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DTBL April Awards

Saturday, May 3rd, 2014

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.

Posted in Awards, Cougars, Darkhorses, Demigods, Jackalope, Mavericks, Moonshiners, Naturals | No Comments »

A Painful Start

Tuesday, April 29th, 2014

Darkhorses pitcher Matt Moore

For several years now, it has felt like the number of injuries has been on a steady rise in Major League Baseball. I’m sure there are facts to back this up, but I’m so certain of it, I’m not going to waste my time researching it. (That, and I’m lazy.) This year, we’ve reached a new high (or should I say low?). The number of players who have been sidelined due to injuries in the first four weeks of the season is staggering. Actually, this all started well before Opening Day. In March, at least a half dozen pitchers had their seasons end prematurely due to torn ligaments in their elbows. Several other pitchers have been added to that list since the season started. And now position players are dropping like flies as well. The only good thing about these injuries is that no team has been immune. Of course, the level to which each team has been decimated varies greatly. And to a slight degree, this is reflected in the current league standings.

It would be a lot quicker to list the DTBL teams who have not lost a player for the remainder of the season due to an injury. There are only three: the Choppers, Gators and Naturals. But even those three have been dealing with injuries to key players. Particularly the Choppers who just got Adrian Beltre back while Chris Sale remains disabled for at least another week and Mark Trumbo figures to miss at least another month. Those are three of their top players. The Gators are about to get Hisashi Iwakuma back in their rotation for the first time this season and they are dealing with some minor injuries to offensive players as well. The Naturals have probably been the luckiest team in the league, from a health standpoint. But even they currently have three players on the DL.

It’s kind of a disaster for the rest of the league. The two top teams from last season have both been dealing with all sorts of pitching injuries. The Mavericks knew they would be without Matt Harvey this year. But losing Clayton Kershaw after one start was a huge blow. Meanwhile, Mat Latos and Taijuan Walker are yet to make their season debuts. Same for Manny Machado offensively. The good news for the Mavericks is that all of those players are expected to return soon. The Kings may not have had as significant of injuries early on, but the sheer volume is starting to catch up to them now. Anibal Sanchez and Jason Grilli hit the DL last week, joining teammates Ryan Zimmerman, Michael Cuddyer and Nate Jones. They also lost two draft picks to Tommy John surgery within days of their selections: Patrick Corbin and David Hernandez, who both happen to play for the Diamondbacks as well. Several other Kings are dealing with day-to-day injuries too. It isn’t pretty.

The Cougars also lost a pair of pitchers to torn elbow ligaments: Kris Medlen and Josh Johnson. They are currently dealing with injuries to two of their top sluggers in Chris Davis and Josh Hamilton. Casey Janssen hasn’t pitched yet this year either. Then there are the Darkhorses who have managed to remain near the top of the standings despite another Tommy John casualty in Matt Moore. Mike Minor will finally take a big league mound for the first time this season later this week. But their biggest blow may have come this past weekend when Bryce Harper tore a ligament in his thumb and will be out until at least early July. Oh, Russell Martin is on the DL for them too.

How about the Demigods? Well, things were looking bleak in March when Doug Fister, Cole Hamels and Johnny Cueto were all dealing with injuries. But Cueto has been excellent and Hamels is back now too. Fister should return next week. So all in all, they are in decent shape. Except they too lost a pitcher, Bobby Parnell, to a torn UCL. Kole Calhoun is currently out with an ankle injury as well. The Jackalope are hopeful about the return of Aroldis Chapman who suffered quite possibly the most gruesome injury of the spring when he took a line drive to the head. On the other hand, Avisail Garcia is out for the year with a torn labrum and Jurickson Profar won’t make his season debut for at least another month. Finally, we have the Moonshiners. Just one season ending injury for them: Brandon Beachy who has undergone Tommy John surgery for the second time in three years and has pitched just 111 innings since the Moonshiners drafted him in 2012. They are also without second round pick Wilson Ramos who is recovering from a broken hand.

So there you go. That’s a pretty staggering list of injuries, but there are actually plenty of others I didn’t mention who are currently injured or have already returned from previous DL stints, including a whole bunch of current free agents. Everyone has their own theory on why all of these injuries are occurring, particularly when it comes to the torn elbow ligaments of pitchers. I don’t think there is a conclusive theory out there yet though. I certainly hope some of the best minds in sports medicine and therapy will be able to figure this out eventually, because it is taking a toll on the sport to see so many of the best players having full seasons in the middle of their primes completely wiped out.

There is a little bit of good news though. Injuries usually peak early in the season and settle down as the year goes on. So there is hope for that to occur this year too. But there are already a whole bunch of players who won’t be returning until 2015. Let’s all hope for a healthier May.

Posted in Choppers, Cougars, Darkhorses, Demigods, Gators, Jackalope, Kings, Mavericks, Moonshiners, Naturals | No Comments »

2014 Season Preview: Part IV

Sunday, March 30th, 2014

Kings outfielder Carlos Gonzalez

We’ve reached the final part of the 2014 DTBL season preview. Now it’s time to examine the two teams who are projected to finish at the very top of the standings. This has a familiar ring to it. A year ago, the Mavericks and Kings were projected to finish in the top two spots, with the Mavericks winning the title. How did it turn out? Well, they were the best two teams in the league, but the Kings just barely hung on for a one point victory. So here we are and the Mavericks and Kings are once again projected to be the league’s two best teams. They have been the two consistent title contenders for the past couple years. Not surprisingly, they look like strong contenders again this year. But will they be the league’s two best teams again this season? And who will enter the year as the pre-season favorite? Here are the final projections.

