As always, the first end-of-season column focuses on the fantasy MVPs and LVPs. Awards are given to players that most over- or underperformed my preseason projections. I tend to give injured players a break when it comes to LVPs.
I also have my real MVP/Cy Young/ROY choices below.
The Fantasy Most Valuable Players
Catchers
MVP - Wilin Rosario
Projection: .226/.259/.400, 7 HR, 22 R, 24 RBI, 1 SB in 190 AB
2012 stats: .270/.312/.530, 28 HR, 67 R, 71 RBI, 4 SB in 396 AB
After acquiring Ramon Hernandez to start behind the plate, the Rockies had to decide whether to keep the 23-year-old Rosario as a backup or let him play regularly in Triple-A. They chose the former, and while Rosario often appeared raw behind the plate, he proved to be a star with the bat, leading all catchers in homers after taking over for an injured Hernandez in May.
Honorable Mention - Yadier Molina, Buster Posey, Carlos Ruiz, A.J. Pierzynski
2011 Winner - Alex Avila
2010 Winner - Buster Posey
2009 Winner - Joe Mauer
2008 Winner - Ryan Doumit
2007 Winner - Russell Martin
2006 Winner - Brian McCann
2005 Winner - Brandon Inge
2004 Winner - Craig Wilson
2003 Winner - Javy Lopez
2002 Winner - Eli Marrero
2001 Winner - Paul Lo Duca
2000 Winner - Charles Johnson
1999 Winner - Mike Sweeney
LVP - Carlos Santana
Projection: .273/.382/.485, 25 HR, 85 R, 90 RBI, 4 SB in 524 AB
2012 stats: .252/.365/.420, 18 HR, 72 R, 76 RBI, 3 SB in 507 AB
Santana waited until the All-Star break to get it going, but he did hit .281/.389/.498 with 13 homers and 46 RBI from that point on. One could argue Brian McCann was the bigger disappointment, but injuries played a role in his terrible last two months.
Dishonorable Mention - Brian McCann, Geovany Soto, Alex Avila
2011 Loser - Joe Mauer
2010 Loser - Matt Wieters
2009 Loser - Russell Martin
2008 Loser - Kenji Johjima
2007 Loser - Ramon Hernandez
2006 Loser - Javy Lopez
2005 Loser - Jason Kendall
2004 Loser - Mike Piazza
2003 Loser - Paul Lo Duca
2002 Loser - Charles Johnson
2001 Loser - Jason Kendall
2000 Loser - Michael Barrett
1999 Loser - Todd Hundley
First Basemen/Designated Hitters
MVP - Adam LaRoche
Projection: .257/.332/.442, 19 HR, 61 R, 73 RBI, 1 SB in 475 AB
2012 stats: .271/.343/.510, 33 HR, 76 R, 100 RBI, 1 SB in 571 AB
Playing with a damaged shoulder, LaRoche hit .172 with three homers in 151 at-bats in 2011, and there were plenty of doubts whether he'd be his old self after returning from surgery this season. As it turned out, he was better than ever, establishing a new personal best in homers and tying his high in RBI. He did have a higher OPS back in 2006, but he was often sitting against lefties back then. This year, he hit .268 with 11 homers in 168 at-bats versus southpaws.
Honorable Mention - Paul Goldschmidt, Mark Trumbo, Brandon Moss
2011 Winner - Mark Trumbo
2010 Winner - Joey Votto
2009 Winner - Kendrys Morales
2008 Winner - Aubrey Huff
2007 Winner - Carlos Pena
2006 Winner - Ryan Howard
2005 Winner - Derrek Lee
2004 Winner - Travis Hafner
2003 Winner - Carlos Delgado
2002 Winner - Derrek Lee
2001 Winner - Ryan Klesko
2000 Winner - Frank Thomas
1999 Winner - John Jaha
LVP - Eric Hosmer
Projection: .293/.365/.487, 24 HR, 89 R, 97 RBI, 8 SB in 598 AB
2012 stats: .232/.304/.359, 14 HR, 65 R, 60 RBI, 16 SB in 535 AB
Even with the 16 steals, this was an easy choice. Only bigger and better things seemed in store after Hosmer hit .293 with 19 homers in 128 games as a rookie in 2011. However, his swing got out of whack early this year and he spent way too much of the season hitting weak grounders. The Royals never did anything about it either, leaving him in the lineup all year long. I imagine Hosmer will bounce back next year, but he needs to start putting more balls into the air.
