As always, TDZ's got your season-ending synopsis for all the storylines of the season.
The Billy Beane Award
As always, I created a big Excel spreadsheet with the players drafted, auction prices, and end-of-year Yahoo rankings, added those rankings up for each team, and divided by the number of roster spots (23) to arrive at the average draft ranking of players for each team.
On the other end of the spectrum, Lloyd’s Christmas endured
a rough season with multiple players succumbing to injury and falling off the
map. Devin Mesoraco, Pablo Sandoval, Mat Latos, Homer Bailey, Matt Wieters, and
Jayson Werth were virtually unstartable, and keeper selection Adam Wainwright
hit the DL early and missed the season. LC actually won the Billy Beane Award last season - easy come, easy go!
This year was a bit different since we incorporated keepers, so hypothetically our draft scores should look pretty
good, assuming we spent the rest of our auction dollars wisely. Here are the
results:
Final draft rankings:
1.
BaketownChillKillers –270
2.
Rip City Reavers – 273
3.
Lavallee Team - 297
4.
Hughes Drubbers – 301
5.
Run All Night – 327
6.
Nickel Blitz – 354
7.
Gmonie16 – 372
8.
Saratoga Oldtimers – 379
9.
Lightning – 389
10. TheHighlander
– 410
11. Nuckin’
Futz – 513
12. Lloyd’s
Christmas – 578
BaketownChillKillers
edged me out with the savviest draft of us all. His keepers (Michael Brantley:
$1, ranked 50; and Jose Altuve: $16, ranked 19) certainly helped the cause, but
he found some major bargains with Chris Davis ($9, ranked 18 overall), YoenisCespedes ($11, ranked 14) and Xander Bogaerts ($4, ranked 46). Unfortunately
his season was undone by inactivity.
Saratoga Oldtimers still holds the record for best draft based on his 209.7 showing in 2013, so even with keepers we're not exactly lighting the world on fire with our draft skills!
Ruben Amaro Award
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| He became GM the year they won it all, and it was all downhill from there... |
The bad news doesn't end there - LC's draft is also the worst in NoJR history. The previous record was stumbled into by Nuckin' Futz with a score of 487 in the 2011 draft. Fortunately for NF, he was spared the ignominy of setting a new record as he finished at 513 this year.
Revisiting the Draft
While a good draft doesn't guarantee success, it certainly doesn't hurt. Here, we look back in brutal 20-20 hindsight at the top snags and hilarious gaffes. Please note that these players are NON-keeper selections.
Your 2015 All Bargain Team
Catcher: Russell Martin - Lavallee Team
$2 - Ranked 147 - 294
- Two bucks for the #2 catcher in the game, who hit 23 homers for the AL East-winning Blue Jays. While it's not as fantasy relevant, he also led all catchers in defensive WAR (per Fangraphs). Stephen Vogt looked like he was about to run away with this award but seemed to disappear after May like the A's playoff hopes.
Honorable mention: Stephen Vogt at $1 (Lightning)
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| You've got to have crazy power to hit a ball out with this swing... |
$9 - Ranked 18 - 162
- Crush was back on his Adderall and returned to fantasy relevance just like I knew he would. His final line was a beastly 100 runs, 47 homers (tops in MLB), 117 RBI, 84 BB, and a serviceable .262 average. He is clearly the most powerful slugger in the Bigs today, although Stanton has the potential to usurp that title.
Also, happy returns to Joey Votto on a great season and an unconscious second half (1.152 OPS).
Also, happy returns to Joey Votto on a great season and an unconscious second half (1.152 OPS).
Honorable mention: Joey Votto at $20 (Lavallee Team)
Second Base: Dee Gordon - Lightning
$15 - Ranked 12 - 180
- We all knew he'd be a burner on the base paths (58 SB, led league), but the .333 average was a major surprise. His BABIP was certainly quite high (.383), but with his wheels it might not be as unsustainable as it would be for other players. With better hitters behind him, maybe he could finally reach triple-digits in runs.
