DTBL News

Category: Awards

  • Memorial Day Awards Outlook


    Welcome to a slightly amended version of the 2015 DTBL Awards Outlook.  So as to differentiate the numbers and players I’m examining with what Kevin is doing, there will be three Awards Outlook articles this season.  This is the first; the second will follow at the All Star break, with the third at Labor Day.  These seem like reasonable benchmarks for the baseball season, landing on big holidays and milestones rather than doing it monthly.  Plus, this will allow Kevin to focus more on monthly aspects with his postings.

    That being said, these articles will focus on three things.  First, in a new addition, I’ll be listing the individual category leaders in all the hitting and pitching categories.  In this way, we can better track who’s been on point for an entire season, or if they’re more of a flash in the pan.  Second, I’ll be visiting the awards categories in the same fashion as last year, but instead of a top 5 ballot style listing, this year will focus only on the top two for each category.  Honorable mentions will go to players who are on the cusp, but can only knock on the door of being truly elite.  PAR and ESPN’s player rater will be relied upon as main benchmarks to set the awards leaders.

    Here are the DTBL category leaders through Memorial Day, 2015.

    • Batting Average: Dee Gordon, Gators – .376
    • Home Runs: Nelson Cruz, Gators – 17
    • Runs Batted In: Bryce Harper, Darkhorses – 41
    • Runs Scored: Bryce Harper, Darkhorses – 39
    • Stolen Bases: Dee Gordon, Gators – 17
    • Earned Run Average: Zack Greinke, Moonshiners – 1.48
    • WHIP Ratio: Zack Greinke, Moonshiners – .869
    • Wins: Felix Hernandez, Moonshiners – 7
    • Saves: Glen Perkins, Naturals – 16
    • Strikeouts: Corey Klueber, Demigods – 83

    Rookie of the Year:

    • Dallas Keuchel, Starting Pitcher, Moonshiners – .947 WHIP, 1.78 ERA, 5 W, 0 Sv, 39 Ks, 3.2 PAR
    • Jacob DeGrom, Starting Pitcher, Darkhorses – 1.114 WHIP, 2.75 ERA, 5 W, 0 Sv, 54Ks, 2.7 PAR

    Unlike last year, this year’s rookie crop doesn’t seem to be quite as strong overall.  Rookie pitchers definitely have an edge in this category over hitters, however, as exemplified by Dallas Keuchel and Jacob DeGrom.  DeGrom was a high draft pick, taken by the Darkhorses in the second round.  His stellar numbers were to be expected, and he is certainly not disappointing.  He adds another fine young arm to Darkhorses growing stable of them.  Keuchel, on the other hand, went undrafted.  He was the subject of a fierce free agent bidding battle after the first week of the season, and he has not disappointed the Moonshiners since, spinning a 9th overall pitching PAR after missing two starts during his time as a free agent.  He has settled in nicely as a very worthy third starter on the Moonshiners staff.

    Apologies go to Jake Arrieta of the Jackalope, Dellin Betances of the Mavericks, Marcus Semien of the Gators, and Brad Boxberger of the Darkhorses.

    Cy Young:

    • Max Scherzer, Starting Pitcher, Kings – .881 WHIP, 1.67 ERA, 5 W, 0 Sv, 72 Ks, 4.7 PAR
    • Felix Hernandez, Starting Pitcher, Moonshiners – .941 WHIP, 2.19 ERA, 7 W, 0 Sv, 63Ks, 4.6 PAR

    Cy Young is an extremely tight category at the top.  There’s separation between these two pitchers and the rest of the field, but very little separates Max Scherzer and Felix Hernandez.  King Felix has been everything the Moonshiners could ask for after a draft day trade, combining his usually stellar ratios with wins, unlike in seasons past.  He looks to maintain his place as the ace of a revamped Moonshiners staff for years to come.  Meanwhile Scherzer has rebounded from a “slow” start to the season, where a lack of run support led to some hard luck losses.  However, a move to the National League has worked wonders for his overall numbers, as the usual filthy strikeout numbers are now combined with ridiculous ratios.  This race will be one to watch for the entire season.

    Apologies go to Zack Greinke of the Moonshiners, Sonny Gray of the Jackalope, and Shelby Miller of the Kings.

    Most Valuable Player

    • Bryce Harper, Outfielder, Darkhorses – .333 Avg, 39 R, 16 HR, 41 RBI, 2 SB, 3.7 PAR
    • Paul Goldschmidt, First Baseman, Jackalope – .333 Avg, 34 R, 12 HR, 38 RBI, 8 SB, 3.6 PAR

    MVP may be an even tighter category between first and second place than even Cy Young.  Bryce Harper and Paul Goldschmidt do it all.  Goldschmidt provides a great blend of power (12 homers), speed (8 steals) and high average.  His continued journey into baseball’s elite is certainly a reason why the Jackalope felt comfortable parting with long time stalwart Albert Pujols during the draft.  Harper is finally tapping into his vast talent, playing at a level that finally meets the hype and Sports Illustrated covers.  He leads DTBL in runs and RBI, is one short in the home run category, and is also providing elite average.  Both players provide numbers that can carry any offense, have the Jackalope and Darkhorses sitting at the top of the DTBL standings, and can keep them there throughout the season.  Definitely the elite production that teams are looking for out of their superstars.

    Apologies go to Nelson Cruz of the Gators, Justin Upton of the Naturals, and Mike Trout of the Mavericks.

