Anyway, back in April I created a fake fantasy baseball team with the idea of helping me learn about some new players on the teams I follow; the Mets (obviously), the Blue Jays (for R.A. Dickey), and the Rockies (my new hometown team). I don't think it's my fantasy team's doing, but I definitely feel more attached to all three after this season; the Mets and the Blue Jays both made it to the playoffs for the first time in forever, and I went to three Rockies games within one month this summer. It was a wild season, guys. So let's check in with the players I chose and see how they did!
CATCHER: Travis d'Arnaud, NYM
2015 Stats: .268 AVG, 12 HR, 41 RBI, FPCT .995
I am SO HAPPY I picked Travis. He was injured for a lot of this season, which was really unfortunate, but he improved in all facets of his game from the 2014 season: his home run/RBI numbers are almost identical even though he played in much fewer games, and behind the plate he has so many fewer errors and passed balls. I'm psyched about this dude. He's great. Needs to work on preventing stolen bases, but I cannot wait to see how he develops next season.
FIRST BASE: Lucas Duda, NYM
2015 Stats: .244 AVG, 27 HR, 73 RBI, FPCT .997
Part of the reason I picked the Dude was because he led the Mets in home runs and RBIs last season. So what does he do this season? Leads the Mets in home runs and RBIs. What a guy. :) His season was pretty streaky -- he'd either be hitting home runs in every single at bat for a week, or not at all -- but I'm very pleased with the season he had. Also, Curtis Granderson started an Instagram account for him: wefollowlucasduda. It's just Grandy following Duda around and documenting him. It's the greatest thing that's ever happened on social media.
SECOND BASE: DJ LeMahieu, COL
2015 Stats: .301 AVG, 6 HR, 61 RBI, FPCT .988
Look at that batting average! Holy cow! He led the Rockies in both batting average and on base percentage, and that is just damn impressive. He was one of the very bright spots on a Rockies team that had one of the worst records in the league. I'm here for this guy. I dig it.
SHORTSTOP: Jose Reyes, TOR (traded to COL)
2015 Stats: .274 AVG, 7 HR, 53 RBI, FPCT .968
...It's hard for me to talk about Jose, as he was just recently arrested for assaulting his wife. Needless to say, I can no longer be a fan of his. Numbers-wise he had a pretty good season, and I loved that he was traded from one of my teams to another and has now played for all three. But now it's all just kind of ruined.
THIRD BASE: Nolan Arenado, COL
2015 Stats: .287 AVG, 42 HR, 130 RBI, .966 FPCT
Winner, winner, chicken dinner. Guys, Nolan had himself a season this year. He led the Rockies in hits, home runs and RBIs. League-wide, he was third in home runs and first in RBIs. The most RBIs in the entire league! He's also won Silver Slugger, Gold Glove and Defensive Player of the Year Awards for his efforts. The guy is absurd. #NolanBeingNolan
LEFT FIELD: Michael Cuddyer, NYM
2015 Stats: .259 AVG, 10 HR, 41 RBI, .973 FPCT
Oh, Cuddy. People were so disappointed with his numbers this season, and it makes me really sad. Statistically, yes, he didn't live up to expectations (as much as I so, so wanted him to). BUT he was a critical piece in the Mets' clubhouse -- after wins he gives out a championship belt to the MVP! -- and I really don't think the team would've been the same without him. (Does anyone else have those players that might not be "great" but that you'd get into fights to defend them? That's Cuddy for me. Come at me about him.)
CENTER FIELD: Charlie Blackmon, COL
2015 Stats: .287 AVG, 17 HR, 58 RBI, .991 FPCT
Charlie (or Chuck Nazty, as he's known on Twitter) ended up being a very happy accident for me. One, he had a pretty dang nice season! Two, he's so freaking weird and SO FUNNY (seriously, please just look through his tweets). And three, this is his walk-up song. I mean, come on. This guy is definitely a new favorite of mine.
RIGHT FIELD: Jose Bautista, TOR
2015 Stats: .250 AVG, 40 HR, 114 RBI, .987 FPCT
Ooooh boy, Joey Bats. He had himself quite the season. But all you really need to know is THE BAT FLIP OF THE CENTURY. Legendary. Iconic.
STARTING ROTATION:
1. R.A. Dickey, TOR
2015 Stats: 11-11, 3.91 ERA
Eh, okay, this really wasn't R.A.'s best season. It started off... really bad, actually. But his second half of the season was pretty phenomenal, and he won something like eight or nine starts in a row. Crazy. So while I wanted better for him, I'm incredibly happy with how he ended up performing!
2. Matt Harvey, NYM
2015 Stats: 13-8, 2.71 ERA
This season was quite the wild ride for the Dark Knight. Unfortunately a lot of it was bogged down with innings limit controversy and other off-the-field drama. But there wasn't a ton of drama on the field, and Matt was almost back to his pre-Tommy John form. When he was on, he was on. And it was phenomenal.
3. Jacob deGrom, NYM
2015 Stats: 14-8, 2.54 ERA
Can I be honest for a second here? I love Jacob deGrom. Absolutely adore him. Totally heart-eye emoji about him. His season was so wonderful. He finished sixth in the league in ERA and was in Cy Young talks for a stretch of the season. He made his first All-Star team and struck out the three batters he faced in 10 pitches. TEN PITCHES! And his postseason... oh man. Ohhhh man. This is my guy.
4. Daniel Norris, TOR (traded to DET)
2015 Stats: 3-2, 3.75 ERA
It's been a rough 2015 for this guy. Not just in baseball, though -- he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and is currently recovering from surgery. I'm still trying to keep my eye on him (even though he's playing for the Tigers now) and wish him nothing but the best!
5. Eddie Butler, COL
2015 Stats: 3-10, 5.70 ERA
Um, so, this was not a good season for Eddie. Like, at all. To be fair, all pitching on the Rockies this season was bad. But yeah, this gets a thumbs down. Whoops.
RELIEVERS:
1. Brett Cecil, TOR
2015 Stats: 5-5, 2.80 ERA, 5 SV
Brett was a pretty critical piece of Toronto's bullpen. He ended up not being their closer, but they relied on him as a set-up guy and really settled into that role. Bullpens are really tricky, so a reliable guy in this position is super clutch. I dig it.
2. Boone Logan, COL
2015 Stats: 0-3, 4.33 ERA
Yikes, this is pretty bad. I've already said that the Rockies' pitching was all-around bad, but it bears repeating: the Rockies' pitching was really bad this season. Boone's numbers did improve from 2014, but that's... not really saying much.
THE VERDICT
So, what bit me? The back end of my starting rotation, and my bullpen. How true to life is THAT? Hah. Other than the pitching weaknesses (and, y'know, Jose Reyes being a domestic abuser...), I'm pretty pleased with the way things turned out, especially considering my comparatively limited knowledge of these guys earlier in the year. Now I'd be able to put together a much better team (and not put any Rockies on my pitching staff).
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