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October 3, 2011
Resident Fantasy Genius
BP Fantasy End of Season Awards
by Derek Carty
With the fantasy season coming to a close this past week, each member of the BP Fantasy team cast their votes for a variety of categories. Today, I'm here to hand out the theoretical hardware. After seeing who we thought had the best, worst, and most interesting 2011 seasons, be sure to tell us who you think deserved some recognition in the comments section.
Derek Carty
Rob McQuown
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Most Valuable Hitter
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Matt Kemp
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Most Valuable Pitcher
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Justin Verlander
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Rookie Hitter of the Year
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Jemile Weeks
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Rookie Pitcher of the Year
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Craig Kimbrel
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Comeback Player of the Year
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Jacoby Ellsbury
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Biggest Surprise of the Year
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Matt Kemp
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Biggest Disappointment of the Year
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Adam Dunn
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Luckiest Player of the Year
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Jeremy Hellickson
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Unluckiest Player of the Year
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Chase Utley
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Top Breakout of the Year
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Alex Avila
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Most Overrated Player of the Year
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Ivan Nova
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Most Underrated Player of the Year
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Ricky Romero
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Championship Creator of the Year
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Ted Lilly
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Your Best Prediction of the Year
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Cory Luebke will be a very good SP
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Your Worst Prediction of the Year
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Brennan Boesch won't play well enough to get playing time
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Michael Street
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Most Valuable Hitter
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Matt Kemp
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Most Valuable Pitcher
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Justin Verlander
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Rookie Hitter of the Year
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Eric Hosmer
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Rookie Pitcher of the Year
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Craig Kimbrel
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Comeback Player of the Year
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Ryan Vogelsong
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Biggest Surprise of the Year
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Casey Kotchman
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Biggest Disappointment of the Year
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Hanley Ramirez
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Luckiest Player of the Year
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Jeremy Hellickson
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Unluckiest Player of the Year
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Alex Rios
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Top Breakout of the Year
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Ian Kennedy
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Most Overrated Player of the Year
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Carl Crawford
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Most Underrated Player of the Year
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R.A. Dickey
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Championship Creator of the Year
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Mike Moustakas
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Your Best Prediction of the Year
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Ian Kennedy as sleeper pitcher
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Your Worst Prediction of the Year
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Brett Wallace for sophomore breakout
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Mike Petriello
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Most Valuable Hitter
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Matt Kemp
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Most Valuable Pitcher
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Roy Halladay
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Rookie Hitter of the Year
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Danny Espinosa
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Rookie Pitcher of the Year
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Michael Pineda
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Comeback Player of the Year
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Jacoby Ellsbury, with apologies to Ryan Vogelsong
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Biggest Surprise of the Year
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Albert Pujols shaking off a broken wrist to come back in record time and hit even better
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Biggest Disappointment of the Year
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Adam Dunn, narrowly beating out Carl Crawford
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Luckiest Player of the Year
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Doug Fister, traded from terrible Mariners to red-hot Tigers
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Unluckiest Player of the Year
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Evan Longoria and his subterranean BABIP
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Top Breakout of the Year
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Alex Avila
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Most Overrated Player of the Year
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Michael Young, "MVP Candidate"
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Most Underrated Player of the Year
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Andrew McCutchen
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Championship Creator of the Year
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James Loney
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Your Best Prediction of the Year
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Mike Morse, reliable power hitter.
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Your Worst Prediction of the Year
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Brandon Belt, NL Rookie of the Year.