  • Players of the Month: April


    Welcome to a new monthly feature: the naming of a Batter and Pitcher of the Month. For some quick clarification, this is not the same thing as Mike’s monthly DTBL Awards outlook, which he has generously volunteered to do again this year. Those articles focus on cumulative performances of players throughout the season on the leading candidates for the three post-season awards. Look for his post-April review in the next couple days. Instead, this new feature is based solely on the stats accumulated in the month being reviewed. The Batter and Pitcher of the Month will be objectively selected as the players who accumulated the highest PAR for the month. I’m not going to write much about the award winners, especially this month, since Mike will probably cover the same guys in his article.

    In the near future, I’ll be posting a new page on the site which will list all of the yearly, monthly and weekly award winners. These honors will also eventually show up on the player pages. Behind the scenes, I’ve already been capturing Batter/Pitcher of the Week winners each week. Again, these winners are the players who accumulate the highest PAR during the week. Basically, they are the players who show up on the main page under “Week’s Best” after the Monday morning update. I’m not going to take the time to write articles for the weekly awards, but plan to do so for the monthly winners. FYI, here are the players who have won the Batter and Pitcher of the Week so far this year:

    Batters of the Week:
    Week 1 – Adrian Gonzalez, Darkhorses
    Week 2 – Nelson Cruz, Gators
    Week 3 – Mark Teixeira, Cougars

    Pitchers of the Week:
    Week 1 – Sonny Gray, Jackalope
    Week 2 – Jacob deGrom, Darkhorses
    Week 3 – Jake Arrieta, Jackalope

    Interesting enough, none of those players were the winners of the monthly awards. Here are the award winners for April 2015.

    Batter of the Month:
    Paul Goldschmidt, Jackalope
    .338 AVG, 5 HR, 20 RBI, 18 R, 5 SB, 1.65 PAR

    Pitcher of the Month:
    Felix Hernandez, Moonshiners
    1.82 ERA, 0.808 WHIP, 4 W, 0 SV, 36 K, 2.89 PAR

    It was a very tight race among the hitters. Goldschmidt barely edged out Adrian Gonzalez, Nelson Cruz and Jose Altuve. His combination of power and speed (5 HR, 5 SB) proved to be the difference. There were a whole bunch of pitchers who had great Aprils. Chris Archer was right there with Hernandez, with Gerrit Cole and Johnny Cueto not far behind.

  • Trout Finally Gets MVP Nod


    2014 was probably the worst year of Mike Trout’s three year DTBL career. His batting average dipped below .300 for the first time and he stole fewer than half as many bases as he had in each of his first two seasons. That’s not to suggest this wasn’t a great season for the Mavericks’ young phenom. He was still an elite player in every sense of the word. But I think I can safely say he is the first player to ever win his first MVP award in the worst season of his career to date (not counting rookies). It definitely hasn’t happened in this league. Mike Trout is the 2014 DTBL Most Valuable Player.

    Trout remains baseball’s best total package. His combination of hitting for average and power, base running, speed and fielding ability is unmatched. But prior to this year, he had been unable to grab the MVP award in the DTBL or the American League, mostly because of a guy named Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera understandably won the MVP award in this league the previous two years because Trout’s main prowess over him, his defensive ability, plays no role in fantasy baseball. But Cabrera didn’t have quite the same success at the plate this year, leaving the door open for Trout and others.

    Trout led the DTBL in batting PAR (7.91) and runs scored (115). His 36 home runs and 111 RBI were career highs and ranked third and second respectively in the league this year. It was batting average (.287) and stolen bases (16) where he took a bit of a step backwards from previous seasons, but even those numbers are well above league average. He was easily the Mavericks best offensive player again this year, leading them in AVG, HR, RBI and R. He was largely responsible for keeping the Mavericks offense among the best in the league on their way to a slightly disappointing third place finish. Yet the Mavericks can now claim the league’s best hitter and pitcher for 2014 with Trout joining Clayton Kershaw as award winners.

    Ever since the Mavericks selected Trout with their second round pick in 2012, he has proven to be one of the biggest steals in DTBL Draft history. In his brief career, he has put up gaudy numbers: .313 with 93 home runs, 97 stolen bases, 291 runs batted in and 352 runs scored in just three seasons. He has now finished in the top four of the MVP vote in each of his seasons. And this is the second award he has won, along with the unanimous selection as Rookie of the Year in 2012. He is also only 23 years old, so it would be very surprising if he wasn’t in the running for this award many, many times down the road. He and Kershaw figure to keep the Mavericks in the title hunt pretty much every year for the foreseeable future.

    It wasn’t quite a unanimous selection of Trout for MVP. He received nine of ten first place votes for a total of 97 points. Since I leave it up to each of you as to whether or not you wish to have your votes made public, I’m not going to say who didn’t have Trout #1, except I’ll give you a pretty big hint by saying it’s probably the last person you would have guessed. Although Trout wasn’t unanimous, his margin of victory was quite large. The next four closest competitors were more than 60 points behind, but within six points of each other. The Jackalope’s suddenly filthy-rich Giancarlo Stanton came in second place with 35 points despite only receiving one second place vote. The Naturals’ Victor Martinez received the lone first place vote that didn’t go to Trout, perhaps due to his value over every other catcher in the league. V-Mart was left off three ballots and finished with 34 points. The player who finished just behind Trout in batting PAR, Demigods second baseman Jose Altuve, only received a pair of second place votes and was left off four ballots, causing him to finish fourth with 32 points. Finally, the Cougars break-out star, outfielder Michael Brantley, rounded out the top five with 29 points, also receiving a pair of second place votes. Besides Trout, the voting was really all over the place. Even one player who didn’t finish in the top five, Miguel Cabrera, received a second place vote. Trout was the only player who appeared on all ten ballots.

