This is my favorite time of year. The last week of the baseball season. The race is in sprint mode. Prospects are up giving a taste of next year. And I get to compile the year-end awards for the baseball season.
Enough chit chat, let’s get to it.
Big Waste of a Fantasy Pick Award (Pitcher)
AL – Justin Verlander – A ballooned 4.60 ERA and only 153 strikeouts don’t make up for the mediocre win total. Let’s all blame Kate Upton while oogling her Ice Bucket Challenge.
NL – Jose Fernandez – It really isn’t his fault, but Jose was taken in the third round in most leagues. But, the fact is his flame arm burnt out early and gave virtually no return.
Nominees – Cliff Lee, Gerrit Cole, Tommy Hunter, CC Sabathia, Matt Cain
Big Waste of a Fantasy Pick Award (Hitter)
AL – Prince Fielder – A round two pick got you a grand total of 3 homers and 16 RBIs before the prince was usurped by a neck injury.
NL – Carlos Gonzalez – For a guy who went mid-first round, you want more than half a season of stats and a batting average north of .250. Rocky mountain low, Cargo.
Nominees – Bryce Harper, Joey Votto, Jason Kipnis, Allen Craig
The Henry Rowengartner Rookie of the Year Award
AL – Jose Abreu – No big surprise here. I hate to give a foreign experienced player a rookie award but no one else shined from the American League.
NL – Justin De Grom. Slowly but surely, De Grom convinced fans he was legit. A rare bright spot on a bleak Mets season.
Nominees – Joe Panik, Kevin Kiemaier, Billy Hamilton, Chris Owings
The Marge Schott Worst Person in Baseball Award
AL – Derek Jeter – We get it. You’re retiring. No one minds the retirement tour, but do we have to suffer through your defense and general suckitude? You should have been a player-coach instead.
NL – Kirk Gibson – beaning guys is getting old and dangerous.
Nominees – no one else comes close
Most Frustrating Guy in Fantasy Award (A big tease)
AL – Brian McCann – all summer long you hoped he’d break his funk and start raking. All we heard was talk of him helping on defense, which doesn’t help any of us.
NL – Gio Gonzalez – so, so, so good when he was on. So often looking hurt… or actually hurt.
Nominees – Billy Butler, Shin Choo Shoo, Chris Davis, Carlos Santana
The Breakout Like a Zit Rash Award (Pitcher)
AL – Colin McHugh – From a forgotten, bad pitcher fighting for the fifth spot on the pathetic Astros, McHugh came out of nowhere to become a fantasy stud. 9.14 k/9 and a sub-3.00 ERA will land McHugh high up on rankings next year.
NL – Jake Arrieta – Shark who? The Cubs turned around a mediocre guy from a good team into a good pitcher on a mediocre team.
Nominees – Garrett Richards, Tanner Roark, Zach Britton, Wade Davis
The Breakout Like a Prison Riot Award (Batter)
AL – Michael Brantley – Brantley jumped up 5 WAR points this year thanks to a jump in power. No one saw it coming.
NL – Dee Gordon – It took two Dodgers coaches to get Gordon to become not only a decent everyday fielder but a guy who can get on base in order to become a stolen base champ.
Yeah You’re the Smartest GM Most Valuable Pick Award
AL – Kyle Seager – It is a toss-up over who was more anxious trying to figure out if Seager was legit all summer long – the Mariner fans or Seager owners? Both win! Not bad for a guy taken in the 14th round and was a top 50 player in most leagues.
NL – Johnny Cueto – Taken late in the 12th round, Cueto proved he was healthy and could thrive with a new approach. He ended up as a top 3 fantasy pitcher with 220+ strikeouts to prove it.
Nominees – Corey Kluber, Rick Porcello, Todd Frazier, Anthony Rizzo
You’re Dead to Me Award
AL – Josh Hamilton – We’re done with you. Collectively done.
NL – Ryan Zimmerman – I’m cutting my ties. Stop being hurt. Stop.
Nominees – Billy Butler, Ryan Howard, Dan Uggla, Tommy Hunter, Matt Cain
Diamond in the Rough Undrafted Studs
AL – Garret Richardson – Hopefully, if you were luckily enough to pick up Richardson you were lucky enough to use him during the playoffs.
NL – Anthony Rendon – A master of all things and a contributor to all. 20 homers, 16 swipes, a .286 average — all wrapped in a dual position threat. He was taken below Alex Guerrero, Mike Aviles, Kelly Johnson and Brad Miller.
Nominees – Charlie Blackmon, Corey Dickinson, Josh Harrison, Mark Melancon
Not Dead Yet Comeback Player of the Year
AL – Chris Young – Young hadn’t thrown more than 150 innings in the majors since 2006. This year he won 12 games despite everyone expecting the magic to stop with each pitch.
NL – Casey McGehee – Last year was spent in Japan. This year was spent hitting a respectful (but empty) .288.
Fantasy MVP
AL – Jose Altuve – what’s not to love? He did everything but hit homers. All due respect to Trout, but the difference between him and Altuve could be picked up by a higher drafted outfielder ahead of Jose.
NL – Carlos Gomez – Remember the silly talk wondering if last year was a fluke? Hahaha.
Nominees – Giancarlo Stanton, Nelson Cruz, Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon
Fantasy Cy Young
AL – Corey Kluber – 2.50 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 250 Ks is how you become beloved in rotisserie.
NL – Clayton Kershaw – Greatest pitching season in possibly decades.
Nominees – Felix Hernandez, Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto, Chris Sale
Real MVP
AL – Mike Trout – A major no-brainer.
NL – Giancarlo Stanton – will give it to the bat over the Claw.
Real Cy Young
AL – Felix Hernandez. Hail to the King, baby.
NL – Clayton Kershaw. A bit of an anti-climatic pick. Instead of yawning, imagine his numbers if he didn’t have that blow-up game against the Dbacks when he gave up 7 runs in less than 2 innings.
Brian Reddoch is a CraveOnline reporter and rabid fan of all teams Seattle. You can follow him on Twitter @ReddReddoch or “like” CraveOnline Sportson Facebook.
Photo Credit: Getty
