With just three days left in the season, each member of the BP Fantasy team took the time to reflect on the year that was, casting their votes for a variety of categories. Today, I'll be handing out the fantasy fantasy hardware (that is, inconsequential awards for a derivative game). After seeing who we thought had the best, worst, and most interesting 2011 seasons, be sure to tell us who you think deserved some recognition in the comments section.
The rest of this article is restricted to Baseball Prospectus Subscribers.
Not a subscriber?
Click here for more information
on Baseball Prospectus subscriptions or use the buttons to the right to subscribe and get access to the best baseball content on the web.
I actually gave him a moment's consideration for Most Overrated, believe it or not, but thought it might send the wrong message since I do really like him. He's a good pitcher, but he's not this good. I heard one guy on TV recently say that he's "the best pitcher in baseball right now," which just isn't true.
Basically for the reasons I said. Yes, he's been good, but some people are treating him like he's among the games elite (or better than the game's elite, in some cases). He's not that caliber of pitcher. That said, I do really like him and have for a few years now. It's great that he's finally gotten a chance and has done so well with it.
What was overrated, the 1.56 ERA or the 0.91 WHIP? He wasn't the best fantasy pitcher because of the counting stats, with only 120 K and 10 W, he wasn't as valuable as a Dickey, but the value of that ERA and WHIP over 138 IP can't be overstated.
I wouldn't think of him as among baseballs elite for next year, but for this year in fantasy - the numbers are all that matter.
Can you expound a bit re: Cueto, Derek? You're hurting my heart! I could've seen it the last two years, but this year he was excellent, IMO. Still beat xFIP and all, but I don't think that was smoke & mirrors.
Sure. It's mostly because I do think it's smoke and mirrors. He's in the Cy Young conversation right now, and he just shouldn't be. He's a good pitcher, but he's not an elite one. He's mostly the same pitcher he has been, just with better/luckier results. He's stranding more runners than he ever has before and seems to be lucky with his home runs.
Naw, I had some other candidates, too: Morneau for Comeback Player, Jered Weaver for most likely to disappoint, largely on his ADP vs. PECOTA at the time; Chris Perez as the first closer to lose his job. So there's egg all over my face, really :)
I went with Miggy as the biggest miss to me because of (1) how well he's done on both sides of the ball (after a -11.8 FRAA at 1B last season, he has logged a -1.8 FRAA across the diamond this year) and (2) he's on my fantasy beat so I should have known better.
the only one I didn't understand was Dustin Ackley as the unluckiest player of the year. Why? Because he plays in Seattle? Hasn't he just stunk up the place all year and that luck hasn't had much to do with it?
For a player who makes contact as often as Ackley (over 90% rate) it's surprising to see his strikeout rate near league-average 19 percent. Also his .267 BABIP is a lot lower than anything else he's posted in his professional career. It could be the case that he's simply staring at a lot of called-strike threes and hitting a lot of weak grounders causing outs. But for a player of Ackley's talent, a decent part of his miserable 2012 is, I believe, due to poor luck.
Resident Fantasy Geniu... (09/27)
Baseball Therapy: When... (10/01)
17 comments have been left for this article. 
Surprise Me!
No Kris Medlen love?
I guess he wasn't rookie eligible and since he went 7-0 as a starter last season, it must not have been much of a surprise.
Correction 7QS in 2010.
I actually gave him a moment's consideration for Most Overrated, believe it or not, but thought it might send the wrong message since I do really like him. He's a good pitcher, but he's not this good. I heard one guy on TV recently say that he's "the best pitcher in baseball right now," which just isn't true.
How could he be most overrated?
Basically for the reasons I said. Yes, he's been good, but some people are treating him like he's among the games elite (or better than the game's elite, in some cases). He's not that caliber of pitcher. That said, I do really like him and have for a few years now. It's great that he's finally gotten a chance and has done so well with it.
What was overrated, the 1.56 ERA or the 0.91 WHIP? He wasn't the best fantasy pitcher because of the counting stats, with only 120 K and 10 W, he wasn't as valuable as a Dickey, but the value of that ERA and WHIP over 138 IP can't be overstated.
I wouldn't think of him as among baseballs elite for next year, but for this year in fantasy - the numbers are all that matter.