Dishonorable Mention - Gaby Sanchez, Adam Lind, Mark Teixeira
2011 Loser - Adam Dunn
2010 Loser - Lance Berkman
2009 Loser - David Ortiz
2008 Loser - Travis Hafner
2007 Loser - Richie Sexson
2006 Loser - Todd Helton
2005 Loser - Todd Helton
2004 Loser - Jason Giambi
2003 Loser - Paul Konerko
2002 Loser - Tony Clark
2001 Loser - Mark McGwire
2000 Loser - Sean Casey
1999 Loser - Darin Erstad
Second Basemen
MVP - Aaron Hill
Projection: .267/.319/.456, 24 HR, 75 R, 71 RBI, 13 SB in 570 AB
2012 stats: .302/.360/.522, 26 HR, 93 R, 85 RBI, 14 SB in 609 AB
Hill, now a two-time MVP to go along with his one LVP, certainly isn't known for his consistency. He's finished with OPSs of .792, .685, .829, .665, .655 and .882 the last six years. He also suddenly become a basestealer in 2011, swiping 35 bases the last two years after totaling 23 in his first five seasons. His six triples this year were twice as many as he had ever had before.
Honorable Mention - Jason Kipnis, Jose Altuve, Jeff Keppinger
2011 Winner - Ben Zobrist
2010 Winner - Rickie Weeks
2009 Winner - Aaron Hill
2008 Winner - Dustin Pedroia
2007 Winner - Brandon Phillips
2006 Winner - Dan Uggla
2005 Winner - Chone Figgins
2004 Winner - Mark Loretta
2003 Winner - Marcus Giles
2002 Winner - Alfonso Soriano
2001 Winner - Bret Boone
2000 Winner - Jose Vidro
1999 Winner - Roberto Alomar
LVP - Jemile Weeks
Projection: .287/.354/.401, 5 HR, 80 R, 51 RBI, 32 SB in 579 AB
2012 stats: .221/.305/.304, 2 HR, 54 R, 20 RBI, 16 SB in 444 AB
Like Hosmer, Weeks was a very disappointing sophomore. Unlike Hosmer, he actually lost his job because of it, but not before proving pretty worthless for 4 1/2 months. Older brother Rickie was also in the running here, but by hitting .261 with 13 homers and 51 runs scored in the second half, he was merely relegated to dishonorable mention status. Jemile will have some work to do next spring if he hopes to win his job back.
Dishonorable Mention - Dustin Ackley, Rickie Weeks, Dan Uggla
2011 Loser - Chone Figgins
2010 Loser - Aaron Hill
2009 Loser - Kelly Johnson
2008 Loser - Robinson Cano
2007 Loser - Josh Barfield
2006 Loser - Jorge Cantu
2005 Loser - Bret Boone
2004 Loser - Alfonso Soriano
2003 Loser - Roberto Alomar
2002 Loser - Roberto Alomar
2001 Loser - Edgardo Alfonzo
2000 Loser - Jose Offerman
1999 Loser - Delino DeShields
Third Basemen
MVP - Chase Headley
Projection: .273/.352/.415, 14 HR, 82 R, 78 RBI, 15 SB in 586 AB
2012 stats: .286/.376/.498, 31 HR, 95 R, 115 RBI, 17 SB in 604 AB
There were no shortage of quality choices here, but Headley gets the nod, partly because I had him ranked a few spots behind Edwin Encarnacion in the preseason. Headley totaled four homers and 44 RBI in 381 at-bats in 2011, and while it seemed likely that'd he bounce back from that, there was no telling this was coming. Headley topped his previous high in homers by 19 and led the NL in RBI despite playing half of his games in Petco Park.
Honorable Mention - Edwin Encarnacion, Miguel Cabrera, Chris Davis
2011 Winner - Jose Bautista
2010 Winner - Jose Bautista
2009 Winner - Mark Reynolds
2008 Winner - Jorge Cantu
2007 Winner - Ryan Braun
2006 Winner - Michael Cuddyer
2005 Winner - Morgan Ensberg
2004 Winner - Adrian Beltre
2003 Winner - Bill Mueller
2002 Winner - Aaron Boone
2001 Winner - Albert Pujols
2000 Winner - Troy Glaus
1999 Winner - Fernando Tatis
LVP - Mark Reynolds
Projection: .240/.333/.490, 35 HR, 80 R, 88 RBI, 7 SB in 526 AB
2012 stats: .221/.335/.429, 23 HR, 65 R, 69 RBI, 1 SB in 457 AB
I wanted to put Michael Young here -- Reynolds had the better OPS of the two by 80 points -- but the fact that Young racked up 611 at-bats in the middle of the Texas order and hit for a decent average gave him the greater fantasy value of the two. I had them practically dead even in the preseason, with Young placing 11th and Reynolds 12th in my third base rankings (Headley was 13th).
