The second month of the season is nearing a close and the weather has officially become balmy. Summer is on the horizon and spring nearly over.

Players should be in full-season mode at this point, right in the swing of things, you could say. The months of May and June are often the springing points for a player's season. Many of the best players around baseball struggle through April, needing to heat up with the rest of the country. This is when splits really begin to matter as you start to see which players are ready to explode and, conversely, which are ready to come back down to earth.

The first split we have for you is the former, a player who is currently mid-explosion. Now, on to the Week 8 splits.

Five Strikes (Positive Splits)

Luke Scott, OF/DH, Orioles
Upcoming Schedule: Three games vs. Oakland, Three games at Toronto
Scott doesn't have particularly overwhelming splits against the Athletics or Blue Jays but have you noticed what he's been doing at the plate lately? Scott can carry the Orioles when he's hot and flames are dancing on his bat at the moment. With one more scoring period remaining in the month of May, if you haven't been starting Scott, now is the time. Over this season and the last, Scott has gone 41 for 105 (.390) with 15 home runs and 31 RBI in 29 games during the month of May. May is coming to an end, take advantage now.

Joe Saunders, SP, L.A. Angels
Upcoming Schedule: May 24 vs. Toronto, May 30 vs. Seattle
The Angels' starter has struggled this season with a 3-5 record and a 4.42 ERA. That said, he's turning things around and has given up just one run over two straight victories spanning 16 2/3 innings. That, plus his splits against his two opponents in Week 8 make him a must-start option all of a sudden. Saunders is 6-0 against the Mariners since the beginning of 2008 and is 7-1 overall against them with a 3.06 ERA over 11 starts. He beat the Blue Jays with a great outing in his only start against them this year when he gave up just two unearned runs on five hits over eight innings.

Dallas Braden, SP, Athletics
Upcoming Schedule: May 25 at Baltimore, May 30 at Detroit
Braden has lost two straight starts since his perfect game against the Rays and is now dealing with some major fatigue. He's going to want to rest up for his two starts in Week 8, however, because they should prove to be outstanding. Braden lost his only start against the Tigers this season but gave up just two runs over six innings. He's going to want some retribution but he'll be able to take it out on the Orioles with little problem. Braden is 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA over two career starts at Oriole Park at Camden Yards with nine strikeouts over 11 innings and a low 0.818 WHIP. In his last four appearances against the Orioles overall, Braden is 4-0 with four runs allowed spanning 21 1/3 innings with 16 strikeouts.

Corey C. Hart, OF, Brewers
Upcoming Schedule: Three games vs. Houston, Three games vs. N.Y. Mets
Hart entered Saturday's game in Week 7 (May 17-23) batting .308 with four homers and eight RBI over his last seven games and is playing well right now for the Brewers. Week 8 could be a big one for him because he has more at-bats (205) and home runs (11) against the Astros than any other team in baseball. Hart loves Houston pitching and is a career .337 hitter them. That constitutes his second-highest average against any National League team. Which team does he hit best against? The Mets. Hart is a career .338 hitter against New York over 68 career at-bats.

John Danks, SP, Chicago White Sox
Upcoming Schedule: May 24 at Cleveland, May 29 at Tampa Bay
Sure, the Indians aren't great but the Rays are the best team in baseball, so what gives? Chicago's Danks, who has lost his last three starts, may want to think about relocating to the Tampa area and playing for the Rays because Tropicana Field is by far his favorite road stadium in which to pitch. Danks is a surprising 4-0 at the Trop and has won every time he's taken the mound there with a 2.25 ERA. He's been even better the past two seasons allowing two runs with 24 strikeouts over his last 19 innings on the west coast of Florida. He strikes out over 10 batters per nine innings against the Rays on their home turf and that is more than enough reason to start him in Week 8. That said, in his last start at Cleveland's Progresso Field last season, Danks pitched to a complete-game victory with one run allowed on three hits.

Five 7-10 Splits (Negative Splits)

Jose A. Bautista, 3B, Blue Jays
Upcoming Schedule: Three games at L.A. Angels, Three games vs. Baltimore
Fantasy owners have been widely rushing out and picking up Bautista. And for good reason as he's now up to 13 homers and 34 RBI, easily in the top five in the American League in both categories. But Bautista faces two troubling opponents in Week 8 who have always seemed to have his number. Bautista is a career .200 hitter against the Angels over 35 at-bats and has gone just 1 for 7 at Angel Stadium. Bautista is one of the few to be shut down by Orioles pitching as well as he is a .237 hitter against them over 93 career at-bats.

Felipe Lopez, 2B, Cardinals
Upcoming Schedule: Three games at San Diego, Three games at Chicago Cubs
It is nice to see Lopez off the disabled list and contributing to the Cardinals' offense but with less than a week under his belt, is it too soon to begin using him in Week 8 for Fantasy play? Lopez has homered once since his return but it also was his only hit in his first three games back. The splits also suggest sitting him in Week 8. Lopez plays six road contests in San Diego and then in Chicago and has never hit well at either park. Lopez is a career .214 hitter over 126 at-bats at Wrigley Field and is even worse -- .209 average covering 91 at-bats – at San Diego's PetCo Park.

Adam Kennedy, 2B, Nationals
Upcoming Schedule: Three games at San Francisco, Three games at San Diego
Kennedy has hit fairly well against his two Week 8 opponents when playing in his home stadium. But when he travels to San Francisco's SBC Park and San Diego's PetCo Park, it is a different story entirely. Playing in the Giants' home stadium, Kennedy has gone 5 for 29 (.172) over his last three seasons with just two RBI and a slugging percentage of well under .200. His on-base percentage against the Giants in San Francisco overall is dismal at .234. Sadly, Kennedy is even worse in San Diego, where he has just six hits over 32 career at-bats for an average of .188. That comes with an on-base percentage of .235. He did homer there last season and that has his career slugging percentage at PetCo at an astronomical .281.

Felipe Paulino, SP, Astros
Upcoming Schedule: May 25 start at Milwaukee, May 30 start at Cincinnati
Fantasy owners who make a living out of picking up mediocre starters that pitch twice during a week should be made well aware of Paulino before grabbing him in Week 8. There is really nothing to like about his matchups. Paulino has started 28 career games and has five wins to his credit. He pitches for one of the worst teams in baseball and, despite having more road wins than home wins his road ERA is astronomical for his career and he faces two road starts. That isn't even mentioning the fact that Paulino has given up nine runs and 14 hits over nine career innings at Milwaukee's Miller Park and is 1-2 for his career at Cincy's Great American Ballpark with a 5.40 ERA in three starts. Paulino has given up 10 home runs combined in the two stadiums over 25 2/3 innings pitched.

Mike Napoli, C, L.A. Angels
Upcoming Schedule: Three games vs. Toronto, Three games vs. Seattle
Napoli hasn't been setting the world on fire of late for the Angels but has still been a very solid hitting catcher over the course of his career. That does not extend to playing against the Mariners and Blue Jays, however. His overall numbers are underwhelming against those two opponents, but they don't even tell the entire story of his struggles against them in recent times. Napoli went 8 for 19 against the Blue Jays back in 2006 but over his last three seasons is just 4 for 39 (.103). He's already 0 for 3 against the Jays this season. He is a career .233 hitter against the Mariners but is just eight for his last 54 (.148) against them with an on-base percentage of right around .200 and a ridiculously low slugging percentage.

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