With the exact mid-point of the 2014 fantasy baseball season upon us, let's take a look at the Midseason Fantasy Baseball Awards. Normally, you would see MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, and Relief Pitcher of the Year. But, in fantasy baseball, the awards are different. For those who picked first, Mike Trout or Miguel Cabrera was your pick, so they would not be your "MVP" per se, because you were going to pick either one anyway.
Without further ado, your midseason fantasy baseball awards:
Most Valuable Hitter
As mentioned above, this is not Trout or Cabrera, as they would be the obvious choices. But this goes to the player who is performing like a number one pick, but you were able to draft him later than that, hence giving him the most value.
Michael Brantley, Outfield, Cleveland Indians
Brantley is currently hitting .323 with 11 home runs, nine stolen bases, 49 runs scored and 46 runs batted in. He also rates as a .249 on eDraft's FBV (fantasy batter value) which is tied with Jose Bautista. Brantley was being drafted, on average, 237th overall, as the 63rd outfielder drafted.
Most Valuable Pitcher
Johnny Cueto, Starting Pitcher, Cincinnati Reds
Cueto has been absolutely dominant in every way this season. He leads baseball in ERA, is second in WHIP, is sixth in strikeouts, and could be on his way to a Cy Young. What was his value? He was being drafted at spot 166, as the 58th pitcher off the board. Kudos to those who selected him, as you probably have one of the best pitching staffs in your fantasy league.
This has been the status quo for Cueto this season:
Waiver Wire Superstar
This award could have a number of names. Anywhere from George Springer to Charlie Blackmon.
The waiver wire superstar award goes to Scott Kazmir. Believe it or not, Kazmir has been one of the best fantasy pitchers this year, and was drafted in a very low percentage of leagues. Kazmir is 9-2 with a 2.08 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. He has also struck out 80 hitters in 95 innings of work. The Athletics really do get the best out of every pitcher, don't they?
Best Five-Category Player
In most fantasy leagues, there are five categories for hitting, and five categories for pitching. This award goes to the player that has shown the ability to put up numbers at every category, giving him the best overall value in fantasy baseball leagues that use the standard five categories.
The award goes to Paul Goldschmidt from the Arizona Diamondbacks.
So far this season, Goldschmidt is hitting .308 with 15 home runs and 52 runs batted in. He has also scored 55 runs and stolen six bases. A first baseman who can perform well in four categories is huge, but considering that Goldschmidt is a threat on the basepaths as well, that is a real five category player. Last year, he was able to steal 15 bases, so this award is between him and Trout for the rest of the season.
The Jason Kipnis Award
For those fantasy owners who had Jason Kipnis last year, you know what this award means. This goes to the player that started off incredible slow, causing fantasy owners to drop him, then this player was immediately picked up on the waiver wire and went on a tear, turning into one of the best players at his position in fantasy baseball.
This year's Kipnis award so far goes to: Edwin Encarnacion
That sounds odd now, does it not? Encarnacion was actually being dropped in a lot of leagues earlier this season, and he has turned it around, to say the least. Currently, the Blue Jay is second in baseball in home runs and fourth in runs batted in. If you were lucky enough to have the top waiver priority that week, congratulations on picking him up.