20 MLB Players You (Probably) Haven't Heard of to Watch in the Second Half

Team: Toronto Jays
Position: Third Base
Brett Lawrie is part of a new, young breed of MLB players (think Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, and Josh Hamilton). Guys who play like they're peaking on bath salts. Actually, Josh Hamilton might actually be on them (anyone test that guy recently?). Lawrie plays the game as hard as anyone on the field and with the Yankees desperate for pitching and the rest of the AL East separated by a half game, watch out for the Jays. And, specifically, watch out for Brett Lawrie when he's angry.

Team: Chicago White Sox
Position: Starting Pitcher
The surprising success of the White Sox is overwhelmingly credited to turn-around seasons by Adam Dunn, Alex Rios, and Jake Peavy. Sure. That Paul Konerko guy's pretty good too. But it's been Chris Sale's remarkably seamless transition from the bullpen to the starting rotation that has the South Siders in first place. Sale carries an 11-2 record and leads the league with a 2.11 ERA. If he keeps up this torrid pace, he'll likely win the Cy Young and this is probably the first you're hearing of him.

Team: Milwaukee Brewers
Position: Centerfield
Japanese baseball players are a lot like American Idol winners; every year there's a lot of hype around them, but only, like, two of them are good. Well, Yu Darvish and Norichika Aoki may make up for the farce that was Daisuke Matsuzaka and Kosuke Fukudome. Aoki started the season as a backup, but has quickly worked his way into the everyday lineup. He reeled off a 15-game hitting streak earlier in the summer; he seems poised for a correction when the league adjusts to him, but if he's able to adjust back, the Brew Crew will have their centerfielder of the future.

Team: Boston Red Sox
Position: Third Base
Red Sox fans might be miffed by the team's trading of Kevin Youkilis, but it's because Will Middlebrooks basically stole the guy's job. Oh, and because Bobby Valentine seems to be a celebrity-obsessed boob who's not all that good (or interested) with managing his team. Sox fans are begrudgingly stuck with Middlebrooks but it's not a bad problem to have (.289 average, 41 RBIs). He's struggled in July. Going forward it'll be interesting to see if it's a bump in the road or if scout's have exploited a weakness in the young slugger's game.

Team: Anaheim Angels
Position: Outfield/Third Base
If Mike Trout weren't playing like Ken Griffey Jr. caught in a 1997 time warp, the Angels hype would be centered on Mark Trumbo. The Angels outfielder is quietly putting together one of the most productive seasons in the American League with 26 home runs and 65 RBIs just past the halfway point. As the Angels push their way towards a playoff spot, they're hoping Trumbo becomes this year's David Freese.

Team: Detroit Tigers
Position: Centerfield
Austin Jackson is one of the best offensive centerfielders that nobody knows about and, undoubtedly, the best on defense. He patrols that pasture at Comerica Park with ease. If the Tigers expect to contend in the AL Central, it'll be on the backs of Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera. If they win it, it'll be because Austin Jackson quietly set the table for the big guys in the second half.

Team: Oakland A's
Position: Centerfield
Billy Beane gets a lot of undeserved credit for being a mastermind GM. The A's have never really won anything under him and that whole Moneyball thing is a farce. Brad Pitt and the fat guy from Superbad were lucky enough to draft three Cy Young-caliber pitchers and had a shortstop 'roiding out of his mind. Don't believe everything you see in movies. Anyway, if Beane wants to continue destroying the franchise so they can move the team to another city, he'll trade Cespedes, the Cuban defector he signed this past offseason to a 4-year/$36 million contract. The legit five tool player is reportedly on the block; if he ends up on a contending team, you won't need us to tell you about him.

Team: Chicago White Sox
Position: Relief Pitcher
If the White Sox make the playoffs, they'll do it with a half dozen rookies in the bullpen. They'll need to be pretty good, too. Hector Santiago broke camp as the closer, that sucked. Then, Matt Thorton's formerly unhittable fastball turned into gun powder for tape measure home runs. Enter the brash, young Addison Reed who took the closer gig and, at the moment, has been a consistent stopper. He'll have to keep it up if the Sox are going to continue to lead the AL Central

Team: St. Louis Cardinals
Position: First Base/Leftfield
With the Cards a few games outside of a Wild Card spot, a big second half from Craig could propel them back to the postseason. While teammate David Freese was named MVP of last season's World Series, Craig also had a terrific Series as he hit three home runs against the Rangers. Despite missing all of April this season, Craig has 13 home runs and 45 RBI to go along with a batting average hovering around .300. As the Cardinals replace Albert Pujols' bat with a group effort, Craig's production down the stretch could push them in one direction or the other.