Honorable mention: Mookie Betts at $19 (Run All Night)
$4 - Ranked 46 - 184
- It was a fairly bleak season for the Red Sox, but Xander's progression at short was one of the bright spots. He cut down on strikeouts and embraced being a contact hitter, finishing with a .320 average (2nd in AL), 84 runs and 81 RBI, plus a 4.3 WAR (2nd to Brandon Crawford for SS). If he can hit more for extra bases and improve his BB% to where it was in the minors (both big ifs), he could be a monster.
Honorable mention: Jhonny Peralta at $1 (Nickel Blitz)
Third Base: Manny Machado - Rip City Reavers
$17 - Ranked 13 - 221
- Machado, finally recovered from his knee injury, took the league by storm with progression that went beyond the wildest dreams of most O's fans and fantasy owners. 102 runs, 35 home runs, 86 RBI, 70 BB, 20 SB, and a .286 AVG provided production across the board, including a clutch performance in the final week of the season. Still only 23 years old, it's possible he's not even done developing yet. If he keeps SS eligibility, that's just a cherry on top.
Honorable mention: Alex Rodriguez at $1 (Lightning); Kris Bryant at $15 (Gmonie16); Matt Carpenter at $9 (Run All Night)
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| This .gif has everything: bat speed, the pitcher's dejection, bat toss swag, and it's a walk-off! |
$29 - Ranked 4 - 116
- A resident of the all-bust lineup a year ago, Bryce turned it around and officially fulfilled his potential as the best hitter in the game. 118 runs, 42 home runs, 99 RBI, 124 BB, and a .330 AVG resulted in the best Y! ranking among batters, but more importantly his OPS of 1.109 was the highest mark since Albert Pujols in 2008. Like Machado, can we say for sure that he's done progressing? At 23, I doubt it. These youngsters are taking over the game.
Honorable mention: Charlie Blackmon at $10 (Lavallee Team)
Outfield: A.J. Pollock - Lloyd's Christmas
$1 - Ranked 7 - 7
- Perhaps the biggest steal of the draft was pulled off by the GM with the worst draft! Pollock contributed across a variety of categories for an underrated D-backs offense, producing 111 runs, 20 HR, 76 RBI, 39 SB, and a .315 AVG. It was a shame that LC dropped Pollock early in the year, but he picked up J.D. Martinez and his 38 home runs (a terrible drop by me) to replace him.
Honorable mention: J.D. Martinez at $13 (Rip City Reavers)
Outfield: Yoenis Cespedes - BaketownChillKillers
$6 - Ranked 17 - 102
- Wow, another bargain in Baketown. The Cuban was putting together a career year in Detroit and then surged further with the Mets, finishing with 101 runs, 35 HR, 105 RBI, and a .291 AVG. Mets fans across the globe are hoping his left shoulder can hang in there a few more games as the team takes on the Royals in the World Series.
Honorable mention: Nelson Cruz at $13 (Hughes Drubbers)
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| This pitch can't be real. |
Dallas Keuchel - Run All Night - $1 - Ranked 9 - 9
Jake Arrieta - Rip City Reavers - $19 - Ranked 1 - 19
Zack Greinke - Lavallee Team - $26 - Ranked 2 - 52
Jake Arrieta - Rip City Reavers - $19 - Ranked 1 - 19
Zack Greinke - Lavallee Team - $26 - Ranked 2 - 52
John Lackey - Saratoga Oldtimers - $1 - Ranked 74 - 74
Chris Archer - Hughes Drubbers - $5 - Ranked 52 - 260
- The starting rotation is a veritable who's who of Cy Young contenders. Keuchel was the best bargain, going for a mere dollar but finishing with the 5th best Y! ranking among starters. He has blossomed into an ace for a very talented young ball club.
- Arrieta is in an intense 3-way heat to get the Cy in the NL. Points in his favor include the best 2nd half ERA in MLB history (all-time!) at 0.75, and becoming the first pitcher since Doc Gooden in 1985 to win 22 games and have a sub-2.00 ERA.
- Greinke is another in the running for the NL Cy. Arrieta's ERA is low (1.77), but it's not as low as Greinke's (1.66), which is the 6th lowest in MLB history during the live ball era (post-1920). He also posted 45 and 2/3 scoreless innings in a row.
- Meanwhile, Lackey revitalized his career with the Cardinals (who else?) and Archer had a breakout year, finishing 2nd in the AL in Ks (252) behind Chris Sale.
