What makes for a "baseball bust"? Quite simply, it's a player who's not living up to expectations thus far. And here's the "All-Bust" team for the AL at the midpoint of the 2012 season ...
C - Kurt Suzuki, A's
Suzuki's been a remarkably steady performer up until this season. However, his awful .502 OPS has begun costing him playing time.
1B - Eric Hosmer, Royals
To be fair to Hosmer, he's been heating up of late, and his future remains very bright. Still, an overall line of .237/.304/.389 is not good.
2B - Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox
Compared to his lofty career averages, Pedroia's batting average is down 34 points, his OBP is down 42 points, and his SLG is down 54 points.
SS - Alexei Ramirez, White Sox
Always a plus defender, Ramirez in the past has shown some pop at the plate. In 2012, however, Ramirez is slugging just .314 and has just two homers to his credit.
3B - Kevin Youkilis, White Sox
So far, the change of teams and color of Sox hasn't helped the three-time All-Star: a .692 OPS in Boston and a .528 OPS since arriving on the South Side.
LF - Desmond Jennings, Rays
The Rays' leadoff man turned in a strong rookie campaign in 2011, but this season he's lugging around an OPS of .658.
CF - B.J. Upton, Rays
Upton can still pick it in center, but he's waist-deep in the worst offensive season of his career: .244/.299/.372.
RF - Brennan Boesch, Tigers
Boesch stopped hitting in the second half of last season, and he hasn't yet resumed hitting. His overall numbers from 2011 were strong, which led to expectations of a solid 2012. Instead, he's been perhaps the least productive regular in all of baseball.
DH - Delmon Young, Tigers
The maddeningly inconsistent Young showed signs of life after his August trade to Detroit last year. This season, however, he's on his way to what may be the worst numbers of his career.
SP1 - Clay Buchholz, Red Sox
While Buchholz has been trending upward of late, his overall numbers for 2012 remain pretty ugly: a 5.53 ERA and 34 walks and 15 homers in 86.1 innings.
SP2 - Jonathan Sanchez, Royals
Sanchez has always had frontline stuff, and on occasion the results have been there (in 2010, for instance). This season, though, he's been one of the very worst starters in all of baseball. A 6.80 ERA and 40(!) walks in 46.1 innings condemn him.
Setup man - Francisco Cordero, Blue Jays
The former Reds closer hasn't adapted to his setup role in Toronto: 5.29 ERA and seven homers in 32.1 innings.
Closer - Brian Fuentes, A's
It's hard for a "bust" closer to keep his job for very long, but Fuentes has received eight save opportunities this season in spite of what's now an ERA of 6.84.
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