Mound Musings: The 2020 Season Pitching Awards Issue

It has been a wild year, but at least we had baseball. I will have to say that 2020 gave us even more surprises than usual, and maybe a few more cases of heartburn as well. COVID-19 and injuries, many related directly or indirectly to the pandemic, opened so many doors that otherwise would not have materialized so soon. Fantasy baseball in general, and the pitching aspects of the game continue to rapidly evolve – or digress, depending on your perspective. And, for fantasy owners, roster management became more and more of a challenge. Still, there are always standouts.

That said, let's get to my list of the 2020 award winners:

Newcomer Award – Sixto Sanchez: I still don't think the Marlins are all that good, but someone forgot to tell them, and Sanchez arrived just in time to catch the wave. He hasn't pitched above Double-A, but he certainly looks right at home in the majors. I saw an interview with him where he mentioned his hero growing up was Pedro Martinez. That's interesting, because I was thinking, he kind of reminds me of Martinez. He has a little more arm, but Martinez stood out because he always seemed to be a few pitches ahead of the hitters, and he was able to execute the exact pitch he needed in a specific situation. That's called "mound presence" and most pitchers don't fully develop that until they have been in the league awhile. Sanchez appears to be the exception. I have always liked him, but watching him pitch now, he has jumped way up on the kid list. 

Biggest (Pleasant) Surprise – Kenta Maeda: Okay, to be honest, Maeda hasn't been too much of a surprise to me, but many analysts weren't convinced he would be all that successful in his new home. The questions focused on why he bounced between the rotation and the bullpen while with the Dodgers, and I'm more or less convinced the answer is, because he could. It's not easy to do both, and Maeda was competent in both roles for the pitching-rich Dodgers. Now, he takes a turn every five days in Minnesota, and he has performed like an ace (5-1, with a 2.43 ERA, and, perhaps most notably, a microscopic 0.74 WHIP). He's still a bit homer prone, but when you never put anyone on base, they don't hurt so much. Maeda has a great repertoire, and he has the veteran confidence to throw any pitch, at any time. He switches off when one pitch isn't working that well on a given day, making him all the harder to read.

Biggest Disappointment – Shohei Ohtani: Given this crazy season, there were plenty of pitchers to be considered for this award, but, for me, it was probably the easiest call. I waited (not all that patiently) from 2018 while Ohtani recovered from Tommy John surgery. Finally, he was back on the mound to begin this season. It was brutal. He allowed three hits and walked eight while recording just five outs, and he clearly had no feel for the strike zone with any of his pitches. He simply wasn't ready, and he experienced some discomfort in his surgically repaired right arm. The Angels immediately brought his pitching to a halt. I was crushed. I don't know if this pitching and hitting combo is ever going to really work. I do know this, he's a very competent hitter, but, when fully healthy, and on his game, he is a top tier pitcher. I want to see that on the mound. I want to see it so bad I can taste it. Maybe next year?

From the Ashes Award – Clayton Kershaw: Someday, Kershaw will be in the Hall of Fame, but it looks like his arrival could be delayed a bit. Many analysts noted an apparent gradual decline in his skills the past couple seasons, but that seems to have changed. I don't think he found the Fountain of Youth, but I think he may have found something similar, and I think it may be worthy of adding to our "angles" list. A few years ago, I came across an organization called Driveline Baseball Academy. They worked with baseball players, mostly high school or college age, to improve their mechanics, increasing performance via efficiency. It made a lot of sense, so I continued to follow them (I'm not in any way affiliated). This past offseason, Kershaw spent time with them. The end result has been an uptick in velocity, more crispness on his breaking pitches, a more consistent release point and command, and what I believe might translate into better health/fewer injuries. That's more than enough for me to be even more interested.

 The Stars Come Out Award – Shane Bieber: This is a tough award to earn because it requires a significant move upward in my pitching tiers ranking. Bieber was already a solid tier-two starter, but he wasn't satisfied and moved into the top tier. Others made some progress in upping their games, but when evaluating, I kept coming back to Bieber. In truth, he might have gotten a little extra credit because his journey to the top tier began as what appeared to be the upside of a league average guy. Right now, he is 7-1 with a sparkling 1.53 ERA, an even more impressive 0.87 WHIP, and he has accomplished something I had doubts could happen over a 60-game schedule – he has logged 102 strikeouts (in just 64 innings). Folks, I can't find a flaw in his game right now. He has an excellent repertoire, and he surgically pounds the strike zone.