- Arrieta is in an intense 3-way heat to get the Cy in the NL. Points in his favor include the best 2nd half ERA in MLB history (all-time!) at 0.75, and becoming the first pitcher since Doc Gooden in 1985 to win 22 games and have a sub-2.00 ERA.
- Greinke is another in the running for the NL Cy. Arrieta's ERA is low (1.77), but it's not as low as Greinke's (1.66), which is the 6th lowest in MLB history during the live ball era (post-1920). He also posted 45 and 2/3 scoreless innings in a row.
- Meanwhile, Lackey revitalized his career with the Cardinals (who else?) and Archer had a breakout year, finishing 2nd in the AL in Ks (252) behind Chris Sale.
 |
| Oh dang! |
Darren O'Day - Hughes Drubbers - $1 - Ranked 101 - 101
Tony Watson - Lavallee Team - $2 - Ranked 142 - 284
Andrew Miller - Rip City Reavers - $6 - Ranked 51 - 306
- All day O'Day was once again lights out for the O's, finishing with a 6 SV, 18 HLD, 82 K, and a 1.52 ERA. Although ranked lower, I like Dr. Watson's season even more: he had a 1.91 ERA and 41 HLD to lead the league - the next highest total was just 34.
- Among closers, Miller was rock solid for the Yankees, finishing with 2.04 ERA, 100 K, and 36 SV despite missing some time with a forearm strain.
- Among closers, Miller was rock solid for the Yankees, finishing with 2.04 ERA, 100 K, and 36 SV despite missing some time with a forearm strain.
The All-Bust Team
Catcher: Devin Mesoraco - Lloyd's Christmas
$15 - Ranked 1802 - 27030
- The Reds backstop had a breakout last year with 25 HR but was stymied by a hip injury that required surgery, resulting in a season where he only had 45 ABs.
Dishonorable mention: Yadier Molina at $16 (BaketownChillKillers)
$9 - Ranked 1043 - 11907
- It must have been a good year for first basemen if the biggest bust was just $9! Fatt Adams suffered a torn quad and missed most of the season, which led to the acquisition of bust #2 below.
Dishonorable mention: Brandon Moss at $8 (Rip City Reavers)
Second Base: Anthony Rendon - Lightning
$34 - Ranked 1173 - 39882
- Just an abysmal season for the Nats infielder. Lightning tabbed him as a keeper and did not get the returns he anticipated. Rendon was injured almost half the year, and then did very little with his 311 ABs, hitting just 5 HR and not showing any speed on the base paths. Disappointed Nats fans could point the finger at him for an underwhelming season, but there was plenty of other blame to go around...
Dishonorable mention: Dustin Pedroia at $16 (BaketownChillKillers)
$31 - Ranked 240 - 7440
- ...some of that blame could certainly be shared with the shortstop as well. He hit a shameful .233 and failed to eclipse 70 runs or RBI. Worst of all though was certainly his defense, if that's what you can even call it.
Dishonorable mention: Hanley Ramirez at $25 (Hughes Drubbers)
$15 - Ranked 1121 - 16815
- Between Panda and Hanley, it's clear the Red Sox had a rough offseason with their free agent signings. Pablo played most of the year but could only muster 10 HR and a .245 AVG, all the while flopping onto his belly to stop ground balls. He had a WAR of -2, meaning a replacement level player could have replaced Panda and added 2 wins to the Red Sox's record. Money terribly spent.
Dishonorable mention: David Wright at $10 (Hughes Drubbers)
$35 - Ranked 1128 - 39480
- He was a solid contributor last year, causing Gmonie to keep him at $35, but he failed to live up to the price tag in 2015. Playing only about half the year due to an ongoing hamstring injury, he finished with 11 HR and a .255 AVG and allegedly annoyed his manager and teammates throughout. Perhaps most annoyed of all, Gmonie dropped him from the squad.
Honorable mention: Carlos Gomez at $43 (Nickel Blitz)
$25 - Ranked 1046 - 26150
- He hadn't missed more than 10 games in a season since his rookie year, but 2015 turned into a frustrating affair as he accrued only 207 ABs while battling wrist and oblique injuries. In 2013 and 2014, he finished as a top-10 ranked OF, so their could be some sleeper value here if returns to form.