Dishonorable Mention - Michael Young, Alex Rodriguez, Brett Lawrie
2011 Loser - Pedro Alvarez
2010 Loser - Pablo Sandoval
2009 Loser - Garrett Atkins
2008 Loser - Chone Figgins
2007 Loser - Eric Chavez
2006 Loser - Hank Blalock
2005 Loser - Adrian Beltre
2004 Loser - Eric Hinske
2003 Loser - Edgardo Alfonzo
2002 Loser - Jeff Cirillo
2001 Loser - Tony Batista
2000 Loser - Vinny Castilla
1999 Loser - Ken Caminiti
Shortstops
MVP - Ian Desmond
Projection: .269/.327/.398, 11 HR, 75 R, 56 RBI, 22 SB in 558 AB
2012 stats: .292/.335/.511, 25 HR, 72 R, 73 RBI, 21 SB in 513 AB
Desmond's 20-20 campaign gets him the nod here in spite of the modest run and RBI numbers. Originally the Nationals' leadoff man, he ended up spending most of the year hitting sixth. It's the better spot for his skill set, but it didn't result in much run or RBI production, especially after accounting for the fact that he scored and drove himself in 25 times on his homers.
Honorable Mention - Derek Jeter, Alcides Escobar, Marco Scutaro
2011 Winner - Asdrubal Cabrera
2010 Winner - Omar Infante
2009 Winner - Ben Zobrist
2008 Winner - Mike Aviles
2007 Winner - Hanley Ramirez
2006 Winner - Hanley Ramirez
2005 Winner - Felipe Lopez
2004 Winner - Carlos Guillen
2003 Winner - Edgar Renteria
2002 Winner - David Eckstein
2001 Winner - Rich Aurilia
2000 Winner - Jose Valentin
1999 Winner - Jay Bell
LVP - Elvis Andrus
Projection: .294/.364/.392, 7 HR, 100 R, 65 RBI, 40 SB in 599 AB
2012 stats: .286/.349/.378, 3 HR, 85 R, 62 RBI, 21 SB in 629 AB
I was too high on Andrus in the first place, ranking him as the No. 3 shortstop over Starlin Castro and Jose Reyes. His .727 OPS wasn't bad at all, but his fantasy value was stymied by manager Ron Washington's call to have him bunt Ian Kinsler along so frequently and by the fact that he did less basestealing with Josh Hamilton and Adrian Beltre up in the order behind him.
Dishonorable Mention - Dee Gordon, Hanley Ramirez, Yunel Escobar
2011 Loser - Hanley Ramirez
2010 Loser - Yunel Escobar
2009 Loser - Jimmy Rollins
2008 Loser - Troy Tulowitzki
2007 Loser - Bill Hall
2006 Loser - Clint Barmes
2005 Loser - Kaz Matsui
2004 Loser - Angel Berroa
2003 Loser - Jose Hernandez
2002 Loser - Rich Aurilia
2001 Loser - Tony Womack
2000 Loser - Royce Clayton
1999 Loser - Royce Clayton
Outfielders
MVPs - Mike Trout, Alex Rios, Adam Jones
Trout's projection: .256/.336/.413, 6 HR, 36 R, 28 RBI, 14 SB in 254 AB
Trout's 2012 stats: .326/.399/.564, 30 HR, 129 R, 83 RBI, 49 SB in 559 AB
Rios' projection: .273/.323/.422, 17 HR, 74 R, 75 RBI, 22 SB in 554 AB
Rios' 2012 stats: .304/.334/.516, 25 HR, 93 R, 91 RBI, 23 SB in 605 AB
Jones' projection: .287/.335/.473, 24 HR, 76 R, 84 RBI, 11 SB in 571 AB
Jones' 2012 stats: .287/.334/.505, 32 HR, 103 R, 82 RBI, 16 SB in 648 AB
Trout was obviously the overall fantasy MVP this year. He may well have provided more bang for the buck than anyone since Albert Pujols debuted for the Cardinals in 2001. ... I'm sure I was higher on Rios than most going into this year, but that probably wasn't the case with Jones, who took a big step forward in the power department and also established a new career high in steals. Not only did Jones go from 25 homers to 32 this season, but he had 39 doubles, topping his previous high by 13.