    Click here to see the full Most Valuable Player award voting results.

    Usually, this MVP article is my last article of the year. But that’s not the plan this year. I’m going to start working on updating PAR numbers for previous seasons and will probably write about some of my findings along the way, particularly if I see the need to adjust my formulas. I would also like to chronicle the league PAR totals for each year and maybe take a look at how well the MVP and Cy Young voting meshed with the PAR results in past years. In addition to that, I also have other site enhancements planned for this winter. So be sure to check back on occasion. But until next time, have a great winter!

  • Kershaw Wins Cy Young Again


    2014 was the best year for pitchers in the DTBL’s 22 season history. The total league ERA of 3.31 was the lowest mark ever, easily besting the 3.39 combined ERA of 2011. So there was no shortage of great pitching in the league. Yet one player easily stood out among the rest. Despite hitting the disabled list following his first outing of the year, Clayton Kershaw returned as good as new and simply dominated for the next five months. Following a 2013 season in which Kershaw narrowly won the Cy Young award over Max Scherzer, he left no doubt who the winner would be this year. Mavericks ace Clayton Kershaw is the unanimous selection for the 2014 DTBL Cy Young award.

    This one really was a no-brainer.  Kershaw had one of the best seasons in league history.  He easily led the league in ERA and WHIP and also led the way with 20 wins.  His 1.77 ERA was the fourth lowest mark ever in the DTBL, even beating his minuscule 1.83 ERA from last year.  His 0.857 WHIP was the third best ever.  Only two DTBL pitchers have put up lower ERA and WHIP numbers in a single season:  Greg Maddux in 1995 and Pedro Martinez in 2000, which happen to be the first two players/years mentioned whenever people discuss the best pitcher seasons of the past quarter century.  More on Kershaw’s place in history with Maddux and Martinez in just a bit.  His early season injury prevented him from having a realistic shot at leading the league in all four starting pitcher categories, but his 239 strikeouts put him on the league leaderboard as well.

    This was Kershaw’s best season to date.  And that is saying something considering he has been nothing short of remarkable almost since the day he was drafted by the Mavericks in the sixth round in 2009.  Since his second season, he has never had an ERA over 3.00 or a WHIP over 1.200, numbers that would be a career bests for most pitchers.  Still only 26 years old, he already has 89 career wins with a 2.35 ERA, 1.018 WHIP and 1,296 strikeouts.  He easily holds the DTBL career records in ERA and WHIP among starting pitchers.  The Mavericks pitching staff wasn’t nearly as dominant as it was a year ago, but Kershaw obviously wasn’t to blame.  He was their best pitcher, as he has been pretty much throughout the entirety of his career.

    The scary thing is, Kershaw seems to keep getting better.  He has now finished in the top three of the Cy Young vote four years in a row.  But the last two years have been truly remarkable.  He joins Maddux and Martinez as clear cut leaders in terms of best back-to-back seasons for pitchers in the DTBL.  Maddux’s 1994 and 1995 seasons featured the two lowest ERAs ever.  Martinez wasn’t far off with his 1999 and 2000 campaigns.  And now Kershaw in 2013 and 2014.  It is too early to judge Kershaw’s ultimate place in history.  But it won’t be long before the conversation about pitching greats begins with those three…. and then moves on to everybody else.

    As mentioned, Kershaw was a unanimous selection for the Cy Young award.  It wasn’t due to a lack of solid competition though.  The Demigods’ Johnny Cueto rode a career year to a distant second place finish with 56 points, receiving half of the second place votes.  Jackalope ace Felix Hernandez received the other half of those second place votes and finished just one point behind Cueto.  The difference wound up being that Hernandez did not appear on one of the ballots.  Yesterday’s Rookie of the Year winner, Demigods’ Corey Kluber came in fourth place with 17 points.  It is interesting that Hernandez beat Kluber so easily after Kluber nabbed the AL Cy Young from King Felix.  But keep in mind that Kluber was in the minors for the Demigods for a few weeks in April.  There was a three way tie for fifth place, including the champion Naturals’ ace David Price and a pair of Cougars hurlers:  Adam Wainwright and post-season hero Madison Bumgarner.  All three received ten points.

    Click here to view the full Cy Young voting results.

    The big one will have to wait until next week.  I intend to announce the MVP winner on Monday evening.  Kershaw probably would have been a leading candidate for that one too, except we reserve that award for hitters in this league.  So who will it be?  Check back on Monday to find out!

  • Kluber Nabs Rookie of the Year


    Just a couple hours after winning the AL Cy Young award in a bit of an upset, Corey Kluber has his name attached to another honor.  The first year DTBL pitcher was, hands-down, the steal of this year’s draft.  Picked in the tenth round to provide some depth to a very strong Demigods rotation, Kluber wound up playing a leading role for a staff that put up some of the best numbers in league history.  His performance propelled him to the top of a very deep rookie class.  Corey Kluber is the 2014 DTBL Rookie of the Year.

    On a team with Yu Darvish, Johnny Cueto, Cole Hamels, Doug Fister and first round draft pick Jose Fernandez, Kluber had to wait his turn to become a fixture in the Demigods’ rotation.  He spent most of April in a minor league slot.  But after being activated in late April, he never looked back.  Despite not having the opportunity to put up a full season of stats, his numbers were still quite impressive.  He won 16 games with a 2.40 ERA, 1.089 WHIP and 241 strikeouts for the Demigods.  On most teams, those stats would have made him the obvious staff ace.  But he was slightly bested by Cueto in all four categories.  However, he easily led all DTBL rookies in wins, ERA and strikeouts and was second in WHIP.  His 11.5 pitching PAR was best among rookies as well and fourth among all pitchers.  His brief stint in the minors will probably keep him from being a serious contender for the DTBL Cy Young award, but he should receive plenty of consideration there as well.  Not bad for a tenth round pick.

