By Jack Magruder
FOXSportsArizona.com
It happens every year: Players thought to be in serious decline, be it due to health issues, age or simply a deterioration in skills, rediscover themselves and resurrect their careers, often leading to unexpected success for the teams.
Scott Rolen played his way into the MVP conversation with a strong first half in 2010, when a return to form followed a return to health in Cincinnati. Aubrey Huff was an unexpected revelation in the middle of the Giants' lineup, and Tim Hudson bounced back from arm woes and pitched his way into Cy Young consideration while anchoring the Braves' staff.
But it's not just the grizzled veterans who experience the bounce-back phenomenon. Arizona outfielder Chris Young powered his way to a career year and onto the NL All-Star team by continuing with the plate adjustments he put into place in the last month of 2009, not long after an embarrassing demotion to Triple-A.
These rebirths defy prediction. Who will make it back this year? Good luck figuring that out.
But we can start by identifying some logical candidates who need to step up, based on their struggles of a year ago and the needs of their teams.
Here are nine National Leaguers whose performances are tightly intertwined with the fates of their teams.
Kemp played every game for the Dodgers last season, about as consistent as you can get. And while Kemp turned that into a career-high 28 home runs, he slumped in virtually every other department on a team that needs his power/speed combination to spark an offense that has lacked punch since Manny Ramirez