Marc’s Mavericks

Category – Projected Rank (2013 Rank)

Batting Average – 6th (7th)
Home Runs – 2nd (3rd)
Runs Batted In – 3rd (6th)
Runs Scored – 1st (2nd)
Stolen Bases – 4th (6th)
Earned Run Average – 1st (1st)
WHIP Ratio – 5th (1st)
Wins – 8th (4th)
Saves – 8th (2nd)
Strike Outs – 4th (1st)
Total Batting Points – 2nd (5th)
Total Pitching Points – 5th (1st)
Total Points – 2nd (2nd)

Summary:

No surprise to see the Mavericks in this spot, but how they are projected to get here is a little peculiar. Last year, the Mavericks had quite possibly the best pitching staff in league history. They broke records in ERA and WHIP on their way to a league high 46 pitching points. Their offense was middle of the pack though. This year, it’s their offense that is projected to be their strength. There is an explanation for this switch, but I’m not sure I’m buying it. Even though Matt Harvey may not pitch this season, their rotation is still unbelievably loaded with Clayton Kershaw, Stephen Strasburg, Mat Latos and newcomers Gerrit Cole and Zack Wheeler. They are dealing with some injuries to this rotation right now, but assuming those don’t linger, they are a strong bet to have the league’s best rotation again. The Mavericks have earned a reputation as the team most willing to take chances on young prospects in the draft. This year, they took it to a new level though. Every one of their first six draft picks made their MLB debuts last season. How many of these six players wind up panning out will probably determine their fate because they will be counting on all of them this year. Perhaps for comedy’s sake, they drafted Derek Jeter in the 11th round. He is approximately the same age as their first six picks combined. Anyway, these projections like the offense the Mavericks have assembled. With Mike Trout and company, that makes perfect sense. After a bunch of near misses, the Mavericks are a solid pick to win their first title since 2006.

Kevin’s Kings

Category – Projected Rank (2013 Rank)

Batting Average – 1st (3rd)
Home Runs – 3rd (2nd)
Runs Batted In – 1st (2nd)
Runs Scored – 3rd (1st)
Stolen Bases – 6th (3rd-T)
Earned Run Average – 6th (5th)
WHIP Ratio – 6th (3rd)
Wins – 1st (1st-T)
Saves – 3rd (9th)
Strike Outs – 1st (2nd)
Total Batting Points – 1st (1st)
Total Pitching Points – 2nd (3rd)
Total Points – 1st (1st)

Summary:

The defending champs are projected to repeat in 2014. The Kings broke a ten year title drought last season and appear to have the talent necessary to win again. They have a strong roster from top-to-bottom and are slated to once again lead the league in batting points, but with a slightly better pitching staff this year. The main reason for the pitching uptick is the bullpen. They have a good chance to finish much higher in saves, although these projections are assuming Nate Jones will be given the White Sox closer job, which isn’t a sure thing. Shelby Miller will try to fit in with the Tigers trio of Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Anibal Sanchez. Scherzer and Sanchez may have trouble duplicating the career years they had in ’13, but Verlander can certainly do better. On the batting side of things, the Kings have retained the entire core of the group that easily led the league in batting points last year. Plus, they have reacquired several former Kings: Norichika Aoki, Michael Cuddyer and Coco Crisp. Billy Butler will attempt to solidify the one weak spot for the Kings in recent years, first base. Despite having the best offense in the league last year, the Kings did not have a true MVP candidate. That could change this year if Carlos Gonzalez can stay healthy for a full season. It will be interesting to see if the change of scenery has a negative effect on Robinson Cano’s fantasy value. The projections have the Kings winning the league by a healthy 11 points. That seems very unlikely, but a second straight championship is certainly a reasonable expectation.

Here is a table containing the full projected standings and team totals in each of the 10 categories. One thing that sticks out to me is the huge gap between the top five and bottom five teams in batting points. It probably won’t actually turn out this way, but that does indicate quite a delineation between the haves and have-nots in hitting heading into the season. Pitching projections tend to be much less reliable.

So that’s it. I hope you found these previews to be interesting. As I watch the snow fall outside, it is hard to believe tomorrow is Opening Day, but boy am I thankful for that. Happy Opening Day to all of you!

Posted in Kings, Mavericks | No Comments »

Bold New Faces

Thursday, March 6th, 2014

Jackalope outfielder Yasiel Puig

Baseball is supposed to be fun. The first few players taken in the DTBL Draft all seem to understand that. Besides their prodigious talent, what these guys have in common is a youthful exuberance that occasionally rubs their opponents, and sometimes even their teammates, the wrong way. But only a curmudgeon who insists that the unwritten rules of the game be followed to a T wouldn’t enjoy watching these guys play. And when it comes to fantasy baseball, you definitely want them on your team.

The 22nd Annual DTBL Draft kicked off Wednesday morning. Almost exactly 24 hours later, the first round was complete. The round featured as strong of a set of young talent as we’ve seen in quite some time. Perhaps there have been stronger drafts at the very top spot or two, but the number of young superstars taken in this draft so far has been quite impressive, and should keep the draft entertaining for several more rounds.

The Jackalope kicked things off by selecting the Cuban phenom, outfielder Yasiel Puig. Yes, Puig Mania has made its way to the DTBL. It took Puig all of about a week after making his MLB debut last summer before he became the talk of the league. From the monster home runs, mind-boggling throws and blazing sprints around the bases, Puig proved himself to be the definition of a five tool player. Sure, some of those tools are easier to harness than others. But there is nothing he can’t do on a baseball field. Really, the only thing that kept him from being a complete no-brainer with the first overall pick was the Jackalope’s already full outfield and perhaps a small worry about a second year flame-out. But the decision to take Puig couldn’t have been too difficult. In just four months in the big leagues, he hit .319 with 19 home runs and 11 stolen bases. Most years, he would have been an absolute lock for Rookie of the Year with those numbers, but we’ll get to why that was not the case in a bit. The sky is the limit for this guy.

With the second pick, the Gators took another young phenom outfielder in Wil Myers. Prior to last season, he was traded from Kansas City to Tampa Bay before making his big league debut, a very rare occurrence for such a highly touted prospect. Once he got the call to Tampa, he did not disappoint. He slugged 13 home runs in 335 MLB at bats on his way to winning the AL Rookie of the Year award. Myers is probably the biggest power prospect in this draft. He doesn’t have Puig’s speed or flare, but he already looks the part as a middle of the order power hitter. He will join a Gators offense which has gone through a remarkable makeover the past two years. He joins Yoenis Cespedes, Starling Marte and Leonys Martin in a very exciting and young Gators outfield.

