Winning a fantasy baseball championship isn’t easy. Pretty sure we all know that. Not only do you need to have a strong draft, but the in-season work can be extensive, especially this year, given the rash of injuries we’ve seen. But while continuous research, savvy waiver wire work and successful trading all play important roles in the process, let’s face it, sometimes you need a little help from the fantasy gods. Every year, the gods look down upon the player pool and hand-pick a few guys for one of those seasons where you just can’t explain how or why the breakout occurs. The question is, who are those players and how do you get them onto your roster.

Last season, we witnessed a few of these instances in the form of Jonathan Villar, Eduardo Nunez, Melvin Upton, Jr. and Khris Davis all posted some of the best numbers of their careers, none of whom were expected to do so. Those fortunate to have landed any of them likely found the help on the waiver wire, though Davis and those 42 bombs probably came from the middle-late-rounds of most drafts. Getting those breakout stats was probably the reason behind several, if not most, championship teams.

This season, we’re seeing a few more of these inexplicable breakout campaigns. The Dodgers’ Chris Taylor and Astros utility-man Marwin Gonzalez both seem to fit the bill and are likely sitting on teams in the top third of your league standings. Neither of them were touted as viable options this past spring yet each has offered what can only be described as early-round return value.

Taylor’s breakout seems to be the most notable right now as he’s come out of the gate white-hot here in the second half. Through 10 games since the All Star break, Taylor is batting .525 (21-for-40) with two home runs, six RBI, nine runs scored and one stolen base, which has him batting .318 on the year with 12 home runs and 12 stolen bases. Excuse me? Where the heck did this come from?

While there was some buzz regarding Taylor while he was an up-and-comer in the Mariners system, his best assets were his position flexibility and decent speed. Not game-changing speed, but decent. His 12 steals this season seem to be on-par with what we may have expected if given the full opportunity he’s received since late April, but the power has come from out of nowhere. We could say left field since he qualifies there, but he’s actually been posting his .220 ISO from everywhere he’s played.

The regression monsters will look at his .422 BABIP and 20-percent HR/FB rate and opine that a drop-off is coming. Especially when you consider that 27.5-percent strikeout rate. However, how do you argue with the increased hard-contact rate and the fact that he’s spraying the ball to all fields? In fact, there’s plenty to like about his plate discipline in spite of the strikeout rate as he’s his outside swing rate is down from last season, as is his swinging-strike rate. A breakout like this can be very easy to dismiss, but there is still enough evidence to suggest that this power is both real and sustainable as he’s filled-out more physically here in his age-26 year. Again, like the aforementioned players from last season, sometimes an uptick in production can leave you scratching your head.

The Astros are having themselves a magical season as players like Jose Altuve, George Springer and, prior to his injury, Carlos Correa are all having strong years at the plate. Obviously, the hitting is contagious as Gonzalez has fallen in line with his teammates and is offering his fantasy owners tremendous production at what was, very likely, a bargain cost. He flashed some decent power potential back in 2015 when he smacked 12 home runs in 370 plate appearances, but after hitting just 13 in 518 appearances last year, there were no expectations of him coming into this season. A consummate utility man, Gonzalez didn’t even have a starting job heading into this year.

But along with a magical season for the Astros, there have been magical opportunities for Gonzalez. The early-season struggles of Yulieski Gurriel, Alex Bregman and Nori Aoki afforded him some extra playing time, while injuries to Josh Reddick and now Carlos Correa have kept him steady with every-day at-bats. The rewards have been abundant as Gonzalez has now crushed 18 home runs to date with a .318 average and even four stolen bases. Best of all, he qualifies at every position except for catcher. He’s been the ultimate plug-and-play without ever having to remove the plug. His plate discipline has been rock-solid, his swing-and-miss efforts have dramatically lessened and his trendy 2017 adjustments for an improved launch angle have enabled him to maintain this level of production all year. Inexplicable? Yes, but certainly not outlandish.

As number-crunchers and proponents of empirical evidence, it’s tough to fathom the inexplicable breakout. We all want to say we saw it coming, but sometimes it just happens and there’s nothing you can do but enjoy the ride. No one is looking at Gonzalez as a potential keeper next year and, to be honest, you shouldn’t be with Taylor either. There’s just too much working against him for a repeat full-season. But just like in the dating world, sometimes you have to accept Mr. (or Miss) Right Now and not worry so much about Mr./Miss Right.