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Michael Jong
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Most Valuable Hitter
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Matt Kemp
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Most Valuable Pitcher
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Justin Verlander
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Rookie Hitter of the Year
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Freddie Freeman
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Rookie Pitcher of the Year
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Craig Kimbrel
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Comeback Player of the Year
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Jacoby Ellsbury
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Biggest Surprise of the Year
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Alex Avila
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Biggest Disappointment of the Year
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Hanley Ramirez
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Luckiest Player of the Year
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Jeremy Hellickson
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Unluckiest Player of the Year
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Ubaldo Jimenez
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Top Breakout of the Year
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Alex Avila
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Most Overrated Player of the Year
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Hunter Pence
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Most Underrated Player of the Year
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Paul Konerko
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Championship Creator of the Year
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Doug Fister
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Your Best Prediction of the Year
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Alex Avila as a breakout catcher
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Your Worst Prediction of the Year
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Ryan Hanigan as a breakout catcher
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Jason Collette
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Most Valuable Hitter
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Matt Kemp
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Most Valuable Pitcher
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Craig Kimbrel
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Rookie Hitter of the Year
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Eric Hosmer
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Rookie Pitcher of the Year
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Craig Kimbrel
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Comeback Player of the Year
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James Shields
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Biggest Surprise of the Year
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Alex Gordon
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Biggest Disappointment of the Year
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Adam Dunn
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Luckiest Player of the Year
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Casey Kotchman
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Unluckiest Player of the Year
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Carlos Santana
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Top Breakout of the Year
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Jacoby Ellsbury
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Most Overrated Player of the Year
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Kelly Johnson
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Most Underrated Player of the Year
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J.J. Hardy
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Championship Creator of the Year
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Shelley Duncan
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Your Best Prediction of the Year
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Ben Zobrist would hit 20 homers again
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Your Worst Prediction of the Year
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Edwin Encarnacion would hit 30 homers this season
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My Impressions
Matt Kemp was the popular choice for Most Valuable Fantasy Hitter, sweeping the vote, and it's easy to see why. The guy hit .324, just missed going 40/40, and tallied 115-plus RBI and runs. He was an absolute stud. For Most Valuable Pitcher, Justin Verlander clearly gets the BP nod, but there were a couple of stray votes for Roy Halladay and, very interestingly, Craig Kimbrel. Kimbrel took four of the six ROY votes for pitchers, but getting his name in the Most Valuable Pitcher hunt really says something about the kind of season that the dominating youngster had. He'll propel himself into the upper echelon of closers in 2012 drafts. Rookie Hitter wasn't nearly as clear-cut, with a tie between Hosmer and Espinosa at two a piece. Both had great seasons, and Espinosa is especially interesting given his tasty power/speed combo at a talent scarce position. If he could find a way to piece together a solid batting average, he could be a fantasy stud.
Vogelsong and Ellsbury rule the Comeback category, with Jason's obligatory Rays-centrice vote going to Shields (who is plenty deserving himself after a terribly unlucky 2010). Surprise Player is all over the place, but Casey Kotchman manages to grab two votes. It's interesting that he also tallies a vote for Luckiest Player, as his BABIP stood at a .335 after it had been .268 in his career before 2011. It seems unlikely Kotchman will post a repeat campaign next season. However, the Luckiest Player award goes to Jeremy Hellickson, who snagged four of the votes thanks to an ERA that stood a point and a half below his FIP. He's a talented young pitcher with decent upside, but he's not the pitcher many currently see him as. There will be some disappointed Rays fans in 2012 unless he can find a way to adjust and improve. Unluckiest, however, is anything but an easy choice, resulting in a six-way tie.
Biggest Disappointment is split right down the middle between Dunn and Hanley, and it's easy to see how one would be conflicted with the choice between the two. Both had miserable seasons despite lofty expectations, and it will be incredibly interesting to see how fantasy owners treat them in drafts next season. Anyone want to set the over/under? Avila snags half the votes for Top Breakout, and while I didn't cast my vote for him, I have no qualms with the selection. A catcher who can hit 20 home runs is very valuable, but I'm not convinced his .295 average is for real. I think a decline is likely there. Overrated and Underrated are all over the place, but I think the Ivan Nova vote for Overrated is a very good one. He's a homegrown Yankee whose ERA exceeded his peripherals, so it's easy to see why he was hyped throughout the season.
Championship Creator goes to Shelley Duncan, who received two votes, though I actually cast two votes in the category. I felt obligated to do so after the team who beat me out for first place in CardRunners managed to own both Duncan and Morel, who combined for 15 home runs down the stretch after hitting a combined six for the first five-and-a-half months of the season.
Your Turn
What do you think? Agree with our picks? Disagree? Let us know by casting your votes in the comments! We'd love to hear from you.
<< Previous Article
Playoff Prospectus: Th... (10/02)
|
<< Previous Column
Resident Fantasy Geniu... (09/26)
|
Next Column >>
Resident Fantasy Geniu... (10/10)
|
Next Article >>
Collateral Damage: Pla... (10/03)
|
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10 comments have been left for this article. 
As great as Kemp was, I have to go with Bautista as MVP, because he was so far ahead of other 3B this year it was ridiculous.
Certainly a defendable choice. Bautista was awesome.
*defensible