Honorable mention: Jacoby Ellsbury at $35 (Lloyd's Christmas)
$21 - Ranked 1081 - 22701
- The Rockies had the 5th best offense in the league in terms of runs scored, but imagine how much better it could have been if Dickerson had played the full year. Unfortunately, he only had 224 ABs, but he hit well when he was available (10 HR, .304 AVG).
Honorable mention: Matt Holliday at $15 (Lavallee Team)
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| Too many fastballs down the middle for these guys. |
Adam Wainwright - Lloyd's Christmas - $32 - Ranked 337 - 10784
Alex Cobb - TheHighlander - $12 - Ranked 826 - 9912
Andrew Cashner - Hughes Drubbers - $8 - Ranked 1161 - 9288
Alex Cobb - TheHighlander - $12 - Ranked 826 - 9912
Andrew Cashner - Hughes Drubbers - $8 - Ranked 1161 - 9288
Anibal Sanchez - Lloyd's Christmas - $11 - Ranked 590 - 6490
Cliff Lee - TheHighlander - $10 - Ranked 647 - 6470
- Injuries caused most of these fantasy seasons to come undone, but a couple of these pitchers were just bad. Cashner, despite possessing a top-10 average velocity fastball, has increasingly become a fly ball pitcher and was generally hittable this year, although he did suffer from some bad luck (league-worst 65.6 LOB percentage).
- Anibal also struggled through a disappointing year after a nice stretch of reliability. He threw his slider less this year, and it resulted with a leap in FB% and, unluckily, HR%. Fangraphs did a well-written piece on his struggles.
- Injuries caused most of these fantasy seasons to come undone, but a couple of these pitchers were just bad. Cashner, despite possessing a top-10 average velocity fastball, has increasingly become a fly ball pitcher and was generally hittable this year, although he did suffer from some bad luck (league-worst 65.6 LOB percentage).
- Anibal also struggled through a disappointing year after a nice stretch of reliability. He threw his slider less this year, and it resulted with a leap in FB% and, unluckily, HR%. Fangraphs did a well-written piece on his struggles.
Steve Cishek - Gmonie16 - $13 - Ranked 517 - 6721
Jonathan Broxton - Gmonie16 - $10 - Ranked 554 - 5540
Jonathan Broxton - Gmonie16 - $10 - Ranked 554 - 5540
Greg Holland - Gmonie16 - $14 - Ranked 213 - 2982
- One GM had the supreme misfortune of drafting all of the biggest busts at reliever. Cishek was probably the biggest disappointment, getting repeatedly blown up at the beginning of the year and losing the closer's role to A.J. Ramos. He had a 1.48 WHIP for the year, just 4 SV and 6 HLD, and his K/9 plummeted from 11.57 in 2014 to 7.81 this year.
- Meanwhile, Broxton managed 17 HLD, but those were attached to a 4.62 ERA.
- Holland had a bit of a bizarre year. Elbow issues popped up during the year, and though he returned to close for the AL pennant winning Royals, his WHIP ballooned to 1.46 as he blew a career worst 5 saves, eventually losing the 9th inning to Wade Davis.
- Meanwhile, Broxton managed 17 HLD, but those were attached to a 4.62 ERA.
- Holland had a bit of a bizarre year. Elbow issues popped up during the year, and though he returned to close for the AL pennant winning Royals, his WHIP ballooned to 1.46 as he blew a career worst 5 saves, eventually losing the 9th inning to Wade Davis.
All-Free Agent Team
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| He may already be the best SS in the game. |
For the exercise of building a free agent team, I did have to consider games played, so many rookies will not be listed here, but they'll be coveted players in the drafts to come!