    The Demigods seemed to have their rotation set well before Kluber was drafted.  Jose Fernandez was chosen with the third pick in the draft and was supposed to be the final piece in their loaded rotation.  But once Fernandez succumbed to Tommy John surgery in May, Kluber’s presence became absolutely essential.  Even without the young phenom Fernandez, the Demigods put together one of the best pitching seasons in league history.  Unfortunately for them, it wasn’t quite enough to beat out the Naturals for their first league title.  But Kluber played a key role in their best season ever and now appears to be an important piece of the puzzle moving forward as well.

    As mentioned, this was a pretty strong rookie class overall, especially among later round picks.  There were actually quite a few first round busts, at least for the 2014 season.  But some of the guys picked much later picked up the slack.  The Rookie of the Year voting was competitive, but Kluber won by a fairly comfortable margin.  He received seven first place and three second place votes for a total of 91 points.  His main competition for this award wound up being another draft steal, Naturals second baseman Anthony Rendon.  Rendon was a sixth round pick and rewarded the Naturals with a rookie leading 5.2 batting PAR.  He received the other three first place votes and was the only player besides Kluber to appear on all ten ballots.  He accumulated 75 points in finishing second.  In third place was Moonshiners third baseman Josh Donaldson.  Considered the favorite for this award through much of the season, Donaldson was clearly the most productive of this year’s first round picks.  He received 34 points.  Finishing fourth was the only other rookie pitcher who came anywhere near Kluber’s numbers, Darkhorses pitcher Julio Teheran, who received 30 points.  There was a sizable gap between those four and the rest of the pack.  But rounding out the top five were a pair of Athletics pitchers who tied for that spot with 10 points.  Jackalope youngster Sonny Gray and Kings closer Sean Doolittle were key contributors to their respective squads.

    Click here to view the full Rookie of the Year voting results.

    My plan is to announce the Cy Young award winner tomorrow (Thursday) evening with the MVP announcement coming early next week.  So be sure to check back soon for those results.

  • DTBL August Awards


    As we head into the home stretch, it’s time to take another look into the DTBL award leaders for August.  The races are starting to heat up as season totals begin to look more and more impressive, so for this month, I plan on making some loose predictions as to who I think has the best chance to win each award.

    So as to not potentially influence end of year ballots, this will be my last look at the award categories for this season.  For my end of the season article, I plan on taking a look at something I’ve found interesting through the year, so hopefully you’ll all take a look again then.

    Without further delay, here are the DTBL August Awards.  All stats are through August 31.

    ROY:

    1. Josh Donaldson, Moonshiners – .259 BA, 81 R, 26 HR, 88 RBI, 8 SB
    2. Corey Kluber, Demigods – 1.094 WHIP, 2.47 ERA, 11 W, 0 SV, 185 K
    3. Anthony Rendon, Naturals – .279 BA, 97 R, 18 HR, 72 RBI, 13 SB
    4. Billy Hamilton, Naturals – .267 BA, 70 R, 6 HR, 46 RBI, 54 SB
    5. Julio Teheran, Darkhorses – 1.069 WHIP, 2.90 ERA, 13 W, 0 SV, 160 K

    The ROY list through August features four familiar faces in Donaldson, Kluber, Hamilton, and Teheran, and one new one in Anthony Rendon. Rendon has been on fire lately and was leading DTBL in runs scored while putting up solid all around numbers through August. It is interesting to look back and see where these players were drafted. Donaldson and Hamilton were no brainer first round picks. Teheran went a bit later in the middle of the second round. Rendon is a bit of a surprise here, being a middle of the 6th round pick by the Naturals. However, the real surprise is Kluber, an early 10th round selection of the Demigods.

    If Kluber had spent the entire season in the Demigods rotation, he’d be likely to win the award in a walk. In spite of having to play catch up, though, he is definitely in the running, as any of he, Donaldson, and Rendon would make a fine ROY for 2014.

    Cy Young:

    1. Clayton Kershaw, Mavericks – 0.837 WHIP, 1.73 ERA, 16 W, 0 SV, 194 K
    2. Felix Hernandez, Jackalope – 0.909 WHIP, 2.23 ERA, 13 W, 0 SV, 205 K
    3. Johnny Cueto, Demigods – 0.971 WHIP, 2.26 ERA, 16 W, 0 SV, 205 K
    4. Madison Bumgarner, Cougars – 1.084 WHIP, 2.97 ERA, 16 W, 0 SV, 199 K
    5. Max Scherzer, Kings – 1.151 WHIP, 3.26 ERA, 15 W, 0 SV, 220 K

    The top three of this list, Kershaw, Hernandez, and Cueto, have been on this list most of the season. Miniscule ratios, big win and strikeout totals; they have it all, and could highlight any pitching staff. However, showing the volatility of pitching this year, the last two names on the list, Madison Bumgarner and Max Scherzer, both make their awards debuts. Like the rest of the pitchers, they feature great win and strikeout totals, even if their ratios aren’t quite up to par with the top three.

    That being said, this is Kershaw’s award to lose. Hernandez and Cueto have put up great numbers all year, but Kershaw has been on another level since his return from injury. One can only wonder what his year would have been like if he hadn’t missed all of April.