Honorable Mention - Carlos Beltran, Yoenis Cespedes, Norichika Aoki, Andrew McCutchen
2011 Winners - Jacoby Ellsbury, Matt Kemp, Melky Cabrera
2010 Winners - Carlos Gonzalez, Josh Hamilton, Angel Pagan
2009 Winners - Adam Lind, Jacoby Ellsbury, Matt Kemp
2008 Winners - Ryan Ludwick, Josh Hamilton, Nate McLouth
2007 Winners - Magglio Ordonez, Curtis Granderson, Eric Byrnes
2006 Winners - Jermaine Dye, Gary Matthews Jr., Matt Holliday
2005 Winners - Grady Sizemore, Jason Bay, Andruw Jones
2004 Winners - Jim Edmonds, J.D. Drew, Aaron Rowand, Jeromy Burnitz
2003 Winners - Gary Sheffield, Scott Podsednik, Vernon Wells
2002 Winners - Torii Hunter, Vladimir Guerrero, Garret Anderson
2001 Winners - Ichiro Suzuki, Barry Bonds, Cliff Floyd
2000 Winners - Darin Erstad, Richard Hidalgo, John Vander Wal
1999 Winners - Brian Giles, Luis Gonzalez, Roger Cedeno
LVPs - Jacoby Ellsbury, Justin Upton, Delmon Young
Ellsbury's projection: .298/.357/.485, 23 HR, 114 R, 83 RBI, 40 SB in 610 AB
Ellsbury's 2012 stats: .271/.313/.370, 4 HR, 43 R, 26 RBI, 14 SB in 303 AB
Upton's projection: .296/.388/.570, 37 HR, 100 R, 103 RBI, 19 SB in 574 AB
Upton's 2012 stats: .280/.355/.430, 17 HR, 107 R, 67 RBI, 18 SB in 554 AB
Young's projection: .291/.327/.472, 22 HR, 79 R, 96 RBI, 4 SB in 574 AB
Young's 2012 stats: .267/.296/.411, 18 HR, 54 R, 74 RBI, 0 SB in 574 AB
I forgive injuries here, but Ellsbury was pretty much a non-factor in the half-season he did play. While Ellsbury's MVP-quality 2011 may go down as a career year, he still performed a whole lot better than this in his two previous healthy seasons. ... I thought Upton would take another step forward at age 24. Instead, he needed a late surge just to finish with 17 homers. He had 11 through the end of August. I'm still a big believer going forward. ... As for Delmon, well, all he needed to do was be halfway decent and he would have driven in 90-100 runs batting behind Cabrera and Prince Fielder. Instead, he slugged .411 and had his worst season to date, at least by OPS+.
Dishonorable Mention - Cameron Maybin, Jeff Francoeur, Hunter Pence, Drew Stubbs, Jose Tabata
2011 Losers - Carl Crawford, Alex Rios, Jason Heyward
2010 Losers - Matt Kemp, Adam Lind, Carlos Lee
2009 Losers - Manny Ramirez, B.J. Upton, Alfonso Soriano
2008 Losers - Andruw Jones, Jeff Francoeur, Carl Crawford
2007 Losers - Jason Bay, Andruw Jones, Jermaine Dye
2006 Losers - Jason Lane, Randy Winn, Scott Podsednik
2005 Losers - Carlos Beltran, Sammy Sosa, Corey Patterson
2004 Losers - Sammy Sosa, Marlon Byrd, Brian Giles
2003 Losers - Pat Burrell, Shawn Green, Larry Walker
2002 Losers - Ken Griffey Jr., Juan Pierre, Richard Hidalgo
2001 Losers - Richard Hidalgo, Darin Erstad, Carl Everett
2000 Losers - Ken Griffey Jr., Juan Gonzalez, Carlos Beltran
1999 Losers - Jose Cruz Jr., Kenny Lofton, Ray Lankford
Starting Pitchers
MVPs - R.A. Dickey, Kyle Lohse, Gio Gonzalez, Kris Medlen, Chris Sale
Dickey's projection: 13-12, 3.71 ERA, 1.252 WHIP, 131 K in 213 1/3 IP
Dickey's 2012 stats: 20-6, 2.73 ERA, 1.053 WHIP, 230 K in 233 2/3 IP
Lohse's projection: 10-11, 4.15 ERA, 1.335 WHIP, 108 K in 184 1/3 IP
Lohse's 2012 stats: 16-3, 2.86 ERA, 1.090 WHIP, 143 K in 211 IP
Gonzalez's projection: 14-10, 3.56 ERA, 1.297 WHIP, 201 K in 207 1/3 IP
Gonzalez's 2012 stats: 21-8, 2.89 ERA, 1.129 WHIP, 207 K in 199 1/3 IP
Medlen's projection: 5-5, 1 Sv, 3.30 ERA, 1.205 WHIP, 65 K in 76 1/3 IP
Medlen's 2012 stats: 12-1, 1 Sv, 1.57 ERA, 0.913 WHIP, 120 K in 138 IP
Sale's projection: 10-9, 3.82 ERA, 1.273 WHIP, 153 K in 169 2/3 IP
Sale's 2012 stats: 17-8, 3.05 ERA, 1.135 WHIP, 192 K in 192 IP
Not only was Dickey terrific throughout, but he obviously mastered the art of pitching to the score last winter. In 2011, he had a fine 3.28 ERA, yet he finished 8-13 in 32 starts. ... Lohse is the biggest surprise of the group in my mind, even though he went 14-8 with a 3.39 ERA in 2011. I figured he'd regress, yet he actually kicked up another notch and blew away his previous career-best ERA for the second straight year. ... I had Saleas as the worst bet of the AL's big three relief-to-starter conversions this year. I ranked Neftali Feliz 57th, Daniel Bard 64th and Sale 68th among MLB SPs.
