Once again, it’s time to check out the best of the best in DTBL through the month of May. There were some massive months, particularly from the hitters as you’ll see below. Unfortunately, the biggest loss from the list has been Jose Fernandez due to his UCL tear and subsequent Tommy John surgery. Hopefully the injury epidemic is over for now, but this being baseball in 2014, no one seems safe.
On a more positive note, the players below are a decent mix of guys powered almost solely by an incredible May, and guys who have been consistent year round. As the season plays out, it will be interesting to watch if the streaky guys can finally maintain their play over an entire season, or if the steady mashers will rise, and stay, at the top.
All stats below are through May 31, and cover Rookie of the Year (ROY), Cy Young, and Most Valuable Player (MVP).
ROY:
1. Josh Donaldson, Moonshiners – .280 BA, 48 R, 15 HR, 46 RBI, 1 SB
2. Yaisel Puig, Jackalope – .344 BA, 32 R, 11 HR, 40 RBI, 5 SB
3. Julio Teheran, Darkhorses – 0.932 WHIP, 1.83 ERA, 5 W, 0 SV, 66 Ks
4. Michael Wacha, Gators – 1.064 WHIP, 2.45 ERA, 4 W, 0 SV, 75 Ks
5. Sonny Gray, Jackalope – 1.122 WHIP, 2.31 ERA, 5 W, 0 SV, 60 Ks
There’s not much change in the rookie listings, as Donaldson, Teheran, and Gray all are carry overs from April. Yaisel Puig finally returned to his 2013 form, mashing 8 homers and driving in 25 runs while chipping in 4 steals, proving himself truly worthy of his number one overall pick this year. The other newcomer, Michael Wacha, almost made this list in April, but strong consistency vaults him past Sonny Gray in these rankings. Meanwhile, Josh Donaldson and Julio Teheran continued their stellar play from April, with Donaldson putting up almost identical numbers in May, and Teheran upping his strikeout totals to go with slightly depressed ratios.
Other rookies of note include Anthony Rendon, whose slow May dropped him off the leaderboard, Gerrit Cole, Evan Gattis, Shelby Miller, and Brian Dozier, all of whom have decent to excellent numbers in certain categories, but lack that overall excellence exhibited by the top 5.
Cy Young:
1. Johnny Cueto, Demigods – 0.758 WHIP, 1.68 ERA, 5 W, 0 SV, 92 Ks
2. Adam Wainwright, Cougars – 0.914 WHIP, 2.32 ERA, 8 W, 0 SV, 81 Ks
3. Felix Hernandez, Jackalope – 1.024 WHIP, 2.57 ERA, 7 W, 0 SV, 83 Ks
4. Zack Greinke, Naturals – 1.121 WHIP, 2.18 ERA, 8 W, 0 SV, 76 Ks
5. Julio Teheran, Darkhorses – 0.932 WHIP, 1.83 ERA, 5 W, 0 SV, 66 Ks
It’s hard to come up with words that can adequately express just how awesome the top pitches are this year. All five of these guys are bringing it in every category, tossing up video game style ratios with absurd strikeout totals. Johnny Cueto, Adam Wainwright, and Zack Greinke, the April carryovers, have shown that their hot starts are no flukes. Felix Hernandez continues to show why everyone calls him King Felix, while Julio Teheran’s surprising rookie season is enough to vault him into the top five overall for pitchers.
Unfortunately, everyone could see that Francisco Rodriguez would come back down to earth after his impeccable start. But, even so, there are no shortage of pitchers waiting in the wings. Tim Hudson seems to have found the fountain of youth, Yu Darvish is dealing again after neck issues, Chris Sale, Kyle Lohse, and other are all dealing. The two big surprises, though, are Mark Buehrle, who’s spinning a top 10 season from the free agent list, and Jeff Samardzija, who was leading the majors in ERA through May but only had one win to show for it.
MVP:
1. Nelson Cruz, Gators – .315 BA, 39 R, 20 HR, 52 RBI, 0 SB
2. Giancarlo Stanton, Jackalope – .316 BA, 40 R, 16 HR, 51 RBI, 4 SB
3. Troy Tulowitzki, Naturals – .352 BA, 45 R, 14 HR, 37 RBI, 1 SB
4. Josh Donaldson, Moonshiners – .280 BA, 48 R, 15 HR, 46 RBI, 1 SB
5. Yaisel Puig, Jackalope – .344 BA, 32 R, 11 HR, 40 RBI, 5 SB
Nelson Cruz had a ridiculous May to jump him to the top of the MVP race. A .339 average, 13 homers, 27 RBI; all fantastic numbers. Giancarlo Stanton continues to smash the cover off the ball; one only wonders if he can stay healthy. Troy Tulowitzki continues to rake as well, with his .352 batting average still leading the majors to go along with solid stats all around.
Then come the two big surprises on this list – Josh Donaldson and Yaisel Puig. Both DTBL rookies are putting up numbers that not only lead their draft class, but compete with the numbers of the established veterans. After this point in the season, it would be no surprise to see them challenging for bragging rights as the best of the best the rest of year.
However, there is no shortage of competition for this race. The only thing keeping Edwin Encarnacion off this list was a slow April; his 16 home runs and 33 RBI in May were incredible. Carlos Gomez is the only significant power and speed guy, with 11 homers and 11 steals to go with other solid all around numbers. And there’s more, with Alexi Ramirez, Jose Bautista, Michael Brantley, and Paul Goldschmidt all waiting in the wings. In another version of the MVP list, any of those guys could be on it and they wouldn’t look out of place. Finally, Miguel Cabrera has finally remembered how to hit, and may soon take his accustomed place as a member of this elite company.
Questions? Comments? Grievances your player got left out? Feel free to leave your comments below.