2012 Fantasy Baseball Awards and Final Thoughts

The Fantasy Baseball season may have abruptly come to an end for many owners. However, this is the perfect time to go the fantasy baseball award winners and final thoughts for the 2012 season.

American League Awards:

AL MVP: OF Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels

AL CY Young: SP David Price, Tampa Bay Rays

AL Rookie of Year: OF Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels

AL Breakthrough: SP Chris Sale, Chicago White Sox

AL Manager of Year: Buck Showalter, Baltimore Orioles

Awards:

National League Awards:

NL MVP: OF Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates

NL CY Young: SP R. A. Dickey, New York Mets

NL Rookie of Year: OF Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals

NL Breakthrough: SP Gio Gonzalez, Washington Nationals

NL Manager of Year: Davey Johnson, Washington Nationals

Fantasy Hitting Performance of Year:

OF Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers – 4 HRs

On May 8^th Texas crushed the Baltimore Orioles 10-3, but more noteworthy was that Hamilton crushed 4 homers and drove in 8 of the team’s runs. The mark tied the single game record for most home runs in a game and will most likely be the best fantasy hitting performance in the next decade.

Fantasy Pitching Performance of Year:

SP Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants – 9 IP, O H, 0 BB, 14 Ks

Cain shut the door on the Houston Astros on June 13th, as the fire-baller completely dominated the struggling “National League” team. It was the first perfect game in the history of the organization and helped more than a couple fantasy owners make a difference that week.

Biggest Fantasy Surprise:

SP R. A. Dickey, New York Mets – Dickey was a CY Young candidate each week, as he was able to put together an amazing 18-5 record. He also had a sizzling 2.68 ERA and was practically unhittable this season

Biggest Fantasy Disappointment:

SP Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants – Lincecum was by far the most disappointing pitcher in the entire 2012 season. He currently has an embarrassing 5.09 ERA, with a WHIP of 1.48, and the two-time Cy Young Winner has buried thousands of fantasy seasons in 2012.

Key Keepers to Target (besides the obvious):

1. SP Yu Darvish, Texas Rangers

2. OF Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds

3. 1B Adrian Gonzalez, Los Angels Dodgers

4. 1B Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves

5. SP Matt Moore, Tampa Bay Rays

Top Five Prospects for 2013:

1. SP Julio Teheran, Atlanta Braves

2. SP Shelby Miller, St. Louis Cardinals

3. SP Manny Banuelos, New York Yankees

4. 3B Anthony Rendon, Washington Nationals

5. SP Trevor Bauer, Arizona Diamondbacks