Honorable Mention - Johnny Cueto, David Price, Jake Peavy, Wade Miley, Jarrod Parker
2011 Winners - Justin Verlander, Ian Kennedy, James Shields, Clayton Kershaw, Doug Fister
2010 Winners - Mat Latos, Trevor Cahill, David Price, Ubaldo Jimenez, Jered Weaver
2009 Winners - Zack Greinke, Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, Wandy Rodriguez, Joel Pineiro
2008 Winners - Clff Lee, Tim Lincecum, Ryan Dempster, Ervin Santana, Roy Halladay
2007 Winners - Fausto Carmona, Josh Beckett, Aaron Harang, James Shields, Erik Bedard
2006 Winners - Bronson Arroyo, Brandon Webb, Francisco Liriano, Aaron Harang, Justin Verlander
2005 Winners - Chris Carpenter, Dontrelle Willis, Andy Pettitte, Cliff Lee, John Patterson
2004 Winners - Johan Santana, Ben Sheets, Carl Pavano, Oliver Perez, Chris Carpenter
2003 Winners - Esteban Loaiza, Jason Schmidt, Livan Hernandez, Brandon Webb, Roy Halladay
2002 Winners - Odalis Perez, Derek Lowe, Matt Clement, Tim Wakefield, Roy Halladay
2001 Winners - Mark Mulder, Joe Mays, John Burkett, Mark Buehrle, Roy Oswalt
2000 Winners - Ryan Dempster, Jeff D’Amico, Glendon Rusch, Darryl Kile, Chan Ho Park
1999 Winners - Mike Hampton, Todd Ritchie, Tim Hudson, Kevin Millwood, Jose Lima
LVPs - Tim Lincecum, Roy Halladay, Ricky Romero, Jon Lester, Dan Haren
Lincecum's projection: 15-10, 3.20 ERA, 1.206 WHIP, 219 K in 214 IP
Lincecum's 2012 stats: 10-15, 5.18 ERA, 1.468 WHIP, 190 K in 186 IP
Halladay's projection: 19-8, 2.71 ERA, 1.060 WHIP, 201 K in 229 1/3 IP
Halladay's 2012 stats: 11-8, 4.49 ERA, 1.222 WHIP, 132 K in 156 1/3 IP
Romero's projection: 16-9, 3.67 ERA, 1.269 WHIP, 180 K in 216 IP
Romero's 2012 stats: 9-14, 5.77 ERA, 1.674 WHIP, 124 K in 181 IP
Lester's projection: 16-9, 3.46 ERA, 1.217 WHIP, 190 K in 203 IP
Lester's 2012 stats: 9-14, 4.82 ERA, 1.383 WHIP, 166 K in 205 1/3 IP
Haren's projection: 16-10, 3.65 ERA, 1.160 WHIP, 182 K in 226 2/3 IP
Haren's 2012 stats: 12-13, 4.33 ERA, 1.291 WHIP, 142 K in 176 2/3 IP
Halladay's struggles were injury related, but it didn't stop the future Hall of Famer from throwing 156 mediocre innings. That gets him a spot high on the list. Still, Lincecum was the bigger disappointment, turning in the worst season of any NL starter. The 190 strikeouts don't make up for that ERA or WHIP. ... Romero gave up 43 more earned runs while pitching 44 fewer innings than in 2011. ... Lester gets the obligatory Red Sox spot over Josh Beckett because I expected considerably more from him. I had him ranked 19th among SPs, compared to 35th for Beckett.
