Corey Hart, OF, Milwaukee Brewers

June 20, 2007 @ 16:00:00

By Ryan R. Bonini
Edited by Ryan Dodson

Fantasy players relish in the opportunity to find a diamond in the rough during the course of the season to help fill holes, bolster categories and provide a potential long-term impact towards capturing their league crown. Year after year we find new gems to rely on, whether it be for a short stretch of games or for long-term success. However, finding a player that can be a five-category star can be nearly as difficult as keeping the television on when Rosie O'Donnell comes on.

One player this year that seems to be bucking the trend is Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Corey Hart, who seems to be riding a bolt of lightning right now for fantasy players. Amazingly enough, Hart remains available in close to 73 percent of fantasy leagues polled!

Hart's Major League History

Hart, 25, is in his fourth season in the bigs. He sports a career .277 average with a .339 on-base percentage. His numbers the first three years, all in limited playing time, have been relatively average to say the least.

Table: Hart's Career Statistics

Year	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2004	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	0.000	0.000
2005	21	57	9	11	2	7	6	2	0.193	0.270	0.368	0.638
2006	87	237	32	67	9	33	17	5	0.283	0.328	0.468	0.796

This season, however, everything seems to be falling into place in his progress at the next level. Through June 19, Hart has 25 runs, 24 RBI, eight homers, 13 stolen bases and is hitting .304. His OBP has risen to .385, his SLG to .515 and he has an impressive .900 OPS.

While his numbers are not dominating across the board, he is catching some fire. After not going yard at all during May and just once in April, Hart has seven home runs during the month of June. He has also pushed in 14 runners in that time period and is hitting .302 during the month. 

His on-base percentage has climbed to .413 in June, up from .358 the month before. Hart seems to know what to do when he gets on base, too, as he has stolen seven bases this month, matching his total from April and June combined.

Moving Forward

Baseball, of course, is a long, long season. Seeing players go through spurts of success and droughts are way too common. What does the future hold for Hart?

He has clearly shown the ability to make an impact when in the lineup, which appears to be where he'll remain for the time being due to his hot bat. Even with the return of action of second baseman Rickie Weeks from a wrist injury, Hart remained as the team's leadoff batter. In 48 at-bats in that position, he's hitting .333 with a .429 OBP.

Unfortunately, the recent trend of power cannot be backed up by his history. We've already broken down his previous production while in the majors so let's take it one step further in regards to looking at his previous minor league production.

Hart has seen time in Triple-A ball since 2004. In 260 games (970 at-bats) at that level, Hart hit just 36 home runs or just about one home run every 27 at-bats. This year, he's hitting one homer about every 21 at-bats. He was, however, successful in the stolen base department, swiping 59 bags during his three-year stint in Triple-A. He did show improvement in his batting average, improving every year while tallying out at .320 in his final year with Triple-A Nashville.

What Should Fantasy Owners Do?

If you have an open roster spot or a struggling player that needs to be sat down, now is the time to jump on Hart and ride the hot bat while it remains just that. As mentioned, he's still available in a large portion of leagues we polled so he's able to be had at a cheap price.

He is currently serving as a five-category fantasy option, which isn't something easily obtained off the waiver wire - especially in a hard category to fill like stolen bases.

Pick him up, slide him into your lineup and keep a close eye on him. If he starts to slow down, you can easily part ways with him. In the meantime, relish in the statistics he's generating and view him as a short-term option with the potential to provide long-term success.

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Ryan R. Bonini

Founding KFFL in 1996, Bonini serves as KFFL's General Manager and VP of technology for KFFL's parent company, USA TODAY SPORTS Media Group. Bonini was named the 2009 Fantasy Football Writer of the Year by the FSWA and received honors with the Best Fantasy Football Series in '10, making him the first two-time FSWA football award winner.

His work has been found in USA Today, Yahoo! Sports, FOX Sports, CBS Sports, NFL.com, and many others. He has also been featured on numerous radio programs around the country. Bonini is a member of the PFWA, FSWA and FSTA.

Follow Ryan on Twitter @ryanbonini

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