Trivia question: which team finished second to the Kings in batting points last year. Unless your name is Dom, you probably didn’t know the answer is the Demigods. Only a truly dreadful pitching staff relegated them to an eighth place finish rather than being a title contender. But was their pitching staff really that bad, or just a bit unlucky? Well, Johnny Cueto missed a majority of the season with an injury. Cole Hamels only won eight games despite excellent peripheral numbers. Doug Fister was his usual solid, underrated self. And Yu Darvish was one of the best pitchers in baseball. Enter the third pick in the draft, Jose Fernandez. For the second straight year, the Demigods acquired the best strikeout pitcher in the draft with their first pick (Darvish last year). Fernandez had an absolutely phenomenal rookie campaign for the Marlins. 12 wins, a sub 1.0 WHIP, 2.19 ERA and 187 strike outs. He beat out Puig to win the NL Rookie of the Year award. The addition of Fernandez could turn the Demigods league worst pitching staff into one of the best. I know there is a long way to go in this draft, but if you are looking for a sleeper team this year, the Demigods would be a solid bet.

Here are three awesome GIFs of the top three draft choices enjoying their home runs… yes, including the pitcher Fernandez. Wait, Puig’s was actually a triple, which makes it even better. Which one is your favorite?

The fun didn’t end with the first three picks though. With the fourth pick, the Moonshiners elected to go with the best available player, third baseman Josh Donaldson. Last year, Donaldson pretty much came out of nowhere to become a MVP candidate, or at least he would have been if we lived in a world where Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout didn’t exist. He hit .301 with 24 home runs and 93 RBI. Although he figured to be an early draft pick, the Moonshiners are a bit of a surprise suitor since they already have David Wright and Kyle Seager at the hot corner. But all of them figure to be on their Opening Day roster. Donaldson should provide a solid boost to a strong core of Moonshiners hitters.

With the fifth pick, the Darkhorses went even younger, taking 21 year old third baseman Xander Bogaerts (he’s a couple months younger than Fernandez). 2013 was quite a year for Bogaerts. He progressed from highly touted AA prospect, to MLB utility player, to World Series starting third baseman. Bogaerts is considered an elite prospect because of his bat and his glove. The former makes him an attractive fantasy prospect as well, especially since he will likely shift over to shortstop next year. This is the kind of pick that is becoming the norm in the first round of DTBL drafts. Highly ranked prospects don’t stay on the board very long, no matter how little experience the player has.

The Cougars were the only team to pick a non-DTBL rookie in the first round. They selected outfielder Domonic Brown with the sixth pick. Despite only being 26 himself, Brown is actually three years removed from his one year of DTBL experience. He was a disappointment in that year with the Demigods and was starting to look like a bust of a former big time prospect until his breakout 2013 season. He slugged 27 home runs with 83 RBI for the Phillies. In the previous three seasons, he hit just 12 homers while bouncing up and down between MLB and AAA. But now he appears to be here to stay and should give the Cougars a solid power boost in their outfield.

There was no first round pick with a wider boom-to-bust potential than the Naturals selection of speedy outfielder Billy Hamilton with the seventh pick. Either Hamilton is going to win stolen bases for the Naturals by himself by being an every day top of the order hitter, or he is going to be too much of a liability with the bat that the Reds will use him almost exclusively as a pinch runner or send him back to the minors. There’s almost no in between for him. But if there is a team that can afford to take this gamble, it is the Naturals. They have guys like Miguel Cabrera, Joey Votto, Andrew McCutchen and Troy Tulowitzki who will pretty much assure them of finishing high in the power categories, allowing them to play a one dimensional player. But that one dimension could be unlike anything this league has ever seen. Hamilton has stolen over 85 bases in each of his three full professional seasons and stole 13 bases in his first 13 major league games (with just 22 plate appearances!) This is going to be fun to watch.

With the eighth pick, the Choppers selected second baseman Matt Carpenter. He was sort of the NL version of Donaldson, suddenly breaking out of nowhere to become a MVP candidate. He hit .318 and led all of baseball in hits (199), runs scored (124) and doubles (55). He doesn’t have great power or speed, but his high extra base totals led to plenty of RBI as well (78), making him an elite three category player. If some of those doubles start going over the wall, his value could soar even more. The Choppers were the surprise team of ’13 and appear primed to make a serious run at the title this year. Carpenter should help them in that endeavor.

The first round ended with two more young pitchers going off the board. The Mavericks grabbed Gerrit Cole with the ninth pick. The first overall pick of the 2011 amateur draft, Cole reached the big leagues for the Pirates last summer and pitched extremely well. In fact, he only got better as the season progressed. Some were a little concerned by his mediocre strike out rate in AAA, but he was actually more effective in that regard in the majors. And throwing his fastball in the high 90′s, it is hard to imagine him not continuing that trend this season. This year, he will try to replace Matt Harvey as best he can for the Mavericks. But in 2015, a rotation of Harvey, Cole, Clayton Kershaw, Stephen Strasburg and Mat Latos almost sounds unfair to the rest of the league.

Finally, the Kings concluded the first round by taking pitcher Shelby Miller. For the first few months of the year, Miller was one of the best pitchers in baseball and appeared well on his way to the NL Rookie of the Year award until Fernandez and Puig burst onto the scene and stole his thunder. Miller faded a bit in the second half and then was almost unheard from in October for the Cardinals. But that was probably the result of going well past his previous career high in innings and maybe the Cardinals being a little cautious as well. If he can put together a full season that resembles the first half of 2013, he will quickly become one of the league’s elite pitchers.

For the first time in six years, no first round picks were traded. On a related note, it was the first year in quite some time that the Mavericks didn’t make multiple first round selections. But there was one trade completed during the round. The Kings dealt second baseman Ben Zobrist to the Gators for outfielder Michael Cuddyer. This was a trade of excess pieces for both teams. After drafting Myers, the Gators had six outfielders on their roster while the Kings had four middle infield keepers. So this trade made sense for both sides to fill other needs. Zobrist has bounced between several positions in recent years, but has returned to the infield this year where he is much more valuable. He will provide the Gators with solid power and speed at a very thin position. Meanwhile, Cuddyer returns to the Kings squad that drafted and then cut him just a couple years ago. Cuddyer is coming off the best year of his career, hitting .331 with 20 home runs in 2013.

The first round was certainly a lot of fun. Let’s see what the rest of the draft brings us.