Dishonorable Mention - Josh Beckett, Cliff Lee, Adam Wainwright, Josh Johnson, Ervin Santana
2011 Losers - Brian Matusz, Ubaldo Jimenez, Francisco Liriano, Ricky Nolasco, Chad Billingsley
2010 Losers - Zack Greinke, Josh Beckett, Tim Lincecum, Javier Vazquez, A.J. Burnett
2009 Losers - Francisco Liriano, Cole Hamels, Joba Chamberlain, Derek Lowe, Daisuke Matsuzaka
2008 Losers - Justin Verlander, Fausto Carmona, Pedro Martinez, Ian Snell, Rich Hill
2007 Losers - Jeremy Bonderman, Mike Mussina, Dontrelle Willis, Jose Contreras, Scott Olsen
2006 Losers - Mark Buehrle, Tim Hudson, Felix Hernandez, Dontrelle Willis, Odalis Perez
2005 Losers - Oliver Perez, Curt Schilling, Tim Hudson, Zack Greinke, Eric Milton
2004 Losers - Esteban Loaiza, Barry Zito, Jose Contreras, Jamie Moyer, Javier Vazquez
2003 Losers - Tom Glavine, Randy Johnson, Ramon Ortiz, Freddy Garcia, Derek Lowe
2002 Losers - Chan Ho Park, Freddy Garcia, Bud Smith, Brad Penny, Javier Vazquez
2001 Losers - Scott Elarton, Livan Hernandez, Kevin Millwood, Bartolo Colon, Dave Burba
2000 Losers - Jose Lima, Ramon Martinez, David Cone, Omar Daal, Kevin Millwood
1999 Losers - Roger Clemens, Jeff Fassero, Chan Ho Park, Tom Glavine, Brett Tomko
Relief Pitchers
MVPs - Fernando Rodney, Jim Johnson, Aroldis Chapman, Rafael Soriano
Rodney's projection: 3-4, 0 Sv, 4.22 ERA, 1.453 WHIP, 53 K in 64 IP
Rodney's 2012 stats: 2-2, 48 Sv, 0.60 ERA, 0.777 WHIP, 76 K in 74 2/3 IP
Johnson's projection: 4-4, 26 Sv, 3.57 ERA, 1.250 WHIP, 51 K in 68 IP
Johnson's 2012 stats: 2-1, 51 Sv, 2.49 ERA, 1.019 WHIP, 41 K in 68 2/3 IP
Chapman's projection: 5-3, 14 Sv, 2.97 ERA, 1.177 WHIP, 94 K in 69 2/3 IP
Chapman's 2012 stats: 5-5, 38 Sv, 1.51 ERA, 0.801 WHIP, 122 K in 71 2/3 IP
Soriano's projection: 4-3, 2 Sv, 3.32 ERA, 1.105 WHIP, 56 K in 57 IP
Soriano's 2012 stats: 2-1, 42 Sv, 2.26 ERA, 1.167 WHIP, 69 K in 67 2/3 IP
Several early-season closer switches and injuries made for plentiful choices here. Still, Rodney easily claims the top spot after racking up 48 saves and posting the lowest ERA in major league history (min. 50 IP). And it probably would have taken 10-man reserve rosters to get him drafted in AL-only leagues this year. ... Looking back, I really should have projected Chapman for more strikeouts. I put him at 12.1 K 9/IP, down a bit from his 12.8 in 50 innings in 2011. He ended up at 15.3.
Honorable Mention - Tom Wilhelmsen, Ernesto Frieri, Tyler Clippard, Casey Janssen
2011 Winners - Craig Kimbrel, Fernando Salas, Brandon League, Jordan Walden
2010 Winners - Neftali Feliz, John Axford, Rafael Soriano, Chris Perez
2009 Winners - Andrew Bailey, David Aardsma, Ryan Franklin, Rafael Soriano
2008 Winners - Brad Lidge, Kerry Wood, Brian Fuentes, Francisco Rodriguez
2007 Winners - Jeremy Accardo, Takashi Saito, Kevin Gregg, Manuel Corpas
2006 Winners - J.J. Putz, Jonathan Papelbon, Takashi Saito, Akinori Otsuka
2005 Winners - Chad Cordero, Derrick Turnbow,Huston Street, Todd Jones, Bob Wickman
2004 Winners - Brad Lidge, Joe Nathan, Jose Mesa, Shingo Takatsu
2003 Winners - Eric Gagne, Tim Worrell, Joe Borowski, Guillermo Mota
2002 Winners - Eric Gagne, Juan Acevedo, Byung-Hyun Kim, Octavio Dotel
2001 Winners - Byung-Hyun Kim, Jeff Zimmerman, Octavio Dotel, Jose Mesa
2000 Winners - Keith Foulke, Robb Nen, Gabe White
1999 Winners - Scott Williamson, Billy Koch, John Rocker
LVPs - Heath Bell, Jordan Walden, Brandon League, John Axford
Bell's projection: 4-5, 39 Sv, 3.29 ERA, 1.244 WHIP, 65 K in 68 1/3 IP
Bell's 2012 stats: 4-5, 19 Sv, 5.09 ERA, 1.555 WHIP, 59 K in 63 2/3 IP
Walden's projection: 3-4, 37 Sv, 2.81 ERA, 1.234 WHIP, 70 K in 64 IP
Walden's 2012 stats: 3-2, 1 Sv, 3.46 ERA, 1.351 WHIP, 48 K in 39 IP
League's projection: 4-5, 34 Sv, 3.04 ERA, 1.206 WHIP, 62 K in 68 IP
League's 2012 stats: 2-6, 15 Sv, 3.13 ERA, 1.361 WHIP, 54 K in 72 IP
Axford's projection: 4-4, 38 Sv, 2.58 ERA, 1.177 WHIP, 79 K in 69 2/3 IP
Axford's 2012 stats: 5-8, 35 Sv, 4.67 ERA, 1.442 WHIP, 93 K in 69 1/3 IP
Obviously, Bell was a bust. Axford still got his saves and strikeouts, but he was a liability in ERA and WHIP in the process. Walden lost his gig after just one blown save and never seemed to redeem himself in Mike Scioscia's mind, though he was effective aside from the month he missed in the second half. League was yanked from the closer's role in Seattle and traded prior to the deadline. He excelled after getting another chance with the Dodgers due to Kenley Jansen's heart troubles.
