At this point, points leagues should be over or wrapping up today (Sunday). I hate when fantasy leagues carry on into the last weeks of the MLB season and teams are handicapped when their players, usually pitchers, are shut down. In my main points league the World Series ended with week 22. No championship should be decided because one team lost its ace because he had reached his innings limit. Although there are some that will contend that is all part of the package when you roster said player. After all the Nationals did shut down Strasburg in 2012. Regardless, it is now week 25, sh!t or get off the pot!
Now that the points leagues season is over, at least as far as I am concerned, I have decided to announce my 2016 Points League Awards. Television has the Emmys. Broadway has the Tonys. Movies have the Oscars. Music has the Grammys. And points leagues have the Malamoneys.
Just a quick explanation. The “Best” category is awarded to the best overall player at a position. The “MVP” award considers other factors such as average draft position and position eligibility into its equation.
Catcher
Best – Buster Posey – Once again Posey has proven why he was the first catcher taken off the board. His stat line of 13 homers, 70 RBIs and a .289 batting average doesn’t appear very impressive, but he leads all catchers with 381 points. He also led all catchers in points per plate appearance (0.73) and points per game (2.76). Despite being the best catcher from a points production perspective, his price tag (26 ADP), doesn’t seem quite worth it considering some of the other catchers this season.
MVP – Wilson Ramos – On average, Ramos was drafted in the 20th round, if he was even drafted at all. Either way, he was a steal. He currently has 22 homers, 80 runs batted in and a .304 batting average. His 325 points are third best behind Posey and Jonathan Lucroy. I would have loved to put Gary Sanchez here, but he’s only had 172 at bats in 45 games. He’s been A-W-E-S-O-M-E, but I just can’t do it considering Ramos has more than 300 additional at bats.
Donkey – Travis d’Arnaud – So far his MLB career has been nothing short of disappointing. Even though his ADP was about 137, a lot more was expected from him than he’s delivered. The injury excuse only goes so far. This season he has 89 points. I think Gary Sanchez scored that many points last week!
First Base
Best – Anthony Rizzo – This was a close one between Rizzo and Edwin Encarnacion, but Rizzo comes out on top. 493 points is more points than any other 1B. He has been everything you want from a first baseman, living up to his second round price tag. He currently has a 0.857 PPPA and a 3.53 PPG. It doesn’t hurt being in the heart of the Cubs lineup!
MVP – Carlos Santana – This one actually surprised me when I looked at the numbers and the numbers pointed at Santana. 447 points puts him in 7th place among first basemen. The reason he wins the award is because he was drafted in the 12th round. Freddie Freeman and his 467 points definitely deserves an honorable mention. I gave the slight edge to Santana because Freeman was drafted in the 7th round, making Santana a better value pick.
Donkey – Chris Davis – The most overrated player in points leagues year after year. I will never own this guy in a points league. He has 312 points, and his 0.57 points per plate appearance is so far down the list I stopped counting. I warned everyone preseason to steer clear of this points league disaster and his 206 strikeouts, I just hope you listened. And for the record, I am inking him into this award for 2017 now. Notice I said ink and not pencil. Stop wasting your 4th round pick!
Second Base
Best – Jose Altuve – Only two players have scored more points than Altuve. This little guy has amazed me all season. 548 points makes his seem like he’s over six feet tall.
MVP – Daniel Murphy – Murphy is nipping at Altuve’s heels, but feel just short. However given his 95 ADP, he is clearly the more valuable 2B. Twenty-five home runs, over 100 runs batted in and 503 points sounds like first base production. And let’s not forget about his multi-position eligibility.
Bust – Dee Gordon – As the second second baseman taken off the board, I can’t imagine there’s one owner that is happy about throwing away their fifth round pick.
Third Base
Best – Nolan Arenado – Earlier I mentioned that there were only two batters with more points than Altuve. Arenado is one of those two batters. His 550 points is second best of all hitters.
MVP – Nolan Arenado – Drafted in the second half of the second round Arenado has been worth every penny.