Kevin Gregg Award – Brandon Workman: This award is the ultimate smoke and mirrors honor. Named after one of the most famous (infamous?) mock closers in the history of the game, every year some guy zigs and zags through the season, somehow collecting a few saves. Workman wins for having collected saves for not one, but two MLB teams this season. He doesn't profile as a closer, even though he's not a bad reliever, but he started the year with the Red Sox and ended up closing because they simply had no viable options. Then, at the trade deadline, he moved to another train wreck bullpen when he was dealt to the Phillies. Tired of guessing which Hector Neris would appear on any given night, the team saw the playoffs looming and decided to see if Workman could help them get there. Again, he's not bad, but he is miscast.

Closer of the Year – Liam Hendriks: I don't believe I have given an award to the same pitcher in consecutive years, so this may be a first. There are always several closers who log a similar number of saves, rarely blowing one, post a respectable ERA, and basically get it done in the ninth inning. I bestow the award on Hendriks based on an intangible I'll call faith – faith in him getting the save with little or no drama. I'm getting too old for ninth-inning drama. Remember the days when guys like Kenley Jansen and Aroldis Chapman coming in meant the game was over? Now, when most pitchers enter the ninth inning, I find myself moving a bit closer to the edge of my seat. Hendriks just seems to bring confidence (and performance) to the mound. I appreciate that.

 Pitcher of the Year – Shane Bieber: And here's another first. I don't think I have ever had one pitcher win two of the awards in the same year, but I have to make Bieber both the Stars Come Out and Pitcher of the Year winner. There were several pitchers worthy of consideration here. Jacob deGrom continues to make the game look easy, and he did it this year for a rather ordinary team. In fact, without deGrom, the Mets starting pitching with no Noah Syndergaard or Marcus Stroman has been just plain awful. That said, the guy who would have gotten the nod here if not for Bieber would have been the Cubs Yu Darvish. The second half of last year he got healthy and took off. He has just carried that over into this season. One other honorable mention would be a former teammate of Bieber's, Trevor Bauer. He's still a little inconsistent but, when he's on, he's as good as it gets. The Indians haven't hit much, but think what their pitching would be like with Bieber, Bauer, Mike Clevinger and the injured Corey Kluber.

Some Notable Rotation Ramblings:

 The Royals Brady Singer has taken a step toward his future spot at or near the top of the team's rotation. He has very good stuff, improving command and excellent mound presence, all of which, when combined, make him a viable candidate to become a solid fantasy asset. Move him up a notch on your list.

• Similar to Singer, the Cubs Alec Mills actually completed a no-hitter against the Brewers last week, but his future fantasy status may not be as promising. Mills is a back-of-the-rotation type. He doesn't have great stuff, which limits his upside, but he does pitch smart. Just don't get carried away with his value equation.
• I watched a couple innings of Mike Minor's start against Seattle earlier this week, hoping to see what might be wrong. His velocity was still down a bit but he was locating his pitches well, and keeping the opposing hitters off balance while making easily his best start of the year. Perhaps he's back in sync.
• Last year, I touted Brewers' righty Corbin Burnes and he was awful (8.84 ERA). This year the stuff is very similar, but the results are very different (1.98 ERA). The revelation is Burnes has discovered he doesn't need to nibble or pitch conservatively. Sometimes mindset makes all the difference.
• While his overall numbers look good, I'm a bit concerned that White Sox hurler Dane Dunning might be hard pressed to maintain this success. Too many good swings resulting in a lot of fly ball outs is a dangerous formula in this era of baseball. He's a decent prospect, but I'm hesitant to endorse him just yet.
• If it weren't for the heartbreak of Ohtani's 2020 pitching experience, I think Madison Bumgarner could have sailed to the biggest disappointment award. The Diamondbacks signed him to a big five-year contract, and he has struggled to an 8.53 ERA allowing an ugly 13 homers in just under 32 innings.

Endgame Odyssey:

Not surprisingly, Rafael Dolis has done a respectable job closing for the Blue Jays while Ken Giles and Jordan Romano have been out, and with Giles now back on the injured list, he is the closer for the foreseeable future. The Cubs would like Craig Kimbrel to close their games, but I still consider him a poor/risky option. Sean Doolittle just couldn't get and stay healthy. He's probably done for the year, leaving closing duties in the capable hands of Daniel Hudson. The Cardinals are scrambling to make up the games they missed with the COVID-19 outbreak, and their bullpen is still pretty unsettled. Giovanny Gallegos was emerging as their ninth-inning guy, but a groin strain sidelined him. I expect to see matchup closing for now with Alex Reyes and Andrew Miller the most likely to close games. The Diamondbacks have a casting call out as they audition potential closers. I think the slight favorite to eventually emerge with the closing gig is Kevin Ginkel, but it appears Stefan Crichton is the flavor of the week while darkhorse lefty Travis Bergen could also get an occasional situational opportunity.