We're about 10 days away from the end of the regular season which means it's an appropriate time to review our roto standings, player awards, and W-L standings to see who will be making the big dance this year.
We'll open it up with a roto standings update, which has been rendered pointless since Arch put a Latrell Sprewell-like stranglehold on this title since early May. The man may not know how to post a picture on the message board but he can talk all the smack he wants on the message board because he's a master roster builder. Here's where everyone stands as of today, which seems to line up pretty closely to where we all stand in the W-L standings currently.
2016 Player Awards
If your player does win an award, it will not put money in your pocket but it might put pride in your heart by knowing you made some wise choices before and during the season.
MVP
This award doesn't necessarily go to the most dominant player of the year but rather the player that returned the most value to a team based on draft position and season stats. With that in mind, Daniel Murphy of the Steamers looks like our winner thanks to his monster 2016 numbers and his 10th round selection by Matt. Matt might've thought he was selling high on Murphy back in late May but Daniel has kept up his incredible pace and has helped keep J. Petty in the hunt all year. Big Papi, Wil Myers, and Mookie Betts could make a late season MVP push with a furious 10 game stretch.
Pitcher of the Year
We haven't seen Clayton Kershaw pitch lately and won't see him pitch for a while but that might not prevent him from taking home this trophy again. He was that good when he was healthy. If Scherzer continues to strike out everyone, he might swoop in and grab this and MadBum's recent slump probably ruined his chances so we'll see if Kershaw can is able to win this award while on the disabled list.
Batter of the Year
This will go to Jose Altuve, who has done everything well this year. Donaldson, Betts, and Trout will follow.
Pitching Bust of the Year
Matt Harvey has gone from Mets savior to their latest sad story of unrealized potential and his terrible 2016 season will be tough for any Mets fan and Harvey owner to scrub away. Keuchel and Chris Archer have also sucked a veiny penis all year long, too.
Batting Bust of the Year
Nobody really seems to know why Andrew McCutchen is incapable of hitting a baseball this year but he's been bad all season long and never really shown signs of breaking out. Hopefully this isn't the start of a massive decline but Castillo probably won't be drafting him again next year.
Fireman of the Year
This will probably end up in the most underrated closer's left hand as Zach Britton has been nothing short of phenominal for the O's and Arch this year. Britton hasn't given up an earned run since April 30th, which is so absurd that I'm not fully convinced it's true. Kenley Jansen and Andrew Miller would be next up to win this if Britton starts barfing up ER's in the final week.
Rookie of the Year
It sucks that Trevor Story will be out for the rest of the season but he will likely be able to hold the ROY trophy whenever his thumb allows him to. Aledyms Diaz and Corey Seager have also had great seasons but they haven't hit with the power we've seen from Story this year.
Playoff Picture
Race for 1st Place
Zach has a 3.5 game lead on J. Petty and with the way this week is shaping up, Zach could put even more distance between himself and Jeff after this week. Zach also plays the Big Hitters in the final week so unless J. Petty mounts a serious comeback or Arch has two 9 or 10 win weeks, Suer has put himself in a very favorable position to win some money.
The Soft, Nougaty Center
Matty, Meyer, Downs, and Z. Skul won't need to bother about winning any regular season money but they also don't need to sweat about missing the playoffs because they are all comfortably in the middle. One thing these guys should worry about is not ending up the 6 seed as that would mean a first round matchup with either J. Petty or Arch, which could be bad news Bears.
The Bubble Boys
Castillo is up 3.5 games on Foot Pussy and 4 games ahead of Mr. Big Time but he is up against Arch this week, which has the potential to shrink that lead. Castillo is playing some decent fantasy ball this week so if he can hold on against Arch, it will firm up his position for a playoff berth. The commish and Kevin are battling it out this week and if one can get at least 7 or 8 wins this week, it could be the major swing that separates a playoff spot from an embarrassing season filled with many transactions and zero playoff games. I would give the Pep's some hope here but they are getting the fuck kicked out of them this week and with a AAA pitcher and a DL eligible dude currently in their rotation, it's safe to say the Pep's give less than one fuck about making the playoffs.
The Eulogy Speech
The Arvada Astros are going out in a blaze of futility and it might be enough crappy baseball to overtake Runge and Jon for dead last. I'll give both of these teams credit for staying on top of their rosters but it's been a really rocky road for both of these organizations who will hope for much better luck and better players in 2017.