Posted in Choppers, Cougars, Darkhorses, Demigods, Draft, Gators, Jackalope, Kings, Mavericks, Moonshiners, Naturals | 4 Comments »

Kershaw Narrowly Wins Cy Young

Friday, November 15th, 2013

Mavericks pitcher Clayton Kershaw

The 2013 AL and NL Cy Young awards were no-brainers. Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw stood out among their peers in their respective leagues. Both had outstanding, career-best seasons. The Kings’ Scherzer had the advantage over Kershaw in wins and strikeouts, while Kershaw led the way in ERA and WHIP. In a very tight vote, Mavericks lefty Clayton Kershaw is the 2013 DTBL Cy Young award winner.

Kershaw is just the fifth starting pitcher in DTBL history to post a sub-2.00 ERA in a single season. Greg Maddux and Pedro Martinez accomplished that feat twice while Kevin Brown and Roger Clemens did it once each. Kershaw’s 1.83 ERA was the lowest total the league has seen since Pedro in 2000 and is the fifth lowest mark ever. Needless to say, he obliterated the rest of the league in that category this season, more than 8/10 of a run better than any other pitcher. He easily led the league in WHIP too, at 0.915. Both totals are Mavericks single season records. What kept the Cy Young race tight was the fact that he “only” won 16 games, but even that was fifth best in the league. His 232 strikeouts trailed only Yu Darvish and Scherzer.

This is Kershaw’s first DTBL Cy Young award, but he came very close each of the last two years. A sixth round pick of the Mavericks in 2009, Kershaw burst into the upper echelon of pitchers in his second season in the league in 2010. This was his fourth consecutive season with an ERA under 3, a WHIP below 1.2, at least a dozen wins and over 200 strikeouts. Putting up those numbers once is pretty impressive, but doing it four years in a row puts him among the elite pitchers in league history. Prior to this year, his previous best season was in 2011 when he set career highs in wins (21) and strikeouts (248) while posting a sub 1.0 WHIP. With numbers like that, he would have won the Cy Young most seasons, but finished second to Justin Verlander that year. He followed it up with a third place finish a year ago. But now the award is his.

Kershaw was the ace of the league’s best pitching staff this year. The Mavericks blew away the rest of the league with their 46 pitching points. Kershaw was obviously a big part of that, as he has been for several years now. He is the Mavericks franchise career leader in ERA and WHIP, but still has a ways to go to catch Johan Santana in wins and strikeouts. Kershaw, Stephen Strasburg and Matt Harvey give the Mavericks quite a core to lead their rotation for years to come.

The Cy Young vote was extremely close, perhaps indicating a split between those who value wins and those who don’t (as much). Kershaw received six of the ten first place votes and was placed second on the other four ballots, for a total of 88 points. Scherzer, who led the league with 21 wins, received the other four first place votes and tallied 80 total points. Nine of the ten ballots had Kershaw and Scherzer in the top two spots. The only other player to receive a second place vote was Rookie of the Year winner Yu Davish. The Demigods ace finished third in the vote with 44 points and appeared third on six of the ballots. Cougars veteran Adam Wainwright received a bulk of the fourth place votes and did indeed finish fourth in the voting with 29 points. All of these four pitcher appeared on at least nine ballots. The fifth place votes were much more diverse. Choppers closer Craig Kimbrel rounded out the top five with ten points. You could put together a pretty impressive list of pitchers who didn’t even receive a single vote, which is a pretty good indication of just how many pitchers had stellar 2013 seasons.

Click here to view the full Cy Young voting results.

Check back on Monday night to see who will win the 2013 DTBL Most Valuable Player award. Will it be Cabrera vs. Trout, Round 2, or will Chris Davis crash the party?

Posted in Awards, Mavericks | No Comments »

Best of the Rest

Wednesday, October 16th, 2013

Choppers relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel

Through most of the 2013 DTBL season, there was a fairly obvious line of demarcation between the contenders and the also-rans. Four teams had legitimate title aspirations most of the season, while the other six were left to build for the future. The Mavericks, Choppers and Naturals were not able to win the league, but to varying degrees, 2013 was a good season for them.

For the second consecutive year, the Mavericks missed winning the league championship by a single point. And the similarities between 2012 and 2013 don’t end there for the Mavericks. Just like 2012, they were the best team in the league in the second half of the season and possibly would have won both years if the season was a week longer. They erased the Kings double digit lead and briefly took over first place at the end of August. But injuries to key players down the stretch eventually did them in. A couple of those injuries could have a lingering effect on their 2014 campaign as well. They had to finish the season without the services of three of their best players: Matt Harvey, Manny Machado and Edwin Encarnacion. Since the season ended, the news hasn’t gotten any better regarding Harvey and Machado. Harvey eventually succumbed to Tommy John surgery and probably will not pitch next year. Machado underwent knee surgery that may not have him back in time for Opening Day. Encarnacion’s injury was less serious, but couldn’t have come at a worse time. He led the Mavericks in home runs and, at the time of the injury, was also the club leader in RBI.

Although they didn’t win the title, the 2013 Mavericks can lay claim to a couple impressive distinctions, arguably including the greatest pitching staff in league history. They broke the league record for lowest team ERA and WHIP. Their 2.63 club ERA smashed the record previously held by the 2011 Jackalope (2.83). In WHIP, they also bested the ’11 Jackalope mark 1.05 to 1.12. They were well on their way to breaking the strikeout record as well before the Harvey injury, but wound up falling nine strikeouts short of the total by the 2007 Mavericks. It is hard to imagine another team besting those team ERA and WHIP totals anytime soon. Harvey, Clayton Kershaw and Stephen Strasburg helped make up one of the most dominating rotations ever assembled. Kershaw and Harvey finished 1-2 in both ERA and WHIP. The offense wound up being a bit of a disappointment though, and ultimately was the reason they didn’t win the league. They will look to improve that group next year, particularly since it seems unlikely they will be able to duplicate this pitching performance.

Besides the Kings, the Choppers were probably the team most pleased with their 2013 season. They finished the season in third place, a height in which they had not reached since 2001. In fact, this is the first time they have finished in the top half of the standings since 2006. This was no fluke. They made significant improvements to their offense, and especially their pitching, to finish just nine points out of first place.

