Indians take top honors in 2014 fantasy baseball awards
This season, fantasy owners had to navigate their way through a minefield of significant injuries.
A new elbow ailment seemed to be a weekly occurrence as top starting pitchers such as Kris Medlen, Patrick Corbin, Matt Moore and Jose Fernandez saw their seasons end early. Fantasy teams that didn't lose at least one pitcher to a torn ulnar collateral ligament were the exceptions. (According to an unofficial count by Rick Wilton of BaseballHQ.com, 24 major league pitchers had Tommy John elbow surgery this season.)
Top hitters couldn't escape the injury bug either. Broken hands, fingers and thumbs were especially damaging. Paul Goldschmidt, Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman were among the most high-profile victims. Meanwhile, investments in Prince Fielder, Joey Votto and Mark Trumbo went south when those players missed major chunks of the season.
One other major development in 2014 has been the widespread use of defensive shifts, particularly against left-handed hitters. Players who had poor seasons due to injury will eventually heal, but players who were undone by the shift won't see their problem go away in the offseason.
Some highlights, lowlights and memorable moments to savor from the season:
Fantasy MVP: Michael Brantley, Cleveland Indians. The fantasy MVP isn't the player who had the best fantasy season. If that were the case, Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros would be the winner. Leading the majors with a .345 batting average and the American League with 54 stolen bases, Altuve has carried his fantasy teams in those categories by being so much better than almost everyone else. As a result, his $48 Rotissserie value is tops in the majors … but it's not quite enough.
The fantasy MVP isn't the best overall player in the game. If that were the case, Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels would be the obvious choice. Entering the final week of the regular season, Trout led the majors in runs (112), was second in RBI (109) and fourth in home runs (35). Add in his contributions in batting average and stolen bases, and Trout is the clear front-runner to be taken No. 1 overall next season — as he was in many drafts this year. But there's little value in getting great stats from the game's top player.
The real fantasy MVP has to put up big numbers in all categories and be inexpensive to acquire. No single player combined all the important qualifications better than 27-year-old Brantley did in his breakout season.
His .325 average ranked third in the majors. With 20 home runs and 22 steals, he's one of five players in this year's 20-20 club. And he's in the top 10 in runs. Among American Leaguers, Brantley ranked behind only Altuve in Roto value ($40).
His stats are what you might expect from a first-round pick — except that Brantley was on average a 15th-round pick in National Fantasy Baseball Championship (mixed) leagues and was a $15 buy in this year's League of Alternative Baseball Reality (AL-only) experts league.
Fantasy pitcher of the year: Corey Kluber, Indians. Much like his teammate Brantley, Kluber showed promise last season when he went 11-5 with a 3.85 ERA, but not nearly enough to be considered among the game's elite pitchers.
That opinion might have to change. The right-hander had a 17-9 record and a 2.53 ERA that ranked fourth in the AL behind Felix Hernandez, Chris Sale and Jon Lester.
The hallmark of a dominant pitcher, especially in fantasy terms, is the ability to strike batters out. Kluber ranked first in the majors with 258.
His preseason average draft position in NFBC: 238.
Waiver pickup of the year: Josh Harrison, Pittsburgh Pirates. Drafting emerging stars in the late rounds is a great way to build a championship-caliber fantasy team, but it also helps to find valuable players along the way.
Harrison saw limited action over the first six weeks until his defense in right field got him a shot at regular playing time, but it took an injury to second baseman Neil Walker before he cemented his place in the lineup.
Now he's challenging for the National League batting title with a .318 average. He had added 13 home runs and 17 steals on his way to $27 in Roto value. But where Harrison might even nudge his way into the fantasy MVP discussion is his ability to fill in at second base, third base and outfield.
Harrison barely edges Detroit Tigers outfielder J.D. Martinez, who rebounded after being released by the Astros last year to hit .320 with 23 home runs and 76 RBI.
Honorable mention: Corey Dickerson, Steve Pearce, Zach Britton, Francisco Rodriguez, Collin McHugh.
Hitting line of the year: Lonnie Chisenhall, Indians. For a while during the first half, Chisenhall looked like he might challenge for the MVP award. Against the Texas Rangers on June 9, Chisenhall went 5-for-5 with three home runs and nine RBI.
He added four more hits in his next two games to raise his average to a season-high .393. But Chisenhall had hit close to .230 the rest of the way with six home runs, but no one can take away that day in mid-June.
Pitching line of the year:Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers. It's hard to believe we've gone this far without mentioning the best pitcher in the game. Despite missing April, Kershaw was the first (and so far, only) pitcher to win 20games. And he did it with an ERA well below 2.00.
The epitome of his dominance came June18 when he no-hit the Colorado Rockies, striking out 15 and allowing one baserunner, on an error. Statistically speaking, it was one of the greatest pitched games of all time.
Worst pitching line: Tim Stauffer, San Diego Padres. Coming off five shutout innings in his first start of the season, one that lowered his ERA to 1.90, Stauffer was a popular waiver wire pickup for Week 9 at the Arizona Diamondbacks. However, he didn't make it out of the first inning, allowing seven runs on six hits and a walk.
Worst batting line: Rajai Davis, Tigers. Davis did some nice things for Detroit, but in a 19-inning game Aug.10 at Toronto, he went hitless in eight at-bats and struck out twice.
Comeback player of the year: Justin Morneau, Colorado Rockies. After missing large portions of the 2009, 2010 and 2011 seasons with concussion issues, the 2006 AL MVP sure looked to be on the downside of his career last September when he failed to homer in his final 92 plate appearances.
But Morneau, 33, turned back the clock in Colorado. Starting the week hitting .318, he was in a virtual dead heat with Harrison for the NL batting crown. He had 16 homers, and his 79 RBI are the most for him since 2009.
Top 10 for 2015
Here are players who will be fueling the conversation over the offseason in preparation for next year's drafts:
1. Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
2. Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins
3. Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates
4. Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks
5. Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
6. Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
7. Jose Abreu, Chicago White Sox
8. Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee Brewers
9. Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
10. Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles
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