What Happened to Bill Hall? And Why Should You Care?

Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Bill Hall is the kind of player that drives fans – and fantasy owners – crazy. Is he the guy who cranked 35 HR in 2006, or the one who never hit more than 17 HR in any other season? Is he the crusher who swatted four HR by April 9, or the player who has only hit three more since then?

Moving back to third base gave Hall more fantasy value this year – in theory, at least. It turns out that, at least for NL-only leagues, the outfield is possibly shallower than third base. Regardless, owners who cackled with glee at the way Hall burst out of the gates are singing a decidedly different tune right now. Hall is batting just .217 and has not shown much plate discipline, adding only 12 walks the whole season.

So, what's the story here? Is Hall going to be a drag on your batting and/or on-base average, and even if that's the case, is he going to be able to justify it with quality power statistics?

The answer is – yes and no.

You certainly aren't going to get any batting average support from Hall, but he should be able to improve, and hit roughly about .260 from here on out. That's certainly not great, but you knew that when you grabbed him for your team, right? (Right?) What's more, he's bound to get his power groove back – the Brewers play in a bandbox (not that I actually know what a bandbox is), and as the Midwest summer heats up, balls will begin to fly out of that stadium. Which means Bernie Brewer will get more exercise on the home run slide, but also that you can get some good power from a guy who you probably got for close to nothing.

More to the point, who are you swapping him out for at this point? Scott Rolen? Eric Chavez, who has yet to swing a bat? Unless you want to gamble on a guy like Blake DeWitt, who is probably available in your league (but not for long), Hall is worth keeping on your team, even if you don't start him each and every day.

Hall is definitely not the guy you want to build around, and his 2006 season appears to have been, shall we say, an outlier. But with seven home runs at the beginning of May, it's a virtual lock he'll swat 25 by the end of the year. As a Corner Infielder or reserve outfielder, you can (and like would) do a lot worse. He's for real, as long as you keep your expectations in check.