    MVP:

    1. Mike Trout, Mavericks – .290 BA, 92 R, 31 HR, 97 RBI, 13 SB
    2. Giancarlo Stanton, Jackalope – .292 BA, 83 R, 33 HR, 98 RBI, 10 SB
    3. Jose Altuve, Demigods – .336 BA, 73 R, 6 HR, 45 RBI, 49 SB
    4. Michael Brantley, Cougars – .310 BA, 81 R, 18 HR, 85 RBI, 17 SB
    5. Carlos Gomez, Demigods – .282 BA, 85 R, 21 HR, 65 RBI, 29 SB

    Arriving in the MVP discussion for the first time is Carlos Gomez, the only 20/20 player on this list. There’s a good chance he’ll share that distinction with Michael Brantley, who only needs 2 homers and 3 steals to join the club. Both players are here after the unfortunate injuries to Paul Goldschmidt and Andrew McCutchen who find themselves out of the top 5 as a result. Jose Altuve continues to quietly put together an amazing season, hitting for average, stealing loads of bases, and providing a bit of pop to go with it.

    In the end, though, the MVP should come down to two of the best young players in the game today. Giancarlo Stanton and Mike Trout. If Trout stole bases as often as he did when he first broke in to the majors, he’d be running away with this award. However, slowing down on the bases has left the door open for Stanton. The power, RBI, and batting average edge slightly Stanton, while the runs scored and speed slightly favor Trout. If the numbers remain this close at the end of September as they were at the end of August, we may be looking at the closest MVP vote since Albert Pujols squeaked out the victory over Carlos Gonzalez in 2010.

  • DTBL July Awards


    Perhaps it is a bit late for this article, seeing as how it’s already the second weekend of August, but it’s time to look back at the best of the best for July in DTBL. A lot has changed in the past ten days, so there’s a good chance of seeing a shakeup on this list at the end of the month. But, as all stats are through July 31, 2014, it will be good to acknowledge solid play before seasons were ruined by beanballs.

    Also, for this month, the focus will be on where the players’ stats rank in the DTBL leaders at each applicable category, to check in on just how dominant these players have been.

    Rookie of the Year:

    Julio Teheran, Darkhorses: 1.042 WHIP, 2.69 ERA, 10 W, 0 SV, 141 K
    Corey Kluber, Demigods: 1.067 WHIP, 2.57 ERA, 9 W, 0 SV, 142 K
    Josh Donaldson, Moonshiners: .247 BA, 72 R, 23 HR, 76 RBI, 4 SB
    Billy Hamilton, Naturals: .270 BA, 53 R, 6 HR, 40 RBI, 42 SB
    Sonny Gray, Jackalope: 1.180 WHIP, 2.65 ERA, 12 W, 0 SV, 121 K

    Teheran continues his rookie dominance, posting a 7th place WHIP, with ERA, win, and strikeout totals just missing out on the Top 10. Kluber marks the first appearance of a partial season player here, but he has been utterly dominant since arriving in the Demigods rotation. A 10th place WHIP, 9th place ERA, and one strikeout out of the Top 10 makes for quite the partial season performance. Josh Donaldson’s consistency sees him in a tie for 7th in home runs, a tie for 3rd in RBI, and a tie for 5th in runs scored, while Billy Hamilton’s otherworldly speed places him in a tie for 1st in that category to go with solid all around numbers for a speedster. Finally, Sonny Gray checks in in a 5 way tie for 4th in wins, while barely missing the leaderboard for ERA. Just missing from this list is Anthony Rendon, who was tied for the DTBL lead in runs scored with 75 at the end of July while also putting up solid numbers in all categories.

    Cy Young:

    Clayton Kershaw, Mavericks: .824 WHIP, 1.71 ERA, 13 W, 0 SV, 150 K
    Felix Hernandez, Jackalope: .889 WHIP, 2.01 ERA, 11, W, 0 SV, 178 K
    Johnny Cueto, Demigods: .916 WHIP, 2.05 ERA, 12 W, 0 SV, 166 K
    David Price, Naturals: 1.049 WHIP, 3.11 ERA, 11 W, 0 SV, 189 K
    Adam Wainwright, Cougars: .962 WHIP, 1.92 ERA, 13 W, 0 SV, 122 K

    These pitchers continue to light up radar guns and keep opposing players swinging and missing at incredible rates. Kershaw ranks first most everywhere – WHIP, ERA, and wins, and is 8th in strikeouts, a number that is a casualty of his time on the DL this spring. King Felix rates 2nd in WHIP, 4th in ERA, a tie for 9th in wins, and is 2nd in strikeouts. More of the same follows for the rest of these guys: Cueto ranks 4th in WHIP, 5th in ERA, tie for 4th in wins, and 5th in strikeouts; Price has turned things around to the tune of 8th in WHIP, tie for 9th in wins, and first in strikeouts; Wainwright checks in at 5th in WHIP, 2nd in ERA, and tied for first in wins. Honorable mention goes to Chris Sale, who ranks 3rd in both ERA and WHIP, like Kershaw, is hurt by being injured for part of the season.