So now you know all you need to know for the remaining 10 games of regular season Shocker ball. If the above scenarios play out in your favor, your fantasy season won't end as abruptly as the Shocker softball season did. I'll make sure to pass out the official awards when the regular season does end and I'll do my best to toss out a playoff preview if time allows. Good luck on your stretch drive and don't forget we can still make late season trades as late as August 11th if you need to mix it up for any reason.
If your player does win an award, it will not put money in your pocket but it might put pride in your heart by knowing you made some wise choices before and during the season.
MVP
This award doesn't necessarily go to the most dominant player of the year but rather the player that returned the most value to a team based on draft position and season stats. With that in mind, Daniel Murphy of the Steamers looks like our winner thanks to his monster 2016 numbers and his 10th round selection by Matt. Matt might've thought he was selling high on Murphy back in late May but Daniel has kept up his incredible pace and has helped keep J. Petty in the hunt all year. Big Papi, Wil Myers, and Mookie Betts could make a late season MVP push with a furious 10 game stretch.
Pitcher of the Year
We haven't seen Clayton Kershaw pitch lately and won't see him pitch for a while but that might not prevent him from taking home this trophy again. He was that good when he was healthy. If Scherzer continues to strike out everyone, he might swoop in and grab this and MadBum's recent slump probably ruined his chances so we'll see if Kershaw can is able to win this award while on the disabled list.
Batter of the Year
This will go to Jose Altuve, who has done everything well this year. Donaldson, Betts, and Trout will follow.
Pitching Bust of the Year
Matt Harvey has gone from Mets savior to their latest sad story of unrealized potential and his terrible 2016 season will be tough for any Mets fan and Harvey owner to scrub away. Keuchel and Chris Archer have also sucked a veiny penis all year long, too.
Batting Bust of the Year
Nobody really seems to know why Andrew McCutchen is incapable of hitting a baseball this year but he's been bad all season long and never really shown signs of breaking out. Hopefully this isn't the start of a massive decline but Castillo probably won't be drafting him again next year.
Fireman of the Year
This will probably end up in the most underrated closer's left hand as Zach Britton has been nothing short of phenominal for the O's and Arch this year. Britton hasn't given up an earned run since April 30th, which is so absurd that I'm not fully convinced it's true. Kenley Jansen and Andrew Miller would be next up to win this if Britton starts barfing up ER's in the final week.
Rookie of the Year
It sucks that Trevor Story will be out for the rest of the season but he will likely be able to hold the ROY trophy whenever his thumb allows him to. Aledyms Diaz and Corey Seager have also had great seasons but they haven't hit with the power we've seen from Story this year.
Playoff Picture
Race for 1st Place
Zach has a 3.5 game lead on J. Petty and with the way this week is shaping up, Zach could put even more distance between himself and Jeff after this week. Zach also plays the Big Hitters in the final week so unless J. Petty mounts a serious comeback or Arch has two 9 or 10 win weeks, Suer has put himself in a very favorable position to win some money.
The Soft, Nougaty Center
Matty, Meyer, Downs, and Z. Skul won't need to bother about winning any regular season money but they also don't need to sweat about missing the playoffs because they are all comfortably in the middle. One thing these guys should worry about is not ending up the 6 seed as that would mean a first round matchup with either J. Petty or Arch, which could be bad news Bears.
The Bubble Boys
Castillo is up 3.5 games on Foot Pussy and 4 games ahead of Mr. Big Time but he is up against Arch this week, which has the potential to shrink that lead. Castillo is playing some decent fantasy ball this week so if he can hold on against Arch, it will firm up his position for a playoff berth. The commish and Kevin are battling it out this week and if one can get at least 7 or 8 wins this week, it could be the major swing that separates a playoff spot from an embarrassing season filled with many transactions and zero playoff games. I would give the Pep's some hope here but they are getting the fuck kicked out of them this week and with a AAA pitcher and a DL eligible dude currently in their rotation, it's safe to say the Pep's give less than one fuck about making the playoffs.
The Eulogy Speech
The Arvada Astros are going out in a blaze of futility and it might be enough crappy baseball to overtake Runge and Jon for dead last. I'll give both of these teams credit for staying on top of their rosters but it's been a really rocky road for both of these organizations who will hope for much better luck and better players in 2017.
So now you know all you need to know for the remaining 10 games of regular season Shocker ball. If the above scenarios play out in your favor, your fantasy season won't end as abruptly as the Shocker softball season did. I'll make sure to pass out the official awards when the regular season does end and I'll do my best to toss out a playoff preview if time allows. Good luck on your stretch drive and don't forget we can still make late season trades as late as August 11th if you need to mix it up for any reason.