut up.

Washington Nationals' Jayson Werth

Jayson Werth made big news in the off-season when he signed with the Nationals for a cool $126 M.

His team is .500 at the break. They'll really need his bat down the stretch if they're going to have a chance to take on Werth's former team, the the NL East leading Phillies.

Werth's .215 BA isn't going to cut it. He's batting .143 in his last ten games and .185 on the road for the season. To date he has had 10 HR and a measly 31 RBI.

Werth hit .296 last year so there is clearly room for improvement. 2009 was arguably his best year for power numbers, bopping 36 homers and 99 RBI.

Jayson Werth is a good ball player. Whether or not he is worth $126 M has yet to be determined. Look for Werth to take it to the next level and get the bat going in Washington.

St. Louis Cardinals' Chris Carpenter

The ace of the Cardinals is just to good to go 4-7 again—like he did in the first half.

The problem seems to be that Carpenter is allowing more hits than he and Cardinal fans are used to. In 128.2 IP this season Carpenter has allowed 140 hits. To put this in perspective, Carpenter is two years removed from his career best 17-4 season of 2009. That year he threw 192.2 innings and only allowed 156 hits.

Another alarming fact is that right-handed batters are hitting .286 against him. This tells me that Carpenter may not have his full arsenal of pitches working at this point.

Look for pitching coach Dave Duncan to tinker with Carpenter's delivery—and for the ace to have a much better second half.

With the Cardinals in the most intriguing pennant race to date, they'll look for their ace to step his game up.

Minnesota Twins' Joe Mauer

The Minnesota Twins have been the most battle tested team to this point in the season. It seems that everyone who has put on a Twins uniform has been bitten by the injury bug.

None more important than perennial All-Star and batting champ contender Joe Mauer. The star Minnesota hero has only played 31 games to this point after being plagued by the mysterious "bilateral leg syndrome."

His .243 average this season is nowhere near his career mark of .324. This will increasingly climb throughout the second half, as the Twins look to make something out of nothing and compete for the AL Central. Despite losing somewhere near 400 man games due to injuries, the Twins are only 6.5 games out of the lead in the Central.

Mauer's last 10 games are starting to look like his career numbers, hitting .306 while scoring eight runs. Look for Mauer to get hot and give the Twins a chance.

Atlanta Braves' Jason Heyward

This highly touted young prospect has battled a shoulder injury this season, but don't expect that to hold him back in the second half.

Heyward is only batting .226 on the season after hitting .277 in his rookie campaign. He only has 22 RBI so far and has only scored 31 runs. Last year he drew 91 BB. He only has 29 to this point of the 2011 season. If Heyward is more selective at the plate his numbers will explode in the second half.

Expect the break to have done the budding star some good. This can be a fresh start for Heyward, as his Braves are in the lead for the NL Wild Card at 54-38 and are nipping at the heals of division leading Philadelphia.

Detroit Tigers' Magglio Ordonez

Magglio Ordonez signed a questionable one year, $10 M dollar extension in the off-season, after breaking his ankle sliding into home last year. Due to that injury, Ordonez has only played in 47 games this year and is hitting only .217.

If the Tigers are to keep the lead and win the AL Central they will need the career .309 hitter to have a stellar second half. He only has three home runs and 14 RBI in 166 AB this year. In his defense, he has hit safely in 10 of his last 12 games.

The success of Ordonez in the second half may determine the fate of manager Jim Leyland, who is on the hot seat in Detroit.

What the Tigers lack is consistency this year. They'll look like the best team in baseball one week and the worst the next. Production from Ordonez will be vital for the Tigers to stay on top of the AL Central and make a push in the playoffs.

Los Angelos Angels of Anaheim's Torii Hunter

This future Hall of Famer is making $18 M while hitting .250 on the year. His team is still 50-42, a game behind Texas for the lead in the AL West.

Hunter, a career .273 hitter, was hitting just .237 before the last five games before the break pulled his average up to .250. In the Angels last 10 games Hunter has hit .333 with six runs and six RBI, including three HR.