Dishonorable Mention - Sean Marshall, Carlos Marmol, Jose Valverde, Alfredo Aceves
2011 Losers - Matt Thornton, Joakim Soria, Ryan Franklin, Neftali Feliz
2010 Losers -Chad Qualls, Jonathan Broxton, Trevor Hoffman, Bobby Jenks
2009 Losers - B.J. Ryan, Brad Lidge, Brandon Morrow, Matt Capps
2008 Losers - Jason Isringhausen, Manuel Corpas, J.J. Putz,Huston Street
2007 Losers - Tom Gordon, Salomon Torres, Jorge Julio, Bob Wickman
2006 Losers - Derrick Turnbow, Brad Lidge, Ryan Dempster, Armando Benitez
2005 Losers - Danny Kolb, Danny Graves, Guillermo Mota, Keith Foulke
2004 Losers - Arthur Rhodes, Joe Borowski, Shawn Chacon, David Riske
2003 Losers - Billy Koch, Kazuhiro Sasaki, Armando Benitez, Jose Mesa
2002 Losers - Keith Foulke, Scott Strickland, Armando Benitez, Antonio Alfonseca
2001 Losers - Todd Jones, John Rocker, Billy Koch, Dave Veres
2000 Losers - Bob Howry, Scott Williamson, John Rocker, Billy Wagner
1999 Losers - Rod Beck, Jeff Montgomery, Rick Aguilera, Gregg Olson
Award Ballots
- Here are my MVP, Cy Young and ROY ballots for 2012:
AL MVP
1. Mike Trout
2. Miguel Cabrera
3. Robinson Cano
4. Adrian Beltre
5. Justin Verlander
6. Austin Jackson
7. David Price
8. Josh Hamilton
9. Adam Jones
10. Alex Rios
I put down my thoughts on Trout vs. Cabrera over at HardballTalk. Cabrera is going to win the MVP, and I'm OK with that. I think Trout was pretty clearly the better player, but he did play in 22 fewer games after opening the season in the minors.
As for the rest, Cano's awesome finishing kick thrust him from somewhere in the 7-10 range up to No. 3. That spot appeared likely to come down to Beltre vs. Hamilton a couple of weeks ago, but Hamilton's disappearing act nearly knocked him off the ballot entirely.
I went for Jones over Matt Wieters as the token Oriole. I really wanted to give the last spot to Edwin Encarnacion, but I couldn't quite justify it. Joe Mauer and Ben Zobrist were also in the running, but Rios had a pretty terrific season.
AL Cy Young
1. Justin Verlander
2. David Price
3. Felix Hernandez
4. Fernando Rodney
5. Chris Sale
Price had the ERA lead, the wins and the tougher schedule. Strictly on an inning-by-inning basis, I'd give him the edge over Verlander here. Still, I think the difference is pretty small and doesn't make up for the fact that Verlander made the equivalent of four more starts than Price did. Considering the infield defense behind him, the fact that Verlander finished second in the league in WHIP and batting average allowed is pretty amazing.
AL Rookie of the Year
1. Mike Trout
2. Yu Darvish
3. Yoenis Cespedes
4. Jarrod Parker
5. Tommy Milone
Not only does it have maybe the greatest rookie ever at the top, but the AL class is so very deep. Scott Diamond, Wei-Yin Chen, Will Middlebrooks, Matt Moore, Jose Quintana, Ryan Cook, A.J. Griffin, Manny Machado, Hisashi Iwakuma, Addison Reed, Sean Doolittle and Robbie Ross all made valuable contributions. Jesus Montero still projects very well too, though he was a disappointment this year.
NL MVP
1. Yadier Molina
2. Buster Posey
3. Ryan Braun
4. Andrew McCutchen
5. David Wright
6. Chase Headley
7. Aramis Ramirez
8. Aaron Hill
9. Joey Votto
10. Clayton Kershaw
I've flip-flopped a few times here.
