Who Will Be MLB's Second-Half All-Stars?

Second Base

American League: Jed Lowrie

National League: Jonathan Villar

There's no question Jonathan Villar has been a disappointment in 2017, so his inclusion on this list may seem curious. However, the arrow is pointing up, as he's sporting a 41.2% hard-hit rate since returning from the DL on June 27th. In fact, his 34.2% rate for the season isn't far off what he did in 2016 when he hit 19 home runs. Of course, considering his 58.7% ground-ball rate, he's unlikely to match that mark, but if he can keep generating hard contact and cut down on the punchouts, good things could be in store for him. After all, even hard-hit grounders are still plenty helpful, and the speedy Villar has historically put up above average BABIP numbers. Oh, and there were those 62 stolen bases last season too. Let's not stick a fork in Villar just yet.

DFS-heads won't be surprised to see Jed Lowrie's inclusion here. An excellent value play on many a FanDuel slate, Lowrie has seemingly flown under the radar all season despite a 35.8% hard-hit rate and 44.8% fly-ball rate. A quick glance at his home run totals over the years might leave you underwhelmed, but keep in mind he's only surpassed 97 games twice in ten seasons. The dude has some sneaky pop, and as long as he's hitting this many fly balls, he should top his career-high 16 bombs in 2012, all the while maintaining a tidy 17.9% strikeout rate.