Team: Washington Nationals
Position: Starting Pitcher
While Bryce Harper garners most of the media attention, the strength of the NL East-leading Nationals lies in their pitching staff. Flamethrower Stephen Strasburg is the focus in the media, but Zimmermann leads the rotation with a 2.48 ERA. He doesn't strike out as many batters as Strasburg (80 to 135) and he doesn't have as many wins (10 to 6) but Zimmermann provides the Nationals with three top of the line starters. Zimmermann, Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez could lead them deep into October. The Nationals in the playoffs might be more proof of that whole 2012 apocalypse theory. #justsayin'

Team: Oakland A's
Position: Starting Pitcher
Despite operating on a budget about the size of A-Rod and Derek Jeter's butlers, the A's find themselves within striking distance of a Wild Card spot. The 23-year-old Parker has been a pleasant surprise in his first full season in the majors posting a 3.16 ERA and picking up 6 wins. If they are to make a run at a playoff spot, Parker will need to continue to pitch well because the rest of the rotation is uncertain. How uncertain? Bartolo Colon also pitches for them. Enough said.

Team: New York Mets
Position: Shortstop
While the Mets find new ways to lose every week, a bright spot is their young shortstop Tejada. After coming off the disabled list at the end of June, the 22-year-old has hit a blistering .370 including a .420 OBP in July. He doesn't hit for power, but will be a key building block for the Mets going forward. While the Mets can be tough to watch, Tejada's development the rest of this season will go a long way in determining if he is the shortstop of the future.

Team: Cleveland Indians
Position: Second Base
One half of the Indians' talented young middle infield, Kipnis in continuing his progress in his first full major league season. Cleveland is looking up at both the White Sox and Tigers in the AL Central, and may not have a shot at either wild card with the Angels and Red Sox finally playing close to expectations, but Cleveland has a very solid, very dynamic core in Kipnis and shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera.

Team: Pittsburgh Pirates
Position: Starting Pitcher
While Andrew McCutchen leads the offense as he tries to win the Triple Crown, McDonald is leading the rotation with a 9-3 record and a 2.93 ERA for the Pirates. McDonald, who has never had a full season with an ERA under 4, has also already matched his career high for wins in a single season. If the McCutchen-McDonald combo can lead the consistently terrible Pirates to the playoffs, then there is only one question to ask: Is this the year that pigs finally fly?

Team: Los Angeles Dodgers
Position: Catcher
Ellis has cooled considerably after an impressive start, but if the Dodgers have any hope of making good on their team-wide impressive first half, they'll need their catcher to continue to be an on base machine for recently returned sluggers Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp.

Team: Texas Rangers
Position: Relief Pitcher
Ogando moved to the bullpen full time this season and has excelled in his role as a setup man for closer Joe Nathan. In 35 innings this season, he has allowed only 29 baserunners. With Ogando's emergence, the rich truly have gotten richer in Texas. Expect Ogando to play a major role in their push for a third consecutive trip to the World Series this fall.

Team: Oakland A's
Position: Rightfield
With his mullett and "Let's experiment!" approach to facial hair, Reddick, the key prospect coming back to Oakland in the Andrew Bailey deal with the Red Sox, looks a lot like the former A's slugger Jason Giambi—minus the steroids. A lithe 6'2", 180 lbs (compared to Giambi's 6'3"/250), Reddick's hit 21 homers this season, good for tenth in the American League. For A's fans, Reddick is pretty much the only reason to watch when Oakland is at bat—his measly 46 RBIs on a .531 slugging percentage are testament to his teammates ineffectiveness at the plate.

Team: Houston Astros
Position: Second Base
The Houston Astros aren't a very good baseball team, and they don't have much reason for hope: Their farm system is pretty fallow and next year they move to the American League West where they'll have to play the Rangers and Angels almost 40 times a year. But in Jose Altuve they've got the kind of scrappy player that a fan base can cheer for even when the team is regularly on the short side of 8-3 pummelings. At 5'5", the 22-year-old Altuve is the shortest player in the majors, but he's no novelty act. He's currently batting .290 with an OPS of .753, stellar numbers for a second baseman.

Team: San Francisco Giants
Position: Starting Pitcher
So you already know that the Giants have their Cy Young candidate in Matt Cain as their ace but who's picking up Tim "Fell the Freak Off" Lincecum's slack? That dude would be Madison Bumgarner. The 22-year-old lefty leads the Giants in wins (11) with a 3.15 ERA and 104 strikeouts. If the Giants are going to maintain their lead in the N.L. West (currently three games ahead of the Dodgers) they'll need Bumgarner to continue making his way toward a 20-win season.