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Last week, I produced my mid-season awards for each league. Now that the best first-half performers have been honored, though, it's time to shine some light on the worst. In the first of a two-part series, I present you my You're Killing Me, Smalls Position Team for the American League. The list highlights the least productive player at each position in the A.L., with the National League team running later in the week.

Catcher

Dioner Navarro, Tampa Bay Rays:

This time last year, Navarro was taking in the festivities at Yankee Stadium after a well-deserved selection to the American League All-Star team. He produced an excellent first half in '08, posting a .310/.361/.424 line while doing fine work handling the Rays' pitching staff. Although he came back down to earth when his batting average on balls in play (BABIP) regressed to a reasonable level in the second half, overall it appeared to be a breakout offensive campaign for the 24-year-old backstop.

To this point, though, Navarro has more closely resembled the player that drove Tampa Bay fans crazy in the first half of 2007. He "hit" just .177/.238/.255 with an abominable .492 OPS in 209 at-bats before the break that spring, becoming an easy target for the boo birds at Tropicana Field. Despite a solid turnaround-- to his credit, he was considerably more productive in the second half--and '08 performance, he could find himself in a similar predicament if he continues to remain a practically guaranteed out at the plate. His current line of .224/.256/.335 and 52 OPS+ is among the worst in the game, so it would tough to blame them. According to his batted balls data at fangraphs.com, he has hit fewer line drives and ground balls, so don't put too much blame on the baseball gods for his .241 BABIP; most of his plate appearances seem to end with him hitting a weak fly ball and putting his head down while running to first base. As well, his walk rate is down to a career-worst 2.8 percent.

Perhaps a change in batting entrance music is in order.

First Base

Chris Davis, Texas Rangers:

Davis showed the world that he can hit the ball a long way with his '08 performance for the Rangers. He belted 17 homers and posted a .264 Isolated Power in only 317 plate appearances on the way to a 129 OPS+, giving him the inside lock at the everyday first job in spring training.

The second act hasn't gone according to plan, however, as the 23-year-old Davis has had more than his fair share of troubles making contact in '09. Before being optioned to Triple-A last week, in fact, he had gone down on strikes in 44.2 percent of his trips; he still leads the majors with 114 Ks total and was on pace for a record-setting total. He remained a power threat (.213 IsoP, 15 home runs), but the contact issues contributed to a low batting average and negated that output; he brought a .202/.256/.415 line and 73 OPS+ with him on the bus back to the minors. As well, he was a below-average defender at first base, producing a -0.8 UZR. When accounting for batting, fielding and positional factors, therefore, he was worth -0.8 Wins Above Replacement (WAR).

Top prospect Justin Smoak isn't too far away from taking over the position for good, but, despite the replacement-level production, Davis should get another shot if injury-prone Hank Blalock gets hurt again or struggles.

Second Base

Chris Getz, Chicago White Sox:

Chicago hasn't gotten much output from center field, an issue which has received a lot of ink in the Windy City. The problems at the keystone, however, have  left the club with another pretty big hole up the middle. Getz has seen most of the time at the position as the replacement for Alexei Ramirez, who has also struggled at the plate after shifting over to shortstop. The 25-year-old rookie has really struggled against major league pitching, batting just .254/.312/.347 with a 6.7 BB% and 70 OPS+ in 261 plate appearances.

Although the sample size is still small, Getz is also hurting the White Sox with his defensive play. According to fangraphs, he has been worth -3.7 Fielding Runs below average and is on pace for a -5.6 UZR/150. Don't count on the White Sox having another second baseman finish as the runner-up in the Rookie of the Year voting.

Shortstop

Yuniesky Betancourt, Kansas City Royals (though most of the damage came with the Seattle Mariners):

The Royals have received practically nothing out of the shortstop position in '09. Last year's breakout rookie, Mike Aviles, struggled in his sophomore follow-up before sustaining a season-ending elbow injury last week. More concerning, Wee Willie Bloomquist has posted the highest OPS, .711, of the five shortstops who have seen time at the position in Kansas City. Overall, the group has posted an anemic line of .206/.231/.277 with only 13 extra-base hits, including two homers, in 311 at-bats.

In order to alleviate the problem, Kansas City general manager Dayton Moore sent two hard-throwing relief prospects for Betancourt and some cash on Friday. The question, though, is why?

Betancourt has been the least effective player at the position in the majors, producing -0.8 WAR. Since he walks every once in a blue moon (in reality, he has drawn 10 so far, giving him the best walk rate, at 4.3%, since 2005), he's the type of player who needs to hit for power and a high batting average to provide any offensive value. Batting just .250/.278/.330 with a 63 OPS+, he clearly hasn't done either.

That poor offensive output would be somewhat acceptable if he were an asset at the most demanding position in the field, but Betancourt has also continued to decline defensively. While he can mix in a highlight reel play every now and again, he ranks dead last in the majors with a -8.2 UZR and -17.4 UZR/150. In what should be near his peak-age season at 27, odds are his play will only get worse and his work ethic has come into question as well; ZiPS sees his offensive performance improving, but he'll struggle to hover above replacement-level.

At least Moore got some cash in the deal.

Third Base

Josh Fields, Chicago White Sox:

Rookie Gordon Beckham essentially replaced him in the lineup for good on June 4, but Fields deserves to be on this list even though he's no longer the starter. Finally given the chance in a full-time gig with Joe Crede out of the picture, he really struggled to get it going when he was playing every night.

