#1 Dick N Trout (won $210):
The feel good story of 2015. After a 2014 season where he didn’t earn his first win until we were almost halfway through the year, he was able to rebound by winning the regular season and playoff championships. If you look at his lineup it was no wonder he was able to put together a championship season. Not only did he keep the two best players in baseball, but he also received outstanding value from lower draft picks such as AJ Pollock and Francisco Liriano. All that being said, it was his work on the waiver wire that earned him his title. Free agent additions like Danny Salazar, Jose Quintana, John Lackey, and Dexter Fowler were key for him throughout the year. Overall, he had 6 pitchers with 175+ K’s (4 of which pitched 200+ innings), and he had 5 hitters who posted 20/10 (hr/sb) seasons. Looking closer at his team now than I did before, it was kind of silly to think he was going to lose the championship. MVP: AJ Pollock 12th round pick who finished #5 on the player rater.
#2 Team Reints (won $213.33):
The team that always seems to be in contention. The team that was predicted to win the playoff championship. The team that had to settle for 2nd, but nonetheless set the record for most money won in a single season. Another team with a successful draft and key pick ups that carried him to the championship game. Although he ended up trading Tulo, he got good value from both of his keepers (Harper was the other one). He ended up getting 25 or more home runs from 5 players, but also had 6 players with double digit steals. His pitching staff was also solid, although he used more of a streaming approach for a majority of the season and pretty much switched strategies at the trade deadline. Fun fact: He had the 81st pick (Gordon) and 84th pick (Vott) in the 7th round. Those two combined for 183 runs, 33 homeruns, 126 RBI, 69 SB’s, and an OBP around .400!! MVP: Dee Gordon was drafted 81st overall, yet finished #4 on the player rater.
#3 No Ragrets (won $28.33):
The team that actually had lots of “ragrets”. The team that everyone hopes he changes his team name next year so that the commissioner can stop using that punchline. The team that dropped everyone, which made it very difficult to write a review about. From Manager, Chris Musser, "For my MVP, say Matt Kemp was one of my key players that WAY OUTPERFORMED his draft spot. Biggest bust was Carlos Gomez who I dropped with two weeks of playoffs left. Best trade: Pablo Sandoval for Degrom in week two of the season".
#4 In Pence, I Trust (won $65.02):
The team that overpaid for the guy he "always" has. The team that stuck with his guy ( and his team name) despite multiple injuries that rendered him useless for the majority of the season. The team that choked away their bye in the last week of the season and was never able to fully recover. This team flourished in the first half of the season with Rizzo and Stanton living up to their keeper status, followed by Seager and Kluber having a solid year for their draft position. As with 2014, this team survived by their waiver wire moves and trades. Miguel Sano was picked up on July 1st and was arguably the RoY of the 2nd half of the season. 11 days later he added Delino DeShields, who started nearly every day for him, and Gerardo Parra was added in the beginning of July. He made some solid trades to dump Stephen Vogt for Evan Gattis and Mookie Betts for a struggling (at the time) Matt Kemp. As with 2014, his star player (Stanton) missed a significant amount of time due to injury, his teams namesake missed the entire 2nd half, and his closers struggled to put up the solid numbers they did in the first half. MVP: Juerys Familia who ended up 35th on the player rater after being added from free agency on April 6th.
#5 Tits Clits Baseball Mits (won $13.33):
The team that I always get nervous looking at on a work computer. The defending co-champion. The team who drafted every player under-21 possible. TCBM started the year by drafting A LOT of young talent, including guys who weren't even in the bigs yet. To a certain extent this strategy worked for him. His two keepers (Desmond and Springer) put together solid seasons, but definitely didn't meet expectations. He more than made up for that by hitting big on Kris Bryant (surefire NL RoY) and Starling Marte in the 3rd round, Kolten Wong in the 7th round, Matt Harvey in the 6th round, and Carlos Martinez in the 21st round. In the end, he was unable to form a solid team from top to bottom which resulted in average stats in 7 of the categories, and ranked in the bottom 3 in runs, RBI, and HR. MVP: Carlos Carrasco drafted 85th overall, but finished as the 15th ranked SP on the player rater.
#6 **JP** (won $26.66):
The team that snuck into the playoffs in the final week. The team that dropped 10 of its 12 final draft picks by June 1st. The team who rebounded with a few solid waiver wire acquisitions. Thats right, outside of Dallas Keuchel and Joc Pederson, **JP** had dumped almost half of the player he drafted only 2 months into the season. Furthermore, his keeper (Strasburg) underperformed and he probably was on the losing end in a trade that sent probable AL MVP, Josh Donaldson, to No Ragrets on June 28th. Nonetheless, he was able to put together a team that eeked into the playoffs int he 21st week. His team doesn't have a lot of star power, but it does have solid production top to bottom. MVP: Dallas Keuchel drafted 214 overall, but finished #11 on the overall player rater.
