The New York Yankees and I both took home championships in 2009. How about you?
With the dust having finally settled, we can officially put a wrap on the 2009 baseball season, both in fantasy and reality. The New York Yankees have emerged as MLB champions once again and those that have walked away with the crown from their respective fantasy leagues have hopefully received their spoils of war. Congratulations to the Yankees on their 27th World Championship and kudos to you if you took home a title this past season. I, myself, collected a pair of championships in 2009, both in roto leagues, and received prizes in two others (one roto and one head to head) for a top 4 finish in each. Even in my first Experts League on Benchwarmer Baseball, I took first in the “Blogger’s Division”, but sadly met my demise in the first round of the playoffs. Overall, I’d say that 2009 was an incredibly successful year.
So how did it all happen? I can toot my own horn here and say it was all due to my brilliant strategy, cunning trades and gifted scouting abilities, but we all know that there’s definitely a good amount of luck that comes into play. Now I won’t knock my abilities nor pin my victories on serendipitous good fortune, but it sure didn’t hurt to see my competition floundering with the likes of an injured Jose Reyes, a gimpy Carlos Quentin or a struggling Chris Davis (ok, so I drank the Kool-Aid on that last one in my primary league, but I overcame it to come in first anyway). Let’s just say it was the perfect combination of being an astute, savvy fantasy GM and the endowment of heavenly karma bestowed on me by the baseball gods.
So let’s take a look at some of the more notable happenings in 2009, both good and bad, and that should give us a nice little picture of how 2009 unfolded. It’s a nice little recap to give you some food for thought while you’re waiting for me to finish compiling data and crunching numbers to present you with a nice array of pre-draft tools for your 2010 fantasy preparations.
2009′s Top 3 Usual Suspects
With a batting line of .328-124-47-135-16, Albert Pujols proved, yet again, why he is one of the most valuable players in fantasy baseball. People will argue that position eligibility may knock him down to second or third overall in fantasy value, but with a masher like him on your squad, your offensive totals should remain near the top in any league.
Who's your #1? Hanley or Albert?
Hanley Ramirez was supposed to build on his on his 33 HR/35 SB season but left some of his owners wanting more than the 24/27 season they got. He fought through some day to day injuries throughout the season but did find the time to increase his batting average from .301 to an NL leading .342. With position eligibility always a factor, the Marlins’ shortstop still maintained his position as one of the top fantasy players today.
Or maybe it's Alex?
And then there was A-Rod. Based on when you drafted last year in relation to the news of his surgery, he was still a consensus top pick based on his positioning at third base. And pushing aside a steroid scandal, hip surgery and the New York Media frenzy, Alex Rodriguez still came through in a huge way for his owners as he hit .286 with 30 HR and 100 RBI in just 444 at bats. To put it in a little more perspective, Pujols’ numbers were done in over 100 at bats more. A-Rod remains the number one third baseman and after collecting his first ever World Series title, he’s ready to do it again. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention his 14 stolen bases, dates Kate Hudson and finally shed the ghosts of playoffs past? Easily a top 3 pick in 2010.
Veteran Disappointments
Was it Citi Field that knocked him from hero to zero?
Nothing spells fantasy disaster like losing one of your top draft picks, whether it was due to injury, crappy play, suspensions, or what not. Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, Lance Berkman, B.J. Upton, Manny Ramirez, Jake Peavy, Brandon Webb, Grady Sizemore, Josh Hamilton, Russell Martin, Geovany Soto, David Wright, Garrett Atkins, David Ortiz, and Magglio Ordonez were all high picks going into the year and each one of them fell apart worst than the next. If you were one of the really unfortunate ones, then you didn’t just lose one, but a few of them. Some of them could be nice rebound/buy low candidates to start 2010, but you’re going to have to be very careful as to who you’re putting your trust into next season.
Veteran Comebacks
The Yankees all time hits leader silenced his critics in 2009
It’s always nice when you draft a guy everyone is down on and he comes through. Derek Jeter was tabbed as a declining player and “the worst defensive shortstop in baseball (we’ll get to that one again soon), Miguel Tejada as a post-steroids potential flop, and Juan Pierre had no starting job coming into the year. Well, Jeter had one of his best fantasy seasons in the last 5 years, Tejada hit .313 with 14 HR, and Pierre took off when Manny was suspended, hitting over .300 with 30 steals in under 400 AB. Each one was a solid contributor to successful fantasy squads.
And then there was Raul Ibanez. Argued by some that he was too old and due for an injury plagued year plaing full time in the NL, Ibanez silenced his critics, mashing 34 HR with 93 RBI hitting 6th in the Phillies lineup. Personally, I knew he would do it, but it took a few months before everyone else seemed to jump on the bandwagon.
