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.