Choppers outfielder Jose Bautista
Going into this year’s draft, the 2011 DTBL rookie class was not highly touted. To make matters worse, several of the top youngsters picked in that draft proceeded to have very disappointing and/or injury-plagued seasons. However, the rookie class turned out to be rather deep with a bunch of players taken after the first round easily exceeding expectations. In the end, it was a “veteran” who won the 2011 DTBL Rookie of the Year Award. The honor went to Choppers outfielder Jose Bautista.
2011 was Jose Bautista’s eighth MLB season, but the first season in which he appeared on a DTBL roster, making him eligible for this award. From 2004-2009, Bautista was little more than a platoon/role player in the outfield and at third base with virtually no fantasy value. But in 2010, he broke out in a big way, slugging 54 home runs with 124 RBIs. Those numbers immediately made him one of the most sought after players in this year’s draft. The Choppers felt very fortunate to pick him up with the fourth pick in the draft. Although he entered this season with many wondering if 2010 was a fluke, he did not disappoint. He hit 43 home runs with 103 RBIs and 105 runs scored. His .302 batting average surpassed his previous single season high by more than 40 points. So while ’10 was his true breakout season, ’11 was the year he became a complete hitter and a legitimate superstar. He managed to lead the DTBL in home runs in his very first season. Finishing the season at age 30 made Bautista a very unusual “rookie”, but he is not the oldest DTBL ROY winner. I believe that distinction belongs to Andres Galarraga who won the league’s first Rookie of the Year Award in 1994 at the age of 33.
Bautista was a huge part of a vastly improved Choppers squad. Although they finished the season in sixth place, the Choppers were in the hunt until the final month of the season and were much more competitive than they have been in recent years. That is largely due to the significant power boost provided by Bautista and Curtis Granderson. The slugging duo finished first and second in the league in home runs. Both figure to be strong candidates for the MVP Award, which will be announced next week. The Choppers finished in the top half of the league in all five offensive categories, a year after finishing in the bottom half in all except batting average.
The depth of this year’s rookie class is very apparent after taking a glance at the award’s voting results. American League Rookie of the Year Jeremy Hellickson was on the DTBL ballot as well, but did not receive a single vote. Bautista won the award by garnering 7 of the 10 first place votes and a total of 87 points. The runner up was Bautista’s Choppers teammate, relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel. Kimbrel saved 46 games with a 2.10 ERA, 1.039 WHIP and an extremely impressive 127 strike outs. He was named the National League Rookie of the Year earlier this week. Kimbrel was a third round pick by the Choppers. Since they traded away their second round pick, all the Choppers first two picks wound up doing was finish first and second in the DTBL ROY vote. Kimbrel received the other three first place votes and accumulated 75 points. Another closer came in third, the Jackalope’s John Axford, who matched Kimbrel’s 46 save total. The only pitcher with more saves than these two DTBL rookies was Jose Valverde. Axford received enough votes to get 37 points. His Jackalope teammate, slugging outfielder Mike Stanton, finished fourth. Stanton’s 34 home runs gave the champions just the kind of power threat they needed. Just like the Choppers, the Jackalope struck gold in the first couple rounds of the draft. Stanton was a first round selection and Axford was picked in the second round. Rounding out the top five was yet another closer, the Moonshiners’ Drew Storen. Storen saved 43 games. The Kimbrel/Axford/Storen combination is about as good of a set of rookie closers as you will ever see.
Click here to see the full voting results.
The 2011 Cy Young Award winner will be announced this Friday and the DTBL Most Valuable Player will be named next Tuesday, November 22.