Bust – Maikel Franco – While he’s come on as of late, the phrase too little too late comes to mind. Especially considering he was a fifth round selection. So was Dee Gordon. At least you were very unlikely to have drafted both!
Shortstop
Best – Xander Bogaerts – I think this is just the beginning of Xander’s reign as the top shortstop. 418 points leads all shortstops and has earned him the top honors. Even though Manny Machado has SS eligibility, I decided to exclude him from the running considering 3B was his primary position.
MVP – Jean Segura – Mean Jean fell just short of Bogaerts. His ADP of 204, however, locks him in as the MVP at this position. Had Aledmys Diaz played more games, he would have made this a more difficult decision.
Bust – Carlos Correa – First round pick. Need I say more? That was rhetorical. I do expect him to rebound next year, but I will not consider him in the first two rounds which means I will probably not own him.
Utility
Best – David Ortiz – Here is what I said about Ortiz in a preseason post. “Entering his age 40 season, David Ortiz has shown no signs of decline. As a matter of fact his numbers have steadily gotten better. He finished last season with 37 home runs and 108 runs batted in. His ADP of 93 made Ortiz an early 10th round steal in 10-team leagues and a late 8th round bargain in 12-teams. His PPPA of 0.7540 was 7th best in the league. Over the last three seasons, he has averaged 0.7867 which is the third best of any player over that three year span. Only Miguel Cabrera (0.7974) and Edwin Encarnacion (0.7953) were better. I wonder what Sloppy Papi has in store in his farewell season. 2016 buy“. I hope you bought! Big Papi has been the most productive hitter in points league. With 547 points, he leads all hitters with a 1.05 PPPA and 3.82 points per game.
MVP – David Ortiz – See above
Outfield
Best – Mookie Betts – Only one hitter scored more points than Nolan Arenado. That hitter was Mookie Betts. As if I needed to say as much. Let’s take a second to admire his stats. 31 home runs, 108 RBIs, 25 stolen bases and a .321 batting average. But this is points leagues and the only number we care about is his league leading 572 points. Eat your heart out Mike Trout.
MVP – Mookie Betts – Mookie was drafted in the third round. Really doesn’t matter what round he was drafted in since he has scored the most points.
Bust – Bryce Harper – I could have chosen Andrew McCutchen or Giancarlo Stanton here, but instead I went with Harper. The reason is because he was the first hitter taken off the board in most leagues.
Starting Pitcher
Best – Max Scherzer – Max Scherzer is going to be the National League Cy Young Award winner. He is also my pick for the best pitcher in points leagues. His 701 points and 21.9 points per start are better than any other starting pitcher with at least 20 starts. He was a first round pick and he has lived up to the billing. However, had Clayton Kershaw not gotten hurt, this was his race to lose. And I don’t think he would have. Note: Kershaw pitched his 20th game shortly after this post was written.
MVP – Rick Porcello – With as many points (613) as Chris Sale, only three starting pitchers have scored more points. Those are Scherzer, Madison Bumgarner and Justin Verlander. I was tempted to side with Verlander for this honor, but ultimately it came down to ADP. Verlander was a 9th round pick, while Porcello was selected ten rounds later. A 21-4 record and a 3.04 ERA screams American League Cy Young. Runner-up shout out to Kyle Hendricks.
Bust – Zach Greinke – Even though many predicted this, it still kills me. As the fifth starting pitcher drafted this season, between Bumgarner and Sale, Greinke has been either injured or inefficient. He is averaging 13.96 points per start. Perhaps he should have stayed in Los Angeles!
Based on ADP, the following first ten rounds of picks where certainly possible. After drafting these ten players, you could have let a complete idiot finish your draft. Although grabbing Santana in the 12th, Porcello in the 19th and Hendricks in the 16th would the right way to complete this roster.
1st: Max Scherzer
2nd: Nolan Arenado
3rd: Mookie Betts
4th: Jose Fernandez
5th: Xander Bogaerts
6th: Charlie Blackmon
7th: Freddie Freeman
8th: Daniel Murphy
9th: David Ortiz
10th: Zach Britton
This post is dedicated to Jose Fernandez…
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