The Choppers led the league in home runs, RBI and saves. The saves title was extremely interesting since they spent a good portion of the year with a starting pitcher occupying one of their bullpen slots (Alexi Ogando). But Craig Kimbrel and Mariano Rivera more than made up for that. Their rotation was sneaky good as well. None of these guys got serious Cy Young hype, but Chris Sale, C.J. Wilson, Clay Buchholz, Jon Lester and Jarrod Parker all had outstanding seasons. The staff accumulated 37 pitching points, only exceeded by the record breaking Mavericks. The Choppers offense wasn’t too shabby either. Finishing on top of the league in HR and RBI was a true team effort. Seven different Choppers hit at least 20 home runs while eight guys had 70+ RBI. Pedro Alvarez led the team in both categories (36, 100), and he was nearly matched by Mark Trumbo (34, 100). Also, Jayson Werth was one of the best hitters in the league in the second half of the season. This was a huge stepping stone season for the Choppers. They should enter 2014 as one of the top title contenders.

It is almost always a disappointment for a defending champion when they are unable to successfully defend that title. So the Naturals probably won’t remember this season fondly. However, this year’s squad really wasn’t that much worse than the team that won it all in dramatic fashion a year ago. In 2012, the Naturals won the league with 70.5 points. This year, they only dropped a handful of points down to 66, but that put them in a distant fourth place. Their offense actually earned them more points than a year ago. But because of the emergence of a few other teams’ pitching staffs, the Naturals took a bit of a dive.

Just like last year, the Naturals offense was carried by strong MVP candidate Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera led the league in batting average and finished second behind Chris Davis in both home runs and runs batted in. Interestingly enough, it was batting average that kept him from winning the DTBL triple crown a year ago, a feat he did accomplish in the American League in ’12. Andrew McCutchen further entrenched himself as one of the game’s best hitters this year too. But besides those two players, the Naturals lacked that third dominating player they needed to make a serious title run. As mentioned, the pitching staff took a hit this year. Matt Cain was the biggest disappointment. Mid-season injuries to Zack Greinke and David Price proved costly as well. The Naturals most consistent pitcher from start to finish this year was the under-appreciated Jordan Zimmermann who finished second in the league with 19 wins. The Naturals don’t need to do much to return to the top next year. Perhaps they will focus on building depth in case they face another injury plagued season in 2014.

The final part of my 2013 season review will examine the six teams who were not serious title contenders this year. Look for that sometime late next week. I hope you have been enjoying these baseball playoffs. It has been one of the most exciting Octobers I can recall, with nearly every game coming down to the final pitches. Let’s hope for more of the same the next couple weeks!

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Live Blog: Game 163

Monday, September 30th, 2013

Mavericks shortstop Elvis Andrus

Tonight, the Rays and Rangers will play a tiebreaker to determine the second AL Wild Card participant. By league rules, this game will count towards DTBL stats since it is an official MLB regular season game. That means we have one more day of drama remaining in the 2013 championship season. The Kings enter the night with a two point lead over the Mavericks. This isn’t quite like last year with five teams still in the mix with a full slate of games on the final day, but it still should be very interesting. I will write occasional updates throughout the game, updating you on category point changes that may or may not occur, which could ultimately swing the title.

Although the Kings are in pretty good shape, this thing is far from over. Before we get this game started, here are some categories that are still in play for the Kings to lose points or the Mavericks to gain points. By my calculations, there are four categories to watch: runs, stolen bases, ERA and wins.

Runs is the category I’ve been focused on all week since the Mavericks have had an opportunity to catch the Kings for an immediate two point swing. However, that is not looking very likely at the moment. The Mavs trail by four runs and have only Elvis Andrus playing tonight. It would be quite a feat for him to erase this deficit, especially since the Kings have their own player going tonight too in Ben Zobrist. So I’ll label this one as a remote possibility, but obviously would be a game changer if it happened. Stolen bases is very much in play tonight for both teams. The Kings are currently tied with the Moonshiners, so 1/2 point could easily be lost here, especially since the Moonshiners have a bunch of players in this game: Alex Rios, Ian Kinsler, Desmond Jennings and Matt Joyce. Jennings is nursing a hamstring issue though, so he may not do much running tonight. Rios and Kinsler are certainly possibilities though. The Mavericks could also pick up half a point in SBs if Andrus steals two bases tonight. That’s not totally unrealistic. ERA is probably the most likely category for the Kings to lose a point. They just passed the Naturals yesterday to increase their overall lead by a point, but the Naturals could get that point back with David Price on the mound tonight, and possibly Jake McGee as well. By my calculations, Price and McGee need to allow two runs or fewer for the Kings to lose a point. If they give up zero or one, the Naturals will almost certainly pass the Kings. Two runs will require the Naturals pitchers to account for about eight innings of work. Three or more runs means the Kings point should be safe. Finally, there is only one win up for grabs tonight, but it could be big if it goes to a pitcher out of the bullpen. The Kings are currently tied with the Moonshiners, so if Moonshiners relievers Joe Nathan or Fernando Rodney (or Jeremy Hellickson since all hands figure to be on deck for this one) vulture another win, then the Kings would drop a half point. The Mavericks could also gain a half point in wins if they get a win out of this game. That’s not likely though since Alex Cobb and Matt Garza are two starters who aren’t likely to be used in relief tonight.

In my opinion, the Mavericks best chance at the title is for David Price to shut down the Rangers, costing the Kings a point in ERA, while Andrus grabs a pair of steals and one of the Moonshiners steals a base as well. The chances of all of these things happening? Probably not good. But after what we saw a year ago, and what I experienced just yesterday in another league I’m in (along with Marc and Nick), almost anything can happen. Check back throughout the night for updates. Enjoy the game!

8:30 pm EDT

Through one inning, the Kings continue to sit in good shape. Elvis Andrus walked, but was picked off, costing the Mavericks a shot at a much needed SB and R. I think we can rule out any change in the runs category tonight. So that leaves SB, ERA and W. Kings lead is 2 points. Rays lead the Rangers 1-0 through 1.