Poor strikeout and walk rates have been attached to the back of Fields' baseball card since he was selected with the 18th overall pick of the 2004 draft out of Oklahoma State. His calling card, power, enabled him to get a pass from many who felt that he would be an excellent replacement for Crede in Chicago. After a first half in which he hit .226/.308/.354 with a 71 OPS+ 239 plate appearances, the number of believers is steadily decreasing.

Contact has remained a problem (31.2% K rate) with Fields, but most concerning is the drop off in power; his IsoP is down to a career-low .136 and he has only left the yard six times. As well, the 26-year-old infielder has also been a major liability with his glove; in 49 games at the hot corner, he has produced a -5.1 UZR and -10.9 UZR/150. All factors considered, he has fallen in the red in terms of WAR, with a -0.8 mark.

Given his age and power, Fields could be given another chance somewhere. Limited to back-up duties now, a change of scenery could really do him some good. That said, he'll need to display 30-home run power to merit regular playing time given his lack of defensive skills.

Left Field

Delmon Young, Minnesota Twins:

The infamous Minnesota/Tampa Bay trade continues to look worse for the Twins.

Young, the main pick-up in the six-player blockbuster, has yet to live up to expectations and the hype that has followed him since the then-Devil Rays nabbed him with the first overall pick in the 2003 draft. He has gotten off to just a terrible start in his second season in Minnesota, batting .266/.292/.344 with three homers and 25 RBIs in 202 plate appearances. Scouts are still waiting for the power to show up, and his poor plate discipline has continued to be a cause for concern; he has struck out in 30.7 percent of his plate appearances and drawn only seven walks. As well, his 72 OPS+ is the worst total among left fielders with at least 150 plate trips.

Making matters worse, Young has yet again graded out as a well below-average left field defender, with a -9.8 UZR and -23.4 UZR/150 in 48 games. Overall, he has been worth 1.4 WAR--more than a full win!--in the Twins' outfield.

When Young threw the bat at an International League umpire in 2006, the consensus in most articles on the incident was that he would be a surefire stud. Having produced -0.6 WAR since making his major league debut, though, he doesn't seem like such a sure thing anymore, does he?

Center Field

Vernon Wells, Toronto Blue Jays:

As touched upon here, Wells has really struggled to live up to his massive contract. His defense has taken a turn for the worse in center field--he should be on a corner--and his line of .261/.309/.412 and 89 OPS+ aren't exactly what the franchise was hoping for out of their projected number three hitter.

The offense should improve, the defense probably won't. Either way, the deal is going to get worse for the Blue Jays.

Right Field

Jose Guillen, Kansas City Royals:

Guillen has always generated incredible bat speed, allowing him to keep his weight back longer than most players and make up for his poor strike zone awareness. His once-impressive raw athleticism is eroding, however, and his hands haven't been as lighting-quick as they once were.

Not surprisingly, Guillen's performance has suffered as a result. Indeed, the 13-year veteran really struggled in the first half, posting a paltry line of .241/.313/.366 with an 81 OPS+ in 284 plate appearances. He can still crush a mistake and has hit eight bombs, but frozen ropes off of his bat are becoming few and far between. He's actually drawing more walks (7.4%) and striking out less (16.9%), perhaps to compensate for his eroding skills, but he has been a black hole in the Royals' lineup.

As is a common theme on this list, Guillen is also below-average on the other side of the ball. The sample size is still small, so there could be noise in the data, but there's no sugarcoating his -15.3 UZR and -32.9 UZR/150. It doesn't take a trained scout's eye to notice his declining foot speed and range in the outfield, either.

Overall, Guillen has given Kansas City -1.6 WAR, pegging the opportunity cost of giving him so much playing time at $-7.3-M. Thus, it would probably be a safe assessment that Moore must not be too happy with his return on the three-year, $36-M investment that he made in the outfielder following the 2007 season. Halfway through year two, Guillen has been worth -1.4 WAR; in other words, his performance has been worth $-6.4-M in terms of what he could expect on the open market for that production. His name seems to always come up in trade rumors, but what team in their right mind would make a move for him, even if the Royals took on most of his salary?

It was difficult to pass on another A.L. Central guy, Magglio Ordonez, but Guillen takes the cake.

Designated Hitter

Pat Burrell, Tampa Bay Rays:

The Rays were able to snag Burrell for $16-M over two years, a steal given his steady production from the right side of the plate for much of the past decade. The processes--letting the market come to them, with a surplus of bats--were excellent. The results, however, haven't been what Tampa Bay had hoped for.

Burrell, who has battled injuries since spring training, has hit just .222/.337/.335 with four home runs in his first season as a strict DH. If healthy, don't count on him being on this list at the end of the year; ZiPS projects him to hit 10 homers and post an .820 OPS the rest of the way. The emergence of Ben Zobrist, though, has been a godsend for the Rays when considering the struggles of arguably the biggest signing in franchise history and their All-Star catcher Navarro.

If Burrell gets back to his usual level of production--during his time with the Philadelphia Phillies, he was known to go on homer barrages--Tampa Bay, with the best run differential in the majors, could make the A.L. East race interesting after the All-Star break.

Tyler Hissey is the editor of Around the Majors and host of Minor League Notebook Weekly, FirstInning.com's online radio show. To reach him, send an email to TylerHissey@gmail.com.