C - Derek Norris - 304
1B - Kendrys Morales - 48
2B - D.J. LeMahieu - 65
SS - Carlos Correa - 124
3B - Matt Duffy - 76
OF - Lorenzo Cain - 23
OF - Curtis Granderson - 66
OF - David Peralta - 87
Util - Kevin Pillar - 98
If I had to build a free agent team that I would use heading into 2016, though, it'd look more like this:
C - Kyle Schwarber
1B - Kendrys Morales
2B - Devon Travis
SS - Carlos Correa
3B - Maikel Franco
OF - Lorenzo Cain
OF - Curtis Granderson
OF - Stephen Piscotty
Util - Miguel Sano
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| No 2015 summary would be complete without a McCullers curveball .gif. |
SP - Marco Estrada - 69
SP - Jaime Garcia - 90
RP - Jeurys Familia - 49
RP - A.J. Ramos - 92
P - Shawn Tolleson - 95
P - Carlos Martinez - 103
P - Brad Ziegler - 117
P - Will Harris - 121
Anatomy of a Championship: The Leap, the Legend, and the Wild,
Wild West
The Leap
Everyone knew that Manny Machado would be good, but “how
good” and “when” varied depending on who you talked to. Looking back on the draft,
I remember thinking I got a player who would probably hit for average, and
hopefully 20-25 homers.
What resulted was much more than expected. Not only did he
crush 35 home runs (including 5 in the championship), I was shocked at both his
willingness to steal (coming off a leg injury) and his patience at the plate.
The Legend
At this point, I think we all recognize that Jake Arrieta is
just crazy, bonkers, insanely good. Especially during the 2nd half
of seasons, as he's carried the pitching staffs of the last two NoJR champions.
Remember last year when he emerged as the ace of Saratoga’s
staff? He finished 2014 with a masterful 10-5 with 167 Ks, a 2.53 ERA, and 0.99 WHIP. I dared to dream that I might get something in that
vicinity this year but with more IP, but what he actually did was straight-up nuts: 22-6 with
236 Ks, a 1.77 ERA, and 0.86 WHIP. UNREAL.
The Wild, Wild West
As a Red Sox fan, I didn’t have a lot to be pumped about
this year. If I really wanted to watch compelling baseball, I had to look
elsewhere, and I found it in the AL West playoff race, which was tightly
contested and went all the way to the final game of the regular season.
In fantasy championships, the complexion of the game can
really change. Teams that have clinched a playoff spot tend to rest their
stars. Teams that have been eliminated tend to let their youngsters get
experience, already planning for next year. But teams that are still fighting
for the postseason play their best players every day. So it was complete luck
that I owned several AL West stars (Albert Pujols, Carlos Correa, George Springer, Rougned Odor) who rose to the occasion in the final days of the year. As if that wasn't enough luck, the Astros set a new record for runs scored in a 21-5 rout of the D'backs that pulled me ahead.
Odds and Ends
- After 3 consecutive championships, Aroldis Chapman failed to appear on the championship team in 2015. Only Jake Arrieta now qualifies as a back-to-back winner.
- Only one trade was made this year, but it was a blockbuster. Rip City traded Troy Tulowitzki and Salvador Perez to Gmonie16 for Buster Posey and Carson Smith.
- It was a mutually beneficial trade overall since Gmonie was weak on SS production and I wanted to give Correa a full-time slot in the lineup, but Troy did succumb to injury late in the season, allowing Rip City to get the better end of the deal.
- Saratoga Oldtimers again led the league in free agent/waiver transactions (68) for the third year in a row. He was just one shy of the all-time record of 69 set by Rip City in 2011.
- A total of $264 were spent in waiver bidding, crushing our previous record from last year ($149). Nuckin' Futz spent the most, setting a new record ($127, beating Toga's old record of $56).
- Nuckin' Futz set that record by bidding on one player: Joe Ross. There were no competing bids. The previous all-time high was a $40 bid for R.A. Dickey by 'Toga.
- We set a new record for overall transactions this year with 376, 11 more than last year. A couple more active managers and we'll be set to break that record again.
- Run All Night set a new league record for win percentage, finishing at .661 and beating the previous record he set in 2013 at .633. With his perennial success, it's just a matter of time before he wins it all.
- His first head-to-head loss didn't occur until the second to last week of the season!!!
- Lavallee Team made a mad dash to the playoffs, leap-frogging several teams and ultimately finishing 3rd overall.
- Only 3 of my 10 picks to make the playoffs actually did so. Could not have been more wrong about the Royals!
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| Balk. |
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