9:12 pm

It appears David Price is just going to go ahead and pick off every base runner that the Mavericks need to steal. This time it is the Moonshiners’ Ian Kinsler. Evan Longoria’s two run home run is irrelevant for the championship race, but did shift 1/2 point (RBI) from the Naturals to the Demigods. Kings still up two points through three innings.

9:42 pm

Price has now allowed just one earned run in five innings, which is enough to edge the Naturals ahead of the Kings in ERA. The Kings lead is down to just one point. But the other categories aren’t looking great for the Mavericks at the moment.

10:10 pm

Now things are getting interesting! Andrus singled, stole second and scored a run, opening up some possibilities for the Mavericks. They are now just one steal shy of gaining 1/2 point. However, the bad news for the Mavericks: the earned run allowed by Price has moved the Kings back ahead of the Naturals in ERA. The Kings lead is back to two points.

10:39 pm

Two innings to go and the Kings still lead by 2 points. The Mavericks need Price and/or McGee to pitch at least 2/3 of an inning without giving up a run to cost the Kings an ERA point. But where that second point will come from is not obvious. On a non-DTBL note, instant replay can’t get here quickly enough. The umpires botched a trapped ball which cost the Rays at least 1 run. 4-2 Rays after 7.

10:59 pm

Price gets through the eighth without allowing a run, so the Naturals are back ahead of the Kings in ERA again. The Kings lead is down 1. But the great play Price made to rob Andrus of a hit removed another steal possibility. It is starting to look like the Kings will win the title by one point, but we’re not quite done yet.

11:18 pm

For the third time in the last four years, the DTBL Championship has been won by a point or less. The Mavericks were unable to close the gap in any other category, so the Kings just lost the one point in ERA. Unless I have seriously overlooked something, the Kings are the 2013 DTBL Champions, besting the Mavericks by a single point. The official final standings will be updated at 8:20 a.m. EDT tomorrow. Thanks for following. Much more to come later this week.

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The Stretch Run

Monday, September 23rd, 2013

Choppers outfielder Jayson Werth

I’m not sure we will ever see a final week of a baseball season quite like last year’s when five teams had a great chance to win the DTBL title right up to the last few pitches of the season. So compared to that, this year’s pennant race may seem a little boring. But for the four teams who have found themselves near the top of the standings most of the year, there is plenty of drama left in this season.

Let’s start with the team that came out of last year’s wild finish with the title. The Naturals haven’t quite been able to replicate last year’s success. They currently sit in fourth place, 11 points behind the leader. I’ll be honest, it doesn’t appear that they will be able to successfully defend their title. They just have too much ground to make up and too many teams to catch. The only case you could make for them to win this thing would be to put up an obscene stat line in the last week combined with a collapse from the three teams above. Part of the Naturals problem has been that the player they depend on the most, Miguel Cabrera, has been severely limited by injuries over the last month or so. Without his typical mashing, the Naturals offense just hasn’t been that strong. Also, the September injury to Allen Craig couldn’t have come at a worse time with nobody capable of replacing him. Their pitching has actually been very good of late, recently passing the Kings in both ERA and WHIP. However, I just don’t see enough categories where gaining additional points is possible to give them a realistic shot at winning this thing.

The case for the Choppers winning the league is much stronger. The surprise team of the year, the Choppers have been on fire of late. Their surprising pitching staff is now second in the league in pitching points, leading the way in saves and an impressive second place in ERA. Chris Sale has been a beast all year, despite the unfortunately low win total. C.J. Wilson is quietly having an outstanding year as well. The Choppers offense has been slugging their way up the standings too. It appears they will finish the season on top of the home run and RBI categories. If there were such a thing as second half MVP, Jayson Werth would be a strong candidate for it. Their key injury is to Jose Baustista, but his loss hasn’t really hurt their offense at all. The Choppers opportunities to pick up points are limited, but average and runs are the two to watch, especially since the teams they are chasing in those categories are the two ahead of them in the overall standings. They definitely need the Kings and Mavericks to drop a couple points this week, but that is very possible. Assuming they hang onto a top 3 spot, this will be their best finish since 2001. But they still have higher aspirations than just that.

The Kings have been the title favorites for a while now. They have topped the standings most of the season. On occasion during the middle of the summer, it looked like they might run away with the title as they frequently held a double digit point lead. But now they are hanging on for dear life. They actually gave up the lead for a few days near the end of August. But a couple strong weeks since have boosted them back to the lead. The moment when things started turning south for the Kings is easy to identify: when their best player, Carlos Gonzalez, suffered his finger injury in early July. The Kings have had to move on without him for virtually the entire second half of the season. But fortunately for them, they have found a few guys to pick up the slack on offense down the stretch, led by Ryan Zimmerman. The recent concern has been with the previously solid pitching staff. In the last week, they coughed up several points in ERA and WHIP. Barring a terrible last week, they should be safe from losing more points in most pitching categories though. Their vulnerability comes in two key categories: runs scored (currently 1st) and stolen bases (4th). If they can hold off the Choppers and/or Mavericks in those categories, they should be able to claim their fifth DTBL championship. That is hardly a sure thing at this point though.

I saved the Mavericks for last because I have a little more to say about them. There were two big stories involving the Mavericks in August which deserved their own articles, but I had a few hectic weeks around that time and wasn’t able to make the time to write about them. First, the Mavericks and Jackalope pulled off a major deadline trade. The Mavs sent shortstop Jurickson Profar, first baseman Eric Hosmer and their third round pick in 2014 to the Jackalope for shortstop Elvis Andrus, second baseman Daniel Murphy, relief pitcher Steve Cishek and a fifth round draft pick. The most fascinating thing about this trade is that the two key players in the deal, Andrus and Profar, have had their careers so tightly tied to one another the last couple years. Profar was widely considered the top prospect in baseball entering this season. The problem is, he is a shortstop for the Rangers, who happen to already have a pretty good shortstop by the name of Andrus. Profar has spent the entire season on the MLB roster, but has been a part time player, seriously hampering his fantasy value. But the Jackalope weren’t too worried about that considering this season was already a lost cause for them anyway. Expect the Rangers to fix this log jam in the winter, especially if they wind up missing the playoffs which now appears quite possible. Andrus and Profar should both be everyday players by next spring. The Jackalope also received an intriguing player in Hosmer, who is finally starting to show some of that potential that hasn’t been seen since his rookie year. This trade makes all the sense in the world for the Jackalope, acquiring two keepers for one as they begin their rebuild. Likewise, the Mavericks made a major upgrade at their weakest spot: middle infield. Cishek has given them a boost in the bullpen, which is now one of the league’s best to go along with their unbeatable rotation. I’m already declaring this trade a win/win for both sides.

