Sunday, October 8, 2017

2017's Best


     Here is the breakdown of each team's best performers for the 2017 season, both pitching and hitting. Below, I will list my top ten for each league, should I have an MVP and Cy Young vote.
ARIZONA



Robbie Ray
15-5
2.89

J.D. Martinez (Arizona Stats only)
29
65
.302
ATLANTA



Arodys Vizcaino
5-3
2.83
14 saves
Freddie Freeman
28
71
.307
BALTIMORE



Dylan Bundy
13-9
4.24

Jonathan Schoop
32
105
.293
BOSTON



Craig Kimbrel
5-O
1.43
35 saves
Mookie Betts
24
102
.264
CUBS



Wade Davis
4-2
2.30
32 saves
Anthony Rizzo
32
109
.273
WHITE SOX



David Robertson (White Sox Stats only)
4-2
2.7
13 saves
Jose Abreu
33
102
.304
CINCINNATI



Raisel Iglesias
3-3
2.49
28 saves
Joey Votto
36
100
.320
CLEVELAND



Corey Kluber
18-4
2.25

Jose Ramirez
29
83
.318
COLORADO



Jon Gray
10-04
3.67

Charlie Blackmon
37
104
.331
DETROIT



Justin Wilson (Tigers Stats only)
3-4
2.68
13 saves
Justin Upton (Tigers Stats only)
28
94
.279
HOUSTON



Justin Verlander (Astros stats only)*
5-O
1.06

Dallas Keuchel
14-5
2.9

Carlos Correa
24
84
.315
KANSAS CITY



Jason Vargas
18-11
4.16

Eric Hosmer
25
94
.318
LOS ANGELES ANGELS



Parker Bridwell
1O-3
3.64

Mike Trout
33
72
.306
LOS ANGELES DODGERS



Clayton Kershaw
18-4
2.31

Cody Bellinger
39
97
.267
MILWAUKEE BREWERS



Chase Anderson
12-4
2.74

Travis Shaw
31
101
.273
MINNESOTA TWINS



Ervin Santana
16-8
2.38

Miguel Sano
28
77
.264
METS



Jacob deGrom
15-10
3.53

Michael Conforto
27
68
.279
YANKEES



Luis Severino
14-6
2.98

Aaron Judge
52
114
.284
OAKLAND



Blake Treinin (A'S Stats only)
3-4
2.13
13 saves
Khris Davis
43
110
.247
PHILADEPHIA



Pat Neshek (Phillies Stats only)
3-2
1.12
1 save
Aaron Altherr
19
65
.272
PIRATES



Felipe Rivero
5-3
1.67
21 saves
Andrew McCutcheon
28
88
.279
SAN DIEGO



Brad Hand
3-4
2.16
21 saves
Jose Pirela
10
40
.288
SAN FRANCISCO



Cory Gearrin
4-3
1.99

Buster Posey
12
67
.320
SEATTLE



James Paxton
12-5
2.98

Nelson Cruz
39
119
.288
ST. LOUIS



Luke Weaver
7-2
3.88

Yadier Molina
18
82
.273
TAMPA BAY



Alex Cobb
12-1O
3.66

Logan Morrison
38
85
.246
TEXAS



Andrew Cashner
11-11
3.4

Adrian Beltre
17
71
.312
TORONTO



Marcus Stroman
13-9
3.09

Josh Donaldson
33
78
.270
WASHINGTON



Steven Strasburg
15-4
2.52

Bryce Harper
29
87
.319

     Interesting notes here. Notice more relievers being the top pitchers for their teams in the National League. It makes one wonder how much the inter-league play strategies affect the American league teams, who rely on the designated hitter more often.
     The National League managers have to factor in batting position when changing pitchers during a National League game, while the American League managers don't have that issue during their intra-league games.
     And as for saves, the Major League leader in saves was Jesus Colome of the Tampa Bay Rays, who finished in third place in the AL East, and didn't make the playoffs.
     The National League leaders, Kenley Jansen of the Dodgers and Greg Holland of the Rockies, who tied for the lead, were both with playoff teams. Does that make their save totals more important?
     Personally, I don't think they do. I believe that save stat, while interesting, really isn't that important. I think that the Win is more important Colome saved 47 of the rays 82 wins, or 57%. But Jansen's 41 saves was just 39% of the Dodger's 104 wins, which pales next to Holland's 47% of the Rockies 87 wins. So who was the better of those three?
     Here are the vitals for the three:
Jesus Colome
2-3
3.24
47
Greg Holland
3-6
3.61
41
Kenley Jansen
5-O
1.32
41

  Using my formula, they are ranked as such:
  1. Jansen
  2. Colome
  3. Holland
     And Jansen is ahead by a lot. Part of that is the ERA, but a bigger part is the wins. The formula I use weighs the wins heavier than the losses. Granted, there isn't that much of a difference between 5 wins and 3 wins, but that, combined with the stellar ERA from Jansen, tips the scale way in his favor.

     It was also a record breaking season for a few players, most notably Aaron Judge, who set the new rookie record for home runs. Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers established a new National League record for home runs. And Charlie Blackmon of the Rockies became the first lead-off batter to drive in over 100 runs.
     As a side note, Blackmon also hit 14 triples on the season, which was 9 more that the Toronto Blue Jays hit as a team.

     Also note that the theme for the Tigers this year was rebuilding. Or trading off your talent, depending on which side of the fence that you're on. Their two team leaders (Justin Upton and Justin Wilson) were playing elsewhere by the end of the season, and J.D.. Martinez and Justin Verlander were helping their new teams into the playoffs.
     Martinez, who went to Arizona at the end of July, did very well in the desert, adding his bat to an already potent offense, and actually rated better than Paul Goldschmitt. Although Martinez spent less than a full season there, his performance merits his standing as the Dbacks best offensive player.
     *Justin Verlander, who joined the Astros at the beginning of September, didn't spend enough time in Houston to knock Dallas Keuchel from the top spot on the Astros list. But...he did go 5-0, winning every one of his five starts, and allowing just four runs in those five games. But I listed him above anyway


     OK, now for the MVP vote for each league, if I had a vote, that ballot of ten would be:

     American League
Aaron Judge
Yankees
Carlos Correa
Astros
Mike Trout
Angels
Corey Kluber
Indians
Gary Sanchez
Yankees
Justin Upton
Tigers/Angels
Jose Altuve
Astros
Dallas Keuchel
Astros
George Springer
Astros
Nelson Cruz
Mariners

     National League
Bryce Harper
Nationals
Charlie Blackmon
Rockies
J.D. Martinez
Diamondbacks
Clayton Kershaw
Dodgers
Paul Goldschmitt
Diamondbacks
Giancarlo Stanton
Marlins
Nolan Arenado
Rockies
Joey Votto
Reds
Freddie Freeman
Braves
Kenley Jansen
Dodgers

     And then my Cy Young Award ballot of five pitchers would be:
American League
Corey Kluber
Indians
Dallas Keuchel
Astros
Craig Kimbrel
Red Sox
Chris Sale
Red Sox
Carlos Carrasco
Indians

     And the National League
Clayton Kershaw
Dodgers
Kenley Jansen
Dodgers
Alex Wood
Dodgers
Steven Strasburg
Nationals
Max Scherzer
Nationals


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