    MVP:

    Mike Trout, Mavericks: .300 BA, 74 R, 24 HR, 76 RBI, 10 SB
    Jose Altuve, Demigods: .339 BA, 56 R, 4 HR, 33 RBI, 42 SB
    Giancarlo Stanton, Jackalope: .293 BA, 69 R, 25 HR, 73 RBI, 10 SB
    Paul Goldschmidt, Jackalope: .300 BA, 75 R, 19 HR, 69 RBI, 9 SB
    Andrew McCutchen, Naturals: .305 BA, 60 R, 17 HR, 64 RBI, 17 SB

    A thing to note about the MVP candidates this month is that they generally produce in all 5 categories. While the steal totals may not place all of them in the Top 10, they do provide that 5 tool fantasy output that all owners crave. Trout comes in at 3rd in runs scored, a tie for 3rd in RBI, and 6th in home runs. Altuve is tied for 1st in steals to go along with a 2nd place batting average. Stanton is tied for 10th in runs, 6th in RBI, and tied for 3rd in homers. Paul Goldschmidt, the first hit by pitch casualty of this list, was tied for first in runs scored and 10th in RBI, while Andrew McCutchen, the other hit by pitch casualty (or beaning casualty, if you prefer), while missing out on the top 10 in any category, has the best power/speed balance in DTBL. The hardest decision of the month, however, came down to McCutchen and Michael Brantley for the 5th spot, as his solid all around numbers (.316 BA, 71 R, 15 HR, 66 RBI, 12 SB) are definitely worthy of consideration.

    Comments? Disagreements? Have at it in the comment section.

  • DTBL June Awards

    We’re finally at the halfway point of the DTBL season, and it’s time to look at the best players up to this point. While a couple of players had ridiculous months that almost placed them in my top 5 list, I’ve decided to focus a bit more on consistency with my rankings. Sorry, Jose Altuve. I’ve again used ESPN’s Player Rater to help sort selections, particularly with Rookie of the Year. However, thanks to Kevin’s hard work with Points Above Replacement (PAR), I’ve used this stat to help with Cy Young and MVP ranks as well.To spice up the column a bit, and without giving away my entire ballot, you’ll find at the end my picks for All Star starters at every position, along with a closer. At the halfway point, it seems appropriate to recognize solid players who aren’t quite good enough to crack the top 5 at the end of year awards positions.

    ROY:

    1. Julio Teheran, Darkhorses – 0.950 WHIP, 2.34 ERA, 7 W, 0 SV, 103 Ks
    2. Josh Donaldson, Moonshiners – .248 BA, 57 R, 18 HR, 61 RBI, 3 SB
    3. Anthony Rendon, Naturals – .281 BA, 53 R, 12 HR, 46 RBI, 6 SB
    4. Yaisel Puig, Jackalope – .311 BA, 44 R, 11 HR, 45 RBI, 7 SB
    5. Billy Hamilton, Naturals – .281 BA, 40 R, 4 HR, 28 RBI, 34 SB

    The top three from May still reside here in the Rookie of the Year rankings. Julio Teheran has continued his stellar rookie season here in DTBL; more on him to come. Josh Donaldson and Yasiel Puig continue to put up big numbers. Anthony Rendon returns to this list after falling off in May, with 6 homers, 19 RBI, 18 runs, and a .310 batting average making up for a lackluster May.

    Unfortunately, Michael Wacha (injury) and Sonny Gray have fallen off this list for now. Brian Dozier and Corey Kluber’s full season numbers would easily be worthy of Top 5 consideration; however, their late entries to their team’s major league rosters continue to keep them off. Finally, Evan Gattis had a ridiculous June with a long hitting streak and 6 homers of his own, but he, too, has fallen victim to the injury bug.

    Cy Young:

    1. Felix Hernandez, Jackalope – 0.919 WHIP, 2.10 ERA, 10 W, 0 SV, 137 Ks
    2. Johnny Cueto, Demigods – 0.836 WHIP, 1.88 ERA, 8 W, 0 SV, 122 Ks
    3. Adam Wainwright, Cougars – 0.903 WHIP, 2.01 ERA, 10 W, 0 SV, 105 Ks
    4. Clayton Kershaw, Mavericks – 0.920 WHIP, 2.04 ERA, 9 W, 0 SV, 107 Ks
    5. Julio Teheran, Darkhorses – 0.950 WHIP, 2.34 ERA, 7 W, 0 SV, 103 Ks

    This list is largely unchanged from May, only seeing Clayton Kershaw’s utter dominance since returning from the DL replacing Zack Greinke. The superlatives of this group run long – top 5 in ERA. 5 of the top 6 in WHIP. Fantastic strikeout totals. Solid win amounts. Anyone in DTBL would be thrilled to have any of this quintet heading their rotation.

    That being said, there is no shortage of pitchers knocking on the door of this group. Greinke. Madison Bumgarner. Jon Lester. David Price. Max Scherzer. Yu Darvish. The overall pitching talent in DTBL may never have been better than it is now.

    MVP:

    1. Giancarlo Stanton, Jackalope – .313 BA, 57 R, 21 HR, 60 RBI, 7 SB
    2. Mike Trout, Mavericks – .314 BA, 54 R, 18 HR, 59 RBI, 10 SB
    3. Edwin Encarnacion, Mavericks – .278 BA, 55 R, 25 HR, 65 RBI, 2 SB
    4. Nelson Cruz, Gators – .281 BA, 48 R, 25 HR, 66 RBI, 1 SB
    5. Troy Tulowitzki, Naturals – .353 BA, 65 R, 18 HR, 47 RBI, 1 SB

    Another month, another top two finish for Giancarlo Stanton and Mike Trout. These two players have almost identical numbers; Stanton’s slight power edge gives him the nod here over Trout’s speed. Edwin Encarnacion, after just missing in May, rightfully shows up here with his prodigious power numbers; better counting stats gives him the edge over Nelson Cruz. Finally, Troy Tulowitzki, who’s been here from the beginning, continues to ride his Coors Field numbers to an outstanding season. Hard to argue with a .353 batting average in June.