Emerging From the Shadows
5 tool stud for years to come?
Two players that, despite being in the league for a few years already, are just starting to come into their own with full time jobs finally handed to them. We saw the breakouts of Jayson Werth and Matt Kemp in 2008 and watched last season as both of them entrenched themselves in the fantasy stud category. With solid power and speed production from both, they will likely become keepers for the upcoming year.
Rookie Studs
The next Time Lincecum....without the weed addiction.
Everyone loves striking fantasy gold with a youngster and Garrett Jones, Casey McGehee, Chris Coghlan, Gordon Beckham, Nolan Reimold, and Tommy Hanson all rewarded their owners in 2009. The Rookie of the Year honors haven’t been handed out just yet, but I’m sure your winners have been listed here. Now can they do it again? That’s the million dollar question.
Rookie Bombs
But with every rookie success stroy, there are flops as well. Chris Davis, David Price, Jay Bruce, and Travis Snider were all listed amongst the top rookies for 2009 and while each may have had a shining moment or two, none of them panned out as their owners had hoped. However, just like some of the “Veteran Disappointments”, I see one or two of these guys having a big rebound in 2010.
Breakout Seasons
I don't need to wait another year before I'm sold on the power and talent.
If you look at every fantasy team that won a championship this year, there’s no question that you’ll find a roster that includes one or more of the following names: Aaron Hill, Ben Zobrist, Pablo Sandoval, Adam Lind, Shin Soo-Choo, Nelson Cruz, Justin Upton, Kendry Morales, and Adam Jones all had major success throughout the 2009 season. Some we saw coming like Cruz, Sandoval, and Jones and others just dazzled us and made us wish we took a shot on them. Again, the big question is whether they can repeat their success, and for some, it’s a definite yes from me.
Swipes Galore
Only going to get better...
As I said in the spring of last year, we are definitely seeing a shift in baseball where speed is becoming much more abundant than power. Players like Carl Crawford, Jacoby Ellsbury, Nyjer Morgan, and Michael Bourn were swiping bags at an alarming rate and while I’ll have to check the numbers for you again, there were more guys with double digit steals in 2009 than there were in the past 5 years. Even rookie Elvis Andrus finished the year with 33 steals, and I’m sure he’s going to build on that total next year.
Clutch Pitching
I don't think Scott even saw his 2009 performance coming
In a year where there were fallen aces all over the place, there were plenty of guys to pick up the slack. Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, Edwin Jackson, Josh Johnson, Wandy Rodriguez, and Scott Feldman did more than just the lion’s share to help out their fantasy team’s pitching totals. You can obviously throw in a few more names in there like Zack Greinke, but the real value was in the aforementioned guys that were taken in the middle to later rounds. Special nod to Mark Buehrle for throwing only the 18th perfect game in MLB history.
Closing Surprises
Talk about a value pick!!
There are plenty of opinions out there regarding closers. Some like the bona fide studs and others don’t mind fishing in the bargain bin with the hopes that one or two guys will pan out. David Aardsma, Ryan Franklin, and Fernando Rodney were three such guys that didn’t start the spring, let alone the season as their respective team’s closer. But when the Mariners couldn’t find anyone and when Jason Motte and Brandon Lyon blew their chances, each of these guys stepped in and ran away with the job. Special nods to Trevor Hoffman (old man’s still got it!) and Francisco Cordero (still can’t believe he didn’t implode) for also putting together solid seasons.
Closing Nightmares
Bombs away!! Both Lidge and his owners spent the year in tears.
Obviously there were guys who missed some golden opportunities (see above) and there were others like Kevin Gregg who gave way to better pitchers, but no one was as big a nightmare as Brad Lidge was last year. He went from the perfect pitcher in 2008 to the perfect disaster in 2009 as his owners spent the season banging their heads against the wall in angst and frustration. While 2010 will likely see him as a classic buy low candidate, there’s no way I’m drinking that Kool-Aid again.
So there you have it. The 2009 season in a nutshell. As we continue to do some work through the winter we will start analyzing more numbers, but for now, let’s just enjoy the end of a fantastic season and the start of what should be a very active off-season.
Coming soon we’ll take a look at the 2010 free agents and what kind of fantasy impact the impending player movement will bring. We’ll do some statistical analysis, lineup projections, player rankings, rookie watching, and catch some updates from the Arizona Fall League and the Latin American Winter Leagues. The winter GM meetings also bring some holiday excitement, so get ready…
Only 16 more weeks until pitchers and catchers report.
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