The other piece of Mavericks news in late August was not nearly as positive. Phenom pitcher Matt Harvey was diagnosed with a partially torn UCL in his elbow. Usually, this leads to Tommy John surgery, but as of now it appears Harvey will try to rest and rehab without surgery. This will be a huge story next spring, because if he does succumb to surgery, that would obviously be a huge blow to the Mavericks for 2014. But as for this season, the injury has not had a major impact because the Mavericks had/have such an enormous lead in the three categories where Harvey provided the most value: ERA, WHIP and strike outs. If the Mavericks don’t win the title, it won’t be because Harvey got hurt. But this story clearly put a bit of a damper on their championship hunt.

The Mavericks are definitely the team with the best chance of catching the Kings in the final week. I can’t really put a probability figure on it, but I think they have a great chance. The Kings have been very vulnerable for a couple months now and have anything but a safe lead in a couple key categories, as described above. The Mavericks need a big week from their offense though. Like all of the other title contenders, the Mavericks are going down the stretch without one of their best offensive players. Team home run leader Edwin Encarnacion had season ending wrist surgery just last week. But the Mavericks have likely maxed out in the power categories anyway. Batting average, runs scored and stolen bases are the key. And they just happen to have the best player in baseball when it comes to contributing to all three of those categories: Mike Trout. Just like last season, Trout is finishing this campaign on fire. He will attempt to carry most of the load for the Mavs in the final week. His heroic effort down the stretch last season came up just short. Perhaps this year will be different.

So we have four teams vying for the title. It should be a fun week. Unfortunately, if the title comes down to the final day like it did last season, I won’t be able to do another live blog/tweet event because I will be spending most of Sunday behind the wheel driving back from South Bend. So you will be on your own to figure out what’s going on. The live stats should make that much easier to do this year though, if you are so inclined. Good luck to the championship contenders!

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Mavericks’ Mound Masters

Sunday, August 4th, 2013

Mavericks pitcher Matt Harvey

There is a commonly held belief in baseball that it is better to build a team around offense and every day players due to the unpredictable nature of pitching. While I tend to agree with this, I think it is far less relevant in fantasy baseball and certainly hasn’t been the case in this league. In the past ten years, this league has gone through three distinct eras of a single team dominating the league in pitching for an extended period of time. We have not seen this sort of consistency on the batting side of things, with no team leading the league in batting points for more than two consecutive years in league history.

Starting in 2003, the Mavericks led the league in pitching points three out of four years, winning two DTBL titles in that stretch. Then came the Darkhorses reign from 2007-2009 where they won the championship and led the way in pitching all three seasons. Finally, the Jackalope topped the league in pitching the past three seasons, including one league title. But it appears we are about to start a new era of mound domination. The Mavericks are back on top of the pitching standings, and when you look at their rotation, it is hard to see them giving up that spot anytime soon.

The Mavericks team pitching stats are nearly unbelievable. They are on pace to obliterate the league record for team ERA, WHIP and strike outs. Even with nearly two months to go, it is virtually inconceivable that they could lose their spot at the top of those three categories, and only slightly conceivable that they WON’T wind up as the new team record holder in each category. Here’s a look at each of the three. Their 2.63 ERA leads the league by more than 3/4 of a run per 9 IP. The all-time record is 2.83 by the 2011 Jackalope. So they are 0.20 below the best single season mark in league history. Next, their 1.03 team WHIP is completely absurd. You wouldn’t have to go back very far to find seasons where no single qualifying pitcher had a WHIP that low, forget an entire staff (2008 to be exact). The record in that category also belongs to the ’11 Jackalope at 1.12. Finally, they entered today with 962 strike outs, 93 clear of second place. That puts them on pace for approximately 1,390 strike outs at year’s end. The record in that category is 1,333 by the Mavericks’ own ’07 squad. If they keep up the pace in these three categories, there will be very little room for debate when it comes to the greatest pitching staff in league history.

But here’s the strange part. Despite all of those eye-popping numbers, the Mavericks only find themselves in third in wins. If there was ever a staff that proves how useless the wins category is for evaluating the quality of pitchers, this is the one. The main reason for the low win total is because most of the Mavericks’ pitchers play for weak offensive MLB teams and have been the victims of criminally poor run support. I’ll get to more of that in a bit. They are also only fifth in the saves category, but that figures to change soon since they are one of the few teams with four current closers in the bullpen.

According to ESPN’s fantasy baseball player rater, two of the top three pitchers in baseball this year are Mavericks: Clayton Kershaw (#1) and Matt Harvey (#3). If it weren’t for poor run support (and bullpen, in Harvey’s case), they would probably be the top two and would also likely be the first two pitchers selected if we were to re-draft all of our teams today. They also happen to be #1 and #2 in the league in both ERA and WHIP, with Kershaw leading the way in both. Kershaw’s 1.87 ERA and 0.86 WHIP probably won’t be enough to break the all-time records held by Greg Maddux and Pedro Martinez, but those numbers would both be the lowest in the league since Pedro’s ridiculous 2000 season. Harvey’s 2.21 ERA and 0.88 WHIP are nothing to sneeze at either. And he leads Kershaw in strike outs (172 to 161), but trails Yu Darvish for the league lead. Quite simply, these are your top two Cy Young candidates, even ahead of Max Scherzer and his 16 wins.

Then there is Stephen Strasburg. In many ways, this has felt like a disappointing season for last year’s #2 overall pick. But he has a 3.04 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and more than a strike out per inning. Don’t let the win total fool you. Strasburg is one of the best pitchers in baseball too. Perhaps flying under the radar due to the aforementioned trio of stud pitchers is Mat Latos. Latos is tied with Kershaw for the team lead in wins with 10 and has more strikeouts than Strasburg. Then there is Matt Garza who has posted an ERA under 2.00 in his partial time on the Mavericks major league roster. And don’t forget injured Alex Cobb who was looking like another one of the best up-and-coming pitchers before getting struck in the head by a line drive in June. If he’s able to fully recover from that, the Mavericks will have an embarrassment of riches and some tough decisions to make this winter. No matter what they decide, this staff looks unbeatable for the near future. The rest of the owners may not want to read the following list of the ages of the Mavericks starting pitchers: Kershaw 25, Harvey 24, Strasburg 25, Latos 25, Garza 29, Cobb 25.