    As I mentioned above, Jose Altuve raked in June. A .411 batting average. 17 steals. 11 runs and 9 RBI. He even missed three games. It was hard to leave him off this list, but consistency for the existing top 5 allowed them to hold on to their spots. If Altuve has a July even close to his June, he has a good chance of jumping into best of the best. Rounding out the just missed it group are Carlos Gomez, Michael Brantley, Paul Goldschmidt, and Victor Martinez. And, yeah, I’m still wondering when Miguel Cabrera will show up.

    Here are my All Star starters.

    American Divison:
    C: Victor Martinez, Naturals
    1B: Paul Goldschmidt, Jackalope
    2B: Ian Kinsler, Moonshiners
    3B: Josh Donaldson, Moonshiners
    SS: Troy Tulowitzki, Naturals
    OF: Giancarlo Stanton, Jackalope
    OF: Nelson Cruz, Gators
    OF: Jose Bautista, Choppers
    SP: Felix Hernandez, Jackalope
    CL: Craig Kimbrel, Choppers
    National Division:
    C: Jonathan LuCroy, Kings
    1B: Edwin Encarnacion, Mavericks
    2B: Jose Altuve, Demigods
    3B: Todd Frazier, Darkhorses
    SS: Hanley Ramirez, Darkhorses
    OF: Mike Trout, Mavericks
    OF: Carlos Gomez, Demigods
    OF: Michael Brantley, Cougars
    SP: Adam Wainright, Cougars
    CL: Trevor Rosenthal, Demigods

    Comments? Disagreements? Have at it in the comment section.

  • DTBL April Awards


    In the past, there have been regular features regarding a player and pitcher of the week here in DTBL.  Unfortunately, keeping up with that arrangement for a full season is difficult.  Instead, what I’m aiming to do is do an awards column every month.  The goal will be to feature the top 5 players for each of the big DTBL categories – Rookie of the Year (ROY), Cy Young, and Most Valuable Player (MVP).

    These won’t be monthly awards in that they’re honoring the top 5 every month.  Instead, they will be cumulative, to give a snapshot of who’s leading in the awards chase as the season goes on. In this way, it should be interesting to see who maintains their torrid starts, who drops off, and who comes on strong as the season goes along.

    With each category, you’ll find the 5 picks along with their stats. I’ll offer some brief commentary about the players involved, and comment on surprise players who don’t make the cut. I’ll rely on ESPN’s Player Rater for rankings if players are particularly close, and to help differentiate pitchers and hitters for ROY.

    All stats below are through April 30.

    ROY:

    1. Jose Fernandez, Demigods – 0.832 WHIP, 1.59 ERA, 4 W, 0 SV, 55 Ks
    2. Josh Donaldson, Moonshiners – .279 BA, 22 R, 7 HR, 23 RBI, 0 SB
    3. Sonny Gray, Jackalope – 1.146 WHIP, 1.76 ERA, 4 W, 0 SV, 37 Ks
    4. Anthony Rendon, Naturals – .316 BA, 19 R, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 1 SB.
    5. Julio Teheran, Darkhorses – 0.930 WHIP, 1.47 ERA, 2 W, 0 SV, 26 Ks

    In a decision that should surprise no one, Jose Fernandez claims the top spot in the ROY category. Stellar numbers across the board indicate no drop off from his stellar year last year. Josh Donaldson is one of the few bright spots on a dismal Moonshiners squad, as he’s proving worthy of his lofty draft selection. Sonny Gray’s numbers definitely overperform his draft slot; this holds true even more for Anthony Rendon, particularly as he gets bounced around various positions in the field. Finally, Julio Teheran’s ratio stats are incredible, with only wins and strikeouts holding him back from vaulting up the leaderboard.

    The surprises in this field are the disappointing starts from the top two picks, Wil Myers and Yasiel Puig. Puig is starting to heat up, but Myers is definitely struggling. In fact, rookie pitchers are far outstripping rookie hitters to this point, with Michael Wacha, Andrew Cashner, and others knocking on the door. Watch out for Brian Dozier as well; he’d be on this list if not for starting the season on the Moonshiner bench.

    Cy Young:

    1. Adam Wainwright, Cougars – 0.778 WHIP, 1.20 ERA, 5 W, 0 SV, 42 Ks
    2. Jose Fernandez, Demigods – 0.832 WHIP, 1.59 ERA, 4 W, 0 SV, 55 Ks
    3. Johnny Cueto, Demigods – 0.766 WHIP, 1.15 ERA, 2 W, 0 SV, 50 Ks
    4. Zack Greinke, Naturals – 1.047 WHIP, 2.04 ERA, 5 W, 0 SV, 46 Ks
    5. Francisco Rodriguez, Naturals – 0.769 WHIP, 0.00 ERA, 0 W, 11 SV, 17 Ks

    For Adam Wainwright, Jose Fernandez, and Johnny Cueto, their numbers speak for themselves. Stellar WHIPs and ERAs, tons of strikeouts. Zack Greinke is right there with them. For all these pitchers, the question is, can they stay healthy and maintain this success for an entire year?

    The real surprise on this list is the return of Francisco Rodriguez. Undrafted going into the year, the Naturals picked up K-Rod off the scrap heap after the first week, and what a signing he’s been. A miniscule whip, a perfect ERA, 11 saves, and 17 strikeouts. Who knows if this renaissance will last, but he’s definitely deserving of this space through April.

    There is no shortage of pitchers lurking in the shadows, however. Felix Hernandez and Max Scherzer both feature stats that wouldn’t look out of place here. On the flip side, Clayton Kershaw’s absence in April has probably doomed him from being considered for the award this year, while Stephen Strasburg’s ratios are uncommonly high.