Look for these types of numbers down the stretch from Hunter. The Angels are getting great pitching and defense this year. With rejuvenated offense from Hunter (and others) they could win the AL West.

The bottom line is that Hunter is too good to hit .250 for the entire season. His average will soar in the second half.

New York Mets' David Wright

David Wright has been out since mid-May with a variety of injuries, most notably a lower-back stress fracture.

The Mets star is only hitting .226 with 18 RBI in 39 games this year. Wright is due back by the end of July. Expect him to make his last two months of the season count.

Despite the turmoil swirling around the Mets because of the trade deadline, they are 46-45 heading into the second half.

By mid-August expect Wright to be back to his true form, hitting over .300 down the final stretch.

San Francisco Giants' Madison Bumgarner

The young lefty hurler went just 4-9 in the first half, despite having 12 quality starts. He has gone at least six innings in nine of his last 10 starts, allowing more than three ER just once.

Bumgarner proved his value in September of last year, posting a 1.13 ERA. He also won game four of the World Series, so we know he is for real.

The Giants problem has been lack of offense, which is nothing new to the fans. Bumgarner gets less than three runs of support per game. Expect Giants GM Brian Sabean to pick up a bat by the July 31st deadline, to give pitchers like Bumgarner the support they need.

Look for Bumgarner to win between eight and 10 games in the second half and for the Giants to make the playoffs.

Chicago White Sox's Adam Dunn

Adam Dunn was the White Sox key signing in the off-season, inking a four-year, $56 M dollar deal. So far he has been downright dismal in the south side of Chicago.

Truth be told, Dunn can't get much worse. The slugger is hitting a mere .160 at the break with just nine HR. Dunn has hit at least 38 HR seven consecutive years. He has knocked in 100+ RBI four years in a row—and six out of seven. He only has 34 to this point of the season.

The White Sox are five games behind the first place Detroit Tigers in the AL Central and depend on Dunn to get it done.

Not that his numbers will look glorious by the end of the year, but Dunn can only improve on his first half.

Los Angels of Anaheim's Vernon Wells

Vernon Wells is hitting just .222 through the first half. He is making $23 M dollars this year.

In his defense, he has battled injuries—but there is no time like the present to get things going. He does have 13 HR to this point, but only 34 RBI. An alarming stat is that Wells has draw only nine walks, compared to 55 SO.

The Angels have one of the highest payrolls in baseball at $141.7 M, and Wells is a big part of that.

The Angels have a real chance to make a run in the playoffs, due to their pitching and defense. Look for Wells to solidify the offensive end.

Wells has to put up some big numbers the rest of the season to quiet the critics.

Atlanta Braves' Dan Uggla

Dan Uggla hit a career best .287 and 105 RBI last year for the Florida Marlins, and was rewarded with a five-year, $62 M dollar contract from the Atlanta Braves.

So far this year Uggla is hitting .185. Ouch. Although Uggla has 15 HR, he only has 34 RBI. In his six year career he has at least 88 RBI per season.

With the recent injury to Chipper Jones, Uggla needs to get it going. Things appear to be on the up-and-up for the second baseman, who is carrying a six game hitting streak into the second half.

This is good news for Braves fans. They have a solid team this year and look to make the playoffs.

Uggla has to have a monster second half if Atlanta is to strike fear in opposing pitchers.

Seattle Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki

Ichiro is hands down a first ballot Hall of Famer. His numbers are astounding—2345 hits in just 1678 games in the majors. In 10+ major league seasons, he has hit .350 or better four times and at least .300 in all ten seasons. He also has at least 200 hits in all ten seasons.

That's why his .270 average to this point is hard to explain. Maybe it's his age, now 37. Regardless, he is the best hitter baseball has ever witnessed.

Ichiro has 101 hits so far, and you can bet that he will reach the 200 hit plateau once again. Expect Ichiro to hit a cool .330 the second half and make the AL West a three team shoot-out until the waning days of the season.

The Marines are a somewhat surprising 43-48 at the break. With Ichiro on base more in the second half, the Mariners will score enough runs to compete. We are witnessing history every time he steps to the plate—he is an all-time great.