#7 You Mad Bum? (won $10):
The team that perennially ignores their line up after week 4. The team that continued that trend this year. The team that decided (with help from the commissioner) to do something about it. You Mad Bum? made waves this year by adding a co-owner, and former BGT team owner, Cameron Stelljes to help the day to day operations. It may have been just a little too late for this team, but a respectable 2nd half makes this team an interesting one to follow in 2016. Typically, we can count on the team as an easy win after the first third of the season, but not this year and hopefully not next. The first shockwave this team delivered was keeping Adam Jones with the 2nd overall pick and selecting 5 pitchers over the next 6 picks. Like **JP**, they truly had an abysmal 2nd half of the draft, but did have a bright spot in getting Collin McHugh in the 17th round. They did win maybe the 3rd most valuable prize of the playoffs and will receive the first pick after keepers in the 2016 draft by winning the consolation title. MVP: Collin McHugh drafted 194th overall, but finished as the 30th ranked SP on the player rater.
#8 Puig City (won $3.33):
Another team disappointed by its teams namesake (see In Pence, I Trust). A team who seemed to spend most of the season in the playoff picture. The team that couldn't finish when it mattered and found themselves on the outside looking in. Puig City was all-in on the Dodgers, keeping 2 of them (Kershaw and Puig) and drafted a third (Gonzalez) in the 4th round. What killed him was that Kershaw struggled (relative to his standards) in the first half, and the Dodger offense (especially Puig) wasn't very good this year. What helped him stay competitive was key late draft acquisitions like Scott Kazmir in the 21st round, Brett Gardner in the 12th, Curtis Granderson in the 17th, and Manny Machado in the 9th. What hurt him in the end was punting saves, but not having the necessary starting pitchers to make up for that. MVP: Arguably, Curtis Granderson drafted 196th overall, but finished as the 49th ranked hitter on the player rater.
#9 Disabled List (won $30):
A team that spent another year fitting its namesake. A team that had a 2/3 chance of picking the best Blue Jay, but missed. The team that was in 4th halfway through the season, picked as the team to watch in the 2nd half, but collapsed. If you know DL manager, Ryan "Berts" Roberts, you know that he constantly states "I quit" after faltering, but then picks it up weeks later. This covers everything from Clash of Clans, to chewing tobacco, and of course fantasy baseball. Berts actually had a really strong draft on paper. Unfortunately, that didn't translate into a really strong season. He was winless from week 10 to week 18, which ultimately lead to his fantasy demise. Although he has decided to "quit", again, I have no fear that he will be back with a vengeance in 2016. That being said, he did sell his soul and draft picks to make a 2nd half comeback that failed. If anything tells you about his 2nd half it's that his MVP wasn't even on his team after the trade deadline. MVP: Eric Hosmer who was drafted 176th overall, but finished as a top 25 hitter on the player rater.
#10 Well Played Mauer (won $0):
The mystery man of the league. The team whose name is about 5 years out of date. The team that was one of two that had their last pick on their roster for the entire season. Well Played Mauer had a pretty solid first half of the draft, but fell apart a little bit in the second half. This was coupled with making the 3rd least amount of moves in the season. It's not impossible to recover from a poor draft, but it is when you aren't scouring the waiver wire to make up for the poor picks. Although he remained competitive throughout the season, it just wasn't good enough to ever really be in the hunt or to win any money :(. MVP: Arguably, Brandon Crawford who was added on May 5th, but was the 83rd ranked hitter on the player rater.
#11 Chaw Big Chief (won $0):
The other team who kept his final pick on his roster all year. The team who enjoys the smell of fresh cut grass and the shine of a freshly shaved scalp. The team that just with a little more attentiveness could have had a different season. In the first 8 rounds, Chaw Big Chief kept Felix Hernandez, drafted Chris Sale (3rd round), and drafted Jake Arrieta (8th round), yet didn't exceed in any pitching categories except for WHIP. His offense had the star power (Cano, Cespedes, Blackmon, and V. Martinez to name a few), but left more to be desired. Overall, he wasn't able to find a big value pick or waiver wire add that could carry his team over the hump. It also appeared that he may have had short stretches of inactivity during the season...heck the grass ain't gonna mow itself! MVP: Jake Arrieta drafted 96th overall, but finished #1 on the overall player rater.
#12 Team Pup N Suds (won $0):
The defending co-champion. The team that set the record for most consecutive winless match ups and most winless match ups to start a season. The team that went from first to worst. After a terrible start, Team Pup N Suds was actually able to put together an okay season finishing 4-1-2 after starting 0-13-1. He was able to upset In Pence, I Trust, Disabled List, and Puig City in the final weeks which altered the playoff picture. He also was on the giving end of the biggest trade rape this league may ever see. As Disabled List was selling his soul, Team Pup N Suds had a sheepish grin on his face as he picked up some huge draft picks for the 2016 season. MVP: Probable AL RoY, Carlos Correa who was added on May 11th.
Per usual, it has been fun competing with you all this year. I look forward to next season and expanding on this blog. Good luck in fantasy football and we will meet again in February! <3
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