    MVP:

    1. Troy Tulowitzki, Naturals – .364 BA, 24 R, 7 HR, 22 RBI, 0 SB
    2. Giancarlo Stanton, Jackalope – .269 BA, 19 R, 8 HR, 31 RBI, 2 SB
    3. Adrian Gonzalez, Darkhorses – .317 BA, 18 R, 8 HR, 24 RBI, 1 SB
    4. Mike Trout, Mavericks – .321 BA, 21 R, 6 HR, 18 RBI, 4 SB
    5. Albert Pujols, Jackalope – .279 BA, 21 R, 9 HR, 23 RBI, 1 SB

    Troy Tulowitzki’s tantalizing numbers show what he can do when healthy (and with the benefits of Coors Field). The question with him, as always: can he stay healthy? Giancarlo Stanton had a monstrous April with 8 homers and 31 RBI. One has to wonder what he could do in a smaller home park. Adrian Gonzalez has found his power again, smashing 8 homers in April; the same can be said for Albert Pujols and his 9 dingers. Of course, everyone knows what Mike Trout brings, and his inclusion on this list is no surprise.

    There is no shortage of players jockeying for position behind this quintet – Alexi Ramirez, Justin Upton, Jose Bautista, Nelson Cruz. And while Prince Fielder of the Moonshiners has been terrible with his move to Texas, the even bigger surprise is how off Miguel Cabrera has been. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him on this list next month, but 2 home runs through April is uncharacteristically poor for a two years removed from a Triple Crown.

    Questions? Comments? Grievances your player got left out? Feel free to leave your comments below.

  • Cabrera Named MVP Again

    Naturals third baseman Miguel Cabrera

    For the second straight year, the American League MVP vote caused a lively debate about the meaning of “value” and the use of new advanced stats to determine said value.  The end result, both years, was a MVP win for old school stat champion Miguel Cabrera over sabermetrician darling Mike Trout.  The debate was/is slightly different when it comes to fantasy baseball since fielding value is meaningless and base running only matters in terms of stolen bases and runs scored.  Trout received strong consideration for the DTBL MVP award last year, falling a little short.  But this year, he wasn’t even the second choice.  This wasn’t terribly surprising since almost the only reason why Trout was deemed more valuable than Cabrera by some is because the gap between the two players on defense was so enormous.  Again, fielding doesn’t matter in fantasy baseball, so for the second straight year, Naturals third baseman Miguel Cabrera is the DTBL Most Valuable Player.

    Had the 2013 season ended in August, even sabermetricians would have been on board with a Cabrera AL MVP, despite his defensive flaws.  But multiple injuries plagued him through the final month or so of the season, making him a shell of the player he had been up to that point.  A healthy Cabrera is simply the best hitter in baseball right now.  Although he did not threaten to win the triple crown this year like he did in the AL in 2012 (and came close in the DTBL as well), he still finished at or near the top of the league in four of the five offensive categories.  The one category he led, batting average, was the category that kept him from winning the DTBL triple crown last year.  Cabrera hit a robust .348, 25 points higher than any other player.  He hit 44 home runs and drove in 137 runs, bested by only Chris Davis in each category.  He finished third in the league with 103 runs scored.  Had he been healthy down the stretch, a .350/50/150 season was within reach.  But it is hard not to be impressed with his actual numbers.

    Cabrera has replaced Albert Pujols as the safest bet in baseball to put up obscene numbers year in and year out.  He has hit .320 or better in eight of his ten DTBL seasons, all with the Naturals.  Only once did he fail to hit 30 home runs (2006) and he has NEVER had a DTBL season with fewer than 100 RBI.  So basically, the worst season of his career was still better than what all but a handful of players did this year.  It bodes well for a team’s offense when they can pencil in a likely .320, 40, 130 from their best player every year.  Although the Naturals were unable to defend their title this year, Cabrera was obviously not the reason.

    The MVP vote was very interesting.  Cabrera won fairly comfortably, but he was not close to being a unanimous selection.  He was first on seven ballots, second on two and third on one for a total of 89 points.  Cougars outfielder Chris Davis had a huge breakout year, slugging 53 home runs and also leading the league in RBI.  He wound up leading the way among a pack of three players who fell a little short of winning the award.  Davis received two first place votes and four seconds, but was inexplicably left off one ballot.  However, it didn’t cost him first runner up status as he finished with 59 points.  Another breakout star, Jackalope first baseman Paul Goldschmidt finished third.  He accumulated 48 points, just barely edging out Trout’s 46.  Trout did receive one first place vote, but otherwise wasn’t strongly considered.  Like Davis, he was also surprisingly left off a ballot.  Finally, the biggest oddity of the vote was the fifth place finisher.  Not that he didn’t deserve to finish fifth, but it is strange to see the most consensus in the vote to be for a player finishing fifth.  Eight out of the ten voters believed Mavericks outfielder Adam Jones was the fifth most valuable player in the league.  Sure enough, he came in fifth with eight points.  Also interesting was NL MVP Andrew McCutchen receiving just two votes, putting him seventh.

    Click here to view the full MVP voting results.

    Thanks to everyone for getting your ballots submitted so quickly.  With that, we are now ready for winter.  Since most people seemed to prefer the late roster cut deadline we implemented last year, I think we will keep it that way permanently.  So the no-trade period will continue until after roster cuts are made in early February.  If you have ideas for 2014 rule changes, feel free to send them my way or get a discussion going on the message board (although site traffic will probably be very light the next few months).

    Have a great Thanksgiving!