Molina is the game's best defensive catcher, and he started 22 more games behind the plate than Posey did this year. Yeah, he's the worst hitter of the top six here, but it's not by all that huge of a margin. He's 87 points of OPS shy of Posey, 113 points shy of Braun.
One seemingly minor factor that swayed me in the end; Molina somehow hit into just 10 double plays this year. He came in at 21, 27, 19 and 21 the previous four years. It's really a pretty amazing total given that he's pretty slow, he hits plenty of grounders and he rarely strikes out. If Molina had made those 10-12 extra outs he usually does on twin-killings, I probably would have gone Posey first.
NL Cy Young
1. Clayton Kershaw
2. R.A. Dickey
3. Johnny Cueto
4. Kris Medlen
5. Matt Cain
I spent pretty much the entire year believing Dickey was the choice here. And he still would have been if Kershaw had succumbed to his hip injury. Kershaw came back and made a couple of more starts, though, and he proved to be the best pitcher. He led in ERA, strikeout ratio and WHIP while pitching just six fewer innings than Dickey. He also faced the tougher schedule. Consider that his opponents OPS was .760, even though quality left-handed hitters often sat out against him. Dickey's was .750, the lowest mark of the top five pure starters (including Gio Gonzalez, not including Medlen).
As for Medlen, his schedule was the weakest of the bunch. But he was amazing, amassing a 1.57 ERA in 138 innings. I think that's quite a bit more valuable than what Craig Kimbrel and Aroldis Chapman did. I also think it trumps Gio Gonzalez's performance. Gonzalez gave up 43 additional runs (40 earned) while pitching 61 1/3 innings more innings than Medlen. That's a 5.87 ERA. In comparison, Medlen allowed 19 more runs (17 earned) in 75 1/3 innings more than Kimbrel pitched. That's a 2.03 ERA.
NL Rookie of the Year
1. Bryce Harper
2. Wade Miley
3. Norichika Aoki
4. Todd Frazier
5. Wilin Rosario
Miley seemed to have this one in the bag for most of the year, but he went 2-2 with a 5.40 ERA in his final six starts. Harper, meanwhile, hit .330 with seven homers and 27 runs scored in 112 at-bats between September and October. It's still terribly close, and I've gone back and forth on my choice a few times. It's too bad they can't tie.
As for Rosario, he was just too sloppy defensively to justify a higher spot. He did lead all major league catchers and rookies in homers, but I think Aoki and Frazier were more valuable this year.
Previous selections
AL MVP
2000: Pedro Martinez
2001: Jason Giambi
2002: Alex Rodriguez
2003: Alex Rodriguez
2004: Vladimir Guerrero
2005: Alex Rodriguez
2006: Derek Jeter
2007: Alex Rodriguez
2008: Dustin Pedroia
2009: Joe Mauer
2010: Josh Hamilton
2011: Justin Verlander
AL Cy Young
2000: Pedro Martinez
2001: Mark Mulder
2002: Pedro Martinez
2003: Pedro Martinez
2004: Johan Santana
2005: Johan Santana
2006: Johan Santana
2007: CC Sabathia
2008: Roy Halladay
2009: Zack Greinke
2010: Felix Hernandez
2011: Justin Verlander
AL Rookie of the Year
2000: Terrence Long
2001: Ichiro Suzuki
2002: Eric Hinske
2003: Angel Berroa
2004: Bobby Crosby
2005:Huston Street
2006: Justin Verlander
2007: Dustin Pedroia
2008: Evan Longoria
2009: Andrew Bailey
2010: Neftali Feliz
2011: Jeremy Hellickson
NL MVP
2000: Barry Bonds
2001: Barry Bonds
2002: Barry Bonds
2003: Barry Bonds
2004: Barry Bonds
2005: Derrek Lee
2006: Albert Pujols
2007: Jake Peavy
2008: Albert Pujols
2009: Albert Pujols
2010: Joey Votto
2011: Matt Kemp
NL Cy Young
2000: Randy Johnson
2001: Randy Johnson
2002: Randy Johnson
2003: Mark Prior
2004: Randy Johnson
2005: Roger Clemens
2006: Brandon Webb
2007: Jake Peavy
2008: Tim Lincecum
2009: Adam Wainwright
2010: Roy Halladay
2011: Roy Halladay
NL Rookie of the Year
2000: Rick Ankiel
2001: Albert Pujols
2002: Austin Kearns
2003: Brandon Webb
2004: Khalil Greene
2005: Ryan Howard
2006: Hanley Ramirez
2007: Troy Tulowitzki
2008: Geovany Soto
2009: J.A. Happ
2010: Jason Heyward
2011: Craig Kimbrel