Ray’s Ramblings: Award Talk & More

MLB AWARDS

Major League baseball announced the finalists for the major awards Monday. A few things that stood out.

NL MVP: Kris Bryant, Daniel Murphy, Corey Seager

Bryant had a .939 OPS with a .292-39-102-121-8 line. Check.

Murphy was stupendous with a .347-25-104-88 line with a .985 OPS. Check.

But Corey Seager?

He will win the NL ROY as he should, but league MVP? Leaving defense out, and the team stuff (I think the award should go to the most outstanding player not the best player on the best team or whatever), here are some other worthy options that could have easily replaced Seager as a finalist.

Sorry, but Seager just doesn’t belong as a finalist. He certainly wasn’t a fantasy MVP either, as great as his rookie season was.

AL CY YOUNG: Corey Kluber, Rick Porcello, Justin Verlander

Where is Zach Britton on this list?

I do not believe that relievers should win the Cy Young award. They just don’t play enough. Still, even I have to admit that Britton put an epic season down in 2016. The guy didn’t blow a single save opportunity converting all 47 chances. He allowed one homer all season (69 games). He struck out 74 batters in 67 innings. He allowed seven runs, only four were earned, helping him to a 0.54 ERA. He had an insane ground ball rate of 80 percent, honestly folks it’s not possible to do that, also helped him to a 0.84 WHIP.

I may not think a guy getting three outs should be up for the best pitcher award, but how can he not be a finalist after a nearly perfect season? The team obviously agrees.

WHY DID HE DO THIS?

Greg Holland is working his way back to the big leagues after undergoing Tommy John surgery. In his heyday, he routinely hit the upper 90’s with his fastball and for his career PITCHf/x has his heater velocity at 95.5 mph. He decided to have his showcase for interested teams Monday to show that he is ready to sign a contract. Don’t know why he would be holding this showcase so early unless things were perfect (why not just wait a couple of months to build up arm strength?). Sounds like Holland risked it and the risk failed. Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs said that Holland was at a mere 88-91 mph on his fastball, light years from where he used to be. Plenty of time for him to work his way back to his previous form, but those are not encouraging numbers. Here’s a video of Holland throwing from the showcase.

SIGN ME UP

Yunel Escobar had his $7 million option picked up by the Angels. Escobar is 34 years old and very boring in fantasy. Just how it is, and you know I speak the truth. Still, you can totally understand why Escobar’s deal was picked up by the club from Anaheim. The last two seasons he has hit .314 and .304. Only four others can match a .300 average the last two years: Jose Altuve, Miguel Cabrera, D.J. LeMahieu and Joey Votto. Escobar has also posted an OBP of .375 and .355 the last two seasons. Only three other third basemen can match a .355 mark in each of the last two seasons: Kris Bryant, Matt Carpenter and Josh Donaldson. So why do we care so little? Because Escobar does nothing in any other category. The last three years he’s stolen three bases. The last time he reached double-digit homers was 2011. The last time he had 60 RBI was 2009. The last time he scored more than 75 runs was 2011 (he’s been under 70 runs in 4/5 seasons). A solid option to turn to once injuries start to hit in-season, but I would be hard pressed to suggest anyone draft him in a mixed league.

OFF-FIELD CONCERNS

Jeurys Familia has had his court hearing pushed back to November 14^th for a domestic violence incident. If convicted, he will obviously be suspended and face potential jail time. Even if he isn’t convicted, a suspension could be coming.

Familia is coming off consecutive seasons of at least 43 saves and his 51 saves in 2016, tied for the 9^th most in baseball history. Familia saw his walk rate explode as it was a batter and a half above his mark in 2015 at 3.59 per nine (2.19 the previous year). However, he also jacked up his ground ball rate to 63.3 percent, a career best and a monster number. His 2017 outlook is completely muddled at the moment however with the off the field issues.

QUALIFYING OFFERS

Here are a series of players that could have, but weren’t, offered a Qualifying Offer’s Monday: Rajai Davis, Kendrys Morales, Mike Napoli, Wilson Ramos Michael Saunders, Matt Wieters.

Check out my writeup on the Qualifying Offers that were handed out to free agents.

What is the greatest game ever played?

Ray Flowers can be heard Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday, 8 PM EDT, Wednesday 7 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 9 PM EDT PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).