Going back to the wins category, where the Mavericks currently sit in third place, the reason is clear: poor run support. Strasburg’s meager five wins are far more of a reflection on his Nationals teammates than himself. He has received just 2.76 runs of support per start, trailing only Chris Sale among all starting pitchers for worst run support. Kershaw has managed to win 10 games despite being eighth on that same list. With even average support, he would probably have 15 wins by now. Harvey’s eight wins are also due to poor support, both offensively and by his bullpen. Not that any of these guys are likely to suddenly receive great support, you would think their luck might turn around a bit before the year is over.

One minor issue for the Mavericks in their championship hunt could be one that plagued them a year ago as well: a starting pitcher shutdown. In case you have forgotten, the Mavericks lost Strasburg for most of the final month last season as the Nationals controversially decided to shut down their ace during the pennant race after reaching a previously established innings limit. Strasburg is good to go this October, except it appears his team is unlikely to qualify for the playoffs. But it remains to be seen if the Mets will put an innings limit on Matt Harvey this year. They won’t have much to play for in September, so they could opt to shelve him after he gets over 200 or so innings. But unlike Strasburg, this isn’t likely to cost him an entire month. Also, the Mavericks figure to have a safe lead in all of the key categories in which Harvey can help them anyway. Not to mention, they should have Cobb or Garza waiting in the wings to fill in. So while the Strasburg shutdown certainly didn’t help the Mavericks championship chances last year, there is little worry of this situation repeating itself this year. If the Mavericks fail to win the title, it won’t be because of their pitching.

In other news, it sounds like stuff is about to hit the fan in the Biogenesis case, possibly tomorrow. I will begrudgingly write about this soon, even though I am tired of the story and don’t really want to hear about it anymore. I will at least write about the potential impact on our league though.

Also, a reminder that the trade deadline is coming up soon. Trades must be submitted and accepted by the end of August 15. After that, no trades can be made until after roster cuts early next year. If you are completing a trade which includes 2014 draft picks, both parties must confirm the deal with me via email. I plan on rectifying the inability to trade future draft picks via the web site before next season.

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Second To None

Sunday, June 30th, 2013

Cougars outfielder Chris Davis

This article is brought to you by the number two. For the second straight year, second round draft picks are making a major impact on the balance of power in the league. Two teams, in particular, have struck it rich in the second round. A year ago, the Mavericks pulled off one of the all time heists when they grabbed Mike Trout in the second round, and nearly won the league because of it. Because of the Trout thing, the Cougars second round pick of Gio Gonzalez was overlooked a bit. But all he did was lead the league in wins and finished fourth in the Cy Young voting. This year, the Mavericks and Cougars did it again, drafting MVP and Cy Young candidates in the second round. The Cougars picked outfielder Chris Davis with the 13th pick in the draft and the Mavericks acquired starting pitcher Matt Harvey with the 18th pick.

Everyone thought last year was the breakout year for Chris Davis, when he finally reached his potential as a big time power hitter. But his 2012 wasn’t anything compared to what he is doing this year. He currently leads the league with 30 home runs, an incredible total before the end of June in the post-steroids era. He is six clear of the next highest home run total. His 79 RBI trails only Miguel Cabrera and his .333 batting average ranks fourth. Another incredible season by Cabrera is the only thing keeping Davis from being the clear MVP favorite.

Davis was a highly touted prospect and was a first round draft pick by the Mavericks in 2009. But he was a huge disappointment for them and was cut at the end of his DTBL rookie season. The Choppers took a chance on him in the fourth round the following year, but released him two months into the season. He didn’t make it back onto a DTBL roster until the Naturals signed him as a free agent last season. He proceeded to have a breakout season, hitting 28 home runs for the Naturals, nearly tripling his previous DTBL career total.

There is an obvious similarity between the Gonzalez and Davis selections by the Cougars. Neither were DTBL rookies and their previous teams would probably like a re-do on their decisions not to keep them. In the case of Davis, the Naturals were in a tough spot because of their surplus of quality hitters. Davis was classified as a first baseman last year (and almost certainly will be again next year), but moved to the outfield this year. Usually, such a position switch would increase a player’s value. But the Naturals had another guy making the opposite switch (Allen Craig), so the Davis position move wasn’t a major issue. The Naturals still have a loaded offense though, so the loss of Davis hasn’t been as crippling as you might have otherwise expected.

Matt Harvey has already become a “must watch” pitcher, in just his second season in the big leagues. He has been completely dominant in virtually every start this season. He leads the league in ERA (2.00) and WHIP (0.85) and trails only fellow DTBL rookie Yu Darvish in strike outs (132). If he is able to keep that WHIP number where it is, it would be the third best single season value in league history and the best since 2000. It’s only a weak Mets offense and bullpen that is keeping his win total down at just seven. Just like Trout did a year ago, it is Harvey who is most responsible for the Mavericks being right in the thick of the championship race, currently in second place and just 5 1/2 points out of first.

After several years of mediocre results from their surplus of early draft picks, the Mavericks have really struck gold the last two years. Last year it was Trout and Stephen Strasburg. This year it is Harvey and Manny Machado. While Trout was a bit of a surprise pick last year, one that every other DTBL team regrets allowing to happen, Harvey was very much on the radar for several teams. I know for a fact that Harvey would not have made it out of the second round had the Mavericks passed on him. But he was still the sixth starting pitcher to go, so there are obviously a few teams regretting their decisions again this year.

Davis and Harvey aren’t the only second round picks who are having great years. Carlos Gomez is having a huge year for the Demigods. Jeff Samardzija is pitching very well for the Jackalope, and is helping make up for what is looking like one of the all time first round busts for the Jackalope in Danny Espinosa. Glen Perkins has been one of the best closers in baseball, rewarding the Naturals for their second round pick.

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